learning styles Archives - Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau

Jan 13 2014

{Day 13} Are There Different Ways To Teach The Same Things?

{For an overview of all 31 Days of Homeschooling click HERE.}

If there was ever a reason why homeschooling trumps all other forms of education, it would be this one. Allowing students to learn the way they learn best is a tremendous advantage of homeschooling, and why the results are often so superior.

It’s no secret that some children learn differently than others. While organized schools must teach large groups of children the same way at the same time, homeschool parents are able to constantly adapt to the needs of their own children. While organized schools traditionally use textbooks and classroom lectures for teaching, homeschoolers can discover the ways their children learn best, then adopt the strategies used in the home to maximize the learning potential of every child.

This is where the idea of selecting a homeschool method comes in. A homeschool method, or teaching philosophy, is a phrase used to describe the general strategy that will be used for teaching and learning activities in the home. Some homeschoolers choose a teaching method that heavily involves the use of textbooks. Others decide to use a method that relies more on hands-on experiences, online activities, independent discovery, learning using classic literature, or something else.

Common homeschooling methods have names like:

Classical Education
Charlotte Mason
Curriculum Approach
Leadership Education
Enki
Montessori
Unschooling

Selecting the method that best matches the children and fits in well with the family’s lifestyle creates a richer learning environment. When a match exists between people, methods, values and ideals, learning is optimized with little or no additional effort at all.

In addition to selecting a general teaching philosophy, homeschoolers can also choose the learning tools they want to use. As long as curriculum goals are being met, the way the material is delivered doesn’t matter at all.

For example, teaching math can be accomplished with a book. But it can also be accomplished using an abacus, using pictures, by watching videos, by playing math games on a computer, or by using counting sticks. Teaching reading can be accomplished using sophisticated reading systems, or can be reinforced by providing stacks of early readers, by reading together, by listening to audio books and following along, by holding read-aloud sessions for the family, by using electronic tablets and pads, or using any number of other ways.

Learning history can also be accomplished by using textbooks. But a great many homeschoolers also learn history by visiting museums, watching educational programming, re-enacting characters from the past, attending plays and lectures, conducting research on-line, reading biographies and more. Science can be learned in books, too. But it can also be learned by exploring nature, talking to scientists, reading articles and periodicals, and visiting companies and talking to the staff.

In my latest book, The Homeschooler’s Guide to Science Fairs (on Amazon), I talk about the importance of having students select topics they find interesting, or are meaningful to them. That’s because the most learning occurs when students are very interested in the topic they are studying. This theory also applies to selecting the learning tools that best match and most motivate students. This idea can be used across the curriculum, and not just for science, too.

Imagine a place where children have access to a world of resources and are able to use those resources any time, anywhere, in any way they like. That is what homeschooling is like. Exploiting the ability to learn in many different ways is what makes homeschool the most perfect school of all!

NEXT LESSON

Further reading:

Choosing a homeschool method

What to Use? What to Choose?

Accidental learning

The best homeschool curriculum ever

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. A homeschooling pioneer and the founder of many groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed as it illustrates how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the public school system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, with no teaching background whatsoever. A liaison for regional school-to-home organizations, a homeschool leader, and a women’s life coach, Marie-Claire mentors in a variety of areas that impact health, education and lifestyle. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., Home Education Council of America, The Luminous Mind, Vintage Homeschool Moms, iHomeschool Network, and many other events. Her articles have appeared in and on Holistic Parenting, CONNECT, Homefires, Homemaking Cottage, Kiwi, Circle of Moms, and hundreds of sites and blogs nationwide. Marie-Claire can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.

Oct 08 2012

Learning from your kids

They learn from you. But you also learn right back. How? By listening and watching your children. And then, by putting those lessons to work for you next year.

Homeschooled kids give off many signals during the school year. Heard any of these before?

“I’m bored.”

“Can I watch <such-and-such> again?”

“This is stupid.”

“It’s too hard and I just can’t do it.”

“Can we do <fill-in-the-blank> first today?”

Every one of these statements contains a hidden message. Decoding student messages is the key to unlocking their weaknesses, interests, talents and more. Watch and listen carefully and you’ll begin to understand what makes your child tick. These clues can then be used next year when selecting curriculum, preparing lessons and deciding what kinds of homeschooling activities will work best for your child.

When a child tells you something is “too hard”, it is easy enough to understand. Knowing that material is too difficult is a clear sign that it’s time to slow down or even revert back to earlier material until he feels ready to move forward again.

Some messages, however, aren’t so clear. Boredom, for instance, can mean that work is too easy. Maybe you’ve been having your student review something over and over when he is really ready to move on.

But boredom can also mean the child is being asked to learn more detail than he is comfortable with. By synthesizing information for him or giving him a different resource that gets more to the point, he may not have the boredom he experienced before.

Boredom may even indicate that a child doesn’t like a subject at all, meaning you should re-think the way you’ve been teaching it altogether. Visit a teacher’s store or attend a couple of the Jax-area’s summer curriculum sales to browse new resources and grab his interest some other way.

You’d never make your child wear shoes that didn’t fit. And you’d never sign her up for an advanced class until she had completed the beginner and intermediate ones either. So why give her lessons that obviously don’t work for her? Listening to her messages will help you to help her. Figuring out the meanings behind her statements will help point out areas of weaknesses as well as focus on areas of potential too.

Better curriculum fit = a better experience

Homeschooling comes with many advantages, including the right for parents to choose products that suit each child in the family. Not all parents take advantage of this freedom, however. In fact, it is surprising to find that many parents use products that are ill-suited to their children — even when homeschooling gives them full permission to drop everything and choose something else.

