The soul never thinks without a picture. Aristotle, 384-322 BCE Greek philosopher

Options in learning series

Visual/spatial learning

Learning,
for visual-spatial learners,
takes place all at once,
with large chunks of information grasped in intuitive leaps,
rather than gradually acquiring isolated facts,
small steps or habits gained through practice.
For example, they can learn all of the multiplication facts as a related set in a chart much easier and faster than memorizing each fact independently." ¹

Organizing:

• Visual/spatial perspective is the organizing principle
  Visual/spatial learners prefer a well-ordered and -designed space with each object in its place and appealingly so.
  They are uncomfortable, even restless, encountering incomplete or unsettled situations
• With an instinctive sense of balance and completeness
  they can tell when something is out of alignment, or not truly horizontal or vertical.
  They are adept at working with mirror images and rotating images in their minds, and strive to bring order by constructing, arranging, color coding, or fixing things

Observing/experiencing:

• Visual/spatial learners are good at seeing the "big picture"
  of both simple and complex systems. Overviews or summaries are their specialty, often at the expense of remembering details or constructing sequences
• Personal presentation (dress, grooming, even gestures) is important
  Their own presentation/dress is as important as what they notice about others. They establish eye contact when speaking, but can be distracted by their surroundings.
  Background sounds can disrupt their listening, and they often doodle during lectures, at meetings, etc.
• They prefer to read and work under subdued or natural lighting
  and in comfortable conditions, and are uncomfortable with glare/harsh lighting, rough clothing, drafts, and temperature extremes

Suggested learning strategies:

• Meet with the teacher to understand class objectives and apply these to your situation
• Request advanced organizers
  to help you relate to new material with what you already know
• Look for opportunities to work with, manipulate and/or engage new material
  • Hands-on approach manipulating forms or objects
  • Using visual clues or landmarks rather than (verbal) sequential steps
• Look for visual/spatial dimensions in your study:
  Example: geometry has more visual components than algebra in mathematics;
  physics rather than chemistry in science;
  graphic applications in computer science and technology fields;
  studio arts in the creative arts, architecture, mechanics, aeronautics, engineering, urban planning
• Seek out independent and open-ended strategies,
  problem-based learning, case studies, or ways you can be more active with the material. Seek alternative strategies that assess or demonstrate what you have learned

Study habits

• Always have the "big picture" before you
  especially when studying its parts or details
• When trying to remember things,
  close your eyes to get a picture or image of the information to facilitate recall or use flash cards with limited information so that you can picture details and concepts
• Once a concept is grasped,
  Practice applying the information to new situations or progressive, stepped learning
  in place of routine drill and practice that will challenge your attention span
• Use mind or concept maps (rather than outlines)
  to organize writing assignments to visualize ideas, their connections, sequences, and conclusions
  Brainstorm using illustrations, mind maps and models
• Use alternative sources of visual material when you study
  like video/media programs, overheads and PowerPoint demonstrations, graphs, maps, etc.

Using technology:

• Take advantage of the visual elements
  of the computer in studying or locating information
• Take advantage of stop/start/replay
  in mediated programs
• Produce your own mediated programs
  in place of written reports
• Develop and apply graphical and/or three dimensional models to understand new material

For lectures

• Avoid visual distractions
  in classroom seating (windows, open doorways, etc.)
• Look for opportunities to break up lectures
  with reflective though active exercises (question-write-pair-share) and brain-storming sessions
• Illustrate your notes
  with images and graphs
• Review and organize your notes after class
  with concept maps
• Keep and organize a file of handouts
  and summary documents after lectures for review
• Request "guided notes" or blanks in handouts
  that provide you with cues for completion

Reading text books

• Look through titles, charts, graphs, and pictures
  to get an overall idea of the content before reading a chapter
• Use color highlighters
  to emphasize important material
• Write or illustrate in the margins
  to emphasize important material

Test taking/assessment

• Write out/illustrate steps in a sequence
  as a checklist to keep on task
• Think of visual cues and associations in remembering information
  (You may also see the location of an answer rather than the answer itself!)
• If you are challenged by standardized and/or timed tests,
  meet with your teacher to discuss alternatives for assessment
• Essay and/or short answer tests, or class presentations/demonstrations
  may be optional assessment techniques

See also:

Learning to learn | Succeeding in continuing education | Visual/spatial learning |
Learning as a student-athlete | Learning as an adult | Learning with ADHD |
Active learning | Action learning | Language learning strategies |
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See also:

Effective study habits | A.S.P.I.R.E. - a study system | Index - a study system | Studying with flashcards | Studying with multiple sources | Finding the right study space | Studying text books in science