Different children approach learning in different ways: some learn best by reading or listening, some by reasoning, some by seeing or creating images, and others by manipulating. By discovering more about your child’s learning profile, you can help your child approach a more difficult topic by building off her areas of strength. For example, if your child does best when she can “see” what is being asked of her, she can leverage mind maps or other visuals to learn. Similarly, you can foster less utilized ways of learning by approaching an area of mastery through a less favored aspect of her learning profile. Thus, you can encourage this same visual child to look for mathematical patterns, or ask her to write a story by way of a graphic novel. Now that you have completed the survey, take a look at your child’s dominant way of approaching learning.
Architect/Artist
Your child tends to learn in ways similar to the Architect/Artist. Your child is probably good at solving puzzles, creating images in her mind, and taking advantage of spatial relationships. She may also be skilled at preforming transformations or creating in three-dimensions. Learning is easiest for Architects/Artists when it involves working with pictures, drawing, or imagery. Being a visual learner, the Architect/Artist benefits from organizing things visually, such as through a mind map, video, or chart. She often has a good sense of spatial direction with maps or in the environment. Architect/Artists enjoy designing, and tend towards organizing space or objects.
Architect/Artists in middle school often realize that how they learn is somewhat different than what is typically rewarded in schools. Support your child to continue to draw on her strength, even in the core subjects. For example, encourage your child to use visual dictionaries, create mind maps, make visual charts such as Venn diagrams, etc. to help her study. With the increased use of Web 2.0 technology in class, she can also use simple programs to create videos to demonstrate understanding of theme, to compile information for science, or even to demonstrate concepts in math.
For some activities and resources that will benefit your Architect/Artist, click here.
