Visual Learning Experiment

I've been quite interested in learning styles lately. I'm already fascinated by the human psyche, the "why's" and "how's" of life, etc. So learning to tune in to my kids so that I can understand what they need has been a rewarding experience. Of course, having a direct link with Heaven and all its wisdom has enhanced the experience!

Anyhow, recently I tried a little experiment with Ryan, 7 years old. He's my special boy, a twin, who never fails to put a smile on my face. He's spacey and dreamy, has a difficult time being still for long periods of time, fails to follow directions properly sometimes, struggles with school, etc...yet his intelligence shines so brightly in his eyes. When he's encouraged for his efforts, his eyes literally shine. It's powerful!

Back to my experiment. First, I got some colored markers and index cards together. Then I called Ryan over and asked him if he wanted to do some fun spelling with me. He was delighted with the idea. I asked him to tell me a word that he thought was difficult for him to spell. He said "incredible". I then wrote the word on the index card, writing each syllable of the word in a different color. Then I asked him to look at the word and "take a picture of it" with his mind. In other words I asked him to visualise the word. When he told me that he was ready, I turned the card over and asked him to spell the word out loud. He had not trouble doing that. Then I encouraged him to spell the word backwards out loud. He was able to do that also though a bit more slowly. We tried a few more words and then moved on to something else. Ever since then, when I ask him to spell one of the words we did, he gets it every time. This is such an exciting activity for him and also a fun way for him to learn his spelling lists!

I think Ryan is a visual learner. He's more likely to understand what he's learning if he can visualize it. He also needs to be able to use his sense of touch in his learning experiences. I suspect that if I had also made puzzles out of the words on the index cards, for him to piece together, he would get even more out of the experiment.