The Homeschool Village is promoting a Link Up today on the topic of learning styles. So I thought I’d jot down a few thoughts on the subject.
For the past thirty or forty years, there has been a great deal of theoretical work done on the idea that people have individual learning styles. The models take various forms, but probably the most recognizable is some variation of the VAK model, which categorizes learning styles something like this:
1. Visual Learners.
2. Auditory Learners.
3. Reading/Writing Learners.
4. Tactile Learners.
This is the version I am most familiar with, having encountered it for years at work. I only write books and such at night and on Saturdays: on weekdays, I work for an insurance company in the training and development department. A lot of discussion goes on about adapting our classroom environment and methods to appeal to this variety of learning styles.
And we do live in a time when our ability to cater to a variety of learning styles has greatly increased. This is a good thing, on the whole: we homeschoolers should (thoughtfully) take advantage of at least some of the new technologies out there. One example is virtual or online classes, some of which, like the Veritas Press self-paced courses, are ideal for those who enjoy learning via a more visual approach.
The concept of learning styles, from one perspective, is based on the simple fact that people are different, with various strengths and weaknesses. This in itself is certainly true, and wisdom would require us to pay attention to such things.
However, I do not think we should quickly accept the idea of learning styles as neutral data, nor as unchanging fact, nor yet as unmixed blessing. Let’s say a child is classified as a visual learner, with a real weak spot when it comes to auditory learning: should a parent simply accept this designation, as if we’ve found a label stuck on the child’s soul? Or should we seek to help him overcome his weakness, developing more of an ability to learn through conversation?
This is especially important for Christian home educators, since home education in Scripture is primarily conversational/auditory: “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:7, emphasis added).
So while it’s not a problem to make use of various methods and ideas (after careful examination), we should never do so at the expense of a walk-along, talk-along discipleship model.
There is also, I think, a danger of labeling a child as one thing or another. What if a child is told that she just can’t learn well from a book? Are we not setting her up for a lifetime of thinking, “well, I’m just not a reader”? Adam was called to name the animals, and that naming—the art of calling things by their proper names—is still part of our work as Christians today. There is great power in naming. Tell a child often enough that he is stupid, and he will come to believe it. Just so, tell him that he is not a reader, and he will believe that, too.
It’s also worth noting that the whole idea of learning styles is controversial and disputed. I don’t think anyone doubts that people are different, and that some gravitate more towards certain things than others. But that adapting our educational models to accommodate various learning styles (of whichever model one may choose) makes a significant difference in how well a child learns, is certainly a doubtful point.
Be that as it may, a good Homeschool family will certainly use a variety of means to communicate truth, goodness, and beauty to children. While conversation is the Biblical means, the fact that God gave His Word to us in written form certainly validates reading as a key way to learn. And since Jesus “is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), we may therefore conclude that teaching by visual means, being one way that God has taught us, is also right and proper.
One good thing we can take away from the whole learning style movement is that we need to know our children well. Find out what interests them, strengthens them, weakens them, excites them. Then talk to them, read to them, and show them the truth.
