Learning it the Visual Way

by Jamilah Samian

Visual learning is much more than retaining, comprehending and organizing information using pictures and colors

For as long as I could remember, I love the printed word and all that is associated with it. When I was in school, I would devour the new text books that my parents bought before the school term began. It wasn’t long before this love developed into something else. By the time I was in secondary school, to my surprise, not only was I looking forward to writing essays in class; I was even enjoying examinations where my writing ability was put to the test!

Indeed, my love affair with the printed word has stood the test of time. Today, I am the proud author of two books and I love writing so much that I would write for free. Interestingly, none of my siblings who are professionals in their own right display an affinity for words as much as I do. I am the only one in my family whose passion for words is sufficient to drive me to stay awake at night thumbing through my trusted thesaurus and dictionary for that one particular word or string of words which would allow me to express my thoughts eloquently.

My daughter, on the other hand, learns quite differently. Ever since she was a toddler, she has a way with colors and pictures. When she was in kindergarten, one of the things she really enjoyed doing was doodling. I had this stack of used papers one side of which were blank, which she would use whenever she felt the urge to doodle. Though she is now a teenager, her love for drawing has not diminished in any way. In fact, she is into them now more than ever.

To help her remember the facts in her Biology lessons, for example, she has literally turned her textbook into pages and pages of mind maps which explode with colors, pictures, charts and diagrams to represent ideas and information. Even the minimum words that she uses for these mind maps are written in different colors and sizes. Not only that, the words are highlighted with curved lines, or set in bold or italics. She would readily vouch that she learns best in this way; that endless words in the textbooks overwhelm her.

If you have a child like my daughter, it is likely that he is a visual learner. The idea that we all may not learn best in the same way was first mooted by Dr Howard Gardner, who proposed the idea of Multiple Intelligences. Dr Gardner believes that there are eight kinds of intelligences, namely; linguistic (“word smart”), logical-mathematical (“number/reasoning smart”), visual (“picture smart”), bodily-kinesthetic (“body smart”), musical (“music smart”), interpersonal (“people smart”), intrapersonal (“self smart”), and naturalistic (“nature smart”).

Dr Gardner is one of the many experts who strongly challenge the idea that IQ is an accurate way of measuring intelligence. He believes that humans are endowed with many abilities and that each of us have at least one way of learning which we are comfortable with. Going by this theory, it would appear that my strength lies in linguistics while my daughter is a highly visual person. However, both of us love Mathematics and enjoy solving problems with numbers. Hence, based on Multiple Intelligences, we are also number/reasoning smart. What I am trying to point out is that, being good in one area doesn’t mean that you cannot excel in other areas as well.

It is important to note that visual learning is much more than retaining, comprehending and organizing information using pictures and colors. Visual learners are stimulated by facial expressions and body language too. In a nutshell, visual learning is about availing of visual cues to stimulate the mind.

How do we apply this in a daily setting? Well, to a highly visual child, no matter how interesting a subject is, if the teacher or parent speaks in a monotone, does not present good body language or an animated facial expression, it is likely that he will find it hard to learn and get bored easily. Worse, he may get distracted or daydream and his mind may wander elsewhere looking for that visual stimulation … which he may acquire through, say, a bird pecking at the windowsill! In short, if the teacher fails to entertain him, he will find ways to entertain himself! The teacher or parent must be smart enough to present concepts or ideas where the child is able to visualize well. There may also be instances in which words alone may fail to paint the correct mental picture. For example, to introduce the concept of molecules and atoms, the usage of 3-D models will go a long way.

If you feel that your child may be a visual learner, the good news is that he has a vivid imagination i.e. he thinks in terms of images. The moment he hears the word “dog”, perhaps he would see a dog running across the field or thumping its bushy tail next to him. However, if your child is not linguistically inclined, he may find it challenging to follow lessons in the present classroom setting, which emphasizes so much on linguistics and mathematical-logical intelligence.

If your child is already in school and has difficulty to follow lessons, instead of reprimanding him or getting upset with his school report, you need to understand that while every child is gifted one way or another, they may not be gifted in the same way. Take the time and effort to nurture his visual intelligence by presenting ideas and concepts which make use of visual effects. Bring into play colors, pictures, graphs or charts to help him understand how ideas are connected and realize how information can be grouped or organized. Pay close attention to your facial expression and body language and be expressive as you go about explaining concepts he needs assistance with. On the other hand, if your child is both a linguistic and visual learner, you can combine both methods to get the best of both worlds. With your patience, perseverance and support, there is nothing that can stop your child from reaching for the stars!

Published in ParenThink! August 2007