Visualize+This!!

Visualize and Spatialize toc

Assessing for those students that are visual learners and spatial learners


 * “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember, I do and I understand” ** -Chinese Proverb



1.1 → INTRODUCTION

 * Visual and Spatial learning** is a teaching and [|learning style] in which ideas, concepts, data and other information are associated with images and techniques. It is one of the **three** basic types of learning styles. The visual/spatial learner can be attracted to images, graphics, drawings, sketches, maps, charts, doodles, pictures, spatial orientation, puzzles, designs, looks, appeal, mind’s eye, imagination, visualization, dreams, nightmares, films, and videos.

2.1 → VISUAL AND SPATIAL LEARNERS

 * Visual and Spatial learners usually:**
 * Like to read.
 * Are good spellers.
 * Memorize things by seeing them on paper.
 * Are organized.
 * Would rather watch, than talk or do.
 * Have good handwriting.
 * Notice details.
 * Remember faces better than names.
 * Have trouble following verbal directions.
 * Are easily distracted by noise.
 * Doodle on their paper.

When determining the most effective methods of assessment when dealing with visual/spatial learners it is important for the teacher to understand the strengths that these types of learners possess. Creative forms of assessment will help the student convey his/her knowledge to the best of their ability. Some examples may include using visual representations as a way of asking a question. Allowing students to view the question in a visual way will allow them to visually think their way through the process. Obviously it is important to have these visuals represent things that have been taught prior to assessment. Another aspect of assessment for visual learners is to give them the time to visualize what they have studied and learned. In many instances the students will need to think of visual cues and associations to remember information. They may also need to write out/illustrate steps in a sequence as a checklist to keep on task. The most important thing to keep in mind is the need to allow these visual/spatial learners the proper time to retrieve the information that has previously been gathered.
 * __ OF - __**

This specific style of assessment is applied by the teacher to the student(s) in order to evaluate differing skill levels. A variety of visual means such as diagrams, charts, pictures, sorting objects, etc. are used by teachers allowing the student(s) the opportunity to complete the exercise, allowing for a more thorough evaluation. The need for visual assessments is required due to the diversity of learning in students. Some students may be auditory learners, meaning they understand and can follow through with activities from simply listening to the teacher; however, this is not true for all students. To better assess the strengths and weaknesses in differing areas, a teacher will instigate some sort of visual activity for the student(s) in question to complete. It is important to note that variations of visual assessment exercises will differ depending on ages and grade levels of students. For example, preschool and kindergarten age children may not recognize items, and their correct category in which they belong. This would pose problematic for a teacher when talking and teaching about different topics and lessons. To assess a child who may struggle in this area, a teacher could put a pile of different colored animal figurines in front of the student and ask them put all of the yellow animals in a pile, blue in the next, and so on. This would allow the teacher to see if the child recognizes colors. They would then incorporate simple activities like this into their daily lesson plans, which would reinforce color recognition. Another example of a visual assessment would be to evaluate the student’s knowledge of items and their correct categories. For example, put down a picture of a house, and a picture of a boy/girl.These two pictures will be the categories, representing ‘what belongs in the house’ and ‘what belongs on the boy/girl’. The teacher would then lay down a smaller picture, such as a couch, and ask the student to place it in what they think is the correct category. Again, according to the results, this area of difficulty could be reinforced into daily lesson plans. It is essential that teachers offer assessments for visual learners, ensuring the best learning results through the modification of class time and lesson plans.
 * __﻿__**
 * __ FOR - __**

This specific type of assessment is completed by the student themselves. The teacher takes the results and then evaluates the student according to the completed material. This assessment may come in the form as charts, categories, matching and so on. For example, the Venn Diagram may be issued to students to complete. First, the teacher can have students write out they know about cats and dogs (what is the same goes in the over-lapping middle, and what is different between cats and dogs goes in the bigger area under the correct cat or dog heading). Following, the teacher can then have the students had in their Venn Diagrams and analyze the student’s knowledge and responses. Concluding, the teacher would then hand back the diagrams to the students and allow them to compare with others and their diagrams. The student can then visually see what they may have missed when completing their own diagram. This is an assessment AS activity. Assessment as visual learners is ultimately self-assessment.
 * __ AS - __**

3.2 → ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR :
__** PARENTS - **__ QUIZ FOR PARENTS TO FIND OUT WHAT TYPE OF LEARNER THEIR CHILD IS

__** KIDS **__** - ** QUIZ FOR KIDS [|www.studygs.net/visual.htm] - has all kinds of strategies tips and habits kids may use to improve their effectiveness in the classroom

__** TEACHERS - **__ Kay Burke author of //How to Assess Authentic Learning// states “performance assessments provide teachers with a repertoire- a vast array of tools to measure student growth... teachers need to create a vivid, colourful, and true portrait of students as they develop and grow over the course of the year[i].” Visual assessments are often used to evaluate learning styles, but when utilized correctly can also assist teachers in determining individual student knowledge and be compared with general classroom knowledge. This allows teachers to develop lesson plans that will encompass many different styles and levels of learning within their respective classrooms. Additionally assessments for visual learners can aid teachers and students by maintaining or improving common goals through effective feedback. Some examples of visual assessments of learning[ii] are knowledge based tests that depict pictures, charts, graphs, and diagrams with corresponding questions. Other types of visual tools can be incorporated in assessment for learning and assessment as learning; These may include growing portfolio’s, Venn diagrams, and story boards, ([|www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer] ) all of which are tools that instructor’s can use as an assessment tool but that also can be use by individual student to evaluate their own growth. QUIZ FOR TEACHERS TO HELP DETERMING LEARNING STYLES


