Visual Spatial Learnersin the Gifted Classroom

Don’t Tell Me-

Show Me!

Underachievement in Gifted Children

Learning styles Traditional Teaching Methods

Are you Visual Spatial?

Take

the

Quiz!

1. Do you think mainly in pictures or words?

Geography, globe, continents,

countries, oceans, lakes, rivers,

2. Are you good at solving puzzles or

mazes?

3. Do you like to build with LegosTM, K’NEXTM, blocks,

etc?

4. Do you often lose track of time?

5. Do you know things without being able to tell

how or why?

6. Do you remember how to get to places you have

only visited once?

7. Can you feel what others are feeling?

8. Do you remember what you see and forget what

you hear?

9. Do you solve problems in unusual ways?

10. Do you have a wild imagination?

11. Do you love music, dance, art, or drama?

12. Can you see things from different perspectives?

13. Do others think you are organizationally

challenged?

14. Do you love playing on the computer?

15. Do you have trouble spelling correctly?

16. Do you like taking things apart to see how

they work?

Total up the number of Yeses and No’s.

Let’s see where you are on the Auditory-Sequential Visual-Spatial Spectrum!

Are you Visual Spatial?14-16 Yes / 0-2 No - Strongly Visual-Spatial

11-13 Yes / 3-5 No - Moderately Visual-Spatial

9-10 Yes / 6-7 No - Mildly Visual-Spatial

9-10 No / 6-7 Yes - Mildly Auditory-Sequential

11-13 No / 3-5 Yes -Moderately Auditory-Sequential

14-16 No / 0-2 Yes - Strongly Auditory - Spatial

Visual Spatial Learners enjoy:

Blocks and Boxes

Construx and LegosGears and Tinker

Toys Computers

DaydreamingMoviesMaps

Visual Spatial Risk Factors

Well-above Average intelligence

Creative & Divergent Thinkers

Physically & Emotionally Sensitive

Extreme Visual Spatial Learning Style with Auditory-Sequential Information Processing Weakness

Words

Time

Step-by-step

Trail and Error

Progress easy to difficult

Details

Repetition

Pictures

Space

Whole-to-part

Learns all at once

Complex=easy; easy=hard

Big Picture

Learning Sticks

Illustrated by Buck Jones, Copyright held by Silverman, Dr. Linda K. 2002. Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual Spatial Learner P1. DeLeon Publishing. May not be reproduced without permission.

Auditory-Sequential vs. Visual-Spatial

Phonics

Organized

Analytical

Algebra

Chemistry

Shows Work

Academic

Early Bloomer

Left Brain

Sight Words

Organized???

Synthesizer

Geometry

Physics

Intuitive

Creative/Technology

Late Bloomer

Right Brain

Auditory-Sequential vs. Visual-Spatial

Auditory - Sequential

Visual - Spatial

Why Visual Spatial Abilities?

Employers of the 21st century are looking for employees with strong visual skills, able to recognize larger patterns, intuition, a sense of proportion, imaginative vision, able to think outside of the box, and the apt connection between apparently unrelated things.

Tom West. In the Mind’s Eye (1991)

So, why focus on Visual Spatial abilities?

Now that information is readily available on the internet success in today’s world depends upon intuition, empathy, spirituality, and right-hemispheric directed abilities.

“In the United States, the number of graphic designers has increased tenfold in a decade; graphic designers outnumber chemical engineers four to one. Since 1970, the United States has 30% more people earning a living as writers and 50% more earning a living by composing or performing music… More Americans today work in arts, entertainment, and design than work as lawyers, accountants, and auditors.” (p55)

Pink, D.H. (2005) A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age

Donna Karan Thomas Edison Gloria Estafan RodinFrank Lloyd Wright Jackie RobinsonMacile Reevis Ansel AdamsSpike Lee Walt Disney General George S. Patton Sherman AlexieGeorgia O’Keefe Nikola Tesla Diego Rivera Jerry PinkneyPablo Picasso Michael FaradayMaria Tallchief Chris ClarkeLeonardo da Vinci Colin PowellFaith Ringgold Denzel WashingtonSteven Spielberg Michelangelo

Careers for Visual Spatial Learners:

navigators, sculptors, visual artists, inventors, architects, interior designers, mechanics, engineers, video game designers, producers, actors, surgeons, dentists, photographers, fashion designers, interior designers, physics, aeronautics,

"Intelligence is the ability to find and solve problemsand create products of value in one's own culture."-Dr. Howard Gardner

Visual Spatial Learners

VSL

Mod VSL

AUD

VSLs & Screeners/Aptitude Tests?

