What Is Kinesthetic Learning?

Short answer: Kinesthetic learning is learning by doing: moving, touching, building and manipulating objects rather than only listening or reading. It is the “K” in the VARK learning styles model. Research does not support teaching each student only in their preferred style, but hands-on, active learning helps nearly all students learn math and science.

Many parents describe a child who cannot sit still in class but understands a concept instantly once they build it, draw it or act it out. That is real and worth using. The key is knowing what the research does and does not say.

Key points

• Learning by doing: Kinesthetic learning uses movement, touch and physical activity to build understanding.
• Part of VARK: The VARK model lists four preferences: visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic.
• Preferences are real: Many students enjoy hands-on work more and say it helps them focus.
• Matching lacks evidence: Studies have not shown that teaching to a student’s preferred style improves results.
• Active learning works: A meta-analysis of 225 studies found active learning raises STEM exam scores.
• Use it for everyone: Hands-on activities help most when they make an abstract idea concrete.

What is kinesthetic learning?

Kinesthetic learning, sometimes called tactile or hands-on learning, means understanding and remembering information through physical activity. Instead of only hearing an explanation, the student handles materials, moves around, builds models or works through an experiment.

A kinesthetic approach to fractions might mean folding paper strips into halves, quarters and eighths. In physics, it might mean rolling a ball down ramps of different angles and timing it, rather than reading about acceleration first.

Where does the term come from?

The term is best known from the VARK model, a questionnaire that sorts learning preferences into four categories. Students often score high in more than one.

What are the characteristics of kinesthetic learners?

Students who describe themselves as kinesthetic learners often:

• Prefer labs, projects and building over lectures and long readings.
• Fidget, stand or pace when they are thinking hard.
• Understand a concept better after trying it than after hearing it explained.
• Doodle, sketch diagrams or count on their fingers while they work.
• Use gestures when they explain an idea.
• Like taking things apart to see how they work.
• Enjoy sports, art, music or other physical skills.

These traits describe how a student likes to learn. They are not a diagnosis, and they do not mean the student cannot learn from reading or listening.

Is kinesthetic learning backed by research?

This is where the popular version of learning styles and the research part ways. There are two separate claims, and the evidence for them is very different.

Claim 1: students learn best when teaching matches their style

This is the “meshing” idea behind most learning-style quizzes. A major review in Psychological Science in the Public Interest looked for experiments that could test it properly and found very few. Some of the well-designed studies contradicted it, and the authors concluded the evidence does not justify using learning-style assessments in general education (Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer and Bjork, 2008).

Later classroom research points the same way. In a study of more than 400 anatomy students at Indiana University, nearly 70% did not study in ways that matched their own VARK results, and those who did match performed no better (Scientific American).

Claim 2: hands-on, active learning helps students learn

This claim has strong support. A meta-analysis of 225 studies in science, engineering and math found that active learning raised exam scores by about 6%, and students in traditional lecture courses were about 1.5 times more likely to fail (Freeman et al., PNAS, 2014).

• 225 STEM studies in the active learning meta-analysis
• About 6% higher exam scores with active learning
• 1.5× more likely to fail in lecture-only courses
• Nearly 70% of anatomy students did not study to their VARK style

The practical takeaway: do not label a child “a kinesthetic learner” and limit how they are taught. Do use hands-on, active methods, because they help almost everyone, including students who prefer them.

What are examples of kinesthetic learning activities in math and physics?

The best hands-on activities connect a physical action to the exact idea being learned. Movement for its own sake is fun, but it does not teach algebra.

Walk the number line

Tape a number line on the floor and have the student step out problems like −3 + 5 or 2 − 6. Facing and walking direction make the rules for negatives physical instead of memorized. As Sean Alexander puts it when teaching negatives:

“The number line is the why. It explains why things work the way they do.”

Sean Alexander, founder of Alexander Tutoring

Build it with tiles, paper and scissors

• Fractions: fold paper strips to compare 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4, then line them up to add.
• Multiplying binomials: lay out algebra tiles or draw an area model for (x + 2)(x + 3) to see why it equals x² + 5x + 6.
• Area of a circle: cut a paper circle into thin wedges and rearrange them. The shape that forms shows where the formula comes from, as explained in our guide to the area of a circle.
• Triangle angles: tear the three corners off a paper triangle and line them up to make a straight line, showing they sum to 180°.

Measure and experiment

• Time a ball rolling down ramps at different angles to explore acceleration.
• Measure a friend’s shadow and a tree’s shadow to find the tree’s height with similar triangles.
• Drop objects of different masses to test what really affects falling speed.

Work at the board

Standing at a whiteboard, writing large, and physically pointing to each step keeps active students engaged. Explaining a solution out loud while writing it is one of the simplest active learning habits there is.

Tutor tip: After a hands-on activity, always connect it back to the written math. The goal is for the student to solve the problem on paper, with the physical model as the reason the steps make sense.

How can kinesthetic learners study at home?

1. Study in short blocks. Work for 20 to 30 minutes, then take a short movement break.
2. Write, do not just reread. Work practice problems on paper or a whiteboard instead of reviewing notes.
3. Quiz yourself. Make flashcards for formulas and definitions and test yourself, rather than staring at a list.
4. Teach it back. Explain a concept to a parent or sibling with gestures and sketches.
5. Use real objects. Coins, measuring cups and graph paper turn word problems into something you can handle.

Tutor tip: Strong study habits beat style labels. Practice problems and self-testing work for every kind of learner, so build them in no matter how your student prefers to learn.

For more ideas, see 7 study tips for more effective studying, the best memorization techniques and whether physical activity improves memory.

How does tutoring help hands-on learners?

In a classroom of 30, there is rarely time for every student to build, test and explain. One-on-one lessons change that: the student does the work while the tutor asks questions, catches errors early and adjusts the next step.

Good tutors use many approaches in the same lesson, a diagram, a physical model, a worked example and practice, because mixing them is what the evidence supports. Read more about how learning styles affect tutoring, strategies for visual learners and what personalized learning means.

Frequently asked questions