How Does Your Child Learn?

Written by Marilynne Eichinger, President

To best understand the learning path your child will take throughout his or her educational career there are two main philosophies that should be understood. One, focused on Ages and Stages of Development, is based on the work of Jean Piaget. The second, stressing Learning Styles is adapted from the work of Howard Gardner.

Howard Gardner’s Learning Styles
Howard Gardner, professor of Education and Cognition at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education has had a major influence on thinking and practice in education in the United States. Born in Pennsylvania in 1947, he has written over 15 books. Frames of Mind (1983), one of his best known publications, proposed seven main learning styles that each of us possess to one degree or another. Most people have varying degrees of strength in several areas. Understanding what type of approach your child uses will help you select educational toys, books, and materials that will make learning easier and more enjoyable.

Bodily-Kinesthetic Learners are tactile and use all or part of their body to solve problems. They like construction toys, enjoy dance or playing physical games. They learn best with hands-on activities (Gardner believes physical and mental activity is related).

Auditory-Musical Learners have ability to differentiate musical pitches, rhythms, and tones. They appreciate musical patterns, pick up foreign languages with ease, and can be found attending concerts and lectures. They prefer to hear information explained rather than read it.

Linguistic Learners are readers. They enjoy both written and spoken words. They need to read information in order to understand it and use language as a means of remembering information. They use language effectively to accomplish their goals. They may like to play word games, join in spelling bees, or keep a journal. They often become lawyers, speakers, and poets.

Logical-Mathematical Learners are able to analyze problems. They are able to detect patterns, reason deductively, think logically and investigate issues. These people enjoy puzzles, problem solving, scientific endeavors, and games like chess. They follow a logical sequence of events and look for concrete explanations in learning.

Interpersonal Learners are people smart. They pay attention to the emotion, motivations and intentions of others and can work well with them. They learn by being able to put themselves in the place of others. They enjoy the group dynamics of playing games. Teachers, salespeople, politicians, and religious leaders do well when they develop these skills.

Intrapersonal Learners are deep thinkers. They want to understand themselves with their own emotions, fears and motivations. These learners are interested in subjects such as psychology, yoga, massage, and well being. Developing this skill gives people an inner strength and helps them regulate their own lives. Teachers and parents do well when they understand the perspective of the student before reaching them with academics.

Spatial Learners are often artistic. They are the architects, sculptors, painters, and craftspeople who visualize information. They learn best by seeing and visualizing information before processing it. They recognize the use of patterns in a wide variety of spaces.

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, Ages and Stages
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) has been extremely influential with his insight into the role of maturation (growing up) and children’s capacity to understand the world. He noted that they simply cannot perform certain tasks until they are physically and psychologically mature enough to do so. He believed that the development of children’s thinking is not a smooth one and that no matter how bright the child, there are certain maturation points that have to be reached before full learning can take place at different stages.

Sensorimotor Stage: Birth-18 Months
Knowledge of the world is limited and based on physical interactions and experiences.

Object permanence is acquired by 7 months (memory).

Physical development (mobility) provides additional outlets for developing intellectually through crawling, standing, walking and experiencing the world around them.

Language is developing by the end of this stage.

Ages and Stages
12-18 Months

Physically:
Walks without help

Enjoys holding objects while walking

Scribbling with crayons

Points

Turns pages in a book

Likes to push, pull and dump things

Intellectually:
Understands and follows simple 1 step directions

Says about 8-20 understandable words

Identifies objects in a book

Pays attention to conversations

Socially and Emotionally:
Enjoys being held and read to imitate others with sounds and facial expressions

Plays alone with toys

Pre-Operational Stage: 18 Months-Pre-K

Ages and Stages
18-24 Months

Physically:
Walks well and runs, even though he may not always stop or turn well

Tosses or rolls balls

Enjoys moving on small-wheeled riding toys

Feeds himself with a spoon

Begins to gain some control of bowels and bladder

Intellectually:
Refers to self by name and uses the words “me” and “mine”

Copies single words spoken by someone else, uses the words “please and thank you” if prompted

Chooses between two objects

Enjoys humming or trying to sing familiar songs

Uses two or three word sentences

Socially and Emotionally:
Imitates actions

Gets angry and may even have temper tantrums

Acts shy around strangers

Has trouble sharing

Shows signs of independence

Ages and Stages
24-36 Months

Physically:
Throws and kicks a ball

Zips and unzips

Helps put things away

Drinks from a cup without spilling

Pulls off and begins to put on own clothes

Jumps in place and walks on tiptoes

Intellectually:
Calls her/himself by own name

Has a vocabulary of 900 words or more

Points and names own body parts when asked

Uses phrases and 3-5 word sentences

Socially and Emotionally:
Initiates her/his own play activities

Wants routines to always be the same

Observes others at play and wants to join in

Has a hard time sharing things

Ages and Stages
3 years

Physically:
Throws and kicks a ball

Draws circles and squares

Begins to copy capital letters

Dresses and undresses self

Intellectually:
Identifies “same” and “different” objects

Talks in short sentences so others can understand

Tells and remember parts of a story

Socially and Emotionally:
Cooperates with other children

Engages in fantasy play

Understands that there are ways to solve problems

Ages and Stages
4 years

Physically:
Hops with one leg

Does somersaults

Copies triangles and other geometric patterns

Intellectually:
Uses future tense “Tomorrow, I am going to school.” or “On my next birthday I will be..”

