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Sensory Preferences and Learning Styles

Sensory preferences in our own personal learning style affect the way we think and learn. Each of the four sensory learning styles presents its own set of preferences and challenges. Here is helpful information for kinesthetic learners, tactual learners, auditory learners, and visual learners.

Download a PDF guide to the four sensory learning styles..

Kinesthetic learners work best when able to move and do things
with large muscles.
Kinesthetic learners work best when able to move and do things with large muscles.
Preferences
  • Hands-on activities
  • Large motor skill activities
  • Activities requiring physical movement
  • Manipulatives
  • Field trips that involve physical activity
  • Real-life experiences
  • Mime, skits, and role-plays
  • Dance and sports
  • Physical relaxation exercises
  • Physical movement while working
Challenges
  • Interpreting nonverbal communication
  • Having good interpersonal skills
  • Having legible cursive handwriting
  • Sitting still
  • Listening to lectures
  • Spelling
  • Recalling what was seen or heard
  • Expressing emotions without physical
    movement and gestures
  • Sticking with one activity for long periods
Tips
  • Take frequent breaks while studying
  • Draw and write on big paper when learning
  • Read stories that are filled with action
  • Write notes or highlight information while listening
  • Find as many ways as possible to keep moving in any given situation
    without causing disruption or misbehaving
  • Participate in activities that use up as much energy as you can muster.
    Running errands, walking the dog, etc
  • Move while studying, walking, bouncing ball, writing on large paper using their large muscles
  • When learning a new skill walk through it step by step. Then repeat it several timesstep by step
  • For some kids, learning is a ball
  • In Idaho, students learn to think on their feet
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Tactual learners work best when able to feel through small muscles and personal relationships.
Tactual learners work best when able to feel through small muscles and personal relationships.
Preferences
  • Objects to touch and feel
  • Cooperative learning activities
  • Group discussions and interactions
  • Personal expression, such as sharing time
    and journal writing
  • Fine motor skills activities
  • Art activities such as sewing and model making
  • Writing and drawing
  • Quiet activities done alone
  • Peer teaching
  • Discussions of emotional issues
Challenges
  • Learning if his or her feelings are hurt
  • Succeeding without teacher approval and respect
  • Working in a sterile, uninteresting,
    or undecorated classroom
  • Working in groups in which they are
    not liked and respected
  • Succeeding without lots of sensory stimuli and the opportunity to touch, feel, and manipulate things

Tips
  • Use your hands to create or interact with new information.
  • Take notes using different color pencils or pens. You may want to draw pictures, capture single words, or doodle as you take notes to keep their focus.
  • Share your feelings and thoughts about what they are learning. Connect new information to prior learning or events in your lives.
  • Keep a learning journal where you can write about what you are learning and share your feelings about what you are learning.
  • Share what you are learning with different family members and friends.
  • Read books that are filled with stories where characters are sharing their feelings. Talk with others about what you are reading.
  • Before you start your homework take five minutes to discuss what you are learning and how you are going to complete their assignment.
  • When learning a new skill try to create a hands-on opportunity to learn and practice the skill.
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Auditory learners work best when able to hear, speak, discuss,
and think out loud.
Auditory learners work best when able to hear, speak, discuss, and think out loud.
Preferences
  • Lectures and verbal instructions
  • Student speeches
  • Audiotapes
  • Discussions and debates
  • Dialogues
  • Storytelling
  • Reading aloud
  • Music, raps, and sound effects
  • Auditory repetition
  • Word games, such as puns and palindromes
Challenges
  • Reading quickly when not allowed to vocalize.
  • Reading silently for prolonged periods of time.
  • Following directions that are only written.
  • Taking timed tests that must be read and written.
  • Learning in an environment with enforced silence.
  • Concentrating when distracting sounds are present.
  • Seeing significant details.

Tips
  • Drill the information verbally or work with a classmate or friend when learning new information
  • Put the information into a rhythmic pattern or create a poem, song, or a rap
  • Repeat directions or information back to yourself when learning new information
  • For reading assignments, read out loud, maybe into a tape recorder and then play it back for review
  • Minimize visual distractions in the study area
  • Find the music that seems to provide the best atmosphere for concentrating and working
  • Share what you are learning, ask questions and discuss the information, maybe
    form study groups with other classmates.
  • When problem solving talk through the solution or the steps to learning a new skill
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Visual learners work best when able to see, watch, read, and view
Visual learners work best when able to see, watch, read, and view
Preferences
  • Reading assignments
  • Writing and note-taking assignments
  • Visual arts, such as painting and Collages
  • Demonstrations and observations
  • Telescopes, microscopes, and binoculars
  • Videotapes, slides, photos, movies, and optical illusions
  • Visualizations and guided imagery
  • Quiet time to work alone
  • Mind maps and visual organizers
  • Computer graphics
Challenges
  • Taking action before either seeing or reading about what needs to be done
  • Working in an environment with noise or movement
  • Listening to lectures without visual
    pictures or graphics
  • Dealing with distractive physical
    appearance of teacher
  • Working in drab-colored classrooms
    with no decorations
  • Working in a classroom with too
    much visual stimulation

Tips
  • Draw or write on bright colors and large spaces
  • Take notes or doodle while listening
  • Underline or highlight information in notes or books when possible or draw
    their pictures to associate with facts, letters, or words
  • Use things that are visually appealing to you to help with organization in a way that makes sense
    and is comfortable for you
  • Use colored pencils or ink in a way that helps when you are writing so your notes
    become clearer and easier to understand
  • Provide as many pictures as possible for scrapbooks that will someday chronicle their life
  • As you read, describe what you see in your head. Read books with pictures and descriptive words
  • Write directions, assignments or list of items so you will remember to complete them
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References:

Haggart, W. (2008). A guide to The Kaleidoscope Profile: Interpreting your styles. Cadiz, KY: Performance Learning Systems, Inc.

Haggart, W. (2009). Discipline and learning styles: An educator’s guide. Cadiz, KY: Performance Learning Systems, Inc.

Haggart, W. (2010). Homework and kids: A parent’s guide. Cadiz, KY: Performance Learning Systems, Inc.

 

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