We don't all learn the same way. How do you learn?

In our Stepping Stones newsletter, we’ve talked about the importance of engaging the different human centers to ensure a balanced development of the self. One way of doing this is by addressing the different learning modalities. In order to explore this topic, we talked with a member of our staff, Melissa Overbury-Howland, who was a high-school teacher in England prior to moving to the States. 
Different research, including this BBC documentary which Melissa was a part of, has shown that we do not all learn in the same way; so there is tremendous value in understanding the different learning modalities. This is especially important when we want to make sure our children (or even ourselves) are learning in the best possible way. 
There are 3 main learning modalities: 

• Visual - understanding and remembering things by sight, often being able to ‘picture’ your learning in your head
• Auditory - learning through hearing and listening
• Kinesthetic/Tactile - a “hands-on”, active approach that can include learning through touch, movement, building or drawing 

Most people are “multi-modal”, meaning they learn better in a combination of these, not  just one. This is the reason why it is so important to create learning spaces where children or adults engage with the content through the different modalities. Doing so will allow all students to digest the information, regardless of how they learn. 
In BAMM, for example - an Integral Steps program that combines Biology, Art, Music, and Motion, children who learn about notes for the first time use the different modalities: for the kinesthetic/tactile, they march to the rhythm of the note, clapping as they feel the beat; for the auditory, they play the note and hear how it sounds; for the visual, they see the note on the music sheet in a specific color to further enhance memorization.
For adults, playing in a chamber music group is a great example of a multi-modal learning experience. You'll learn to watch the other group members and read their body language to know when to start playing together (Visual). You'll feel the music by swaying side to side, nodding your head, and moving your fingers and lips to play your instrument (Tactile/Kinesthetic). You'll read the music (Visual) and convert it to sound (Auditory), listening closely for the intonation and color of the note so you can blend together and play as a unified group. 
In our examples, you may remember one experience better than the other, and that’s because that experience engaged directly with how you learn. For teachers, the different learning modalities mean that it is important to design classes like BAMM, in order to ensure everyone is learning. For non-teaching adults, it means we should be paying attention to how we or our children learn. You’ll notice when your child gravitates towards a specific learning modality because they will be noticeably actively engaged. 
Active steps you can take to help address a range of learning modalities: 

1. If children are struggling to read a book, try using an audible version (Auditory).
2. Is a piece of text too dense? Break it up with colored highlighters or create a mindmap of what you are reading as you digest it (Visual and Kinesthetic).
3. Finding it hard to get to grips with a math question? Have a jar of beans or buttons handy to give to children so they can ‘physically touch’ the numbers they are working on. This works wonders for kinesthetic/tactile learners.
4. Use songs, silly sounds and movement to help with memorization. For example, to learn the names of the planets, say the word Mercury in a very high voice, spin while saying Saturn, utter Neptune in a chattering voice, and belt out Jupiter in a loud booming voice to emphasize mass, appearance or temperature difference (Kinesthetic and Auditory).
5. Make any exercise kinesthetic/tactile by engaging your senses. Go outside if you are learning about nature, smell the air, touch the grass. Are you learning about quantities and fractions? Bake cookies and explore how ¼ tsp of cinnamon tastes different from ½ tsp. This is extremely memorable (and helpful) to tactile learners!