A kinesthetic person is a sensitive person who learns with their body. To be precise, she memorizes by moving her body or by making movements, whether at home, in the classroom or in the professional world. This is not, at first glance, necessarily compatible with the modalities of a vocational training. “Some teachers were more understanding than others”, says Mr. R., an anonymous witness. “I remember a teacher who allowed nothing but write the course with his head down. Once, I chased a fly from my desk, he threw a chalk in my eye. Self-defense, he said. It was a bit special.” Given these characteristics, how can a kinesthetic person optimize their learning journey? The point.
Kinesthetic memory: what is it?
A kinesthetic person is a person who needs to work out in order to learn. In her learning process, she needs a concrete case to assimilate the explanations, and remembers little from a long speech or theoretical documents. When a person has a kinesthetic memory, gestures must take precedence in learning to stimulate concentration. His body remembers information because, in a way, a kinesthetic remembers what he is doing.
To work on his memory, the kinesthetic must perform movements. For example, to remember a graph, he needs to reproduce it physically or mentally. He must explain it to another person or show it to him in order to ensure the retention of the information. Actions are essential to master the course. A simulation or a practice is urgently needed to perfect the kinesthetic learning journey. If, in a course or training, she does not take any action, she will not remember much.
“I remember the chalk throw very well because I then reproduced it on a classmate. It cost me two euros and one March for her not to report me to the CPE. Definitely not a good day”, continues Mr. R.
Kinesthetic memory: Understanding its role in learning
So now we are going to ask ourselves the question of the place of this type of memorization in our daily lives and how it affects learning in this case.
How does human memory work?
It is important to go back to the basics, to know The functioning of human memory in general. Our memorization is above all a continuous process of retention, essential for our understanding the present and our actions.
It works according to the theory of the “dual process” or “dual process” on the part of our Anglo-Saxon friends. Les automatic and unconscious thoughts are therefore part of the first system. And the analytical and intentional thoughts are part of the second.
The double process theory
This dual process theory therefore allows us to explain how Skills become intuitive with practice. It distinguishes between the first system (automatic thoughts) and the second system (analytical thoughts). The first is therefore the unconscious, while the second is the intentional and the analytical, the two are of course interdependent in both directions!
The importance of memory in our lives
If we now go back to memory, it plays as you can imagine, a crucial role in our daily livese. It structures, prioritizes, and improves our lives, not to mention social relationships. To understand this process, therefore, we need to look at its three fundamental aspects: encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Encoding : Encoding comes in various forms, including visual encoding, sound encoding, semantic encoding, and tactile encoding, linked to sensations and actions.
Storage: Storage falls into two main categories: short-term memory (MCT) and long-term memory (MLT). The MCT temporarily stores information with a capacity limited to one ten items at most with a retention time of 15-30 seconds, and yes it's short. Long-term memory, on the other hand, has a large storage capacity, almost unlimited, around 1000 Terabytes...
Recovery: What is stored can therefore be recovered in various ways. Short-term memory is the first step in the order of encoding, while MLT is retrieved by association and recurrence.
By understanding these processes, teachers can optimize learning students. They need to know when to introduce new knowledge and how to sequence it to build retention and promote critical thinking. So there is no secret, repetition and the ideal volume of information is the key!
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The 3 types of memory and types of learning
If we now return to the types of memorization, we need to specify the three main families. Each human being is different and benefits from different memory predisposition.
Auditory memory
Auditory memory is about listening and understanding oral information. It involves attention, listening, processing, storing, and remembering what has been heard.
Deficiencies in auditory memory affect the comprehension of words and oral information, and by extension, attention... She is essential in the early stages of learning.
Visual memory
This memory makes it possible to integrate the visual elements present in our environment. So she is essential in our daily lives, encompassing visual perception, mental interpretation, and the short or long term storage of elements such as colors, patterns, words, numbers, shapes, etc...
Visual working memory is short-term, while long-term visual memory allows us to remember memories or skills for example.
Kinesthetic memory
Now let's talk about the subject of this article. This form of memory is ccrucial for physical interactions. It concerns automatic actions, such as playing the piano or riding a bike, and also takes into account the memory of objects in space, which helps to find objects based on their previous location.
Some individuals are good at this type of memorization. According to some studies, this specificity only represents 5% of the population. These people are often physically active (sport, movement, etc.)
The application of kinesthetic memory in daily life
Now that we understand the importance of this memory, let's explore how it applies to our daily lives. This form of memory plays a key role in many activities, from the simplest to the most complex.