Finding a curriculum to suit a child may not always be easy. It is rare to get it right the first time around. It can take several attempts and maybe even span a period of a couple of years to find just the right tools to teach a particular child. That’s because the longer a parent works with a child, the better that child’s likes & dislikes, strengths & weaknesses, habits & styles begin to show themselves. Over time, these clues help parents choose better products, explaining why initially this process can take some time to figure out.

What does the “right fit” curriculum look like?

For starters, it may not be a “curriculum” at all. I’ll use the term curriculum here to keep things simple and basic. But please understand we’re talking about any kind of educational tools at all.

A good fit curriculum is not only one that does the job, but does it well. And not just academically either. The right curriculum for a homeschooler is one that includes the information that a parent desires to cover that year. But, it is also one that meshes well with the student’s preferred way of doing things.

Let’s look at two examples:

Little Johnny loves to read and there is no keeping Johnny’s nose out of books. In fact, Johnny carries a book wherever he goes and he reads every spare minute he has. A homeschooling parent might make the connection that a good fit for Johnny would be a curriculum that involves readings and lots and lots of books. And not books on tape or e-books purchased on the computer — actual books, like the kind that Johnny likes.

Little Susie, on the other hand, is not a reader. In fact, Susie will do whatever it takes to avoid reading, making excuses, asking for breaks, or skimming readings with little or no comprehension at all. Instead, Susie prefers to watch TV, videos and streamed-in programming right on her laptop. Observing Susie for a period of time might lead a parent to conclude that the right fit for Susie is one that comes on a set of DVDs or uses computer software. Maybe. Or at least something that doesn’t involve so much reading. Using experimentation and observation, Susie’s parents will eventually find exactly the right product(s) for her.

Even children in the same family do things differently, making it so important to find the right match for each and every child, and not just recycling materials down from one student to another (though this may be tempting as it is less expensive).

Too often we hear parents talking about their children in terms of which subjects the kids like and which they don’t. Kids do have their favorites, it’s true. But, sometimes – and this may comes as a surprise to parents – it isn’t that children like or dislike subjects at all. Instead, the like and dislike comes from the curriculum being used, because it’s the wrong fit. That is, if Johnny hates math, it could be that Johnny’s mom is teaching math using plastic blocks when all Johnny really wants to do is read about math from a book. And, if Susie likes science, it might be because Susie’s science curriculum is a series of videos so she is rewarded by a method that appeals to her. In fact, if Susie watched videos about history or poetry, those just might become her favorite subjects, too.

When choosing homeschooling curriculum, consider the best fit for the child that will be using it. Involving children in the selection process is a great way to see what the children naturally gravitate to. But in their absence, be sure to select products that seem to resemble the way each child likes to learn.

A better curriculum fit equates to a better experience all around. Academically, children learn best when they are enthusiastic and interested in what they’re doing. Enthusiasm and interest often comes from exposing children to knowledge and information in the form that they’d like to learn it.

When kids are happy and learning, everyone is happy. Not just the students, but moms and dads, too. Though it may take some time, and even involve shelving or selling expensive curriculum materials that just don’t work, over time, you’ll discover the right fit for every child in your homeschool.

Doesn’t it make sense to find the best fit for your child?

Photo: Free Digital

Mar 03 2011

When a child hates a subject, he’s telling you something

Your child hates history. Or science. Or writing. No matter what it is, he doesn’t want to do it.

He complains. He procrastinates. He may say it’s too easy, or too hard. He makes no bones about the fact that he doesn’t like doing it, and may go to great lengths to avoid it, too.

As homeschooling parents, we become skilled in observing and listening to our children. This comes naturally over time with very little effort. New homeschoolers, however, may not notice the signs of a child in crisis right away. Instead, there may be a tendency to push harder, impose consequences, or even give up entirely.

For those parents, I offer this advice. When a child hates a subject, it can only mean one of two things:

a) The child really hates the subject; or,

b) the subject isn’t being taught the way he needs to learn it.

Though these seem like two entirely different reasons, they often go hand in hand.

In fact, by addressing the second, the first will often clear up on its own.

Consider this scenario:

Imagine a child studying science out of a book. He says it’s boring and he hates it. Try as you might, you just cannot succeed at making the science book any more interesting than it already is.

Now, imagine a child performing simple science experiments in the kitchen. You can hardly keep up with him and he wants to do science every day. He loves it. Suddenly, science is his favorite subject.

Another illustration:

You like doing English first thing in the morning. Your daughter doesn’t. She complains about it being too hard, especially when asked to write anything down. Mornings are miserable, and you both end up angry by the time English is finally over.

On the other hand, you notice that she loves to read and write in her journal – in the afternoons. Given time alone in her room, she produces poems, stories, and all kinds of things in writing. She reads on her own, too, just not the books you’ve assigned. By reorganizing her daily school schedule and doing English in the afternoons, you have much more success. Plus, by giving her the flexibility to choose her own books, she is much more willing to read than before.

These are just examples. When a child dislikes a subject, there are other things you can try, too. Look not only at the method you are using and the time of day, but look also at the level of difficulty of the materials you have chosen, and how much input your student has had in the course and resource selection process.

Your level of involvement could also be the key. You may be stifling creativity without even realizing it by hovering over the student and constantly offering ideas. Or, you might be providing too little (or even too much) encouragement.

Distractions in the home might be a problem. Whether or not your child needs a snack to keep performing well is another area to look at. Look at the comfort level of her work space, the temperature in your home, or whether or not she has the proper tools for every job. There are many others.

Before you give up on a subject and assume your student will never like it, check to be sure you have taken care of the other variables that may be affecting her progress. If it turns out that she really hates a subject, then so be it. But, if making some simple changes could turn her entire outlook around, you’ll be happy you did.

[Photo: Free Digital]