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How Learning Styles Change Over Time

Do learning styles stay the same for students? There is some basic research on learning styles and their correlation to the age of students.

Research shows:

• When children come to school they are basically parent/adult motivated.
• Most children are kinesthetic and become more tactual in or about the first grade.
• Auditory skills develop about the second grade.
• Visual skills develop about the third grade.
• Thirty years ago students were moved toward being peer motivated by the 7th grade.  Studies show that students today move toward being peer motivated by 3rd or 4th grade.  By 9th or 10th grade students move toward being self-motivated.
• Seventy percent of children in grades 5-12 have trouble with conventional classroom design.
• Younger children (K-6) need more structure than older students.
• Under achievers tend to remain peer motivated even into their late teens.
• Time of day preference changes over time: 28 % of k-2 are morning learners in comparison to 30% of middle grade students, 40% of high school students and 55% of adults.

This program was developed by the State of Florida Adult Secondary/GED/VPI Committee of the Practitioners' Task Force, through an Adult Education State Leadership Grant from the Florida Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Education.

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this web-based training component, it is not an official publication of the Florida Department of Education.