Every person is endowed with five basic senses: vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste. But, depending on the characteristics of perception and processing of information, people can be divided into three main categories: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. And each person will definitely have one dominant sense organ. A lot depends on how we perceive reality.
If you ask several people to remember, for example, a forest, then one will immediately imagine a green crown of trees; another will associate the forest with birdsong; and the third will remember the fresh air and the touch of grass, leaves, cobwebs on the skin.
Also children. One child must write everything down in order to understand, another just needs to hear the information, and the third, if he doesn’t touch it, won’t remember anything.
School learning for a child is mainly a process of perception and assimilation of the information offered. The development of many important skills depends on which channel the child has.
Let's consider each of the channels of information perception.
How to understand what type a child belongs to?
I suggest taking a very useful test for children “CHANNELS OF INFORMATION PERCEPTION”
The test is intended for preschoolers and primary schoolchildren.
As you read the questions, note the traits that your child has. Then summarize and compare the results.
1. COMMUNICATION
If my child wants to say something, then...
Visual - speaks using the simplest figures of speech, pronounces some words and sounds incorrectly, and misses adverbs and prepositions.
Auditory - Uses the same figures of speech as adults, uses grammatically correct sentences, and tells carefully thought out stories.
Kinesthetic - speech is difficult to understand, speaks in short, grammatically incorrect sentences, strives to depict events instead of telling about them.
2. FAVORITE TOYS AND FREE TIME
While playing, my child...
Visual - prefers puzzles and board games, enjoys computer games or games with a calculator, learns about new things by observing.
Auditory - loves listening to audio recordings, loves books and fantasy play. learns new things by reading instructions.
Kinesthetic person - loves to play in the fresh air, enjoys being in the pool, skating rink or slide, and finds full use for almost every toy.
3. COMPLEX MOTOR SKILLS
When my child starts doing something with his hands, then...
Visual - he writes diligently, his works of art are very neat and beautiful, he can easily cut out, paint, and glue together.
Auditory - writes quite well; he talks to himself while working.
Kinesthetic - he writes with difficulty, many of his letters and numbers turn out ugly, his work is untidy.
4. SIMPLE MOTOR SKILLS
When my baby starts moving...
Visual - he considers board games better than outdoor games; he loves games with clearly established rules.
Auditory - talks more than plays; prefers games that require verbal communication; during any activity he talks to himself.
Kinesthetic - considers outdoor games better than board games, has good coordination, does not walk quietly, but rushes about.
5. SOCIAL SKILLS
When my child is surrounded by other children, then...
Visual - even in a crowd he remains alone; before taking part in the game, watches how others play; takes a long time to get used to new people.
Auditory - literally blossoms among friends; may interfere during classes because she talks a lot; often takes responsibility for others and behaves somewhat dismissively.
Kinesthetic - collectivist, but not very talkative; can cause anxiety because he interferes with his neighbors during class activities and likes to play pranks.
6. EMOTIONS
When a child is worried about something, he...
Visual - not very emotional, begins to get nervous, feeling the concern of others.
Auditory - freely talks about his feelings, can go into confrontation with others about his feelings.
Kinesthetic - emotionally dependent and easily offended; when called to order, he reacts angrily, without embarrassment or repentance.
7. MEMORY
When my child studies, he...
Visual - can reproduce letters and numbers from memory; remembers what was shown to him.
Auditory - learns best by memorizing; knows the sounds corresponding to the letters of the alphabet.
Kinesthetic person - does not remember well, is easily distracted.
8. SCHOOL SKILLS
When my child is in the classroom, he...
Visual - monitors the neatness of his clothes and the cleanliness of his workplace; in his free time he prefers construction sets, puzzles, various types of art and crafts; slowly gets used to the new situation.
Audial - his appearance is not very sloppy, but not very neat either; he has to be reminded to clean his work area; he is attentive and obedient.
Kinesthetic - does not care at all about his appearance and is often very unkempt; works in an environment of complete chaos; is able to turn over his workplace in a few minutes; is very active during games; forced to sit in one place, literally writhing and squirming.
One of the definitions - auditory (auditory perception), visual (visual perception) or kinesthetic (tactile perception) - most likely received the most marks. This channel of information perception means the way of cognition that is most characteristic of your child.
