Homework and Your Child’s Learning Style

If your child is auditory - they like to listen and talk - try one of the following homework hints:

• Make a learning tape together with your child. Let her explain the new topic into the tape recorder.
• Discuss the lesson together.
• Encourage your child to compose and record a song, a poem or a radio play about the topic (e.g., World War II, global warming, flower pollination, Mexico).

If your child is visual - they like to read and look at images - try one of the following homework hints:

• Create a mind-map, illustration, cartoon, poster, slide show, costume, historical time line, illustrated report.  
• Watch a DVD about the topic (“The King and I” about Thailand, “Little Einsteins”).

 If your child is tactile - they like to handle objects in order to learn - try one of the following homework hints:

• Make use of question-answer jig-saw puzzles), electro- boards (a bulb lights up for every correct answer), flip chutes, etc.  
• Encourage your child to make their own memory aids: sculptures of molecules or board games depicting new topics.

If your child is kinesthetic - they learn best through physical experiences - try one of the following homework hints:

• Bake a cake together to teach conversion from grams to kilograms.
• Pantomime or act out a history lesson.
• Play a board game to discover new facts.
• Take a field trip to the zoo, a court house, a factory.
• Put on a puppet show together.

Excelling at Maths with Learning Styles

There are two kinds of people, we're told: those who excel at maths, and those who don't. But if you read this excellent article (http://qz.com/139453/theres-one-key-difference-between-kids-who-excel-at-math-and-those-who-dont/), you'll notice that research suggests something quite different.

It turns out you can exercise your "maths muscles" until you improve so much, you can pass high school with flying colours! And guess what the most important learning style element you need? I'll give you a hint: it's not analytic thinking. It's persistence.

Do your children have what it takes to exercise your maths muscles? Check it out here: http://www.creativelearningcentre.com/Products/Learning-Style-Analysis/Junior-Mini/.

Your Child's School Report

How user-friendly is your child’s school report? One of the reasons behind introducing National Standards in New Zealand was to ensure school reports were easy to understand.

The School Report’s Structure

The report should include:

·        your child’s progress in relation to the standards;

·        your child’s progress in relation to their own goals;

·        recommended steps to support your child’s learning.

If you have a child in years 1 through to 8, the report will cover aspects:

1.      measured against the targets set out in the National Standards, namely:

·        Reading (fluency, understanding);

·        Writing (creativity, spelling, punctuation);

·        Maths;

2.      not measured against the National Standards, such as:

·        Science and Technology;

·        Health and Physical Wellbeing;

·        Key Competencies (works well with others, actively contributes to the class, asks questions).

The report will indicate whether your child is achieving Below, At, or Above expectations. Some schools also have the categories Well Below and Well Above to provide more detailed feedback. 

Want to find out more about learning styles and how to give your child the best chance of getting good results? Then email us with your specific questions on info@clc.co.nz.

About class sizes....

In his book, "David and Goliath", Malcolm Gladwell postulates that small class sizes aren't necessarily the best thing for students and their learning outcomes. This doesn't mean larger class sizes are better. The author simply states that just as there is a class size that's too large, there's also a class size that may be too small.

Small classes mean individual attention, but they also mean a lack of a certain energy, variety of opinions, momentum to undertake large projects.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the individual child's learning style. Check it today at Creative Learning.

Technology At School - Good or Should We Think Again?

Schools all over New Zealand, Australia, Europe and USA are doing it: making tablet computers compulsory for students, ordering smart boards, redesigning classrooms into e-learning centres. It’s cool. It’s trendy. It simulates the future workplace.

But is it for everybody?

By its very nature, e-learning is best suited to highly visual people, because of the wealth of imagery offered by the computer: text, pictures and diagrams, graphs, photos, videos. Please note that we distinguish the following types of visual learners: visual (pictures), visual (reading), visual (internal). While the former two styles are well suited to online learning, the latter one, which relies on forming images in one’s mind, is neutrally suited to online learning (i.e., it is neither enhanced nor limited by the use of computers).

Auditory (listening) learners can be accommodated if the online-learning course uses recorded speech and sound-effects (such as pings). Externally auditory learners who need to discuss the learnt material can be accommodated by using voice chat facilities.

Tactile learners are disadvantaged, although their need can be partially satisfied by touch-pads, mice and/or touch-screens. For the tactile learners, online-learning can be further enhanced by having to match pieces of a puzzle on the screen or match questions and answers using the drag-and-drop technique. Such students can also be encouraged to make their own memory aids offline, such as sculptures of molecules or board games depicting new topics.

The real challenge, however, comes with externally kinesthetic learners who need to move around and learn with their whole bodies. Because they rely on real experiences as the most effective way of assimilating information, online-learning is not ideally suited to this type of learner. To enhance their retention and enjoyment of information intake, the online-learning course should offer off-line projects to enhance the online sessions. These learners need to get away from the computer, move their body and DO something with the information they have just received via the screen. Learning sessions for these students will only be successful (and hopefully lead to understanding, skills, competencies, and knowledge) when they have physically experienced and/or actively ‘done’ something during the learning process.

Is your child visual, auditory, tactile or kinesthetic? Find out today.

When Too Much Reading Is Bad For You

 

Books are good. Whether you’re reading to your child or letting them read by themselves, there is an immeasurable amount of development going on. Visualisation, imagination, vocabulary, general knowledge, thinking and debating skills – they all increase in leaps and bounds thanks to being exposed to fiction. “At least ten minutes a day,” experts tell us. What they don’t tell us is, how much is too much.

Apart from the obvious strain on the eyes, too much reading is bad for your body, turning it into a couch potato and depriving you of the opportunity to run, climb trees, swim and jump on the trampoline. Furthermore, reading is a passive activity when compared to more creative hobbies such as drawing, composing music, play-acting, sewing, computer programming and free play.

Of course, if the choice is between watching TV and reading, let them read by all means. But if an opportunity arises to play outside, walk the dog or make Christmas decorations, that’s when putting down the book is the right choice.

Is your child in danger of reading too much? It all depends on their learning style. Do they have a preference for no mobility, working alone, perseverance, visual learning? If so, they may concentrate on books so much, they miss out on other essential development steps. Find out today.

Reading To Your Child

Oxford University Press conducted a research study which concluded that "parents should continue reading to their children up to the age of nine and beyond to help boost their academic results". It is awesome to hear that our intuitive belief now has a firm basis of scientific research.

It stands to reason, of course: when parents read aloud, they will typically choose books that are above the reading level of the child. This will increase the child's vocabulary and grasp of grammar, and it'll also expand their horizons by introducing them to more complex settings, ideas and issues, particularly if the parents take the time to discuss the book in between the reading sessions.

Although children with an auditory learning style will respond best to this exercise, parents should persevere reading aloud to children who do not have a preference for auditory input, as long as the child's other learning needs (for time of day, room temperature, intake, and so on) have been met.

What are your child's learning needs?