What is visual learning?
Visual thinking is a learning style where the learner better understands and retains information when ideas, words and concepts are associated with images. Research tells us that the majority of students in a regular classroom need to see information in order to learn it. Some common visual learning strategies include creating graphic organisers, diagramming, mind mapping, outlining and more.
How does visual learning help students?
Students see how ideas are connected and realise how information can be grouped and organised. With visual learning, new concepts are more thoroughly and easily understood when they are linked to prior knowledge.
Visual learning helps students organise and analyse information.
Students can use diagrams and plots to display large amounts of information in ways that are easy to understand and help reveal relationships and patterns.
Visual learning helps students integrate new knowledge.
According to research, students better remember information when it is represented and learned both visually and verbally.
Visual learning helps students think critically.
Visual thinking and learning utilise graphical ways of working with ideas and presenting information. Research in both educational theory and cognitive psychology tells us that visual learning is among the very best methods for teaching students of all ages how to think and how to learn.
Visual thinking in education.
Visual learning strategies such as graphic organisers, diagrams, outlines and more are being used in classrooms across the country. These strategies help students or all ages better manage learning objectives and achieve academic success. As students are required to evaluate and interpret information from a variety of sources, incorporate new knowledge with what they already have learned, and improve writing skills and think critically, visual learning tools help students meet those demands. Paired with the brain’s capacity for images, visual learning strategies help students better understand and retain information.