WEBVTT 00:02.393 --> 00:05.218 [SPEAKER_00]: Christian parenting. 00:05.238 --> 00:09.425 [SPEAKER_00]: Warning, today's episode is a controversial old topic. 00:09.706 --> 00:20.103 [SPEAKER_00]: It is something that is ingrained in us and we're going to kind of pull back some of the layers and it's something that kind of made me think differently about education when I first encountered this. 00:20.444 --> 00:22.748 [SPEAKER_00]: So we have been told that 00:22.728 --> 00:23.550 [SPEAKER_00]: learning styles. 00:23.610 --> 00:29.503 [SPEAKER_00]: We have to find our child's learning style and it's been mainstream for so many decades. 00:29.843 --> 00:36.558 [SPEAKER_00]: However, there is empirical evidence out that says that it is what is considered a neuro myth. 00:36.959 --> 00:40.567 [SPEAKER_00]: So what do you think our learning styles did for homeschoolers? 00:41.008 --> 00:42.070 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's get into it now. 00:43.062 --> 01:08.142 [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Little By Little Home School podcast, I am Leigh Nguyen and I am so blessed that you are here in this podcast and in this episode today, I like to encourage you to really think and to be intentional about your homeschool, not to always hold so tightly to the way that we think things should be or the way that we've been taught that things are and how kids can learn like in today's episode. 01:08.122 --> 01:23.751 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to constantly be learning as well as your children that you're home educating because education doesn't end when we get that high school diploma or we finally do finish that last 180 days of our child homeschool education. 01:23.731 --> 01:27.919 [SPEAKER_00]: So let's get into today's episode and I'd be curious to hear what you have to say. 01:27.999 --> 01:32.007 [SPEAKER_00]: So after this episode, feel free to send me an email or even better yet. 01:32.127 --> 01:34.692 [SPEAKER_00]: I'd love it if you would be very useful in the podcast. 01:34.712 --> 01:39.040 [SPEAKER_00]: And that way other homeschool moms or potential homeschool moms can find it as well. 01:39.020 --> 01:43.726 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's start off with laying the groundwork, the framework for learning styles. 01:44.086 --> 01:45.968 [SPEAKER_00]: There's actually an acronym for it. 01:46.149 --> 01:47.650 [SPEAKER_00]: It's VARK. 01:49.212 --> 01:55.720 [SPEAKER_00]: And that stands for the different learning styles that they've apparently there's more than just four, but these are the four main ones. 01:56.120 --> 02:03.649 [SPEAKER_00]: So V for visual, A for auditory, R for reading and writing and K for kinesthetic. 02:04.230 --> 02:06.152 [SPEAKER_00]: So you probably can figure out the visual. 02:06.393 --> 02:08.335 [SPEAKER_00]: It is seeing things kids learning. 02:08.315 --> 02:09.176 [SPEAKER_00]: or anybody. 02:09.196 --> 02:11.359 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to focus on kids because we're homeschooling our children. 02:11.759 --> 02:21.752 [SPEAKER_00]: So our children learning well by seeing things, whether it's maybe video or it's photographs or being somewhere and just seeing an actual thing happening. 02:22.313 --> 02:29.682 [SPEAKER_00]: Auditory is we think of our ears so that would be hearing the information then they absorb it better. 02:29.662 --> 02:36.135 [SPEAKER_00]: reading and writing would be from them actually reading material or from them writing material. 02:36.516 --> 02:43.910 [SPEAKER_00]: And kinesthetic means towards hands-on in actually practical and doing things and manipulating things in order to learn. 02:43.970 --> 02:48.379 [SPEAKER_00]: Now let's stop and think about you and your own life experience. 02:48.359 --> 02:54.688 [SPEAKER_00]: would you say that you fall into one of those four camps for everything that you want to learn? 02:55.309 --> 02:56.190 [SPEAKER_00]: Probably not. 02:56.731 --> 03:00.196 [SPEAKER_00]: So when I'm going to be sharing this information, think about that. 03:00.757 --> 03:04.443 [SPEAKER_00]: You might learn really well, some types of information, visually. 03:04.643 --> 03:07.166 [SPEAKER_00]: You might learn a better from an auditory hearing it. 03:07.187 --> 03:13.836 [SPEAKER_00]: You might hear better if you are the person that is reading the book and you might learn better just actually doing the thing. 