|
|
|
|
| Return
to FAQ Index
|
Homeschooling FAQs: Learning Styles & Homeschooling Styles |
|
1)
What is meant by learning styles? How do I determine what learning style
my children have? |
| 1) What is meant by learning styles? How do I determine what learning style my children have? |
|
The best book I ever read about learning styles was called The Way They Learn by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias. I highly suggest reading this book. The learning styles that you hear most about in homeschool circles are kinesthetic, auditory and visual. Kinesthetic means they learn by doing. It is very hands on, geared toward those kids who have a hard time sitting still. Most young children, by virtue of their development, learn best this way. As they mature, they may or may not develop into auditory or visual learners. (I still learn best by doing.) Unit studies are a good approach with these learners, as the units usually have lots of activities that go along with what is being taught. I have friends who very successfully have used the Konos program with their kinesthetic kids. Auditory
learners learn best by hearing. These are the kids who do well with
programs where there is a lot of reading out loud, explanation, etc.
They will often repeat back what they hear. My own guess would be that
they probably talk a lot, too, as talking about what they learn helps
them remember it. I have a son who, as a friend points out regularly,
could talk the paint off of a wall, and I think that he will, when he
matures a bit more, be an auditory learner. |
|
There are three basic categories of learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. It's important to remember when analyzing your children that they will probably exhibit a few characteristics common to all of the learning styles, but will usually fall into one category overall. I've given several seminars about learning styles and have found that the easiest way to determine which learning styles is predominant in children is to answer some key questions. Following are a few of those questions and the typical response from each of the three learning styles. 1. What kind of
explanations help this child learn new ideas, concepts, or skills? 2. How does the
child read and spell? 3. How does the
child write? (handwriting) 4. How does the
child remember things? 5. How does this
child solve problems? 6. How does this
child respond to periods of inactivity? (in the car, etc.) 7. How does the
child respond to new situations? 8. How does the
child express his/her emotions? 9. How does this
child communicate with others? 10. What is the
child's attitude towards his/her appearance? Most children under the age of 5 will fall into the "kinesthetic" category. It's often easier to determine learning styles after the child has begun some kind of formal learning. I have found that most curriculum can be adapted to individual learning styles as long as the teacher is aware of how the student learns best and can creatively teach to the predominant learning style. --Tish |
| 2) What if I just don't know what homeschooling style I want to do? |
| Why not experiment and see which one fits. Check out the information pages here at PrestonSpeed to learn about the many different approaches to Homeschooling. Most homeschoolers are not just "one" style. They pick and choose and use what is best for their child. I use worktexts (Traditional Approach) for some subjects, Unit Studies for others. At times, I ask my son what he would like to study (Delight Directed Approach), or find out where is interest is and pursue that in earnest. At present, that is Paper Airplane building. At times, I just provide the tools and let them create and learn on their own. (Unschooling Approach). In the study of History, the Principle Approach has great advantages. I have a few friends who love the Charlotte Mason style (I call it the Gentle Approach). That is what is so cool about homeschooling... you have complete freedom to teach in the way God has wired you and your children up. Don't be afraid to try out many different approaches or styles. --Tammy Montel |
| 3) What is unschooling or child-led education? |
| Unschooling is where you become a facilitator and your child chooses what to learn. You just supply the materials, transportation, etc. This can be very frightening to a parent, but it really does work. It doesn't need to be a license for the child to be lazy. The child can be asked to pick goals and to reasonably stick to them, and you can coax the child along toward the chosen goals. As the 3 R's don't take a long time to learn (if you aren't in public school), there is usually more than enough time to study what would normally be rather far out things. Not everybody *needs* to study physics, chemistry, and rocket science. Your children become more self-reliant more quickly. However, it is not for everyone. Look at http://www.unschooling.com/. --Chuck S. |
| Unschooling is child-directed learning. Parents provide a rich, stimulating atmosphere (don't ALL home educators do that?), then let the child find his own path. While most homeschooling parents practice some form of delight-directed learning, an unschooler practices solely delight-directed learning. If a child doesn't want to learn something, he doesn't. If he chooses to learn math and reading through Pokemon-trading or Magic:The Gathering cards, that's how he does it. If his only interest is aviation, he's free to pursue it to the exclusion of everything else if he so desires. Unschooling is NOT "relaxed homeschooling;" relaxed homeschoolers still direct their children's learning. It is "not-schooling." The difference between homeschooling and unschooling is one of authority -- who chooses what your child will be learning? Child-directed = unschooling; parent-directed = homeschooling. A Christian who unschools must ignore the Biblical commands and examples of parents to teach and disciple, and must turn a blind eye to what the Bible says about children. Just as homeschoolers cannot in good conscience ignore that which their children WANT to learn, neither can they neglect what their children NEED to learn. --Chas. |
| 4) What is classical education? |
| Coming soon: Classical Christian Education Corner |
| 5) What are unit studies? |
| 6) What is the Montessori Method? |
| 7) What is the Charlotte Mason Method? |
| Charlotte Mason was a distinguished British educator at the turn of the last century. She believed all children were entitled to a liberal education based upon good literature and the arts. She saw children as thinking, feeling human beings, as spirits to be kindled and not a vessels to be filled. She founded schools that trained teachers and wrote a series of books that are being used as reference material for her method. A Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levison is a short book that touches on the main points of Ms. Mason's philosophy, which include short lessons, nature study, good literature and having a child orally narrate back a portion of literature read to them. --Briva |
Please e-mail any additions or corrections to Site Administrator.
Web Design
& Maintenance: Argiope Web Systems
Copyright
©2001-2008 Homeschool Christian.com