Many teachers adapt their lessons to one of three basic learning styles: auditory learning, where students learn best through hearing; kinesthetic learning, where students learn best through hands-on activities and movement; and visual learning, where students learn best by seeing examples and using graphic organizers. Each learning style necessitates significant or minor adjustments to the lessons to accommodate different learning styles.
A student who learns visually will excel in situations that require graphic organizers, or visual representations of topics or ideas. A visual learning student might be helped by a picture of a boat floating in the sea, juxtaposed with another picture of a rock sinking to the sea’s bottom, to explain the concept of buoyancy — how objects float. The images assist the visual learner in processing the concept in the most effective manner for his or her learning style. With the pictures, the student will grasp the concept better than if, for example, the definition of buoyancy were simply read aloud from a text. More complex graphics may confuse the learner or suffocate him or her with too much information, so simple graphics are best.
Graphs and charts are examples of graphic organizers that can be particularly beneficial to a visual learner. If a student can plot relationships and concepts on a graph or chart, or see them in a photograph or illustration, he or she may be able to understand them better when processing information. A plot diagram, such as the plot pyramid, that shows the rising action, the climax of the story, and the falling action would be extremely helpful to a visual learning student when dealing with literature. These organizers can aid in information retention, detail organization, and comprehension of simple and complex texts.
Identifying a student as a visual learner is a critical first step in determining effective teaching methods for that student, but it is not the only step. If a student is a visual learner, the teacher now has a set of guidelines to follow in order to help the student learn. However, as with most teaching and learning methods, the teacher must keep in mind that each student is unique and will have his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Graphic organizers are a good start, but the teacher must then figure out how to make the graphic organizers work for each student.