Learning Styles - Visual Learners

Everyone learns in a different way, so the specific methods that an individual should use to study a particular subject can vary from person to person. However, there are three primary ways that an individual may learn information, which includes hearing the information, learning about something by touching or using it, or by actually seeing the information or seeing the information applied. These three methods, also known as learning styles, are the three main ways that people learn information, but most people will usually learn more effectively using one method than they would using either of the other two methods. Individuals that learn more effectively by actually seeing the information are referred to as visual learners. Visual learners are individuals that learn effectively by seeing the information, such as in a textbook or on a whiteboard, by seeing a representation of the information in a picture or diagram, or by taking detailed notes and then reading those notes in order to study the information. Visual learners often have difficulty learning simply by receiving verbal instructions, by sitting through lectures about a particular subject, or by simply attempting to perform a task or use an object without written instructions, handouts or other visual aids. As a result, individuals that learn more effectively by seeing a particular piece of information may find that flashcards, notes, reading techniques, and other similar study aids that allow the individual to actually see the information can be extremely useful if they need to study for an exam or interview.

The best way to determine whether or not you or another individual is a visual learner is to ask yourself or the other individual some simple questions. First, when you are checking over an essay that you have written, do you find it easy to just read over the essay again quietly to yourself? Secondly, when you have to learn something new, would you like to read the instructions before you do anything? Finally, when you are attempting to spell a word or understand a concept do you try to visualize that word or visualize an example of that concept? If the answer to all three of these questions is "yes," or if you find that you use visual aids in similar ways, there is a very good chance that you are a visual learner.