Do you have lots of energy? Do you get antsy in long lecture classes? Have you ever noticed that it’s easier for you to study if someone asks you questions while you shoot hoops or walk around? If so, you may be a kinesthetic learner.

Kinesthetic learning is one of the three different learning styles popularized by Neil D. Fleming in his VAK model of learning. In essence, kinesthetic learners process information best when they are physically engaged during the learning process.

Often, those with a kinesthetic learning style have a hard time learning through traditional lecture-based schooling because the body does not make the connection that they are doing something when they’re listening without movement. Their brains are engaged, but their bodies are not, which makes it more difficult for them to process the information. Much of the time, they need to get up and move to put something into memory.

Strengths of Kinesthetic Learners:

Kinesthetic learners have many strengths that will help them achieve success in the classroom:

• Great hand-eye coordination
• Quick reactions
• Excellent motor memory (can duplicate something after doing it once)
• Excellent experimenters
• Good at sports
• Perform well in art and drama
• High levels of energy

Kinesthetic Learning Strategies:

If you’re a kinesthetic learner, try these techniques to improve your comprehension, retention, and concentration while studying:

Stand Up Instead of Sitting Down.

You already know that sitting for extended periods is bad for your health. But did you know that, as a kinesthetic learner, standing up will improve your comprehension and retention? When you stand up, your body is more engaged and connected to the learning process. Investing in a book stand or standing desk may help you concentrate for longer periods and remember more of what you read.

Combine Your Study Session With Exercise.

Instead of plopping on the sofa with your notes, get up and do burpees or jumping jacks in between chapters. Ask a friend or family member to quiz you on your study guide while you shoot hoops or jump rope. Combining activity keeps you energized and cements the ideas you’re studying in your brain. Plus, as a kinesthetic learner, you need a physical outlet for your excess energy, even when you have to study.

Utilize Small Movements.

It’s not always possible to stand up and do high knees during a study session, but you can still use kinesthetic study strategies to keep yourself engaged. Bounce a tennis ball against the floor and catch it every time you answer a question. Twist a rubber band around your wrist or a pencil while you read. Even if the motions are small, they’ll help you stay focused and attentive.

Use a pen or pencil. Use a Highlighter.

Underline important vocabulary or concepts while you read. Highlight and color code passages that connect to one another. Use a pencil to draw flow charts in your books that help break down the passage into small pieces. Add sticky notes that show the main ideas and your inferences. Using effective reading strategies combined with movement makes studying easier for kinesthetic learners.

Try Tension and Relaxation.

When you’re in a study situation that truly limits your ability to move, use this tension and relaxation technique to stay focused. In intervals of five to ten seconds, tighten a particular muscle. Then relax when the seconds have passed. This technique helps to release unwanted tension, which is something kinesthetic learners often experience during idle times.

Get Creative.

If a topic has become difficult for you, approach it from another angle. Use materials you can manipulate, like blocks or figurines, to visualize a battle scene or explore mathematical concepts. Draw pictures about the topic you’re learning or design a video or storyboard explaining the ideas to someone new. You have excellent motor memory; you’re likely to better remember something you built than something you read.

Examples of Kinethetic Acvities  

Learning is most effective when you engage your hands, mind, and body together. You’ll actively participate in these activities by building, role-playing, or experimenting to deepen your understanding. Get ready to collaborate, explore real-world connections, and have fun while learning!

1. Building a Model to Learn Anatomy  

• Scenario:
  • A biology class is learning about the human skeletal system.
• Preparation:

1. Provide materials such as clay, pipe cleaners, printed images of bones, or a pre-packaged skeleton model kit.
2. Include label diagrams and briefly explain how bones fit together (e.g., joints, ligaments).

• Activity Steps:

1. Begin by discussing the significant parts of the skeletal system, highlighting key bones like the femur, humerus, and skull.
2. Assign small groups of students to build specific sections of the skeleton (e.g., arms, legs, or torso).
3. As students handle each bone or material, ask them to name it aloud and discuss its function (e.g., “This is the femur, the largest bone in the body, which supports the body’s weight”).
4. Once all groups have completed their sections, have them collaborate to assemble the full skeleton.
5. Encourage students to move the joints to see how they articulate and discuss the role of cartilage and ligaments.

• Follow-Up:
  • Have students quiz each other by pointing to bones and naming their functions. Encourage them to compare their model to real X-rays or 3D online simulations.

2. Conducting a Science Experiment  

• Scenario:
  • A physics class studying Newton’s laws of motion.
• Preparation:

1. Gather materials: toy cars, ramps (made from cardboard or wood), measuring tapes, stopwatches, and weights.
2. Prepare a worksheet with space for students to record observations, including variables such as ramp angle, car weight, and travel distance.

• Activity Steps:

1. Begin by discussing Newton’s laws of motion, focusing on force, friction, and acceleration.
2. Divide students into small groups and provide each group with materials.
3. Have students set up a ramp at a specific angle (e.g., 20 degrees) and release the car from the top without pushing it.
4. Students measure how far the car travels and how long it takes to reach the bottom of the ramp, recording their data on a worksheet.
5. Repeat the experiment by changing variables, such as increasing the ramp’s angle or adding weights to the car. Before testing, have students hypothesize how these changes will affect the results.
6. Encourage students to analyze their data by comparing results across different setups.

• Follow-up:
  • Have groups present their findings to the class, highlighting how the data supports or refutes their hypotheses. Then, discuss real-world applications of these principles, such as in transportation or engineering.

Kinesthetic Teaching Tools  

There are many tools or activities that teachers can use to help kinesthetic learners understand and retain information.  We’ll now look at the kinesthetic learning activities and how they can be implemented in a classroom setting.

Animation  

Animations are visual representations of movement and change created through a series of sequential images or frames. They can be created using hand-drawn images, computer-generated graphics, and stop-motion techniques.  Animations can tell stories, explain complex concepts, and demonstrate the movement of objects or the flow of a process

Stand-on Simulations  

Stand-on simulations refer to a type of training or exercise where participants remain standing throughout the simulation instead of sitting or moving around.  In stand-on simulations, participants are asked to role-play different scenarios and make decisions under pressure while standing and moving around a simulated environment.   

Micro-Learning Lessons  

Micro-learning is a teaching method that delivers content in short, bite-sized lessons designed to be consumed quickly and easily. Lessons are designed to be brief and concise, with most lessons ranging from a few minutes to 15 minutes or less.

Interactive Documents  

Interactive documents are digital documents that allow users to engage with the content in a more interactive way. Unlike traditional static documents, such as PDFs or Word documents, interactive documents include multimedia elements such as images, videos, gifs and clickable links. Interactive PDFs

Role-Playing Exercise  

Role playing is a teaching method that involves simulating real-life situations in which learners take on different roles or characters. Role playing is an effective tool for kinesthetic learners, because it provides them with an opportunity to engage with the material in a more hands-on and interactive way.

A kinesthetic learning style conclusion emphasizes that these learners thrive through physical engagement, experiencing, and doing, making learning memorable and meaningful by connecting abstract concepts to the real world through movement and touch, ultimately unlocking potential often missed in traditional settings by incorporating hands-on activities and real-life application. It’s about making education active, not just passive, benefiting all learners by making concepts more alive and tangible.

–Carol Marina Dsouza

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