Parents spend a great deal of time trying to understand their children — their personalities, their preferences, their moods. The question of how a child learns, however, often gets relatively little attention until something is clearly not working. Getting ahead of this question, and developing a thoughtful picture of how your child engages with new information, can make a significant difference to how effectively you support them.
Learning Style- Watching and Noticing
The simplest starting point is observation. How does your child engage during story time? Do they look intently at the pictures, or do they seem more engaged by the words and sounds? When they are trying to remember something, do they write it down, say it aloud, or act it out? When they are learning a new skill — a dance move, a craft technique, a sports skill — do they prefer to watch first, or to dive straight in?
None of these observations is conclusive on its own, but patterns over time give you genuinely useful information about your child’s natural approach to learning.
Having the Conversation
Children who are old enough can often tell you quite directly what helps them learn and what does not. ‘Do you find it easier to remember things when you write them down or when you talk about them?’ is a perfectly reasonable question to ask a nine or ten-year-old. Children who have been asked about their own learning tend to develop stronger metacognitive skills — the ability to monitor and regulate their own understanding — which is directly associated with better academic outcomes.
Learning Styles in Practice
The key is to use what you observe to vary the way your child engages with material, rather than to restrict their approach to one method. The most effective learners are those who can flexibly access information through multiple modalities — reading, listening, discussing, writing, making.
Longacre School’s experienced staff take the time to truly know each pupil, tailoring their approach to individual learning needs. Explore the school at https://www.longacre.surrey.sch.uk/