Study Tips for Visual Learners

 

Having an idea of your learning style can help you to grasp material more easily and to remember it for longer periods of time. If you’ve determined that you are a primarily visual learner, that means that your preferred method for obtaining new information and concepts is through seeing words, figures, graphics, diagrams or other visual representations. Listening to a lecture is probably not a sufficient way for you to understand something. As an online student, it is to your advantage to be a visual learner. Reading class discussions or activities on a computer screen will be something that likely comes easily to you. There are a number of ways that you can utilize your preferred method of learning to your advantage while you’re pursuing your degree. Follow these study tips for visual learners in order to make the most of time you spend on school work and to increase your chances of academic success.

Use Images Often

The utilization of any kind of visual representation will benefit a learner such as yourself. That’s why it’s important to take advantage of things like diagrams, charts, graphs, infographics or other methods whenever possible in your study sessions. If there are not many visuals in your textbook or supplemental materials, go online to see if you can locate some. Many visual learners prefer to create their own tools. Doing so allow them to conceptualize the organization of the material in their mind and to make it personally relative in some way. Using colors or other visual markers is great, too, for things like categorization or highlighting notes. Draw symbols like stars or asterisks in your notes to create visual cues of importance.

Many online courses will incorporate videos or other digital media tools in the curriculum. Definitely take time to view these tools, as they cater specifically to yuor preferred learning style. Again, don’t be afraid to go out on your own to find supplemental ways to meet your needs. The internet is full of learning tools like video lessons, TED talks or slide presentations. A quick search will likely net you a treasure trove of materials.

Visualize Your Words

With regard to study tips for visual learners, you can take the idea of creating your own visuals one step further. In addition to developing your own tools like graphs, diagram and color coded systems, you can actually get a little creative and find ways to put words together visually in a way that makes sense for you. One example of how to do this is to add words, short paragraphs or concepts to small pieces of paper. Then you will be able to place those papers in the correct order, creating a visual trail that aids in the retention of information for a learner such as yourself who likes to see the formation of concepts or, in this case, actual words. Making flash cards may work in this way for you also. The act of writing the words on the flash cards, and maybe using different colors for various categories of information, might be helpful to your visual stimulation.

Create All Kinds of Maps

Those of you who take in information through the eyes usually love maps. Maps can be tremendously helpful for all kinds of topics, not just geography. An outline can be a kind of map because it lays out information in a spatial order. Mind maps are tools in which you organize information by writing down different aspects of an argument or concept and showing with lines or arrows the ways in which they relate.

Customize Your Notes

Taking notes is an effective method of studying for almost every type of learner. As a visual person, you can truly benefit from the note taking process by creating your own system to add visual representations to your notes. While long streams of text might be just fine for you, as you do tend to process the written word with ease, you’ll likely find it even more effective to add dimension to your notes. As was mentioned earlier, symbols or colored highlights are great ways to draw attention to information and to add an organizational component to your notes. You might want to take it a step further by using a consistent system all your own, adding a dimension of personalization and organization to your notes. Consider making a key that indicates what each symbol or color stands for. You’ll soon instinctively know when seeing a pink highlighted section of text that this is something important and likely to be on the exam. Get creative and have some fun with it!

There are lots of strategies to meet the study needs of every type of learner. Using these study tips for visual learners will make your college experience a bit easier and increase your chances of earning the kind of grades you want. Get in touch with a Brighton College representative to learn more about which programs might be best for your learning style and interests.