Knows and says her/his full name and address

Counts ten or more objects

Socially and Emotionally:
Wants to be like her/his friends

Exhibits greater independence, such as a willingness to visit a friend’s house alone

Easily agrees to rules

Enjoys singing, dancing, and acting

Concrete Operational Stage: 6-13 years
Intelligence is demonstrated through logical manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects

Operational thinking develops

Egocentric thought diminish

Ages and Stages
6 years

Physically:
Good sense of balance

Can catch small balls

Can tie shoelaces

Enjoys copying designs, shapes, letters and numbers, can print name

Loves active play

Dawdles much of the time

Intellectually:
Reading and writing skills improve

Enjoys planning and building

Increased problem solving ability

Interested in magic and tricks

Begins to understand differences of opinion

Enjoys dramatic play

Socially and Emotionally:
May have unpredictable mood swings

Quite sensitive to criticism

Evaluates self and friends

Begins to impose rules on play activities

May have difficulty cooperating with other children

Values independence

Being with friends becomes increasingly important

Ages and Stages
7 years

Physically:
Improves gross motor play, becoming a good swimmer, good batter, and an expert tree climber

Can execute simple gymnastic movements, such as somersaults

Intellectually:
Makes use of both upper and lowercase letters

Demonstrates a longer attention span

Uses serious, logical thinking, is thoughtful and reflective

Able to understand reasoning and make decisions

Can tell time, knows the days, months and seasons

Should be able to do simple reading and writing

Socially and Emotionally:
Likes to be alone and to protect he/his things

Can be defiant

Doesn’t get along that well with her/his siblings or other children

Better able to empathize with others, will cry at a movie

Deeply concerned about and ashamed of her/his mistakes, will try to hide her/his mistakes

She/he tends to talk non-stop from morning until night

Ages and Stages
8 years

Physically:
Finger control is quite refined

Stamina increases, can run and swim further

Intellectually:
Seeks to understand the reasons for things

Has a preference for some activities and subjects

Thinking is organized and logical

Begins to recognize concept of reversibility (4+2=6 and 6-2=4)

Can converse at an almost adult level

Reading may be a major interest

Socially and Emotionally:
Has strong need for love and understanding, especially from the mother

Can be helpful, cheerful and pleasant as well as rude, bossy, and selfish

May be quite sensitive and overly dramatic

Emotions can change quickly

Impatient, finds waiting for special events torturous

Makes friends easily, develops close friends of the same sex

Favors group play, clubs, and team sports, wants to feel as a part of a group

More influenced by peer pressure

Can be obsessed with and motivated by money

Ages and Stages
9 years

Physically:
Development of secondary sex characteristics

Girl’s growth spurts between 9-14 years old

Boy’s growth spurts between 10.5-13.5 years old

High energy level and muscular development require adequate opportunities for exercise

Intellectually:
May become interested in books, music, and playing instruments

Uses more complex sentences

Has increased vocabulary

Careless enunciation observed

Builds complex structures

Uses handwriting

Sketches and draws in detail

Socially and Emotionally:
Positive emotions are most often felt

Much more interested in friends than family

Shows more responsibility, independence, obedience, and ability to get along with others

She/he is a devoted and good friend

Easily redirected when she/he exhibits negative emotions or bad behavior

Ages and Stages
10 years old

Physically:
Physical growth and development varies in this age group

Is energetic, spirited, and can be awkward

Can throw a ball further

Can run at a faster speed

Strives to be physically fit

Is fascinated with how the body works

May be curious about drugs, alcohol, and tobacco

Continues to revel in bathroom humor

Intellectually:
Eager to learn and master new skills

Proud of doing things well

Concerned about personal capabilities

Has internalized standards of right and wrong to some degree

Socially and Emotionally:
Fluctuates between dependent child and independent preteen

Becomes increasingly self-conscious

Becomes preoccupied with the opposite sex

Relates to peers intensely and abides by group decisions

Ages and Stages
11 years old

Physically:
May experience a pubescent growth spurt if female (usually a year or two later for males)

May tire easily and appear lazy (growth spurts drain energy)

Preoccupied with and self-conscious about appearance

Enjoys observing or participating in competitive sports

Keenly interested in learning about body changes

May continue to be curious about drugs, alcohol, and tobacco

Intellectually:
Able to think more abstractly and logically

Increasing attention span

Strives to succeed

Has a strong opinion

Socially and Emotionally:
May be experiencing sudden dramatic emotional changes associated with puberty

Tends to conceal emotional feelings

Hard on self and ultra sensitive to criticism

Critical of parents and spends more time with friends than parents

Concerned with prestige and popularity

Becomes quite faddish

Formal Operational Stage: 14 years – Adulthood
Intelligence is shown through the logical use of symbols related to abstract ideas

Return to egocentric thought

Educational Toys, Learning Games for Kids