Description: In this blog article, Private tutor Zahra shares her experience with techniques for visual learners.
What is Visual Learning?
Throughout my years of teaching, it has become apparent that no child learns the same way.
This is most evident when it comes to each child’s way of absorbing information and their use of working memory.
A significant portion of students that are overlooked in the education system is visual learners.
Visual Learning is one of the four different learning styles made famous by Neil D. Fleming in his VARK model of learning.
Fleming states that people who are visual learners need to see new information in order to learn it truly, hence the need for study tips for visual learners.
Here are some suggestions Flemings has provided for Visual learners:
gestures
pictures
posters
videos
underlining
graphs
symbols
Conversations
diagrams
Restriction in Education
On the outside, it may seem that these students do not understand academic content in comparison to their peers.
In school, students are taught in a lecturing format, which can restrict vital conversion and opportunities for engagement and developing ideas.
For some children this style of teaching may work, however, we cannot ignore students who do not learn this way.
A great example is the analogy of the monkey and the fish, using the same teaching method across a variety of students is like asking a fish and a monkey to climb a tree.
The monkey will be very successful whilst the fish will not.
It does not mean the fish is slow because it cannot climb a tree, it’s because they are not in their element to grow.
As a visual learner, through my years of trial and error, I have found evidence-based techniques that help me and other visual learners retain information and understand complex topics more easily.
Using some of Neil D. Flemings’s suggestions for visual learners I will delve into some tips that I have found most useful.
Drawing
You do not have to be the most artistic person to benefit from this technique.
Get out your pencil and draw a picture, a doodle, or a diagram to accompany the information you’re trying to learn.
Your brain will store a set of drawings of the 7 greatest cities in England in your head much longer than a list of those cities.
Creating your own visuals to understand any information is such an effective way of memorizing content.
A few ways I have used drawings in my studies is when I want to remember statistics and concepts.
Here are some ways you use them in the subjects you learn at school:
Maths- remembering formulas
English- memorizing quotes
Science- understanding concepts
History- dates, and events
Geography- case study information
Mind Maps
Mind maps are a great way to offload all the information you have in your head onto a page.
You can use images instead of words to use 2 techniques in one! Mind maps have also been scientifically proven to help students in their studies.
A study by Farrand, Hussain, and Hennessey (2002) found that mind mapping improved the long-term memory of factual information in medical students by 10%. They reported that “mind maps provide an effective study technique when applied to written material”
They are likely to “encourage a deeper level of processing” for better memory formation.
Additionally, research by Toi (2009) shows that mind mapping can help children recall words more effectively than using lists, with improvements in memory of up to 32%.
Lastly, Glass and Holyoak (1986) found that by gathering and highlighting key branches within a boundary, such as a highlight cloud, you’re using a memory technique known as ‘chunking’.
Our short-term memory is on average only capable of storing seven items of information and chunking can help us use this storage space more effectively.
Teaching is to Learn Twice
The popular quote, “teaching is to learn twice” reflects a key truth when it comes to visual learners.
Teaching is a skill, it requires the person teaching to truly be able to understand the information, and then present it in a digestible format.
I often ask my students to teach me anything new they have learned.
Hence they are able to fully understand what they know and the gaps in their knowledge.
These are just a few tips on how visual learner can tailor their approach to learning.
With education there is not a one size fits all method.
As Neil D. Fleming stated “Understanding each child’s learning style makes it easier to teach more effectively”
As a tutor, I need to understand my students learning styles in order for my student to reach their full potential.
It is about working smarter, not harder.
Studying is already overwhelming, knowing your child’s learning style will not only make studying easier but it will become an enjoyable process.
Having a one-to-one tutor who knows your child on a personal level will also make this process much easier.
Interested in working with Zahra? Contact Us