Released on: September 29, 2008, 2:40 am

Press Release Author: Shari Harpaz

Industry: Small Business

Press Release Summary: As a child moves towards the pre-school and school-aged
years, the majority of input will be through visual and auditory cues and less so
through tactile and motor stimulation.

Press Release Body: As adults, we all have various strengths and weaknesses. The
same is true when it comes to styles of learning – there are some styles that are
very effective for us and some that don’t work as well. Sometimes we lose sight of
this when it comes to our children. Once a child enters school, we often assume that
they are going to learn all subjects with equal ease, not taking into account the
method by which their teacher chooses to teach them. Since this is clearly not a
fair assumption to make, it is important to understand how different learning cues
can help your child throughout their school-aged years.

Children use a combination of modalities to help them learn and as they grow they
may start favoring one learning style over another. For example, newborns will rely
heavily on tactile (touch) input to relate to the world around them, but as they
develop, they will begin to use visual, motor, and auditory (sounds) cues with
greater frequency.

By the time they are toddlers tactile cues are used less frequently (e.g. they will
no longer mouth objects) and they will more readily seek visual, motor, and/or
auditory input. Children’s songs such as Wheels on the Bus and Itsy Bitsy Spider are
a great example of auditory, motor, tactile, and visual cues used in combination to
sustain the toddler’s attention and interest.

As a child moves towards the pre-school and school-aged years, the majority of input
will be through visual and auditory cues and less so through tactile and motor
stimulation.

As children progress through their school years, they may have a stronger preference
for one modality over another in helping them learn. For example: If your child has
an easier time copying a design after you have demonstrated it, they may be more of
a visual learner. However, if your child is able to listen to your directions and
create the intended design on their own, they may be more of an auditory learner.
Thus by understanding your child’s preferred cues, you can better assist them in
their schoolwork and in achieving their highest potential.

Please keep in mind that for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers it is ideal to use
cues from as many modalities as possible in helping them learn about the world
around them. However, as your child progresses through the school age years, you may
want to supplement what they are learning in school using the modes/strategies that
favor your child’s strengths.

For further information regarding styles of learning, I recommend A Mind at a Time
by Mel Levine, MD

Below is a brief description of the different modalities and how they may impact
learning:

1. Tactile (touch): This includes all the ways that things in the environment feel:
textures (silky, rough, hard, soft etc.), size, wet/dry, slippery to name a few. We
can also feel motion (i.e. the direction an object rotates).

2. Motor: Once a child begins moving around in their environment, their ability to
explore increases infinitely. They obtain a better sense of themselves as related to
the world around them and can now reach objects that were not available to them when
stationary.

3. Visual: Visual input includes everyday objects and images, pictures, facial
expressions, gestures (i.e. waving hello). The visual cues may help add context and
meaning to the spoken word and help us remember the information better. However, too
much visual input (i.e. flying paper airplanes) may distract us from what is being
said and cause us to miss portions of the spoken word.

4. Auditory: The sounds we hear come in many different forms: melody, intonation,
sounds, words, sentences, ‘white noise’, sirens etc. Our brain receives all of this
input and sifts through what is relevant information vs. ambient noise. With ample
background noise (children moving desks or whispering in a classroom) it may be more
difficult to hone in on the salient information that we need (i.e. a teacher giving
directions).


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Contact Details: eBeanstalk
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Norwalk, CT 06854
Phone: 203-854-9600

fax number: 203 854 5590

Email: customerservice@ebeanstalk.com