03:13.916 --> 03:15.058 [SPEAKER_00]: Or you might say, you know what? 03:15.038 --> 03:22.025 [SPEAKER_00]: I took up a new hobby, and if I do all of those things, it really solidifies and I learn a lot. 03:22.406 --> 03:36.000 [SPEAKER_00]: So really think about you and your own experience, your brain is just many years ahead of your children, but a lot of the same things still work for them and that have worked for you. 03:36.060 --> 03:38.903 [SPEAKER_00]: And so it still kind of works the same type of way. 03:38.883 --> 03:45.715 [SPEAKER_00]: And so if you can benefit from all of those different types of learning styles, those four main ones, then maybe your kids can too. 03:46.276 --> 03:50.864 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, when I heard this first, I'm not quite sure how long ago it was maybe a year or so ago. 03:50.944 --> 03:54.150 [SPEAKER_00]: And somebody suggested that learning styles are dead. 03:54.550 --> 03:58.898 [SPEAKER_00]: They are basically something that was why, as I mentioned earlier, a neuromith. 03:59.219 --> 04:02.865 [SPEAKER_00]: It is something that has been proven that isn't actually a thing. 04:03.588 --> 04:06.311 [SPEAKER_00]: I was at first, I kind of pushed back in my head. 04:06.351 --> 04:08.933 [SPEAKER_00]: And I didn't say it out loud, I just pushed back in my head. 04:08.953 --> 04:13.077 [SPEAKER_00]: And I was like, well, that's because you really, really focused this person that I had heard it from. 04:13.097 --> 04:17.801 [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, you focused so much on your homeschool in a kinesthetic manner. 04:18.282 --> 04:20.204 [SPEAKER_00]: And so, therefore, of course, you're going to set. 04:20.284 --> 04:24.348 [SPEAKER_00]: And you know, and all your kids, you homeschool them with that being the main thing. 04:24.408 --> 04:33.156 [SPEAKER_00]: So, of course, you don't want to say, well, there could be other ways, but, and you're just trying to push your certain preference or style of homeschooling, 04:33.136 --> 04:34.560 [SPEAKER_00]: silly of me to think that. 04:35.342 --> 04:36.686 [SPEAKER_00]: But I decided, do you know what? 04:37.529 --> 04:38.933 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to do a little bit of research. 04:38.953 --> 04:40.557 [SPEAKER_00]: And so I have done some research. 04:40.577 --> 04:41.921 [SPEAKER_00]: I've done some more research since then. 04:42.503 --> 04:44.970 [SPEAKER_00]: And I decided, okay, this is the time we're going to put this episode out. 04:45.010 --> 04:48.580 [SPEAKER_00]: It's been on my list of topics for a while. 04:48.779 --> 05:01.352 [SPEAKER_00]: But let's just start here and say, when it comes to learning styles and people will say, well, learning styles are dead and if you don't do any more research, you just read that headline, then you're going to throw out the baby with the bath water and let's not do that. 05:01.732 --> 05:03.133 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's not just say, well, those are dead. 05:03.514 --> 05:04.455 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't even care about those. 05:04.495 --> 05:18.769 [SPEAKER_00]: No, those are kind of important because it's good to know how we can teach our kids, how we can teach them in maybe a holistic type of manner, spoiler alert, when we get to the end here. 05:19.154 --> 05:26.767 [SPEAKER_00]: Now your homeschool child may have some preferences for how they learn and that is fine. 05:27.949 --> 05:34.060 [SPEAKER_00]: You might have a child and you might be reading to them and they are just like, I can't, they just don't absorb it. 05:34.321 --> 05:37.406 [SPEAKER_00]: You got to ask them a little bit later and it's just as going over their head. 05:37.466 --> 05:39.610 [SPEAKER_00]: It's in one year, out the other year. 05:39.590 --> 05:48.260 [SPEAKER_00]: But you find that maybe if you have them set on your lap and you are reading to them and you're pointing along to the words and they're kind of reading them in their head as they're going along. 05:48.621 --> 05:51.364 [SPEAKER_00]: Or maybe they are a child that you want them to practice reading out loud. 05:51.384 --> 05:55.049 [SPEAKER_00]: So therefore they know how to read and they absorb it a bit better. 