Wondering what the best way is to help your child learn? It might depend on his or her learning style. The Honey & Mumford learning styles, developed by Peter Honey and Alan Mumford, categorize kids into four learning groups that are supposed to be reflective of children’s natural approach to receiving knowledge. The styles are based on work by Kolb, and they’re designed to help each child focus to be a successful learner.
What Are the Honey and Mumford Learning Styles?
The Honey and Mumford learning styles are created according to a child’s supposed preference to learning. The styles postulate that a child is naturally an Activist, Theorist, Pragmatist, or Reflector. Supporters of learning based on these styles offer that a child’s learning is maximized if said child and parents, seek to understand the style he or she most associates with and then seek out opportunities to use that style.
How Do You Know What Style of Learner Your Child Is?
Honey & Mumford uses a Learning Style Questionnaire to give kids and their caregivers a way to find out what style of learning they utilize. After taking the questionnaire, children are thought to be in a better position to make learning easier, more enjoyable, and more effective. Peter Honey advises kids that when they follow their recommended online learning styles, they’ll be “more equipped with information about [their] learning preferences, [they’ll] have many more hits and fewer misses.”
The Honey & Mumford Learning Styles are also reported to help kids become all-around better learners, because they increase kids’ versatility and help them learn from a wide variety of experiences. The Styles are said to improve learning skills and process, due to the belief that knowing how you learn opens up one’s knowledge intake process to self-improvement and scrutiny.
Characteristics of the Four Learning Styles
According to Honey & Mumford, the four Learning Styles can be summarized with the following characteristics:
Activist – Activists are people who learn by doing. They need to get into the action and experience what they’re trying to learn. These types of people typically have an open mind, they don’t come into situations with biases, they like to brainstorm, and they’re open to group discussions and problem-solving sessions.
Theorist – Learners who are inherently theorists seek to understand the theory behind the action. They enjoy following models and reading up on facts to better engage in the learning process. Theorists love reading stories and quotes, and they appreciate as much background information as they can get.
Pragmatist – Pragmatists want to know how to put what they’re learning into practice in the real world. They don’t like abstract concepts or games. They experiment with theories, ideas, and techniques and take the time to think about how what they’ve done relates to reality.
Reflector – If your child is a Reflector, he or she learns best by watching people and thinking about what is happening. These kids observe from the sidelines and collect data, and then they take the numerous experiences they’ve perceived and work toward an appropriate conclusion.
You likely have a guess as to what type of learner your child is, and might do well by accommodating the tendencies you see in order to help your child sift through information in the way that he or she understands best. If you’re not sure, consider having your child take the Honey & Mumford Learning Style Questionnaire to see which category he or she fits into and what type of learning approach might be best.
Helping your child learn in a fun and efficient way is what the FutureSchool online learning system is all about. Find out more here.