The practical benefits of knowing about your type of perception
Having information about your type of perception, you can use the most productive channel for receiving information. This makes it possible to effectively perceive fairly large volumes of incoming information about the outside world and better assimilate new knowledge.
It is advisable for parents to determine the child’s perception type as early as possible in order to fully develop natural abilities and intelligence. Such information from developmental psychology will contribute to successful education and future career growth.
Visual child
Visual learners instantly remember faces, but often forget first and last names. They easily find their way even to places they have only been to once. The speech of visual children is filled with the words “look”, “have you seen”, “beautiful”, “bright”, “red”, “green”... They think in images. In the process of thinking, pictures from the past, ideas about the future, images appear in their heads, and imaginary situations are played out. Little visual learners have a wild and lively imagination.
Children with visual perception do not like hugs and kisses, but they will willingly talk to you about adult topics. They usually look older than their age because they keep themselves aloof and a little arrogant. They love to lecture their elders and quote phrases “from TV,” which they adore. They sense your mood and desires by your facial expressions, but do not always let you understand this (of course, in their own interests). Visual learners have excellent visual memory and fine motor skills are well developed, but they have difficulty understanding verbal instructions and often repeat tasks. Quickly remembers color, shape, size. They find it easy to tell stories based on pictures. Their eyes are always searching for information.
Visual children begin to write in block letters early and can read quite fluently by the time they reach school. In raising a visual student, it is necessary to pay attention to the development of speech (he is taciturn), sociability (the ability to communicate), and physical coordination. Visual students remember the teacher’s explanations more easily if they are duplicated on the school board or on diagram posters: it is easier for them to see and visually remember the word than to understand the rule why they should write it that way. Visual aids, illustrations, the use of colored pencils: sketch, reproduce, highlight - all this contributes to better assimilation of the material.
Allow your child to use colored pens to highlight important points in the book. As visual learners, it is vital for them to have a draft in which they can draw and draw.
Digital people understand the logic of life
Digital or discrete data is analyzed and logically comprehended. To gain an understanding of an item, they need to know the purpose. Digital perfectly processes and assimilates information received from other people when it is possible to determine the connection between phenomena and processes.
If you ask a digital to imagine the fur of a cat, he certainly needs to pronounce this word using internal speech and only then will the image of a cat appear.
This type is good at exact sciences, since the left hemisphere of the brain functions more actively. The development of digital memory is possible only by understanding logical connections.
Auditory child
These children remember in great detail who said what, where, when, and in what words. They instantly “grab” first names and patronymics, but easily forget faces. Their greatest pleasure is conversation; they will never be interested in a book if they have someone to talk to. All secrets and news immediately become known to them. No, they are not specifically trying to find out what you are talking about, it’s just that their hearing is much better developed than others. Auditory children have a large vocabulary, but may lag slightly behind their peers in the development of skills related to visual (finding differences in pictures) and motor (the ability to deftly climb a slide, run quickly and for a long time) perception.
In their speech, auditory learners often use the words “listen”, “hear”, “noisy”, “quiet”.
Such children think through internal speech, mentally pronouncing their own remarks and the interlocutor’s answers, assuming what kind of voice he will have, what intonation. They love the radio. They like television programs that are dominated by “words” rather than “pictures.” They are very attentive in conversations. In a conversation with an auditory speaker, it is useful to use vocal features: pauses, intonation, volume.
In primary school, auditory learners often study well; their strength is developed auditory memory and speech, but they often have difficulties with spelling and drawing. In middle school, auditory learners who are accustomed to using their memory usually demonstrate significantly less success. During this period, you should pay more attention to reading, pronouncing, and repeating the rules out loud. Auditory learners are musical and easily grasp foreign languages. They are recommended to use audio materials first. When doing homework, such children may move their lips and talk to themselves. Another feature of auditory learners that is associated with difficulties at school is the ability to tell only from the very beginning.
Kinesthetics - feel the world
Kinesthetic learners receive information about the surrounding space through touch, taste and smell. To understand the nature of a thing, such a child must touch, smell and taste it. These kids are real gourmets; delicious food and comfortable clothes are important to them. A beautiful dress will not cause admiration if the fabric is unpleasant to the body or itchy and tight.
