The Benefits Of Visual Learning
A great way of learning maths concepts is by visual learning. Visual learning means learning by looking at the subject matter you are trying to improve in. Research shows that students learn in a number of different ways: verbal, written, visual etc.
AEL, a US education research body, concluded after 29 studies that visual learning improves student performance in the following areas:
- Critical Thinking
- Retention
- Comprehension
- Organisation
We have seen first hand, through tutoring, the benefits of visual learning amongst students. So what is the best way to learn through visual learning?
The best approach is to pick an area of maths that you’re struggling at. Alternatively, it could be an area you want to learn in order to prepare for an upcoming exam. For example, let’s say you want to learn percentages. The best way to tackle this is to pick 2, 3 or 4 concepts from percentages. This could be something like the following:
- Percentage increase
- Percentage decrease
- Simple Interest
Now all you need do is write up the concepts on an A1 size sheet and put it up on a wall. Be sure to put it up where it will be seen every day. The key here is to ensure that the sheet is looked at, at least several times a day. Every time you walk past the sheet, look at each concept and verbally read it and absorb the principles. We also advise a couple of simple related questions are worked through each time the sheet is looked at.
If you want, you can create more than one sheet to cover different areas of maths. We recommend you don’t have more than 4 concepts on each sheet. Feel free to use colours in order to highlight key points. Also vary the size of your writing for emphasis.
Our students use a product called a magic whiteboard which is a roll of disposable whiteboards. You can tear an A1 sheet off the roll and stick it to the wall. It sticks to virtually anything and doesn’t leave any marks. It acts as a whiteboard and you can re-use it as many times as you want. You can purchase a roll of 25 sheets from Amazon for under £30.
This is a great way to learn and can make the learning process more effective. Just be sure the sheet gets looked at several times a day; morning and evening is usually the best times. Once you feel satisfied that the subject matter has been mastered, remove the sheet and transfer the details to your notes page for future reference. At this point, it’s a good idea to put up a new whiteboard (sheet) detailing another area you wish to improve on.
For more revision techniques to aid memory retention and boost exam results, register for our tuition service today.
