The Importance of Visuals in the Classroom

It is essential for teachers to use visuals to support their instruction. Through visuals, students are able to visualize what the teacher is explaining. When students are able to visualize concepts, the concepts become more real to them and they are able to relate to them better and see how to apply them in multiple situations. Learning is not valuable unless students can apply what they have learned to situations outside of the classroom. Having visuals in the class shows students how these concepts are relevant to their lives outside of the classroom because they can see the concept being used.

Suzanne Stokes, a professor at Troy State University, wrote an article entitled, "Visual Literacy in Teaching and Learning: A Literature Perspective." In her article, she talks about the importance of meeting the needs of our learners. In a society that is increasingly visual with the presence of technology, it is important that teachers embrace this movement and use visuals to provide their instruction. Technology also helps teachers cater to different types of learners in their classroom. In the article, Stokes talks about how traditional teaching methods cater heavily to the left hemisphere of the brain, the analytical side. Technology helps teachers teach to the whole brain by catering to both the analytical and visual/creative side.

Article Link: http://ejite.isu.edu/Volume1No1/pdfs/stokes.pdf