If the auditory or visual learning modes are well known, the kinesthetic is less so. Yet many people have a kinesthetic approach to learning. Explanations.
Definition: What does it mean to be a kinesthetic or kinesthetic person?
According to the Larousse online dictionary, the adjective kinaesthetic or kinaesthetic means “which relates to the conscious perception of the position or movements of different parts of the body”. The person who has a kinesthetic profile learns or remembers more thanks to their sensations. “Kinesthesia is often associated with the sense of touch but it covers a broader field. It brings together everything relating to internal physical sensations (emotions, feelings) and external physical sensations such as touch, movement, manipulation of objects.“, explains Valentine Armbruster, herself a kinesthetic, certified coach and author of “Overcoming academic difficulties” (published by Albin Michel). This mode of operation plays a key role in learning and also helps to forge personality traits.
How to recognize a kinesthetic profile?
Everyone uses all of their senses and therefore also appeals to their kinesthetic side to perceive the world. But when it comes to learning or communicating, a cognitive preference is naturally expressed. Some people rely more on their visual sense and simply reading a document is enough for them to understand and retain the information. For others, who are more auditory, it is listening that is effective. “People who have a dominant kinesthetic mode need to do, use their hands or be told a story that will appeal to their emotions… This is what will make sense to them“, specifies Valentine Armbruster. To recognize a kinesthetic personality, it is therefore already a matter of identifying this cognitive preference. It is also possible to pay attention to the predicates used by the person. To talk about an experience, the kinesthetic uses a lexicon which relates more to physical or emotional sensations: “I felt oppressed”, “I had a lump in my stomach”…
Test: How do you know if a person is visual, auditory or kinesthetic?
It is possible to distinguish dominance in a person by analyzing their lexicon. A rather visual person will tend to say “that’s very clear”, an auditory person will be able to say “I hear what you are telling me”… Apart from these predicates, the cognitive preference is observed in areas where the person has more facilities. A person who has a dominant kinesthetic mode will have a certain agility, a skill in areas where the body is involved: theater, DIY, sport, drawing… Valentine Armbruster advises asking yourself: what do I like to do, What do I do quickly and easily? What do I spontaneously move towards? On her website, the coach offers various resources (videos, podcasts, etc.) including two tests to detect a kinesthetic tendency. The first test is aimed at parents to find out more about their child, the second is aimed at adults.
What approach should be favored for learning? How to learn when you have a kinesthetic profile?
Whether a child or an adult, in the case of a kinesthetic profile, it is recommended to use objects, concrete things to promote learning. “A kinesthetic student may become confused if there is too much content or text on a document. Synthetic sheets can then be created with fewer words. From this, he can translate the data by taking objects to tell a story with, or looking for very telling situations in everyday life… There is translation work to be done to appropriate this often more oriented content. towards the visual or auditory“, state Valentine Armbruster.
Exercises, games… How to help a kinesthetic?
To help a kinesthetic, educational games are very important. This can be done through role play, for example. The parent puts himself in the position of student while the child takes on the role of teacher and explains the lesson. He can thus present what he has understood in his own way, in a concrete and lively way. In this posture he uses his body, a board and is active. Imitation games like the merchant can also help with learning.
If the kinesthetic child has a predisposition for drawing, Valentine Armbruster advises relying on this resource so that he represents his lesson for example.
To approach fractions or divisions, learning is often easier by using a cake to be cut into so many pieces for so many people. It could also be colored pencils or a bar of chocolates placed on the table, to be distributed among several people, to be added or subtracted. “This allows you to see what this operating mode concretely implies with everyday elements.“, suggests Valentine Armbruster.
Good in his body, good in his head!
What job for kinesthetic intelligence?
All professions where the body is involved seem a priori to suit kinesthetic people. However, the training itself leading to these professions can represent a barrier if it is particularly theoretical. “If a kinesthetic person wants to become an airline pilot, for example, we might think that it is something that can be adapted because there are joysticks and buttons to operate, but the training is very theoretical. A kinesthetic person can access all types of professions but not all training is suitable for it“, adds Valentine Armbruster. A lot of work must then be done to adapt and “translate” the courses. Kinesthetics therefore sometimes move towards more artistic or manual professions where the training itself is adapted to their mode of teaching. ‘learning.
