Posted in My Homeschool FAQs

Recently I was blessed to hear a really awesome speaker on the topic of Learning/Personality Styles.  Although I have read a bit on this topic before this info was presented in a new way I had not yet come across.  Here is a little of what I learned....

There are 4 basic personality styles.  Here is a brief overview of each style.

2 are outgoing:

1. My Way...This is the dominate group.  These folks want to know what we are doing?  They want change... They are direct, demanding, decisive, determined, doers, independent & competitive. (This group needs to work on knowing others can be right.)

2 The Fun Way!..This is the inspirational group.  These folks want to know who's doing it?  They need no details. They are friendly, compassionate, carefree, talkative, outgoing, personable, and enthusiastic.  (This group needs to work on listening!) (Huh, I wonder what group I am in!  LOL)

2 are reserved:

3. The Easy Way...This is the steady group.  These folks want to know if it really has to be done!  They want no change.  They are calm, dependable, easy going, trustworthy, efficient, practical, and steadfast. (This group needs to work on saying no.)

4. The Right Way...This is the cautious group. These folks want to know how it is gong to be done.  They want all the details.  They are analytical, sensitive, perfectionists, idealistic, loyal, orderly & ask a lot of questions. (This group needs to work on knowing others can be right too.)

Now the interesting thing about this lecture was that the speaker had us all get up and sit together in a group with the style we felt we best fit in.  It was soooo interesting to see people immediately know which group they belonged in!  Of course we folks in the fun group had the most FUN! 

Here I am with a few of my friends who were also in the FUN group! LOL

These are all the girls I would have been separated from back in school!  LOL

Of course this sweet lady was in the fun group too!

(Okay, enough disrupting the teacher with taking pictures...Back to the point!  LOL  Is it any wonder I never got one report card that didn't say something like "Needs to stop talking to her neighbor and pay more attention is class.")

The point is it can be very helpful to know our personality style as well as our kids.  One thing that occurred to me is that as fun as I can be...I actually can get on my kids nerves sometimes!  Don't get me wrong for the most part they love their kooky Mom.  However, there are times, especially with my 2 boys (Who have some "Right Way/My Way" tendencies with strong "Fun Way" overtones.) that they just wish Mom would get to the point and stop singing and acting crazy!  LOL  I think it will be very helpful for me to think about their personality styles more and then I can focus a little more on the 7 intelligences to customize their learning to them.  What are the 7 Intelligences you ask?

1. Verbal Linguistic - How we communications with others.

2. Logical Mathematical - math and logic skills

3. Visual Spatial - How we see things. (Can your child tell when it is safe to cross the street or will they stop if there is a car 5 blocks away?)

4. Body Kinisetic - Movers and shakers! Those who learn by moving!!!

5. Music/Rhythmic - The musically inclined.

6 Interpersonal - How we relate to someone else.

7. Intrapersonal - How we feel about ourselves. (This is the one we have some control over as parents.  So praise, praise , praise!)

As I look at these 7 things I can immediately see strengths and weaknesses for each of my children.  Knowing what the learning styles are allows me to try and teach to my children’s natural intelligences. 

On top of all this there are 4 basic sense used in learning...

1. Visual

2. Auditory

3. Kinesetic (Big motions!)

4. Tactile (Fine motor skills.)

Traditional classrooms teaching styles favor auditory.  (I will tell it to you and you will learn it.) However the beauty of homeschooling is we can teach to ALL styles!  Not only that, since we generally have a small number of students we can customize our teaching style to fit our children’s learning style! 

This was exciting stuff to hear!  It gave me a lot to think about!  One thing it reminded me of is that there is NOT a right and a wrong way to learn.  There is also not a right and wrong way to teach!  The key is to find the right teaching style for the right learning style.  We need to allow our students to learn the way they need to!  Our job as teachers are to figure out the way they learn and then customize our teaching to their style.  WOW! 

BTW, this lecture was given by Dan Sinclair, President of Math-U-See California and Regional Representative of Math-U-See and JoyceHerzog.com, Inc.

Here are the resources for further reading Mr. Sinclair recommended:

Learning In Spite of Labels, Choosing and Using Curriculum, Timeless Teaching Tips & Luke's Lists - Joyce Herzog

Get Ready - Robert Rohm PhD

Why Gender Matters - Dr. Leonard Sax

These are all going on my reading wish list!