Kinesthetic Options
I could really use some specific suggestions about how to give students "kinesthetic" exercises to help them learn reading and writing skills. Obviously, teaching a cooking class or auto mechanics provides plenty of "hands-on" opportunities, but what about teaching English composition?
Anything that involves some form of movement can help those of us who are highly kinesthetic learners.
Because of my learning style, I developed a variation on the traditional flashcards that many people use to study vocabulary. Just seeing the words terms on a card didn't always help. So I made 2 column lists. One side was vocab terms and the other was the definitions. I'd make a couple of copies with the terms in different order. By repeatedly writing the terms or definitions, they really got into my mind. Plus I was using my own phrasing on the definitions and not just constantly looking at the books wording.
Some kinesthetic students probably enjoy working with the computer. I'm sure that there are website available that have options for reading and writing skills that allow students to do matching, play games with vocab, etc.
One site I just learned about is studybulb.com. Instuctors can create their own electronic "flashcards" for the class. In addition to working as flashcards, there is also a matching option. Just a thought for you.
That is a great thought. I do teach at a Technical College, but in addition to the hands on learning reading and comprehension is a must. IF a student cannot read a service manual and then comprehend what the manual is stating, then they are going to have a real struggle when they see something that they have never seen before. I would Imagine that cooking is another place where reading and understanding is important.
One variation of the flashcard system that would particularly help kinesthetic learners is to put words, phrases or even sentences on individual flashcards and ask the student to move them around and arrange them into the best format they can. This can be done for understanding of vocabulary words or key terms, it can also help them develop the right structure and flow of a well composed paper.
Well for those students whose learning styles are "primarily" Kinesthetic, I believe they also have attributes of other learning styles. I don't believe that they can only learn primarily that one way. I often tell students to take the learning style assessment and then afterwards they will realize that yes they learn best one way but that they do have other areas or aspects that can be used to help them learn. I tell students this because not only is a positive action and a motivator for them, it is also what I believe. We, as instructors have the ability to form, or build a students self-esteem or self-confidence by what we say, and how we say it. I don't allow any negative talk in my classes, I talk about being positive all of the time, I encourage my students, and I believe in them, and this helps them to believe in themselves. So with the learning styles, if one style isn't working they can try aspects of other styles, and by doing so, they have not only learned something, but also feel a sense of accomplishment.
