Last Updated on April 13, 2017 by Marie Bautista
I am so excited to have Jen Lilienstein, author of A PARENT’S PLAYBOOK FOR LEARNING, over here to share her thoughts. I am sure this book will be a great help to my mommy friends and readers out there! This book, which won the Pinnacle Award for Best Parenting and Family Book, will walk you through your child’s personality profile. You can also get a detailed personal profile of your child for free at the Kidzmet website . It would only take 10-20 minutes!
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| A Parent’s Playbook For Learning |
Marie and I collaborated in May of this year when she
offered to review A Parent’s Playbook for
Learning for her readers. (You can read her full review here.) When she
expressed interest in participating in my virtual book tour, I jumped at the
chance to work with her again. She spoke in her last piece about how my book
had opened her eyes—the way her School Head had—to how kids’ unique
personalities and interests shape the ways in which they learn best.
offered to review A Parent’s Playbook for
Learning for her readers. (You can read her full review here.) When she
expressed interest in participating in my virtual book tour, I jumped at the
chance to work with her again. She spoke in her last piece about how my book
had opened her eyes—the way her School Head had—to how kids’ unique
personalities and interests shape the ways in which they learn best.
I thought it would be worthwhile for this stop on my book
tour to talk more about what first clued me into the fact that, when you key
into…
tour to talk more about what first clued me into the fact that, when you key
into…
- who
your kids (or students) are and - how
they like to learn,
you not only spark a passion for learning, but create a
ripple effect into self-esteem that kids take from learning into life.
ripple effect into self-esteem that kids take from learning into life.
Back in college I read a landmark book by Howard Gardner
called Multiple Intelligences, which
struck me to the core. I’d had so many friends throughout my school career that
I thought were absolutely brilliant—just not in the traditional sense of IQ.
Challenge was, many of them didn’t believe that they were smart because their
grades in the “important” subjects weren’t high. When Gardner unveiled his (at
the time) seven types of intelligence, they resonated deeply. As a result, I
decided to do my undergraduate thesis on what effect this acknowledgement—that
there were many ways to be intelligent—in
a school setting would have on the student body. I studied several different
campuses which had varying amounts of Gardner’s intelligences woven into their
school days. For a couple of schools, the focus was almost exclusively on
logical-mathematical and linguistic skills development. For others, the
curriculum reflected a culture of educating the whole child, so
bodily-kinesthetic, musical, visual-spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal
capacities were both recognized and embraced as important during the school day.
The remainder lay somewhere in between. I conducted both qualitative and
quantitative research and discovered that as moreintelligences were honored during the school day, absence rates
decreased, students were more excited about both school and learning, and the
young scholars had a greater variety of responses to the question “what do you
want to be when you grow up?”
called Multiple Intelligences, which
struck me to the core. I’d had so many friends throughout my school career that
I thought were absolutely brilliant—just not in the traditional sense of IQ.
Challenge was, many of them didn’t believe that they were smart because their
grades in the “important” subjects weren’t high. When Gardner unveiled his (at
the time) seven types of intelligence, they resonated deeply. As a result, I
decided to do my undergraduate thesis on what effect this acknowledgement—that
there were many ways to be intelligent—in
a school setting would have on the student body. I studied several different
campuses which had varying amounts of Gardner’s intelligences woven into their
school days. For a couple of schools, the focus was almost exclusively on
logical-mathematical and linguistic skills development. For others, the
curriculum reflected a culture of educating the whole child, so
bodily-kinesthetic, musical, visual-spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal
capacities were both recognized and embraced as important during the school day.
The remainder lay somewhere in between. I conducted both qualitative and
quantitative research and discovered that as moreintelligences were honored during the school day, absence rates
decreased, students were more excited about both school and learning, and the
young scholars had a greater variety of responses to the question “what do you
want to be when you grow up?”
Over the past twenty years, I’ve had the opportunity to be
involved in a variety of types of education. I haven’t just seen different
types of learners in a classroom or tutoring setting, but also watched focus
groups of kids respond to educational software games differently and came to
understand how differently adults deal with the challenge of distance
education. Most importantly, however,
I’ve had a front row seat to watch my two children learn in very different ways.
involved in a variety of types of education. I haven’t just seen different
types of learners in a classroom or tutoring setting, but also watched focus
groups of kids respond to educational software games differently and came to
understand how differently adults deal with the challenge of distance
education. Most importantly, however,
I’ve had a front row seat to watch my two children learn in very different ways.
