This is post #4 in our Summer Learning series.
Think back to the time you forgot the grocery store list at home and you had to think about what was on the list, did you see the piece of paper with writing on it in your mind? Do you sometimes forget people’s names that you met at a party or meeting, but you always remember the face? Or if you hear the name of a person you can see their face in your mind? If so, chances are you are a visual learner. You are among 65% of the population.
There are three dominant learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. A person learns from all three of the various styles, but there is usually a dominant learning style that surfaces in early childhood.
How Visual Learners Learn
Visual learners associate their information with images. Visual learners learn best when information is presented in a written language format or in another visual format such as pictures or diagrams.
Personality and learning traits:
- Loves to draw or doodle (often with color)
- Good sense of fashion
- Good sense of direction/map reading
- Doodle when bored
- Tend to be very organized
- Tend to remember faces
- Sees the big picture: may miss details.
- Often is a late bloomer
- Prefer to work alone
- Learns complex concepts easily but sometimes struggles with easy skills
- Better at keyboarding than handwriting
- Develops own methods of problem-solving
- Masters other languages through immersion
Visual learners learn best through:
- Overheads, slides, pictures, graphs
- Videos/movies
- Demonstrations
- Broad overviews
- Enthusiastic presenters
- Effective use of gestures / body language
- Stories and examples that create a picture
- Seeing materials ahead of time
- Reading
- Watching a play
Ways to enhance learning:
- Read instead of listening.
- Color coordinate.
- Allow to work alone.
- Provide a face-to-face environment as opposed to online.
- Provide problem-solving opportunities and big picture projects.
- Allow computer use and encourage typing skills.
- Provide language immersion opportunities.
- Provide graphics and visuals as often as possible.
- Associate ideas, concepts, data and other information to images.
Ways to Help a Visual Learner learn:
- Create graphic organizers such as diagrams and concept maps that use visual symbols to represent ideas and information.
- Include illustrations with notes.
- Use highlighter pens of contrasting colors to color code different aspects of the information in textbooks.
- Provide a place to study that is free from visual distractions. (Noise is OK)
- When using flashcards, limit the amount of information on a card so a mental picture of the information can be formed.
- Watch videos about topics you of study.
- When solving math problems that involve a sequence of steps, draw a series of boxes, each containing the appropriate piece of information in sequence.
Techniques/Hobbies for Visual learners to try:
- Mind mapping
- Photography
- Replace words with pictures to help you remember things
- Crossword/word find puzzles
- Mazes
Careers for Visual Learners
- Construction Technology
- Video/film
- Design planning (strategy)
- Navigation
- Map creation
- Visual arts
- Mechanical engineering
- Therapist
- Photography
- Graphic Arts
- Detectives
- Interior Design
- Entrepreneurship
- Landscape architect
- Pilot
- Biochemist
- Genetic Scientist
If your child is a visual learner, he is among the majority. Our world is full of visuals and today's children are bombarded with images from a very young age. Use their learning style to help them grow and learn new things but work to develop the other styles also since they will be required to learn in a variety of situations.
If you are unsure what type of learner you are or your child is, you can take a little quiz, Learning Styles Quiz.
In the next post in the Summer Learning series, we'll focus on Auditory Learners.
Rachel says
This is really going to help me homeschool my little visual learner! Thanks for sharing!
Katie Hornor says
You’re welcome Rachel.