16 Characteristics of Kinesthetic and Tactile Learners

Posted by Sarah Major on August 20, 2014

What does it mean if my child is a kinesthetic or tactile learner? Kinesthetic learners learn best when they are moving. If they are using their hands and bodies in learning, their attention will be focused right on the learning they are doing. Conversely, if they are expected to sit very still and pay attention and listen, success will not follow. The more they have to sit still, the less they can focus and learn!

In traditional classrooms, often children are expected to sit quietly in their seats, listen, and then learn what they are hearing. Many times there is not the opportunity for students to experience the learning with their bodies and hands, apart from writing with a pencil on paper. While some people believe that a teacher would have to teach several different ways in order to accommodate the various learning styles, we don't think so.

Teachers will be successful in reaching all their learners at one time if they will develop a teaching style that is a synthesis of methods that target the whole brain. 

Child1st exists to help provide teaching materials that are multisensory; materials that make this task of teaching to the whole brain easier for the parent and teacher! Resources for Math, Reading, Sight Words, and Letters & Sounds are designed specifically for visual, tactile, kinesthetic learners.

Learners who need body movement and hands-on work include tactile, kinesthetic learners, and children who have been labeled dyslexic, ADD, and ADHD.

16 Characteristics of kinesthetic and tactile learners

• Kinesthetic learners need to move. They wiggle, tap, swing their leg, bounce, and sometimes just don't seem able to "stay in their seat"
• They will struggle with focus unless their hands are working on the learning
• They will benefit greatly from motions that are directly tied to learning
• They will do better if given actual objects to manipulate in learning to replace pencil and paper
• Their attention follows their hands. If their attention wanders, pointing to the next math problem to be solved will focus their minds on their immediate task
• As with visual learners, kinesthetic learners learn best in a way that is highly automatic: that of body motions stored in the body and cerebellum
• Kinesthetic learners are often gifted performers as athletes, dancers, and any skill that uses their hands
• Kinesthetic learners generally are very coordinated and have an excellent sense of body timing
• Kinesthetic learners will learn and remember best when allowed to move
• They can be taught to not disturb those around them while they move during learning
• Tactile learners are closely related to kinesthetic learners
• The tactile style is more moderate, involving fine motor movements, rather than the whole-body movements
• Tactile learners take in information through the sense of touch and feeling
• Tactile learners may feel like they have to touch, and explore objects in order to know them
• Tactile learners learn best with hands-on activities
• Tactile learners enjoy manipulatives, using different media such as finger-paints, art materials, building projects, blocks or objects for math, hands-on science experiments, lap-booking (making their own books), games, making models, dioramas, etc. If your child is a tactile-based learner, you will find a project-oriented method of learning will probably appeal to your child's need to have active hands. Their motto? "Don't TELL me, let me DO it!"