Visual Learning Resource*

Some definitions of visual learning?
 Visual learning occurs when concepts and ideas are associated with images, visual tools or
techniques. Using visual representations can help students analyze, discuss, and
remember information.
 A moment of clarity or understanding when a learner responds to a visual experience and
connects learning with prior knowledge.
 A visceral or physical response manifests in response to a visual stimulus.
 When a learner remembers something by imagining an image, word, or situation.

Some examples of how faculty can make learning visual
 Visiting an art gallery, historical building, neighborhood, or museum
 Watching movies or videos
 Creating a story board that illustrates a narrative with pictures
 Using props such as wooden balls, pyramids, or squares to illustrate mathematical
concepts

Some benefits of visual learning
 Helps explain complex processes or ways of thinking
 Builds dimensional thinking
 Allows concepts and ideas to come alive
 Helps build memory

Some resources that explore visual learning
 American Social History Project (online)
http://ashp.cuny.edu/
 Visible Knowledge Project (online)
https://commons.georgetown.edu/blogs/vkp/current-projects/
 Hochberg, Julian E. In the Mind’s Eye: Julian E. Hochberg on the Perception of
Pictures, Films, and the World. Eds. Mary A. Peterson, Barbara Gillam, H.A. Sedgwick.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
 Fields, L., Travis, R., Roy, D., Yadlovker, E., De Aguiar-Rocha, L., & Sturmey, P.
(2009). Equivalence class formation: A method for teaching statistical interactions.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(3), 575-593. Print.
*The CTL Advisory Council designed this resource to provide some ideas about visual learning.
This is not an exhaustive list. Project developers are encouraged to define visual learning
according to their own disciplines. This is only a starting point.