Aptitude tests - High Scores on

Block Design - WISC

Comprehension (abstract reasoning)-WISC

Abstract Visual Reasoning - SB-IV

Matrix Reasoning - WAIS-III

Nonverbal sections

NNAT

Source: Dr. Linda K. Silverman

Source: Dr. Linda K. Silverman

Constructions Toys

Creative Endeavors

art, music, drama, dance, Destination Imagination, constructing computer programs, scientific experiments,

Enjoy math, science, computers

Dream of artistic/scientific fields

Look at careers of parents

Ear infection history

Learning does not occur in the classroom, it occurs in the students’ minds. The role of the teacher and the classroom s/he

creates is to offer possibilities in such a way that students will both want and be able to learn. The richer the banquet we lay,

the more students will partake and the linger they will stay at the table.

Williams, L.V. 1983.Teaching for the Two Sided Mind: A guide to Right Brain/Left Brain Education. New York: Simon & Schuster.

p194

Ask yourself, “How would I teach this to a deaf child?”

Show everything - use Visual Aids

Ask students to visualize pictures, lists, patterns, situations, homework, etc.

Hands-On, Minds-On - use Inquiry with manipulatives

Ask the student if he can make a construct, visualize, or draw of the concept or idea

Use music, fantasy, mnemonics, silly poems, metaphors

Avoid drill and repetition- Have them perform the hardest tasks.

Avoid rote memorization. Use more abstract, conceptual, or inductive approaches.

Group VSL together for instruction.

Seat in front of room, but 4-6’ from chalkboard

Avoid timed tests.

Have them discover their own methods of problem-solving.

Give them advanced, abstract, complex material at a faster pace even if they haven't mastered the easier, sequential work.

Emphasize mastery of higher level concepts rather than perfection of simpler concepts in competition with other students

Use inductive or discover techniques

Use Color, Color, Color on the visuals

Students use Color highlighters on key concepts, words

Organize EVERYTHING by Color

Color coordinate everything in one subject using the same color.

Have the VSL create Individual flashcards in Color

Copy activity sheets, graphic organizers,study guides, etc. on Color copy paper - easier to organize, too.

Encourage the use of computers

Grade on material learned, not the process.

Illustrated by Buck Jones, Copyright held by Silverman, Dr. Linda K. 2002. Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual Spatial Learner. P88. DeLeon Publishing. May not be reproduced without permission.

May never be a good a good oral reader. Help the child before s/he makes a mistake and it imprints. Encourage the use of context clues. Vocabulary words need illustrations; flash cards Picture collages of words with same beginning / ending, etc. Speed Read- skipping the small words Get content first, then read for details Picture at Punctuation Vision-tracking instrumentTest for comprehension with silent reading

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Burcher, Sam, Max, and Bryan. 1998. Vocabulary Cartoons. New Monics Books.

Burcher, Sam, Max, and Bryan.Vocabulary Cartoons I: SAT Word Power. New Monics Books.

Burcher, Sam, Max, and Bryan. 2007. Vocabulary Cartoons II: SAT Word Power. New Monics Books.

http://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/jacob_wismer/leahy/2005/space/space.htm

MOUNTAINFIRE

WATER

As these students may suffer from deficits in mechanics, give more weight to the content of papers than to format. Give two grades, one for content & one for mechanics Illustrate the story first with a storyboard. Use a graphic organizer to web story, outline, write Dictate story Alternate assignments- birth certificate, tombstone, interviews, maps, role-playing, newspaper article, podcast, etc. Use computers to type stories/reports Encourage handwriting as art

BIRD OUTLINEI. HabitatsA. PrairieB. ForestC. WaterD. grassland/meadowE. TundraF. Backyards

