What’s Your Little Swimmer’s Learning Style?

Just as preferences for anything else, people have different preferences for the ways they learn. Actually, it’s more than a “preference,” but the way we’re wired from birth.

This becomes obvious in children pretty early on and can determine what types of classes they get the most from and what types of environments they will have the most success in learning everything from tying shoes to – yes – swimming lessons.

Some of us prefer to learn from words, pictures, or diagrams, while others of us want to hear an explanation of the skill or activity we’re trying to do before and as we’re attempting it. There are still others who naturally tend to hands-on experiences.

The official names for these 3 groups of learners (in the order described above) are visual, auditory, tactile.

One of these learning types is no “better” than the other. They are simply different ways that we, as unique individuals, best gather and comprehend information.

This may help to explain why your child learns more or more quickly in some classes than others or why the opposite – challenges with some classes – happens.

A website called Education Planner actually shares 20 multiple choice questions that you can use to target what your little swimmer’s learning preference is. Go to the EducationPlanner.org website to complete the test and get your score. But here is a preview of the question and choices:

1. What kind of book would you like to read for fun?

• A book with lots of pictures in it
• A book with lots of words in it
• A book with word searches or crossword puzzles

2. When you are not sure how to spell a word, what are you most likely to do?

• Write it down to see if it looks right
• Spell it out loud to see if it sounds right
• Trace the letters in the air (finger spelling)

3. You’re out shopping for clothes, and you’re waiting in line to pay. What are you most likely to do while you are waiting?

• Look around at other clothes on the racks
• Talk to the person next to you in line
• Fidget or move back and forth

4. When you see the word “cat,” what do you do first?

• Picture a cat in your mind
• Say the word “cat” to yourself
• Think about being with a cat (petting it or hearing it purr)

5. What’s the best way for you to study for a test?

• Read the book or your notes and review pictures or charts
• Have someone ask you questions that you can answer out loud
• Makeup index cards that you can review

6. What’s the best way for you to learn about how something works (like a computer or a video game)?

• Get someone to show you
• Read about it or listen to someone explain it
• Figure it out on your own

7. If you went to a school dance, what would you be most likely to remember the next day?

• The faces of the people who were there
• The music that was played
• The dance moves you did and the food you ate

8. What do you find most distracting when you are trying to study?

• People walking past you
• Loud noises
• An uncomfortable chair

9. When you are angry, what are you most likely to do?

• Put on your “mad” face
• Yell and scream
• Slam doors

10. When you are happy, what are you most likely to do?

• Smile from ear to ear
• Talk up a storm
• Act really hyper

11. When in a new place, how do you find your way around?

• Look for a map or directory that shows you where everything is
• Ask someone for directions
• Just start walking around until you find what you’re looking for

12. Of these three classes, which is your favorite?

• Art class
• Music class
• Gym class

13. When you hear a song on the radio, what are you most likely to do?

• Picture the video that goes along with it
• Sing or hum along with the music
• Start dancing or tapping your foot

14. What do you find most distracting when in class?

• Lights that are too bright or too dim
• Noises from the hallway or outside the building (like traffic or someone cutting the grass)
• The temperature being too hot or too cold

15. What do you like to do to relax?

• Read
• Listen to music
• Exercise (walk, run, play sports, etc.)

16. What is the best way for you to remember a friend’s phone number?

• Picture the numbers on the phone as you would dial them
• Say it out loud over and over and over
• Write it down or store it in your phone contact list

17. If you won a game, which of these three prizes would you choose?

• A poster for the wall
• A music CD or mp3 download
• A game of some kind (or a football or soccer ball, etc.)

18. Which would you rather go to with a group of friends?

• A movie
• A concert
• An amusement park

19. What are you most likely to remember about new people you meet?

• Their face but not their name
• Their name but not their face
• What you talked about with them

20. When you give someone directions to your house, what are you most likely to tell them?

• A description of building and landmarks they will pass on the way
• The names of the roads or streets they will be on
• “Follow me—it will be easier if I just show you how to get there.”

The scores are provided in percentages of the 3 learning types and then the type you test as is stated and explained. There are even examples of the types of things that would help your “type” get more from learning experiences.

There are some questions that a small child cannot answer, but you know your little one well enough to apply each to the preferences you see in them.

You also may want to reapply the questions to your children as they grow up to see if their basic learning preferences change.

It would be interesting to use this test with every family member and see if you have similarities or if you’re all different!