In our current educational system, the learning aspect had been divided into different learning modes or modalities. Some educators have three and there are teachers who have four. The modalities are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile. A teacher who engages in four learning modalities had separated the kinesthetic and tactile, forming two divisions. Anyone who teaches, regardless of the level (pre-school, elementary and middle/secondary) should be able to distinguish each of these areas. In educating a pupil or student, the teacher should be able to identify which of the modes are effective to his students.
Actually, the learning modalities are related to the senses. The visual or seeing is through the eyes, the auditory or hearing is through the ears, the kinesthetic or moving cum tactile or touching is through the use of the sense of touch. A good teacher will have to make his classroom conducive to the use of all of these learning modalities since all of them can influence the development of the children.
Visual or seeing learning modality
Teaching makes the pupil or student learn through what is seen and observed. If your learner makes use of the visual, you should make him see the information in order to understand the lesson. You will normally present pictures, images, pictures, diagrams and illustrations. The learner takes note; sometimes he highlights or underscores important information. It is noticeable that this student loves to sit in front.
Auditory or hearing learning modality
The auditory is a kind of learning mode that is based on listening or dictated information. The teacher gives instructions and lectures. An auditory learner loves to hear the instructional materials. Another characteristic in this learning mode is for the student to talk to himself. Some of the effective learning tools are videos and audio recordings. What the student does is just to sit and listen. Sometimes you call his attention because he seems to be drifting afar – not listening but contrary to what you think the student is in-attention to the sounds and lectures. The teacher and the classmates read aloud because this is what the learner appreciates. Moreover, it is natural that this learner studies by reading his notes aloud.
Kinesthetic or moving and tactile or touching learning modality
The teacher teaches by using the hands and legs. This is actually a kind of hands-on teaching where the student will better learn through experiments and projects. Of the three kinds of modality, this is the most active in as much that you use your hands to emphasize a point or a lesson. You identify the learner as a student who can be easily destructed by movements of his classmates. He loves to experiment, to put things in action rather than read or listen.
Any teacher should have the skill to identify the different learning modalities of his students. By knowing the child’s learning method, the mentor will be able to teach the child more effectively. The three modalities a teacher must be a master of are auditory, visual and kinesthetic-tactile.
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