I’ve been familiar with personality type for what seems like
eons. I took a Myers-Briggs test when I was in early high school thanks to my
Dad, later in my high school career center, then yet again with the self-help
best seller “What Color Is Your Parachute?” I became a personality type
enthusiast very early on and thought that the eHarmony approach to internet
dating was brilliant. After all, we have all experienced firsthand how
important personality mesh is when choosing a spouse or friends.
eons. I took a Myers-Briggs test when I was in early high school thanks to my
Dad, later in my high school career center, then yet again with the self-help
best seller “What Color Is Your Parachute?” I became a personality type
enthusiast very early on and thought that the eHarmony approach to internet
dating was brilliant. After all, we have all experienced firsthand how
important personality mesh is when choosing a spouse or friends.
But until my kids were born, it didn’t strike me how
important it was in the context of learning.
All the different personality types approach new understandings in different
ways. There are 8 types of learners in elementary school from a personality
perspective. Knowing your child’s personality type is kind of like buying a GPS
system for your child’s education, where you can help them chart their own
quickest path to understanding. Some kids do better“thinking out loud” while
others prefer to ponder new material before discussing it. Some kids see the
world in black-and-white, replicable models while others see it in shades of
gray. Some kids prefer to check out the forest before zooming into the trees
while still others prefer to get to know the leaves and trees before looking at
the forest as a whole.
important it was in the context of learning.
All the different personality types approach new understandings in different
ways. There are 8 types of learners in elementary school from a personality
perspective. Knowing your child’s personality type is kind of like buying a GPS
system for your child’s education, where you can help them chart their own
quickest path to understanding. Some kids do better“thinking out loud” while
others prefer to ponder new material before discussing it. Some kids see the
world in black-and-white, replicable models while others see it in shades of
gray. Some kids prefer to check out the forest before zooming into the trees
while still others prefer to get to know the leaves and trees before looking at
the forest as a whole.
There is no one right way to approach a concept. Any of
these angles or approaches has merit, just as long as you eventually flesh out
all sides of the elephant. More importantly, the ways that work best for
parents to learn new material may not
match their kids. My hope is that my book, A Parent’s Playbook for Learning, will help enlighten parents with
respect to how their own kids understand the world around them and soak in new
knowledge, so that they are in a better position to help their kids develop a
passion for learning.
these angles or approaches has merit, just as long as you eventually flesh out
all sides of the elephant. More importantly, the ways that work best for
parents to learn new material may not
match their kids. My hope is that my book, A Parent’s Playbook for Learning, will help enlighten parents with
respect to how their own kids understand the world around them and soak in new
knowledge, so that they are in a better position to help their kids develop a
passion for learning.
Jen Lilienstein
You can grab A Parent’s Playbook for Learning
at Amazon in Paperback and Kindle version and of course at Kidzmet.com.
at Amazon in Paperback and Kindle
version and of course at Kidzmet.com.
Good work on this! I agree that each child has his own learning curve, and should be addressed by the educator. 🙂
It seems that a traditional school setting just doesn't cut it after these studies about how differently children learn. Now that I have children of my own, I see that different approaches need to be considered in teaching and disciplining my children. This book would certainly be helpful for me.
It is only been recently that multiple intelligence is given importance. Before, mental aptitude is based on high-functioning knowledge on school subjects.
this will definitely be a helpful book for parents these days since they can focus on the best way to develop their child's intelligence without compromising their child's individuality.
Wow! This is so great ha! I'm a personality-type enthusiast as well because I find that awareness of the personality types makes me understand other people better. I hope to apply the same principle to Yuri when he grows up!
this could be the "instruction book" that parents might need in understanding their kids and how each personality needs to be handled.
Parents of today, like me, are well and good because there are plenty of books that can guide us. Parents have different personalities and so as the little ones and perhaps with this book guiding and teaching the young one will be more easier but of course changes comes along the journey of teaching. What matters is that how parents can use it as a guide.
This is a great book. I will try to download this one.
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