05:55.890 --> 05:56.390 [SPEAKER_00]: That's okay. 05:56.470 --> 06:01.937 [SPEAKER_00]: It's fine to recognize that they aren't absorbing that information just from hearing it. 06:02.438 --> 06:05.361 [SPEAKER_00]: And as we get older we can have 06:06.320 --> 06:13.073 [SPEAKER_00]: better for us to learn and I have found for myself as I've gotten older, like kinesthetic me actually doing it. 06:13.514 --> 06:25.037 [SPEAKER_00]: I learn a lot better when my husband's telling me about something I ask a question and made me in his line of business or his hobby and he starts going, I'm like, I have no idea what you said but why don't you show me what you're talking about. 06:25.017 --> 06:26.899 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thinking about learning a new recipe. 06:27.420 --> 06:30.524 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I can watch somebody do it on a video that actually does. 06:30.584 --> 06:39.695 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, okay, so that would be a visual and partly an auditory, but then when I actually do it, I'm like, oh, okay, now now this is really the learning of it. 06:40.236 --> 06:46.924 [SPEAKER_00]: And so your child may have some preferences and I think we need to be very open to the fact that those can change. 06:48.001 --> 06:56.397 [SPEAKER_00]: But if you are not able to cater your education to your child's preference, it's okay. 06:57.539 --> 07:02.588 [SPEAKER_00]: But I think we should also be willing to adjust when and if we can. 07:03.350 --> 07:04.271 [SPEAKER_00]: So here's an example. 07:05.093 --> 07:06.195 [SPEAKER_00]: Now when they first start, 07:06.496 --> 07:13.829 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you're teaching them how to read and they're not a good reader or they're not quite ready to read or you have a child that is they are not late. 07:14.150 --> 07:16.394 [SPEAKER_00]: It just isn't the right time for it to click. 07:16.594 --> 07:24.909 [SPEAKER_00]: You might have a nine or ten year old and the reading just hasn't quite clicked and therefore you have to adjust and you need to teach them in a different type of way. 07:25.150 --> 07:30.259 [SPEAKER_00]: You can't just hand them the language arts workbook and have them. 07:30.239 --> 07:33.564 [SPEAKER_00]: do it because they're not able to do that because they can't read it. 07:34.004 --> 07:36.207 [SPEAKER_00]: It might even be something simple like math. 07:36.828 --> 07:44.579 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe even you have a six, seven, eight year old and the reading just isn't super strong or they just it just hasn't it hasn't caught on. 07:45.300 --> 07:48.565 [SPEAKER_00]: If you have concerns about reading, go back and search through the podcast episode. 07:48.585 --> 07:50.307 [SPEAKER_00]: They do have some episodes about that. 07:50.658 --> 07:55.066 [SPEAKER_00]: you might have to go through and read the directions for every single maybe section. 07:55.447 --> 08:00.135 [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, in mass sometimes it's an easier, they can kind of see, okay, I'm supposed to add all of these. 08:00.195 --> 08:05.184 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't really need to read the directions, let's say add all of these together and write the correct sums. 08:05.805 --> 08:09.071 [SPEAKER_00]: You don't necessarily need to read that to them, but there could be word problems on theirs. 08:09.833 --> 08:14.421 [SPEAKER_00]: And then you have to go ahead and read the word problem to them, but then guess what? 08:14.401 --> 08:20.590 [SPEAKER_00]: reading clicks catches on and they're able to do all of that reading and be able to maybe do the math worksheet on their own. 08:21.211 --> 08:31.165 [SPEAKER_00]: So we can't always cater all parts of the education to our kids, but we have to be aware of their abilities and then we have to be willing to adjust. 08:31.485 --> 08:38.535 [SPEAKER_00]: But if you have a child that just isn't able to quite do all of the reading that maybe another sibling and older sibling was able to do, you adjust. 08:38.515 --> 08:46.112 [SPEAKER_00]: and you do the reading to them because maybe they are learning better just by auditory at that point because for them the reading just isn't there. 08:46.649 --> 08:58.668 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, learning styles became popularized because of the claims that they can boost the performance of a student, which is aka grades. 