Not all good students are good learners. Of course, the individual personality of a child does play a massive role in his willingness to learn and the overall disposition, especially in education and school, but a lot of students who are good learners are so because they had to become good learners. If truth be told, every child who possesses a decent aptitude and continually receives the right motivation can be a good learner.
The biggest mistake that many parents and teachers make when developing children and students is that they curtail themselves solely to classroom learning. Of course, classroom learning is the primary source of academic and intellectual growth, but learning should never be restricted to only your class if you wish to accentuate the child’s ability and desire to learn truly.
Here, we are listing a few strategies and tips that can help you motivate your child to be a better learner. If applied properly, they can help your child discover the real joy of learning.
Establish a reading atmosphere
The mantra for success in life lies in what you read, says Myla, an educator with EduWorldUSA. Thus, every child needs to develop his love for learning and reading. If your child struggles with reading, they will always struggle with learning.
Reading aids in a better vocabulary and enables your brain to process concepts and partake in formal communications. Moreover, the skills that you gain from reading go beyond the improved performance in your language class. If a student reads good, he experiences an enhanced ability to learn in all the subjects, such as science, math, and even other technical or simplistic subjects.
Thus, as a parent, you need to help your child work on his reading ability. For this, you can frequently read to your child. Make your child develop a habit of reading aloud. You can even have a family reading time where everyone in the family spends 20 minutes a day reading. The best way to inculcate the habit of reading is by making it exciting and fun. If the child starts feeling that reading is frustrating and tedious, they will not want to continue reading, which will directly hamper their ability to learn. You can have your child pick the books that he wishes to read, and that can make reading more fun.
Give your child enough authority
Usually, in most households, kids always experience control from their parents in the field of education. If you try to control the child’s education, they will try to withdraw from learning as much as possible. Thus, it would help your child have adequate control to decide their learning experience. Be it in a class or home; you need to inculcate in your child the natural ability to select their own learning choices. The best way to do so is by giving them options. Nancy, who helps draft the persuasive speech topics for kids, says that as a teacher when you give your children a writing project, it is best to allow them to pick the topic that they want to write on by themselves.
Further, you can also let the child pick the extracurricular activities they want to participate in. Remember, the more control you offer the child, the more motivated and engaged he will be.
Always encourage sincere and open communications
It is 100% a good idea to encourage the students or the children to express their opinions about what is happening with their education. At home and in school, you need to have an atmosphere where the child feels comfortable about his concerns, likes, and dislikes, says Jessica, an online math tutor. Anytime a child shares his opinion with you, you need to validate their feelings and not put them down, regardless of whether you agree or not. If ever a child feels that their opinions do not matter, they may disengage from the learning process. Good learners know that their opinion matters. It gives them a feeling of reassurance that they can express themselves to you without feeling discouraged, ignored, put down, or judged.
Focus on their interests
When the child engages in the areas and subjects of their interest, learning becomes more fun, and they are motivated to learn. If you wish to make your child a good learner, you need to give them the freedom to explore subjects and topics that fascinate him, says Denise, who offers the best online drawing classes. For instance, if your child likes dinosaurs, you can help him find books that have some exciting stories about them. After they read through the books, play the associated games with them, and may challenge them to identify the dinosaurs.
Introduce them to different styles and types of learning
Every child has a different learning style and preference. These are the styles that work best for them. Some children opt for a dominant learning style, while others opt for a mix of different learning styles. To be honest with you, no one style is better than the other. Thus, you need to help your child discover his preferred learning style. Then, you can use your technique to help them better their learning quality.
Fundamentally, there are seven learning styles – logical, verbal, physical, auditory, solitary, social, and visual.
For instance, kids who learn by seeing are visual learners. Similarly, auditory learners learn best by listening to the things that are explained to them. When the child is young, you should expose them to different learning styles to see which works best for them.
These tips are very good and can be useful for both parents and tutors to interact with parents.