There is a many a student who simply cannot retain information and study course material properly from just staring at a book. A lot of students need a little bit more visual stimulation to achieve that A grade!
Visual learners make up one of the basic types of learners proposed by Fleming and Mills in 1992. Their VARK model includes four learning styles, although this model is based on the previous VAK model that only included three learning styles.
VARK stands for Visual – Auditory – Read/write – Kinaesthetic (tactile learning). Visual learners make up the first of these four groups.
There are many different exercises that visual learners can do to improve their study sessions and make learning easier:
- Try organising key information into a diagram or concept map. This is easier to visualise when the need to recall the information arises.
- Use drawings, diagrams and other illustrations in your notes, making them a bit more interesting to look at than they otherwise would be.
- When rewriting your notes use highlighter pens to make key words stand out. Alternatively you can type up your notes onto the computer and use a bolder font for key words.
- Another tip to improve your notes is to replace certain words with symbols, making them easier to remember.
- Make sure to study in a visually dull area. This will draw your attention to your more stimulating notes.
- Use flash cards to test yourself before an exam. Make sure these flash cards include the same diagrams/pictures as your notes.
- Watch Youtube videos, documentaries or television programs on the topic you are studying. Then when revising try to replay in your head specific parts of the video.
- Randomly test yourself throughout the day by attempting to visualise information in your head.
I hope these tips are helpful. Just keep in mind that not everyone will fit exactly into one of the four learning groups, so no matter what group you are classed as you may find that using visual techniques helps you ten fold. Try not to limit yourself to just one specific method of learning and adapt as many as you might need to achieve the best possible grade.