08:59.269 --> 09:01.392 [SPEAKER_00]: In other words, they can learn this information. 09:01.452 --> 09:08.162 [SPEAKER_00]: If we figure out their learning style, we provide all of their education in this learning style, then their test scores are going to be better. 09:08.563 --> 09:10.446 [SPEAKER_00]: And what happens when test scores are better? 09:10.426 --> 09:12.390 [SPEAKER_00]: more funding comes to the school. 09:12.490 --> 09:27.000 [SPEAKER_00]: If this is an overall thing, if we figure out which students learn by this and which by this and maybe maybe even some schools separated them out by their learning styles and therefore we can boost our test scores, we can then receive more money from the state or federal government. 09:27.588 --> 09:47.571 [SPEAKER_00]: And then on the opposite of that was like, well, if we aren't using their best learning style, then the outcome is possibly going to be negative, they aren't going to remember that information if we didn't present it in a way that is best for their brain the way that their brain works. 09:49.053 --> 09:50.655 [SPEAKER_00]: And so that's why it became popularized. 09:50.735 --> 10:04.130 [SPEAKER_00]: And then as opposed, well, and then we continue on with other forms of education and leading to homeschooling and we'll say, oh, well, of course, this is what they're doing in schools, and obviously this works here at homeschool too. 10:04.190 --> 10:10.858 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm saying that again, by the time I get to the end, as you can see, I don't think that we should completely avoid it, we should completely write it off. 10:10.838 --> 10:14.765 [SPEAKER_00]: think because I think we need to be very careful not to become too extreme. 10:15.567 --> 10:21.518 [SPEAKER_00]: We can do that in various areas where there's just a pendulum swing and they give even just parenting like really strict parenting. 10:21.558 --> 10:29.472 [SPEAKER_00]: Everybody is you know it's popularized and it's really really great and then we can swing in the next generation to the other side where it's just like 10:29.452 --> 10:42.799 [SPEAKER_00]: parents are completely hands-off, and I think that in most everything, somewhere in the middle is a good place to land or somewhere maybe to the side of the middle, whether that's to the right side of the middle or the left side of the middle, but not necessarily a pendulum swing. 10:42.819 --> 10:51.055 [SPEAKER_00]: So we have to be really careful that when we say, well, there's no no learning styles and we're just going to completely ignore all of those and we're just going to 10:51.035 --> 11:09.583 [SPEAKER_00]: swing the opposite way and just disregard any type of research or any type of information when it comes to how we can present information to our children So that they don't just learn it to regurgitate it for a test, but that they actually absorb it and then they apply that information to other aspects of their life and then we also have to be careful that 11:09.563 --> 11:17.571 [SPEAKER_00]: we don't insist upon one style of education or learning, one of these four that is best for all. 11:17.952 --> 11:26.200 [SPEAKER_00]: And we could say, because oftentimes, you could say, well, this works really well for me, for though, therefore, this should work for everybody, and even within your family. 11:26.240 --> 11:33.428 [SPEAKER_00]: So be careful not to become too extreme in that pendulum thing, but then also be careful not to insist that 11:33.408 --> 11:45.229 [SPEAKER_00]: there has to be one style and that it is best for all, which I'm alluded to in the beginning with my story of just feeling like this person was pushing because they have a specific learning style of how they present information to their children. 11:45.290 --> 11:47.674 [SPEAKER_00]: So therefore, that would be the best for all. 11:47.734 --> 11:48.716 [SPEAKER_00]: So be careful. 11:48.776 --> 11:49.317 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't do what I did. 11:50.319 --> 11:53.524 [SPEAKER_00]: So what can you do in light of possibly? 11:53.545 --> 11:54.927 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I don't, I don't know. 11:54.907 --> 11:56.891 [SPEAKER_00]: quite know if this is quite right now. 11:56.911 --> 11:59.315 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to encourage you to do your own research. 