Learning styles
Gaining qualifications is important, but learning is also about personal development and taking a responsible role in society. As a parent or carer you can help your teenager to become more independent and ready to move on into the wider world.
Smart learners
Starting in Year 9, and continuing on through Years 10 and 11, your teenager will need to:
- Organise their own studies
- Meet deadlines for projects or coursework
- Use a variety of resources for research
- Revise sensibly.
You can help them be a more effective learner if you know how they learn best.
Do you know your teenager's learning style?
Have you ever wondered why your teenager wants to listen to music, say things out loud or get up and move about when they are learning? It could be to do with their learning style.
We use our different senses - hearing, seeing and touching - to help us learn things. Some of us prefer to use one sense more than the others.
Many revision and exam techniques that your teenager will learn in the next couple of years fit with these learning styles. Mind maps, lists, acronyms, word associations and rhymes will appeal in different ways. Encourage your teenager to try a variety to help them study more effectively.
Click on the learning styles below to find out more.
Learners who like to visualise things...
- Take numerous detailed notes and often close their eyes to remember something
- Like illustrations and presentations that use colour
- Find something to watch if they are bored
If they like to visualise things, encourage them to...
- Use visual materials when they study, such as pictures, charts, maps, graphs, etc
- Use colour to highlight important points
- Take notes or use handouts and visualise information as a picture or a mind map
- Illustrate their ideas as pictures before writing them down
- Study in a quiet place away from noise
Learners who like to listen...
- Learn by reading aloud or talking about lessons
- Hum or talk to themselves or others when bored
- Can be good at explaining things or following spoken directions
If they like to listen, encourage them to...
- Join in class discussion and debates
- Record notes and play them back
- Read text out loud
- Create musical jingles or use word associations to help them remember things
- Discuss their ideas
- Repeat facts with their eyes closed
Learners who like action or touch...
- Learn best through hands-on activities, such as cooking, engineering or art
- Need to be active and take breaks
- Like to fiddle with something or fidget when learning
If they like action or touch, encourage them to...
- Take frequent study breaks and move around to learn new things
- Use actions or role play to learn
- Use bright colours to highlight reading material
- Listen to music while they study
- Study with others
Tool kit
Hot tip
For more information on how to help with all aspects of your teenager's learning, visit the ParentsCentre 
.
Quote
"We use our different senses - hearing, seeing and touching - to help us learn things."
