Visual Learning Style

What Are the Visual Learner’s Characteristics?

Visual learners are good at absorbing information through what they see. Some of the visual learner’s main characteristics include the following:

• They tend to have a vivid imagination and this can sometimes lead to daydreaming or mental wandering.
• Since they think primarily in pictures, they highly enjoy visual stimulation.
• They tend to grasp the underlying meaning behind body language and facial expressions. On the flip side, they may need to see a person’s body language and facial expression to fully understand what they are trying to say.
• They are typically good at reading maps and charts.
• When it comes to spelling, they oftentimes need to visualize the words in order to spell them correctly.
• They are usually good at using their intuition to solve problems.
• They enjoy watching videos, using flash cards and highlighting information.
• They easily notice new things in a room or physical changes in a person.
• They tend to make lists to recall information.
• They usually have strong artistic, mechanic, or technological talents.
• They are perfectionists and usually highly organized.
• They can easily identify patterns in what they see.
• They usually prefer a quiet environment as they can easily get distracted by noises.

Study Tips for Visual Learners

Visual learners have many strengths. They are meticulous and highly value planning and organization in their academic lives. They are very aware of things like color, brightness, contrast and other visual elements. Taking advantage of these strengths can significantly boost their performance.

Below are a few study tips for visual learners to help you get started:

• Instead of writing out their work, allow students to represent their learning in visual and creative ways. Creativity is key for a visual-spatial learner.
• Provide them a personal whiteboard and dry-erase markers with plenty of colors. This allows your child to easily draw out ideas and concepts without wasting paper or taking up a lot of room.
• Try using bright colors whenever possible as these help make an imprint on your child’s mind.
• Consider watching documentaries instead of using textbooks whenever possible.
• Create to-do lists with your child so they can refer back to them, help them stay on track and visualize their progress.
• Incorporate lots of concept maps in your studies. Draw the main idea and then allow your child to drill down into the categories and subcategories.
• Use copious amounts of visual aids in learning. Any auditory instruction needs to be accompanied by something that the student can see with their eyes.
• Try color-coding. Assigning colors to common themes in textbooks, such as using a yellow highlighter for vocabulary words, allows your student to associate color with terms.
• Colors can help the brain remember complex and abstract concepts.
• Consider creating/using PowerPoint presentations to go over topics or concepts you have studied. Make sure to use visual cues in your presentations.
• Try to provide a quiet learning space for your visual-spatial learner, as they tend to flourish in this type of environment.
• Help your child organize their notes like an outline. Simple indentations and bullets create a visual subdivision that can help your learner see how larger concepts are related to specific ones.
• Consider investing in stationery, stickers and other supplies that your child will enjoy looking at and using. You can assign different stationery for each subject (or topic) so they are visually distinct.
• Whenever possible replace words with symbols. This simple trick helps visual learners associate symbols with concepts, speeds up their writing and creates that visual aid they need. For example, # can replace the word “number”, ≠ can replace the word “different”, ☮ can replace the word “peace” and so on.
• Search engines can be a great tool for visual learners. You can look up words, places, and concepts in the images section instead of the regular search. Your student can study things like the water cycle, digestive system, human anatomy and more with all the visual representations of what they are studying.

How Time4Learning Works for Visual Learners

All of the visual learning techniques mentioned above will help boost your child’s academic performance. However, it is important to choose a curriculum that builds on the unique strengths of visual-spatial learners. A text-heavy curriculum may not be the ideal solution for your child.

Time4Learning is an online homeschool program with lessons presented in a multimedia format that is highly interactive and engaging. Some of the reasons why parents of visual learners frequently choose Time4Learning as their main homeschool curriculum include:

• Visual demonstrations within the lessons aid in making information understandable to visual-spatial learners.
• Even the highly auditory subject of phonics is presented visually and is supplemented by a holistic literature connection.
• We offer fun, educational games with vivid colors that visual learners love!
• For early readers, we provide the “read along” option for reading assignments, where the words of the story are highlighted, allowing visual learners to make the word-sound connection.
• We also offer visual writing tools such as note-card creators, graphic organizers, and the ability to easily insert images and links into their papers.
• Most of our subjects are also taught using videos, which can easily engage a visual learner.

Sign up for Time4Learning and gain access to a variety of educational materials, which will engage and challenge your child to succeed. Make Time4Learning a part of your educational resource toolbox for teaching your unique visual-spatial learner.

Additional Information on Learning Styles

• Types of Learning Styles
• Auditory Learning
• Kinesthetic Learning
• Logical Learning
• Social Learning
• Solitary Learning
• Verbal Learning