Visual Learners

by Ayesha Mirza

In my last post, I mentioned a few dominant qualities in auditory learners. Now is the time to explore another category; visual learners. 

As the name suggests, visual learners understand and retain things better when they see them instead of hearing them. They tend to store snapshots of people and places in their minds. Such learners remember pictures better than words, colors better than black and white print, maps better than spoken directions, flow charts better than description, and faces better than names. Such people try to 'picture' everything they read or hear. They, therefore, have a strong imagination. Much of what they remember is in the form of images. Their brain organizes information and ideas in the form of pictures. However, translating concepts into words can be challenging. So they might need help communicating their ideas and knowledge to others, and it is more complex to fathom why others can't understand things they can 'see' so clearly. Despite this, they are also often fast talkers and often interrupt other speakers. They often use words and phrases related to vision like 'try to picture that,' 'I can't see why,' 'envision it,' 'from my perspective,' etc. Such learners love to draw and doodle. They also possess an incredible sense of direction and space and are apt with maps. Therefore, while some are habitual to taking the wrong exits on highways, visual learners remember precisely which street to enter and which turn to take. In short, they make reliable travel companions.

If you have some or all of these qualities, read on to figure out what works best for you as a student. Generally speaking, visual learners can benefit from anything and everything that appeals to their imagination and sense of sight like;

• drawing flowcharts and diagrams,
• using highlighters of different colors while reading long and tedious paragraphs,
• using three or more colored pens while writing, 
• giving a lot of headings,
• using numbering and bullets with a particular focus on layout,
• using a timeline to remember historical facts,
• creating word-picture associations to remember names 
• making charts and flashcards, and displaying them in your study area,
• finding colorful picture books or websites related to your syllabus,
• using a whiteboard to draw, write and doodle,
• creating mind maps

Now you are aware of two types of learners. Do you fit into any of the two categories? If yes, you can change your study habits according to your learning style until you find out what works best for you. If not, chances are that you are a kinesthetic learner, a category we will look into in my next post. 

Types of Learners: Auditory Learners

by Ayesha Mirza

So here I am as promised, to share a few words on different kinds of learners. When I was a child, my father used to make me write down answers from chapters various times. This was to ensure that I retained the study information well. This did help to a degree, but not as much as dad desired. At that point, neither of us knew why exactly I was unable to score that high despite so much of an effort. But now we seem to know the answer. 

The simple answer is; each individual has different learning styles. What works for dad doesn't necessarily have to work for me too. So, in order to make best use of your time, it is important to know what your learning style is. There are primarily three types of learners: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. I will discuss the first category of learners in this post.

Auditory learners remember best the things they learn by listening. They can remember songs, for instance. They can recall their professor's lectures easily. They like to read out loud in order to remember things. They, if given the choice, prefer to listen to an audio tape instead of reading from a book. They are good in study groups and enjoy explaining things to themselves and others. I, for instance, enjoy acting as participant of a heated discussion on the topic I have to prepare for an exam. Auditory learners are also good at remembering tongue twisters. They are better at following spoken instructions instead of written ones. 

Does any of it ring a bell in your mind? If yes, you can bring a remarkable difference in your grades by making only few changes in your study habits. You can:

• audiotape your written notes,
• create chants, rhymes and word associations to remember facts,
• read out in a loud voice,
• repeat words/facts out loud with eyes closed,
• participate in group discussions,
• teach your class fellows who cannot understand the lessons well,
• listen to audiotapes on the topic, or watch related videos, or,
• record her lectures if your professor allows

So much for auditory learning, I will be posting about the other two kinds of learners soon.

Image courtesy: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

How to retain study information

Most of the questions that my students ask are quite universal and relevant to many other students. I therefore thought it imperative to publish answers to some important and intelligent questions that my students ask me. Below is a question that one of my students asked the other day, and how I replied to her.

Q- Ma’am, in which way did you study the subject S.STUDIES as a student? Ma’am, my way of studying S.STUDIES is that I learn everything by writing on a rough copy, but after some time I forget it.

A quick reply by me- It's always best to understand everything thoroughly. Problems in exams are of two kinds mainly, conceptual and language related. You are lucky enough to have internet facility at home (when I was your age I probably hadn’t even heard of internet), and I'm sure your parents are also very cooperative. Ask them questions; engage in healthy and interesting discussions. The things I remember best are the things I came to know through some interesting discussion with my teachers and parents. Moreover, search over the internet about history and geography, and practically anything and everything that you can’t understand. Or do anything to make it interesting if you think it is boring; play map games, take online history quiz, draw funny pictures, make your books more colorful by highlighting. I hope this helps you out. Good luck!

This is, however, not enough. There is a lot of research going on in the field of education which is focused on figuring out what works best for students and how they are able to understand and retain information better. Therefore, I am now going to write an article including some scientific details about different learning styles. So, do come back for more!