The Ultimate Guide to Kinesthetic Learning

If you are teaching someone who cannot seem to absorb and retain information just by reading, if you feel their thoughts and ideas tend to flow when they are moving around. They may be Kinesthetic learners. This learning style is about hands-on experiences and physical activity for maximum learning.

What is Kinesthetic Learning?

Kinesthetic learning is also called tactile learning. It is a form of learning where you can help people learn through movement and physical interaction with the material. For example, learning about the human body can be done through making a clay model. These kinds of hands-on activities will help them understand concepts and retain information more effectively.

Characteristics of Kinesthetic Learners

• Visualisation Skills: Though kinesthetic learners need movement and interaction with the material, they are also great at visualisation. For example, if they are going to build a clay model of the human body, they will imagine how to go about connecting the different organs and what the entire model will look like, before even starting it.
• Preference for Movement: Kinesthetic learners find it difficult to sit still. They tend to get fidgety and tap their legs very often.
• Multitasking Abilities: Contrary to popular belief, kinesthetic learners find it easy to multitask a lot of times. Moving around and learning at the same time improves their focus while learning a new skill.

Benefits of Kinesthetic Learning

Taking up the kinesthetic style of learning has its benefits:

• Increases Creativity: Kinesthetic learners are great at thinking outside the box. Activities like building help kinesthetic learners think creatively and innovatively.
• Develops Problem-Solving Skills: Since kinesthetic learning is all about hands-on learning, it helps learners to solve problems more effectively.
• Develops Cognitive Thinking: Kinesthetic learning activates the senses; it involves working with people. Activities like building a model or even group activities need interaction. These activities will improve the way you help them process information. And that leads to a better understanding of things and brain development.
• Improves Communication and Social Skills: Since a lot of activities involved in kinesthetic learning are about interactions, group activities, and working with others, it automatically improves communication skills and motivates teamwork.
• Improves Muscle Memory: When you teach through physical activity, it increases the muscle memory of the learner. Strong muscle memory is important when they are doing a physical activity like playing an instrument etc.
• Opens Up a Lot of Career Options: Kinesthetic learning will help learners excel in careers that require problem-solving, physical activity, and hands-on work. It will help them excel in fields such as engineering, construction, sports, healthcare, and performing arts.
• Reduces Stress and Increases Energy: Physical activity is a natural stress buster, when you engage them in physical activities, even though they are for educational purposes, they will keep the energy levels high and make the learners feel less stressed, keeping the body active. When you teach through a kinesthetic style, you will be able to create a positive and productive learning environment.

Effective Teaching Strategies for Kinesthetic Learners

Whether you are a kinesthetic learner or a parent/teacher working with kinesthetic learners, here are a number of things you can try to make the learning process more rewarding.

• Include interactive activities: Leave the regular lectures aside and induce learning through interactive games, simulations, role-plays, and projects. You must encourage the learners to build models, conduct experiments, or participate in learning activities that involve movement.
• Encourage Movement: Don’t be worried if the learners fidget, or like to move around the room, this only helps them focus better and improve their retention. You can involve quick jumping jack breaks or stretches into your routine to help improve their productivity.
• Encourage Outdoor Lessons: If you take the learning outdoors, it will only help the learners. You can involve nature walks to study ecosystems, you can try a game of tag or even basic concepts of physics can be tried outside the theory.
• Make the Most of Resources: There are a lot of resources like websites, apps, and games that provide interactive learning experiences.

Read Also: Teaching Skills for Teachers

• Use Demonstrations: The concept of ‘show don’t tell’ works wonders with kinesthetic learners since they learn better with physical activity rather than learning through theory.
• Allow Short Breaks: Allow your learners to take short breaks, this will help them perform better and stay focussed for a longer duration of time.
• Encourage Art and Craft: Incorporating activities like drawing, sculpting, and building crafts will help learners’ need for physical activity, you must try these to help them perform with excellence.
• Use Science Experiments: Physics experiments like building bridges or studying motion, while biology experiments like dissecting flowers or exploring life cycles can help kinesthetic learners gain more information since these are hands-on experiments that help learners retain what they are being taught.

Kinesthetic learning is a unique and effective learning style that uses the power of movement and physical activity. By understanding the characteristics and benefits of this style, you as an educator or a parent can create a learning environment that is engaging and caters to the learner’s needs. When you incorporate hands-on activities, short breaks for movement, and practical experiments, you are basically helping these learners reach their full potential. Learning does not have to be limited to textbooks, it can be a fun engaging experience as well.

Read Also: Understanding Different Types of Learning Styles

Last Updated on January 28, 2025