The teacher began with a sigh, saying he worked with my son at length yesterday to help him understand the Language Art's assignment. He then began saying, "Remember we talked about this yesterday?" "We went over this part yesterday, let me explain again," and on and on and on. It's not that my son didn't remember, it's that this teacher was sensitive and was trying to prove his point to me about what a good teacher he was... that he's already explained this all and my son wasn't getting it. You see, it's not his fault.... it's my kid's... my son is not listening and grasping what he's saying. The teacher made comments like, "You see, he gets an idea in his head and he wants to focus on JUST that," and "He's an intelligent kid and has great ideas, but..." Then as he would describe what needed to be done, he'd stop for a little while and I could see the sparks flying in my son's mind as he saw the picture... then just then, the teacher would elaborate again in a completely different way, disrupting my son's thoughts and confusing him.
Here is the common cycle of mixed learning styles. It's obvious by the language the teacher is using that he is an auditory learner. My son is a kinesthetic learner. I find that many teachers have an idea of the different learning styles, but they have yet to learn to use specific language and teach in the learning style of the student. The minute a teacher begins saying, "You're so intelligent, but why are you not getting it?" is a sure fire way to know there is a conflict in learning styles. In addition, this is an incredible put down to a kid who really is trying to do his best.
Bottom line, society, even given all the visual aides we have these days (video games, TV, etc.), we believe "good" means being able to hear something and respond. We use language like, "Do you hear what I'm saying?" and "I just gave you a direction, why aren't you doing what you were told?" We expect our children to do as they are told/hear. The "good, proper" children all do that, didn't you know? Especially in language and reading classes in school, a child must write what sounds good. It must flow with words. When writing a story, focus on the story line and how you're going to say what you want to say...
I sat there listening to the conversation between my son's teacher and him. Never did I hear the teacher say, "If your story were a picture what would it look like?" and "Describe what's happening in the picture now..." How can a kinesthetic learner understand what to write when he can't "see" or "feel" what he's writing about? Teachers think that a visual learner just needs 2D pictures to learn... you know, those visual aides. What these kids really need is to be able to see it in their mind. A 2D picture can be as unuseful as 2D words, especially if they are in black and white. Think of this, how can you mentally turn and spin a 2D object? These kids cannot "see" patterns in 2D. Objects must MOVE and have color. Btw... Color is an incredible organizational mechanism.
"He gets so focused on one story that he won't change it..." What this really means to a kinesthetic learner is this... "I can't get rid of my picture unless I literally wipe it out of my head, wash my hands, or something! I can't get rid of the feeling of the picture without some kind of cleansing process." Kinesthetic learners live in their pictures, it's like asking them to change a belief system before they can move on. The best way to "change the picture" to move on to something new is by one question at a time. "What's your picture look like? Oh, you see that piece there? We need to change that ONE piece to be something like this..." It may SEEM time consuming, especially since they can only handle one direction at a time anyway, but it's VERY effective afterwards since the pieces/details fall together rather fast thereafter. Asking a child to "wipe-out" his total picture will cause him to sit in bewilderment since he cannot "see" what needs to be done. Changing the full picture, piece-by-piece will get you the results you need and better understanding/rapport. You must do this while constantly engaging with the student and requesting their feedback.
So, let's look at what this might look like, from the beginning of an assignment.... here's what works:
Teacher gives a ONE or TWO descriptive, detailed sentence on what needs to be done.
Then he says, "Picture in your mind what your characters look like."
Student: Can he wear hats?
Teacher: Yes. Any color, style... Now, imagine for a minute, that this one character is a real life hero. What will your hero do?
Teacher: What are you seeing?
Student: (Describes picture.)
Teacher: Perfect! Now, pick another character that will cause a big exaggerated problem for the hero. Now remember, this exaggerated problem has to look pretty real. It can't be magical or something that's not real.
Teacher: What are you seeing?
Student: Oh, there are zombies destroying everything...
Teacher: Oops, erase the zombie, it's not real. What else can you come up with to put in your picture?
The idea is that the teacher needs to allow visualization to create a story, one step at a time. This allows for a designing of a story and picture. AFTER the story is "designed" in the student's mind, THEN he will be able to write, outline, identify the characters, and etc. after clearly seeing the big picture, and often with vivid description. Designing the picture with the student also allows for the student to accurately understand what the teacher needs for the story. It's specific yet, still allows for the student's creativity to shine through.
What doesn't work: Describe exaggeration on paper. Let's go through in specific steps on how to get to the big picture (outline, identify characters, story line, etc.). Let's start with the facts. Create an outline of a story you'll create later. Etc.
ALWAYS start with the picture. Without the picture, the student will be frustrated. Help the child create the picture... It might sound like you live in the mind of the child or that it's not "realistic" but the truth is, it's the most effective way to work with a kinesthetic learner. They NEED to know what it looks like and how it feels before they can put words to it.
Another example except in social skills learning: My son tries really hard to make friends, so much that he'll do a song and dance or be the class clown to get himself noticed. Then, he gets in trouble or others think he's wound tight and is uncomfortable to be around. He came home with tears one day, feeling like others don't "get" him. I told him to close his eyes and imagine himself on a beach somewhere. I asked him to feel how relaxed he was as he enjoyed just "being" there. I then asked him to imagine himself at school with his peers but asked him to stay relaxed like on the beach. I told him that is what his peers wanted... just for him to "be" with them. He said, "Oh, I get it... that is so sweet." I got a hug out of this too. :) Had I just "told" him what he was to do or how others probably feel being in his presence, I would have turned myself blue getting him to understand what he "needs" to do or made it sound like I like the other kids better than him too! This is especially useful with social situations when they tend over think the problem and keep working harder to do what they think is appropriate.
Visualization is the key for these "visual" kids (and adults). Remember to relate to others as they learn best, allows for teaching and learning (communication) to be effective QUICKER. It will decrease frustration and increase the energy in the relationship. We get so caught up in what the "norm" is that we forget to just "be" with others in the way that they are. Our communication process would be far smoother if we focused on how others would best understand what we say, rather than forcing others (especially children) to adapt to the way you communicate. The more flexible you are in your communication styles, the more effective of a communicator you are and the better others relate to you.
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