Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

What are learning styles, and how can understanding them help your teaching? Today on Home School Heartbeat, Michael Farris, Chairman and General Counsel of Home School Legal Defense Association, discusses the unique challenges of teaching an auditory learner.

Michael Farris:

When it comes to learning, your child is probably a watcher, a listener, or a doer. Today we're talking about the listeners—those who learn best through their sense of hearing—known as auditory learners.

That child of yours who is constantly talking, singing, or making noise is probably an auditory learner. He loves music, has good pitch memory, and was the first of your children to pick up reading through phonics. He remembers stories not for the pictures so much as the words, and he loves reading aloud.

Teaching an auditory learner should involve lots of talking, music, and sound. Engage your child in conversation about the concept to be learned, and allow him to ask lots of questions. When working on memorization, rhymes and songs are your best allies. For fun time, use audiocassettes and stories. When you want to reward your child, verbal praise will go farther than a gold star or a physical reward.

Children learn concepts best when you appeal to their dominant learning style, but remember the senses of sight and touch in your teaching as well.

As you teach your child, keep notes of which teaching methods work best. Remember that your learning style may be different than your child's, so don't hesitate to try new things. Individualized education really works! This is Michael Farris.