 * __ CHALLENGES - __**
 * Spelling**- Alexandra Golon author of //If You Could See the Way I Think: A Handbook for Visual-Spatial Kids//, wrote an article on the challenges of spelling for visual-spatial learners. In it she states that “for those who think in images, not words, it can be very difficult to create pictures that incorporate letters, particularly pictures that will live on as memorable as images in the visual learners mind[i]”. She suggests students need to learn tricks to visualize while spelling like using colors to remember spelling rules. Teachers should also come up with solutions when giving children spelling tests. Things like allowing students to make balloons out of the top of the l’s and with the o’s in the word balloon, can give them the visual stimulus needed to spell words correctly.
 * Noise**- Loud classrooms sometimes interrupt visual and spatial learners thought process. They tend to find it harder to filter out background noise and focus on tasks[ii]. Classroom assessment is important to determine which students may be affected by outside distractions.
 * Timed tests**- Alexandra Golon, suggests that “the visual-spatial learner must not only “download” mental images, but convert them to words, as well. When the pressure of the time limit is imposed, the task can become unbearable, if not impossible.[iii]” Visual learners take longer to process words into images and often get frustrated with not being able to express exactly what they “see” inside their head’s. Teachers can help assess visual learners by implementing pictures, graphs or charts into questions (as well as instructions) or by allowing students to answer in forms other than written responses on exams.
 * Autism**- Children with autism are often described as visual learners or visual thinkers. This is because they process and learn information better from images than they do by verbal or written instruction. Teachers that have students with autism or learning disabilities in their classroom need to make sure they are implementing proper assessment techniques for them too.
 * Visually Linked Stress Syndrome**- Incorporates symptoms from dyslexia, dyspraxia, and sensory integration. It caused by improper and over use of visual stimulus within the classroom. Students are not able to process visual information properly and thus struggle with achievement. It is important for teachers to continually assess students and be aware of those that may have visual processing problems[iv].

Instructor should increase their own knowledge and to be prepared. In //Educational Psychology// it states “findings indicate that the quality of teachers—as measured by whether the teachers were fully certified and earned a major in their teaching field—was related to student performance. [i] Understanding how a student learns, why they learn a specific way, and what their limitations may be, can be valuable tools for assessment in the classroom. Educators also need to implement many different methodologies within the classroom to ensure they reach all students. In recent years there has been a shift from mostly lectured based teaching to a differential learning approach. With the introduction of these different learning strategies, more assessment strategies become available too. Visual stimulants and assessment can help those students who would not be able to communicate their knowledge through any other channel. By giving students more avenues to express their knowledge, teachers have a better ability to assess what their students know and what needs to be changed. Instructors also need to show students what tools and strategies are available for their learning styles. There are many different resources available especially on the internet for students and parents to help them understand and maximize learning within their styles [ii].
 * __ STRATEGIES - __**

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 * __ RESOURCES - __**

__ MATH __ Math- Grade 1- Have students visually recognize numbers 1-10 and associate them with corresponding number of objects. Have students separate into 2 groups of 10. Give one group flashcards with the numbers 1-10 on them. Give the other group flashcards with 1-10 objects on them. Ask students to find their partner with a matching card in numbers or objects. Have students try this a few times and then try it without talking. This will help students visually remember their numbers.

__ SOCIAL __ High School - When teaching Social Studies, specifically Greek Mythology, the teacher could take the approach of having their students draw their information on a diagram. Examples could include, drawing the battle plan for the Greeks' attack on Troy, or sketching the Greek gods and goddesses. These types of exercises will give students the opportunity to, not only display their knowledge of these topics, but also to help understand the events that took place at this point in history. After drawing these events, the student could then be asked to interpret his/her drawings in a way that would help the other types of learners understand the message as well. The teacher could use their ability to assess the students’ knowledge simply by analyzing these visual representations.

__ SCIENCE __ A type of experiment that would serve as both an assessment for visual learners, and an assessment as visual learners is the ‘Creating Colors’, using the primary colors of play-dough. The teacher would give each student three balls of play-dough. This play-dough would be the primary colors, which are red, yellow and blue. The teacher would then ask the students to mix pieces of differing colors, which would then create new colors. Such as taking a piece of blue and mixing it with a piece of red. This would create the color purple. The teacher would be able to analyze which students could follow directions using the names of colors as the cue words. This would allow the teacher to evaluate the student’s abilities to recognize colors. This is an example of assessment for. Conducting the same exercise, the students would be able to compare to peers there newly created colors, realizing, or not, if each color was created correctly. This is an example of assessment as.

__ LANGUAGE ARTS - __ A very simple example of an activity that can be done in a language arts class is to have the students simply draw out their assignment of what they are learning. For example, if it is a unit on a specific type of animal and their relative cousins, the teacher could have the visual learners draw pictures of the animals that they are learning about and have them present their ideas.

6.1 → REFERENCE
[i] Burke, Kay. //How to assess Authentic Learning.// 5th ed. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Publishers, 2009. Print. [ii] [] [i] [] [ii] [] [iii] [] [iv] [] [i] Woolfolf, Anita E., et al. //Educational Psychology//. 5th ed. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2010. Print. [ii] [] www.studygsnet/visual.htm