11:59.335 --> 12:01.359 [SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of information out there. 12:01.720 --> 12:07.310 [SPEAKER_00]: I do want to read to you from just a paragraph or two here from this is the University of Michigan. 12:07.971 --> 12:14.383 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's as the best understand while while learning styles are problematic, it is important to clearly define learning styles. 12:14.363 --> 12:25.787 [SPEAKER_00]: The idea of learning styles is that there are stable, consistent methods that individuals take in, that they take in, organize, process, and remember information, and by teaching those methods, students learn better. 12:26.669 --> 12:27.671 [SPEAKER_00]: Can you see school in that? 12:28.052 --> 12:32.541 [SPEAKER_00]: How you have to take in, you get to organize it process, and then remember that information, because 12:32.521 --> 12:48.049 [SPEAKER_00]: Goodness what if you forget the names of all the generals from a one specific war and all the battles and all the dates Whatever will you do Guess what you'll move on with life and if you need that information you can find it online or in a book So the article goes on to say 12:48.029 --> 12:53.035 [SPEAKER_00]: One popular concept in learning styles posits that the modality of information is critical. 12:53.395 --> 13:01.105 [SPEAKER_00]: That a visual learner learns best by seeing seeing versus an auditory learner who learns best by having things spoken or described to them. 13:01.125 --> 13:08.914 [SPEAKER_00]: Learning style theory would suggest that by using visual aids, a visual learner will organize and retain information better than say an auditory learner. 13:09.414 --> 13:16.703 [SPEAKER_00]: The implication is that matching modality information to the modality of learning style is critical to student success. 13:16.683 --> 13:18.084 [SPEAKER_00]: studies are showing that it doesn't. 13:18.685 --> 13:25.252 [SPEAKER_00]: And you do not have to measure success by how well they do on a standardized test or even subject tests. 13:25.692 --> 13:28.215 [SPEAKER_00]: So therefore you can do what you want in your home school. 13:28.975 --> 13:30.937 [SPEAKER_00]: So what can you do with this information first? 13:31.258 --> 13:32.459 [SPEAKER_00]: Go ahead and do your own research. 13:32.479 --> 13:34.281 [SPEAKER_00]: Do your own study on your own. 13:34.361 --> 13:35.482 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe I'm not completely right. 13:35.522 --> 13:39.025 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe these studies that I have come across aren't completely right. 13:39.206 --> 13:42.489 [SPEAKER_00]: But I don't think we should just because it goes against what we have been taught. 13:42.509 --> 13:46.673 [SPEAKER_00]: And this home schoolers were like, oh, we should be open to learning new things. 13:47.750 --> 13:49.353 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna get you a little bit of freedom here. 13:49.373 --> 13:53.439 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to study your child and I want you to meet them where they are at. 13:54.040 --> 14:03.476 [SPEAKER_00]: And then provide what you can as far as resources and time that is within your budget, within your budget of resources with the money that you have. 14:04.157 --> 14:07.142 [SPEAKER_00]: And also with the time budget that you have. 14:07.122 --> 14:25.333 [SPEAKER_00]: Because sometimes there can be learning stylish and I say, well, my child learns really best by this one learning style I have to present all subjects in this one learning style and it's so expensive or it's so time consuming and we have other children and I'm feeling I'm neglecting them and the relationships are being sacrificed in my home is being sacrificed. 14:25.313 --> 14:27.616 [SPEAKER_00]: No, that is not the solution at all. 14:27.997 --> 14:33.143 [SPEAKER_00]: So I hope that this information today, actually the goal, is to provide you with a little bit of freedom. 14:33.364 --> 14:35.526 [SPEAKER_00]: Take a little bit of stress off of your shoulders. 14:36.287 --> 14:49.144 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't feel like you have to stay in one style for everyone and say, oh, everybody within my family has to learn in this one style, or even that you have to always present a specific subject in one style. 14:49.164 --> 14:51.287 [SPEAKER_00]: I think that it's good to learn. 