Recently I heard from a parent on the other side of the world about concerns she had with her daughter’s difficulties in some areas of school. She expressed that her daughter is primarily a right-brained learner and that she struggles with subjects such as writing when she needs to translate information from mental ideas or images into a sequence of words, or in math class when ideas utilizing symbols are called for. All of these present challenges to be overcome.
Subsequent discussions with this parent led to her question, “What is the best educational setting for my child?” She was doubtless considering whether or not she would be able to support her daughter sufficiently from home. This is a huge question, however, and one only parents can answer for themselves and their own children. But I asked this particular parent to describe in more detail what is easy and what is hard for her daughter in the school setting. Here are some of the ideas she expressed about her daughter:
What is hard for her:
- Spelling. She is able to learn her spelling words for her spelling tests, however the spelling words are not used correctly in her writing thereafter.
- Mathematics. Simple addition, subtraction, division and multiplication take a long time to work out and sometimes when she gets the correct answer, she will write the wrong answer on the sheet. If she cannot see the picture of the problem at hand, she cannot understand what is being asked of her.
- She is very tough on herself and wants to get everything right. I cannot reason with her that mistakes are a part of learning.
- Often daydreams in class. She says that she uses the time to process information, however her teacher believes she is not on task.
- Moves, rocks, fidgets all the time; this helps her focus on the task at hand.
- Cannot follow verbal instructions.
- If she verbalizes before writing, her thought process is much clearer and she can write in a sequential manner.
What is easy for her:
- Reading - her reading level and comprehension are at grade level.
- Art - is very creative and thinks outside the box.
- Dance - very expressive in her dance, always getting acknowledged at school.
- Intuition - picks up people’s moods very easily.
- Writing - if helped, she can write some very imaginative and entertaining pieces of work.
- Science - loves science and is very excited to discuss science concepts.
As I read through these bullet points, what struck me was that this lady's daughter truly does sound like a visual/tactile child! [For more information about visual-spatial learners, see this blog post and this one.]
Another idea that struck me is how thoroughly this mother had gotten to know her child. This knowledge of our children is fundamental to truly being able to guide and help them. Once we’ve identified their gifts as well as their areas of challenge, we can choose wisely for them because we will have the information needed.
So how do I choose?
While I cannot answer this question, I will say this: Once you have determined your child’s learning needs and strengths, the next step is to find out what your options are. Is there a school your child could attend where consideration is given in coursework for right-brained or visual learners? If you have various options open to you, take the time to interview and ask specific questions about how your child would be helped through her areas of need.
If you feel there are few options for your child, one idea to consider is to supplement her education at home by using materials that are designed especially for visual or other right-brained learners. Visual learners learn very quickly when the setting is right. If the materials you are using have images and body movement incorporated into them, working with her at home might be all you need to do.
Please don’t hesitate to call (1-800-881-0912) or email (info@child-1st.com) if you would like to chat about your own child and what might help him/her out the most. Or, use the comments section below.
How do I figure out what type of learner my child is?
Posted by: Megan | January 03, 2012 at 01:04 PM
Hi Megan, and thanks for reading. If you want some hunches, you can read various blog posts here that can help you identify your learner. If you suspect your child might be a visual learner, for instance, check here: http://child-1st.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/01/is-my-child-a-visualspatial-learner.html
Kinesthetic learners: http://www.child-1st.com/new_site/Kinesthetic_Resources.html
If you would like some formal testing in learning done, I can put you in touch with a colleague of mine who does amazing and very specific work with testing. Please email me at sarah@child-1st(dot)com.
Posted by: Sarah Major | January 03, 2012 at 01:22 PM