Use of Visuals in Teaching

Ever wondered why we remember movies so well even after years of watching it … Or why serials on TV have a long lasting impact or why news debates register in our minds so well? While we can tend to forget anything and everything we still remember A,B,C,D…  Why is that? As kids while learning A , B , C , D… or number 1,2,3,4 we are always shown visuals , that’s the reason we remember it for life. Even if we forget many things on earth, we will still remember the basics because they were shown by visuals. Similarly in School we had History, Geography, Civics , Physics , Chemistry , Biology and so on which covered most of the subjects in depth. How many of us can answer these questions? Which vegetable or fruit has maximum Vitamin A content? Which cereal is best in Protein? What to eat if we are minerals such as Magnesium deficient? Which state in rich in agriculture? Who were our great Maratha rulers? What is the chemical composition of Paraben? And the list can go on and on. While in school we are taught all of this and we remember it for exams but by the time we are grown-ups we have forgotten most of the subjects we had learnt. Majorly the reason is that not everything in our childhood is taught by showing movies, videos or pictures.

Visual learning makes complete sense as our brain is mainly “Image processor” not a “Word processor”. Visuals gives more clarity to thoughts rather than just hearing about it. It is one of the best ways to clarify any doubts related to the subject. Nothing is left to the reader’s imagination as picture is already painted. I do not want to discount the advantages of reading as that generates creativity and imagination.

Statistically we all remember what we see and talk about 75% of the times as compared to hearing which we remember 10% of the times and seeing which we remember 35% of the times. Usually most of the school books have information overload in terms of text which is difficult to understand, comprehend and remember. Teachers and School books should have more visuals than written text.

It is statistically proven that Visual thoughts are easier to recall and increases retention.

In addition to seeing visuals, it’s important to make the visual learning interactive by writing, drawing, painting or creating it. The more you interact about a subject, the more you remember it for long.

Today we have a lot of study material available with visuals on YouTube or various other websites with photos, pictures, icons, symbols, figures, maps, logos etc. which covers wide range of subjects. All this can be explored o make learning interactive, intuitive and long lasting!!!!