Visual Learners

We hope you enjoy this guest post on visual learning from our friends at Home Tuition Agency!

Visual Learners 
There are several different types of learners, and understanding how to address different learning styles is one of the most important first steps a teacher can make in getting through to his or her students. The most successful lessons will learn to incorporate multiple styles of learning, providing activities that appeal to students through visual, audio and hands-on learning applications. 

For many people, learning about concepts from a textbook is nearly impossible. They may often be heard saying that they "Just can't envision this" or that concepts don't make any sense from their description. You can try to explain the concept in multiple different ways, but ultimately the thing that makes the concept make sense in their heads is a visual representation: a diagram, photograph, demonstration, video or other visual element. 

Ideally, any given lesson should incorporate multiple types of learning. While most people have one dominant learning style, they will usually learn faster if they are given multiple approaches to any problem. Depending on the subject matter you teach and the age of your students, you can utilize several different types of lesson plans.

Creative Teaching Methods for Visual Learners
-- Have your students role-play a situation. If you are teaching history, for example, you can assign your students historical characters and a moment in history for them to play out. 

-- Have students create posters about the topic. Stress that the posters should be informational as well as attractive, and see what your students can come up with. As an added bonus, you can hang these posters up on the wall of the classroom for reference throughout the semester. 

-- Have students make video documentaries about a topic. They can then present these videos to the class. Make sure to specify any limitations about what the video should include or how long it must be. 

-- Whenever possible, allow for some experimentation. If it won't hurt anything, allow your students to venture away from the lesson to find their own answers. For example, create a science experiment where students can create their own method of testing the hypothesis. 

-- Create an interactive website for your class. Even better, enlist your students to help you create the page. This can be informational as well as functional, allowing students to have a place to come and check on work or other information long after the site is introduced. 

There are endless opportunities for ways to encourage students to learn visually and in a hands-on atmosphere. No matter what subject you teach or what age your students are, you should always ask yourself how you can add an extra dimension to any lesson that you teach. Adding visual and hands-on learning techniques to your existing repertoire can help engage students and foster learning in a creative and challenging environment.

Author Amanda Lee is a career counselor and content contributor for hometuitionagency.com.sg, which emphasizes Chinese tuition as an integral factor in international studies.