Learning physical skills: Unsurprisingly, this memory plays a major role in this form of learning. Have you already learned to play a musical instrument or to play a sport? So you know what we are talking about! It allows you to Memorize precise movements needed to play that piano melody you love so much or that perfect shot. The practice therefore makes it possible to integrate it into the first system of the dual process.
Automatic actions: Now think about actions that you automatically perform without thinking about it, like driving a motorcycle for example. This memory also comes into play here. It allows you to coordinate your movements according to the situation, helping you maintain balance.
Spatial memory: Finding your car in a parking lot is the perfect example to illustrate this memory. It is this ability to memorize objects in space that allows you to Find objects based on their previous locationT.
Development of coordination: our coordination is also the result of numerous parameters including this memory. We memorize these movements to perform these actions automatically.
How to recognize the kinesthetic learning profile?
Each individual has their own way of learning. It can be visual (images come to mind during learning), auditory (he hears sounds or even his own voice) or kinesthetic (he feels movement, touch, smell, or taste). To recognize a learning profile, all you have to do is ask them a trivial question about what is going on in their head while listening to a specific word. For example, for the word chocolate, a visual will directly see a chocolate bar in their head, an auditory will hear the word chocolate resonate in their head or even the sound of its packaging when it is torn. As for the kinesthetic, the smell of chocolate may come to mind. The exercise must be repeated with others to determine the learning profile of the person concerned.
“Indeed, the smell of chocolate comes to mind”, confirms Mr. R. “The taste also comes to mind. It makes me want to eat it, by the way. Do you have a vending machine?”
How to stimulate kinesthetic memory?
A kinesthetic adult or child needs to work out during learning, but also after a day at work. He cannot memorize a lesson while sitting or still in a chair. His concentration is only stimulated through gestures. For example, for a child, he can learn while standing on a chalkboard on the wall, without being isolated. The kinesthetic needs a safe place to work. The comfort and ease of the environment should be taken into account. Practice and repetition are very favorable to him. We can thus see that Mr. R. is very interested in his comfort: he absolutely wanted to go and buy chocolate. Outside, for lack of a vending machine. He did two chocolate shops, we waited for him 1.5 hours.
What learning system should a kinesthetic be adopted?
To learn, whether in the educational or professional world, the kinesthetic can adopt certain gestures in order to memorize content:
- Take notes : The kinesthetic remembers what he reads or what he hears, if he lines them up on a piece of paper. For better assimilation of courses, it is recommended to use as many sources as possible. In addition to course notes, the manipulation of textbooks and the use of the Internet are preferred.
- Summarize : The kinesthetic person writes a lot to learn, a summary only optimizes information retention. Preferably, an interactive summary should be made to memorize the contents. Important information (a formula, a demonstration, a chronology) can be written on paper, cut into pieces and then mixed. The idea is to manipulate each piece of paper to recreate the logical order and stimulate understanding.
- Create a game : To perfect learning, the development of a question and answer game is recommended. The kinesthetic must create a list of questions related to his training, then he must pick them at random to answer them. As time goes by, the list of questions may increase. This technique makes it possible to put your knowledge into practice.
- Play creativity : To continue learning while moving, the kinesthetic can highlight or highlight the important lines of what they are learning. He can also start drawing or modeling his courses. The practice is beneficial to kinesthetic memory. In this sense, the kinesthetic needs to move, be active, manipulate and feel in order to assimilate things.
“I was laughed at for my course summaries highlighted with several colors, but here is proof that it was useful”, agrees Mr. R. Then, he added something else but his mouth was full of chocolate, we did not understand anything.
How should the trainer guide his kinesthetic apprentice?
To optimize the learning process, the kinesthetic apprentice should not be the only one making efforts. The trainer must have the necessary skills to ensure pedagogical progress. To capture his attention, the use of examples related to an environment that interests him is required. This type of metaphor is easier to assimilate, especially if the training is alive and well as a whole. The trainer should be aware of the kinesthetic learning profile to establish an adequate working method.
This memory is therefore not only a theoretical concept, it is present in our daily lives, influencing our ability to perform physical actions and to remember information related to space and movement. Whether it's to learn new skills, to complete automatic tasks, or simply to navigate our environment.
Becoming aware of its existence can help us improve our assimilation process and our performance. So the next time you're wondering how you learned to ride a bike, look no further, kinesthetic memory was right there with you!
