The visual-spatial learning style is popular for children who receive, analyze, and appreciate visual information. Usually, they prefer to see things from their “mind’s eye” and grasp pictures well. They are born with the skill to see the pictures’ details, but occasionally, they ignore this skill.
Visual-Spatial Style Characteristics
Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D., an expert on giftedness, introduced the term “visual-spatial learner.” According to her, such learners have the following characteristics:
- They understand the entire picture at once.
- They see the complete picture before looking at the details.
- They learn quickly through visual material.
- They don’t like a step-by-step method of learning
- Instead of thinking in words, they think in pictures.
- They may look disorganized.
- They find it hard to explain a step-by-step process since they view it as a whole.
How To Teach Visual-Spatial Children
In visual-spatial teaching, children are taught with diagrams, pictures, and other visual information. Visual-spatial learners have excellent memory skills. Instead of learning through lectures, they perform better when taught with pictures.
A child with visual-spatial intelligence doesn’t excel in handwriting or spelling. Instead of learning from equations, they learn math from story problems. Also, geometry is usually their stronghold. Such children love to build blocks and maps and solve mazes and puzzles.
Most traditional schools focus on the auditory teaching method, which is not effective for visual-spatial children.
Special Activities For Visual-Spatial Learners
Children with visual-spatial intelligence love activities that involve computer graphics, drafting, computer-assisted designs, geometry, and art. They solve visual problems better than others, and they are excellent at visual estimation.
Best Career Options For Visual-Spatial Learners
A few of the most popular career options for visual-spatial learners include photography, air traffic control, fashion design, visual advertising, fashion merchandising, television, video, artistry, architecture, construction, counseling, interior design, drafting, and airline piloting.
When it comes to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), these children are attracted to engineering, surgery, astronomy, and physics.
How To Help Your Visual-Spatial Child
People with visual-spatial intelligence never perform well in the traditional education system. They don’t understand instructions properly, resulting in poor grades and a lack of interest in education.
If you think that your child prefers visual-spatial learning, you can help them by providing visual data. Try to teach them through video games, videos, graphics, and other visual information. Moreover, you should always be open to talk to your teacher and find solutions for your children.
Concluding Thoughts
Visual-spatial learners require special effort and care to teach them. Once you realize their needs and requirements, you can teach them without any issues. All you need to understand is that they can’t learn from traditional methods. You need to provide them with visual data, as they grasp visual information immediately. They are born to see the “big picture” better than others.