14:51.267 --> 14:54.633 [SPEAKER_00]: that we can teach our kids and they can learn in different types of styles. 14:54.653 --> 14:57.679 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, we think typically, so let's say math. 14:58.120 --> 15:03.310 [SPEAKER_00]: Math is typically, you're providing information on a Tory, like you know, they're hearing it. 15:03.370 --> 15:08.820 [SPEAKER_00]: You're verbally saying it, you're giving a lesson, and then they're actually sitting there and working through a workbook. 15:08.800 --> 15:12.287 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, it's possible to do it that it's completely different. 15:12.427 --> 15:15.894 [SPEAKER_00]: Your kids could be not ever writing it down in a workbook. 15:15.994 --> 15:20.944 [SPEAKER_00]: You could have them outside writing it in mud or using manipulatives completely. 15:20.964 --> 15:22.727 [SPEAKER_00]: And I think we should be open to that. 15:23.369 --> 15:25.172 [SPEAKER_00]: But also open to the fact that 15:25.152 --> 15:55.159 [SPEAKER_00]: things can change and our kids again like I said you might have a child that can't really read very well so it's hard for them to do other subjects and so it's best maybe for you to read to them or for them to watch science videos because they can't necessarily read the book or you just say to yourself you know what I've done so much reading science is going to be through videos hey enter wildcrets my kids learned so much science I think most of the science that they remember is when wildcrets and then actually going and doing it and being outside in the world 15:55.139 --> 15:55.617 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you. 15:55.831 --> 16:13.747 [SPEAKER_00]: I just hope that just introducing this idea to you today, that it has given you some freedom and some enjoyment of educating your kids and hopefully really to take some of the pressure in some of the stress when we're trying to figure out what is, I mean, I've spoken to countless moms and I felt like it myself too. 16:14.368 --> 16:15.649 [SPEAKER_00]: What is this child learning style? 16:15.709 --> 16:20.193 [SPEAKER_00]: Have to figure out their learning style and I have to then find a resource that will meet their learning style. 16:20.593 --> 16:25.838 [SPEAKER_00]: I think what if we did different subjects with different styles and we actually even did 16:25.818 --> 16:28.141 [SPEAKER_00]: a subject with difference. 16:28.161 --> 16:32.325 [SPEAKER_00]: I so think of like science, maybe we do some things where we are teaching visually. 16:32.686 --> 16:34.628 [SPEAKER_00]: And then it's also, then it's auditory. 16:34.768 --> 16:35.749 [SPEAKER_00]: And then there's reading and writing. 16:35.829 --> 16:36.690 [SPEAKER_00]: And there's kinesthetic. 16:36.710 --> 16:46.020 [SPEAKER_00]: I think when we do a holistic type of way of learning that it actually maybe sticks, but we don't want it to stick in a way that it just is random facts within their head. 16:46.040 --> 16:50.425 [SPEAKER_00]: We want to help them make those connections between that facts and information and then build upon it. 16:50.675 --> 16:53.581 [SPEAKER_00]: as they begin to progress within that subject. 16:53.621 --> 16:55.605 [SPEAKER_00]: And again, I'm curious what your thoughts are on this. 16:55.625 --> 16:56.908 [SPEAKER_00]: You can go ahead and send me an email. 16:57.148 --> 17:08.211 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you enjoy the podcast, in general, would love to be able to hear more about what you enjoy about it and how it has helped for you by leaving a review on whatever podcast app that you are listening to. 17:08.191 --> 17:32.882 [SPEAKER_00]: So hopefully it took some of the controversy out there and hopefully took off a little bit of the burden from your shoulders because I want you to enjoy these years of homeschooling and be able to meet the needs of the kids that are right in front of you, but also for your just enjoyment and you then to look back and say, you know what, I've got that pressure taken off on my shoulders, so that homeschool can be a time of everybody going in there. 17:32.862 --> 17:45.859 [SPEAKER_00]: relationships in their love of the Lord and our family and also just in our education because education is something that God calls us to and we get to do that with our kids day in and day out from what a blessing.