II. FoodA. Seeds B. FruitD. MammalsE. ReptilesF. Fish and aquaticG. InsectsH. Amphibians

III. Body PartsA. Feathers

1. Down2. Primary3. Secondary4. Tail5. Wings

B. CamouflageC. Bone structureD. Feet

1. Long, thin toes2. Webbed3. Hooked talons4. Small grasping5. Thick, sturdy for walking

E. Beaks1. Pouch2. Sieve3. Thin needle like4. Short, thick5. Long, probing6. Hooked for tearing

IV. NocturnalA. OwlsB. WhippoorwillsC. Night Hawks

V. Nest Materials and LocationsA. CavitiesB. TreesC. GroundD. GravelE. GrassF. SticksG. MudH. no nest

VI. MigrationsA. NoneB. Within USC. Central & South AmericaD. Other

Illustrated by Buck Jones, Copyright held by Silverman, Dr. Linda K. 2002. Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual Spatial Learner. P93. Deleon Publishing. May not be reproduced without permission.

Use manipulative materials to allow hands-on experience.Avoid timed tests, if possible, and allow them more time for classroom assignments.Times table rhyme storiesLet them solve problems their way, if they are getting the correct answers.Let them go on to more complex/harder problem, even if they don’t have the simple facts. Don’t have them show their work or teach them to work backwards.Use pictures to help illustrate the simple skills.

Illustrated by Buck Jones, Copyright held by Silverman, Dr. Linda K. 2002. Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual Spatial Learner. P125. DeLeon Publishing. May not be reproduced without permission.

Emphasize creativity, imagination, new insights, new approaches rather than the acquisition of knowledge.. Engage students in independent studies or group projects which involve problem-finding as well as problem-solving. Have the students discuss the ethical, moral and global implications of their learning and involve them in service-oriented projects. Students use illustrations when note-taking

If too time consuming, use words and pictures for notes Tape record lectures Highlight information with different colored highlighters Box, circle or underline words to remember Use post-it notes to tag pages and important information Emphasize concepts Allow typed pages to be pasted into Lab books

Illustrated by Buck Jones, Copyright held by Silverman, Dr. Linda K. 2002. Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual Spatial Learner. P69. DeLeon Publishing. May not be reproduced without permission.

Horizontal Stacker

Color Code subject areas.PocketsCalendarsComputersVisualizing homework before end of schoolA place for everything and everything in its place

Moment of silence at end of day to visualize homework needs

Reduce unpredictable noise

Use wait time- allowing students to visualize

Let student finish an answer - even if they seem of target

Discipline in private and be nonjudgmental.

Encourage the child’s strengths.

* Let’s look at it differently.

* See how this works for you.

* I can’t quite picture it.

* Let’s draw a diagram or map.

* I’d like to get a different perspective.

* I never forget a face.

The words or the language, as they are written and spoken, do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought. The psychical entities which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain signs and… images…The above mentioned elements are, in my case, ofvisual and some of muscular type. Conventional wordsor other signs have to be sought for laboriously in a secondary stage…

(Albert Einstein, quoted in J. Hadamard,The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field,Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1949.)

Learning in school pushed students through pre-determined hoops in a prescribed way.

Spatial ideas give an environment for thinking about relationships. It requires higher level cognition.

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Dr. Dana Johnson. 2006 NAGC

2-D to 3-D

3 Dimensions to 2 Dimensions

Project 3-D objects on the overhead projector

Cubes: draw from top view, front view, side view

TOP VIEW FRONT VIEW RIGHT-SIDE VIEW

Source: Dr. Dana Johnson, College of William and Mary

2 Dimensions to 3 Dimensions

Build the structure whose three views are given

TOP VIEW

FRONT VIEW

RIGHT-SIDE VIEW

Source: Dr. Dana Johnson, College of William and Mary

What can we do differently in our Gifted classrooms to better meet the needs of the Visual-Spatial Learners, or over half of our classes? What is one thing you will try differently?

Ask yourself these few questions:

1. Am I presenting the material visually?2. Are there additional maps, charts, graphs, photos, hands-on activities, or other materials I should incorporate?3. Am I giving students enough time?4. Are there opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery in visual-spatial friendly ways?5. Am I successfully differentiating by honoring each student for his or her preferred learning style?

The soul never thinkswithout a picture.Aristotle, Greek 384-322 B.C.

I visualize things in my mind beforeI have to do them. It is likehaving a mental workshop. Jack Youngblood, 1950- , American