Do you know your child’s preferred learning style?
Each of your children age 12 or older should complete a learning styles assessment. Each child’s preferred learning style may be a combination of many different learning styles or a dominant one. Understanding each child’s preferred learning style will allow you to maximize his or her academic experience. Here at Lafayette Academy, learning styles matter. In fact, my oldest daughter, a University of Michigan graduate, attributes much of her academic success to her own learning style “discovery” before her junior year at Campolindo.
Up until her junior year at Campo, she worked tirelessly to get above-average grades, but she wasn’t getting enough A’s for the schools on her college list. Once she learned the best ways for her to learn, she had a much easier time in school and earned higher grades.
I have experienced my own learning style discovery, one that I should have recognized a long time ago. I am NOT an auditory learner. I have never been able to memorize songs; I have adult ADHD, and I started wearing hearing aids in my fifty’s. I am a visual and “read/write” learner. This realization would have helped me immensely when I was in school because I would have taken notes in class, and not relied on my memory. I would have also learned how to study in ways that work best for me.
Some students do not have a dominant learning style and the results of these assessments do not add as much value. Still, it’s a no-brainer to complete the VARK learning styles assessment.
VARK Learning Styles
The VARK system breaks down learning styles into four categories:
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Visual Learners
prefer to see information in a graph, infographic, or visual manner. For these students, any type of visual representation helps them retain or understand information.
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Auditory Learners
learn best when they hear new information and let it sink in. These students thrive in groups that discuss the information.
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Reading and Writing Learners
succeed when they read about a topic and write down the important points. The two different formats often result in longer retention.
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Kinesthetic Learners
are hands-on students. Younger students may learn math with building blocks; older students can master science with lab work and experiments.
Many students are a combination of these four main styles, and students who need the most help often have atypical learning preferences (e.g. a strong preference for kinesthetic learning). There are many different companies with assessments, and they often use their own terminology for some learning styles. What learning style is your son or daughter? If you’re not sure, email us at info@lafayetteacademy.com and we will send you a free assessment (see the “Learning Styles” link below for a sample of the feedback you will receive after your child completes the assessment).
For some students, learning style assessment results do not influence their academic outcomes because they do not have a dominant learning style preference.
Lafayette Academy Can Work with Any Learning Style
No matter what style works best for your son or daughter, we can help your children thrive in school. Contact us here at Lafayette Academy and let us help you learn to your highest potential. If you click on the link below, you can see a sample learning styles feedback form. Normally, we give two copies of the feedback form to your student’s tutor, one for our records and one for your son or daughter. Then, our tutor goes over the results with your student.
Learning Styles Have Their Detractors
Some educators believe that the impact of learning styles is a myth. They claim that there is no “scientific evidence” to support the learning styles concept. Frankly, I have not read any of this research because there is nothing that could change my mind about something that I have seen firsthand on many occasions (not just my family). I only mention the detractors because I don’t want any of our families to exclaim “fake news” and ignore information that will help their children. Perhaps someone needs to rewrite the song “what a wonderful world” with 2022 lyrics.