Improve your Child's Long-Term Memory

If your own child, or student, does not seem to perform as well in the classroom as you think he/she should, this may be the blog for you.

Memory Series: AVK (Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic)

Research shows that the majority of people are, at least partly, visual learners. Only about 1% learn best through only hearing, and even fewer are totally kinesthetic (movement). The best learning actually takes place when all of these are incorporated into a teaching/learning process. By adulthood, most people are a balanced blend of all three.

Brain studies have shown that learning styles differentiate by gender and even ethnicity. We don’t know why this is true, but studies of the brain, as well as, personal observation seem to back this up. For example, males tend to be more kinesthetic than females. Also, it is rare to find a girl who is predominantly hearing oriented. In fact, in 16 years of teaching, I have never had a female student who was predominantly an audio learner. With anywhere from 100-150 students per year, I generally had one boy who was. If required to take notes, these students would actually lose focus. As a result they didn’t remember what the lesson had been even 24 hours later. African American students are more kinesthetically oriented than Caucasians, even the girls but to a lesser degree. As a result, black boys learn best when allowed to move in the process. Both music and sports are naturally movement oriented, but there is no reason to limit movement to the arts and athletics.

With these things in mind, the average American classroom needs some adjustment. Most elementary schools are full of white female teachers. Since most of them learned visually, that is also how they tend to teach. Therefore, the students at the top of the elementary classes are often white girls. Boys often improve in secondary school where more male teachers can be found. After engaging in some brain studies, I altered my teaching style to accommodate some of these differences. For years I had always allowed audio learners to just listen, without taking notes, once I identified them. However, movement in the classroom was something that I’d try to keep to a minimum, because I thought it was a distraction. I finally came up with ways to incorporate movement in fun productive ways. Once I did that, test scores began to soar. One African-American boy who had never passed an end-of-year test, not only passed, but he had a strong average grade. He and his mother both cried on the day the scores were revealed. In fact, though I was in one of the lowest socio-economic schools in the system, every one of my students passed the test! By understanding the differences in learning, and adapting my classroom to meet those needs, all of my students benefited.

So, for long-term memory, incorporation of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning can make a difference. Though it is true that we all learn best from one of these, the balance allows for greater retention for all. Memory is increased!