Rules for raising kinesthetic children
A child's kinesthetic learning is based on practical experience. The baby will fully assimilate the information only if he tries to do what he was told about. To obtain information about an object, the baby will need enough time, because he does not perceive information on the fly.
Kinesthetic sensations play a leading role in memorization.
Types of perception channels and how to work with them
Audials
There are many music fans among audio audiences
These kids love to listen. There are many music fans among audiophiles; they prefer audio books. If you see that during a lesson a child repeats after you, pronounces a new rule, or mumbles, it means that you have a typical auditory learner.
Auditory learners are easy to recognize by their speech: they speak measuredly, rhythmically, often nodding in time with the tempo of their speech. If such a child retells the content of a film or book, get ready to listen to all the details with a verbatim reproduction of the characters’ lines. This flow cannot be stopped with the words: “Everything is clear, move on!” If you interrupt the auditory speaker, he will lose the thread of the conversation.
Auditory learners often have a melodic voice. In an unfamiliar company, they quickly make friends and become leaders.
It is believed that about 5% of people are auditory. Read more: How to distinguish an auditory child.
Differences in practice
Let's look at some examples that distinguish visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners in practice:
- To remember a phone number, the visual learner remembers what it looks like, the auditory learner pronounces it, and the kinesthetic learner writes it with his own hand.
- When selling a sewing machine, TV, vacuum cleaner or other device, the visual reader needs to be given a bright magazine with expressive colorful pictures, show the device and note the original design with a delightful color relationship. It is better for an auditory learner to talk about these devices in an eloquent, rather than monotonous, voice and highlight the main points with sounds and notes. Give these devices to the kinesthetic student and after your explanation, let him look, press, twist what is necessary and let him see for himself its convenience.
- If you give a task or test to all three, you will clearly see their differences. So, you tell them, “Imagine a mountain river.” How will they see? The picture of the river will appear before the visual. The sound of the murmur of a river will immediately be heard by the auditory, and the kinesthetic sense will feel its coldness.
- How do they associate the word “comfort”? The visual will imagine itself in an elegant lounge chair, the auditory will hear the sounds of the sea, and the kinesthetic will feel relaxation in the body.
- Jewelry and interior items are interesting gifts for the visually inclined. The auditory will be very pleased with a disc with a favorite singer or the loving outpouring of a friend with a colorful voice, and the kinesthetic will be pleased to receive toys that are soft to the touch, hand-embroidered works, or a fluffy sweater.
Digital
Let's also mention digitals . Numbers and words are important to this species. They speak monotonously and monotonously, and shy away from gesticulating. When talking with an interlocutor, logic is important to them and when talking with him they look at his forehead. Among them are successful programmers, chess players and lawyers.
If you want to connect with someone, speak their language. The visual needs to be shown beautiful and visual things, the auditory needs to be told using phrases like “This idea sounds great” or “You have such a gentle voice,” and the kinesthetic needs to be stroked or touched, emphasizing comfort. When talking digitally, use the words “logical” and “therefore”.
Online test
Have you ever wondered which sense organs respond more quickly to interaction with the environment? Have you tried observing your loved ones? How those around you perceive the world: visually, auditorily or tactilely. This technique will help you understand these issues and understand yourself and your loved ones better.
The auditory, visual, kinesthetic test will require about 10 minutes of your free time. Each person has one of the sense organs as the leading one. It is the first to react to signals from the outside, analyzes the information received faster and provides a better answer. People with similar types can understand each other better, and those whose types do not match are more likely to conflict in everyday life. When you know a person's leading type of perception, you understand how best to convey information to him, how to understand what this person is trying to tell you, and how to reconcile your habits and needs.
Tasks that can be offered to schoolchildren
- For visual students, it is necessary to give tasks in written form and write cards in a colorful form. Offer them the following task: look for something on their own in a book or notebook, consider it and make a conclusion.
- For auditory learners, during a math dictation, call the student to the board, read the assignment aloud to his parents or teacher, give him an essay assignment and recommend that he then tell it to a friend or the whole class. Tasks for kinesthetic learners: rearrange chips, draw, model, count objects.
