Importance of learning styles in the classroom

Learning Styles

As someone who aspires to be a kindergarten teacher one day, I realize the importance of recognizing the different styles of learning when it comes to child development. Each child coming into the classroom is going to be different, in the sense that not one child learns in the same way. In kindergarten, where this is the start of their educational journey, it is especially important as their teacher to understand that not all the kids in the classroom have the same learning style. 

In the past, around 40 to 50 years ago, teachers weren't aware of these differences (learning styles) and schools and classrooms were designed in a way that conformed to the teacher's way of learning. For example, if the teacher was a verbal learner who liked to read and write he/she would assume that everyone else was and that is how he/she would teach. In that situation the children who were also verbal (linguistic) learners like the teacher did well, and the other children who had different learning styles did poorly. 

As future educators it is important that we get to know our students and their specific learning styles so that we can adapt our teaching to meet their needs and set up our classroom environments in a way that is suitable and encompasses all learning styles.  

Sarah@NU-OTECA