In any classroom, there will be students who easily understand and comprehend everything a teacher is communicating. There are also students who struggle to follow the teacher’s instructions. There was a time when this inability to understand the teacher was misinterpreted as as learning disability. The truth is that in these cases it is more likely that the teaching style of the instructor doesn’t match the students learning style. While one teacher cannot adapt their teaching style to meet the learning styles of everyone, In the homeschool environment adapting is much easier.
The first thing a homeschool parent must do is identify the child’s learning style. There are three basic learning styles. Auditory learners learn through listening, as in lectures. Visual learners, learn best through images, such as drawing and models. Kinesteshetic learners need to interact, to learn such as in using maniuplatives to learn math. You need to ask yourself what level of activity you need to learn to distinguish your learning style. There are online tests you can take to help you figure it out. Once you are aware of the child’s learning style, it is easier to adapt the lesson to fit that learning style.
Just as students have certain learning styles ingrained into them, so do parent/teachers. This in turn means they also have teaching styles that are near impossible to change as teaching styles tend to match learning styles. Still, you can your style to better suit your child. You can learn to impart information in a different manner than you are usually comfortable through the use of technology and the help of other instructional materials.
As a visual learner and teacher, I tend to draw illustrations while teaching my kids, and it works most of the time. My auditory son gets most of the information just by listening and doesn’t pay my illustrations much attention, and while my kinesthetic appreciates my doodles, she child can still have problems. For that reason, I search the internet for kinesthetic exercises and instructional videos to supplement the lessons.
Read: A Primary Lesson that Addresses Different Types of Learners
A Middle School Lesson Plan that Addresses Different Types of Learners
Planning for Different Types of Learners