Learning & Teaching With Visuals

Sheri Kennedy • Mar 05, 2021

The Art of Applied Visual Thinking

The official newsletter of Applied Visual Thinking SUPERHEROES. Vol. 2 No. 5 Mar 05, 2021

This one is for the teachers. And we are all teachers. Presenters, parents, leaders, managers, volunteer coordinators, coaches… and especially life-long learners (this is where we all come in, I hope!) have to flex our teaching muscles in some way. Why?

As Aristotle said, "Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach." In today's fast-paced world, perpetual learning is a requirement for anyone striving to remain relevant in the workplace, stay connected, and increasingly even manage household technology.

"Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach." — Aristotle

How? How can we keep up with learning when sometimes it's all we can do to keep the clothes and kitchen clean and make sure there is more than one food group represented in the fridge? Here's the good news, and it won't come as a surprise. Visuals are your secret weapon for learning and teaching.

Good notetaking is a skill. It can be an art, too, but it doesn't have to take a lifetime to learn. I know that for me, when I capture key info quickly and in a visually organized way, I remember it better, even if I don't refer back to the notes. They become part of my muscle memory.

When I was in grad school, we learned about Neil Fleming's model of four learning styles – visual, auditory, reading-writing and kinesthetic. Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory expanded the model to seven learning styles – visual (spatial), aural (auditory-musical), verbal (linguistic), physical (kinesthetic), logical (mathematical), social (interpersonal) and solitary (intrapersonal). It was amazing to me to realize that we literally think differently, because we process information in different ways.

Newer neuroscientific research has revealed, however, that when it comes to taking in information and remembering it, we are all visual people. According to the Visual Teaching Alliance, 90% of the information that comes into the brain is visual. In 2016, researchers at the University of Waterloo found that drawing simple pictures significantly increased the ability to remember information.

So what? Visuals are NECESSARY for both learning and teaching. Teachers need to learn to leverage visuals, and students need to learn how to "read" different kinds of visuals in thoughtful, sometimes critical ways. Both teachers and students would do well to learn how to use visuals as a COMMUNICATION TOOL to verify that the other understands what we are trying to say. Finally, in today's ever-changing world of work, expectations of continuous skill-building and collaborative workplaces means that everyone will HAVE to get comfortable wearing both learning and teaching hats.

3 images of teaching and learning in red, yellow and green circles

The 3-Step Learning Process

Try this simple process whenever you need to teach someone a new skill.

This works for simpler things like how to use a vegetable peeler and more complex skills like how to edit a website.

Step 1) Watch me once with no questions, the second time pausing for questions.
Step 2) Your turn. I'll talk you through it.
Step 3) On your own this time. I'll keep quiet unless you ask (or there is a real risk of injury or damage).

If you lead a group or project, you need to teach. Visuals can help. Here's a basic lesson plan template you can use as a starting point for planning anything you may need to teach. Make it simple, add visuals and colorful text, and let this double as your agenda!

Grab Your Free Template Now!