In this blog the founder and CEO of Arise ‘n’ Shine, Raj Ganesh shares the importance of Learning Styles which has been overlooked in the education system.

Everyone studies and learns a bit differently. These are called “Learning Styles”. It is the preferred way a student uses to identify and integrate information. You may have heard of Visual Learners and Auditory Learners. Each learning style is the way that the student learns best.  Teachers must learn to serve the needs of these students by changing the way they educate, the way they present materials and the environment of the classroom.

Endorsing the concept of using a specific learning style such as Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic can help the teachers give a structured learning to students.

Few examples:

Visual learners: They learn by seeing things

• Prefer to use graphs and charts
• Visualize the information in the mind’s eye
• They make comments like, “How do you see the situation?”, “Are you able to visualize what I am saying?”

Auditory learners: They learn by hearing things

• Favours listening
• Like to listen to lectures and discussions
• They make comments like, “I hear what you say”, “This sounds good”.

Kinesthetic learners: They learn by doing things

• Learn by touching the information or being creative with hands-on activities
• They interact with their hands and gestures
• They make comments like, “How do you feel about this?”, “Can we do this together?”

Teachers often use their preferred learning style as their mode of teaching and if students do not share those preferences then there is a gap in learning. When this occurs, the communication process breaks down and the learning fails.

Taking the first step in understanding one’s own learning style and that of a student are perhaps the most important tasks a teacher has to undertake. Then the curriculum needs to be aligned to the varied learner needs in the classroom. Through this systematic approach you can transform the students despite the classroom size. It is that simple!

But these learning style preferences aren’t set in stone – It can change depending on different circumstances – there is no one-size-fits all style of learning! So it is important to continue trying different approaches from time to time.

By being more aware of how they learn, you may find that your student develops new interests, starts retaining information and picks up new skills even faster. Knowing how your student learns sets their foundation for success.