PowerPoint is a great tool for visual learners. The Animations and Slide Show features allows you to bring the presentation to life with movement, color and timing.
Hi Matthew - Thanks for your post to the forum. You running a really exciting classroom - great work! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I think demo's and powerpoint's work the best for a visual learner at a culinary school.
I believe effective PowerPoint presentations, or charts, graphs or even media is a good strategy for visual learners. What takes place in front of them will become indelible in their minds and hearts because they learn from what they see. And it impresses them or moves them to learning and applying the instruction in their lives and work places where it should.
Hi Melissa - Excellent idea to use previous students real-life examples! Best wishes - Susan
There are a multitude of strategies to use with visual learners. For example, if I am discussing the food of Alsace, France I can apply the following strategy. I could have a globe of the world to identify France. I can include a map of France to show where Alsace is in France. I can show pictures of people buying food at the principle farmer's market in the largest city in Alsace. And finally I can show a video on youtube.com of a chef in a restaurant preparing a dish using some of the produce from the farmer's market. With this approach, I believe these different visual tools will enhance the visual learner's education.
I teach a Career Development class and find that the students understand their assignments much faster if they are able to see an actual example. I often ask previous students if I can use their work if I take out all personal information. This allows me to utilize real-life examples of the same assignment the class is working on. This is expeciall helpful when working on a resume or portfolio assignment.
I typically will have visual examples or demo a procedure which we have discussed. It also helps to break up the lecture period by demonstrating certain things. Then I will allow the students to practice as well, it seems to give them a better understanding of the topic.
HI Jodi - Thanks for your post to the forum. Actually often we tend to use too much PPT- I think we have all heard the warnings about "Death by Powerpoint"! Any visuals at all will be helpful-photos, diagrams, models etc. will all work. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I was reading through a lot of the responses to this question, and it seems like everyone has access to PowerPoint or some sort of projection technology. One of my classrooms doesn't have a projector, so I tend to write a lot of my material on the whiteboard. I try to draw pictures, when I can, but since I'm teaching Composition, there aren't that many visual representations I can use.
Will visual learners get the same use from having the words written in front of them?
I use transparencies, DVDs, magazines, posters, etc. to enhance learning for my visual learners.
I would use powerpoint or other handout things we could review together
Hi bobbe- I especially liked your last suggestion of getting students to create their own "Show & Tell". Best wishes- Susan
Powre points, videos, demontrations reach visual learners best.
Hi Rochele- Wow - I'd love to watch you in action! I sounds like you might also have been a great actor if you had not chosen teaching. In a lot of ways though, teaching IS performing! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I believe one of the best ways to appease a visual learner and keep them interested would be through a show and tell or power point presentation, that an instructor creates on their own pertaining to a specific topic or course.
I also feel that a film on a specific subject that the student is in keeps their interest as well.
The most intriguing visual strategy would be by grouping students together and have each group create and present their own show & tell.
I believe in being very animated and dramatic... I lecture like you're watching a great comedy show I believe that moving around the room facial expressions and gestures are also ways to connect with viual learners... telling a story so descriptive they can imagine it.... I also use colorful markers to write on the board and I draw pictures to get the point across... I'm nontraditional in my approach and I think that's what makes it unpredictable new and fun!
Gosh I love what I do...
You could use:
Power point slides which contain pictures of what you are trying to teach the student.
Books that contain visual aids of the new material.
Videos
Relate a new idea to the student and have them visual relate it back to you so that you can see what they do and don't understand about the idea.
I use PPTs and DVD video clips frequently.
Hi Perry - Thanks for your post to the forum. Your teaching technique works well for kinesthetic learners as well. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
