Do you learn best by seeing? Learn about the most effective visual learning strategies in this article by San Diego tutor Natalie S…
We all know that people learn in various ways and use different processes to be successful. We’ve gone over how to study as an auditory learner and as a kinesthetic learner, for example. Now, we’re going to offer some ideas for visual learning strategies. Check out our tips below to help you study in the most effective and efficient ways for you.
1) Stay organized.
Visual learners comprehend new information best when it is laid out in front of them in text, pictures, graphs, and charts. One of the most important visual learning strategies is to stay organized. Keep your notes from class lectures and readings in order, so you can easily review them. If you need help managing all of the information, try putting all of your notes into one binder and use dividing tabs to separate them into different sections based on either the subject or chapter.
2) Take color-coded notes in class.
As mentioned above, visual learners best absorb and retain information by reading or seeing it. This is why it’s especially important that you take copious notes in class. Write down as much information as you can in a thorough, organized fashion, so you can refer to it later. After you have completed writing your notes, review them again with different highlighters in hand and color-code the information based on subject, theme, important dates, or whatever makes the most sense to you. These notes will help you to better remember and comprehend new info, and better yet, you can use them later as study guides for exams.
3) Create your perfect study space.
This is an important thing for everyone to do regardless of which type of learner you are. Visual learners comprehend information better when seeing and reading it, so it’s important for them to create a quiet study area with good lighting and a comfortable space to settle in with their textbooks, notebooks, lecture notes, and pens, highlighters, and post-it notes. Visual learners should always read with a pencil in hand, and underline, highlight, and make notes in the margins whenever possible. Writing notes on new information and recapping chapters into your own summaries is the best way for you to learn and internalize new information.
4) Use flashcards.
Flashcards are another great visual learning strategy for remembering information and studying for exams. With notecards, you can look at chunks of information instead of reviewing all of the information at once. This makes studying less overwhelming and it helps to teach you the information in manageable segments. You can also use graphs and charts to better visualize concepts.
5) Create a study guide for each chapter.
Visual learners are generally good at creating summaries and picking out the most relevant facts in each chapter. Use this talent to your advantage by creating a one-page study guide for each chapter or lecture, and boil the lesson down to the most important facts. Check out our tips for how to create study guides here.
These helpful tips can aid visual learners in highlighting their strengths and overcoming their weaknesses. Remember, if you still need help studying as a visual learner, speak with a TakeLessons tutor for some additional tips!
Natalie S. tutors in English, ESL, History, Phonics, Reading, and Test Prep in San Diego, as well as through online lessons. She received her BA in English Education at the University of Delaware, and her MA in English Literature at San Diego State University. Learn more about Natalie here!
Photo by toesoxluver
Suzy S.