Visual Spatial Learners
in the Gifted Classroom
Don’t Tell MeShow 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
TM
TM
Legos , K’NEX ,
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 Legos
Gears and Tinker Toys
Computers
Daydreaming
Movies
Maps
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
Auditory-Sequential vs.
VisualSpatial
Words
Pictures
Time
Space
Step-by-step
Whole-to-part
Trail and Error
Learns all at once
Progress easy
to difficult
Complex=easy;
easy=hard
Details
Big Picture
Repetition
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.
VisualPhonics
Spatial
Sight Words
Organized
Organized???
Analytical
Synthesizer
Algebra
Geometry
Chemistry
Physics
Shows Work
Intuitive
Academic
Creative/Technology
Early Bloomer
Late Bloomer
Left Brain
Right Brain
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
Gloria Estafan
Frank Lloyd Wright
Macile Reevis
Spike Lee
General George S. Patton
Georgia O’Keefe
Diego Rivera
Pablo Picasso
Maria Tallchief
Leonardo da Vinci
Faith Ringgold
Steven Spielberg
Thomas Edison
Rodin
Jackie Robinson
Ansel Adams
Walt Disney
Sherman Alexie
Nikola Tesla
Jerry Pinkney
Michael Faraday
Chris Clarke
Colin Powell
Denzel Washington
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 problems
and 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
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
Source: Dr. Linda K. Silverman
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 problemsolving.
 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 instrument
Test for comprehension with silent reading
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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
MOUNT
FI
R
WATER
E
 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
I. Habitats
A. Prairie
B. Forest
C. Water
D. grassland/meadow
E. Tundra
F. Backyards
BIRD OUTLINE
E. Beaks
1. Pouch
2. Sieve
3. Thin needle like
4. Short, thick
5. Long, probing
6. Hooked for tearing
II. Food
A. Seeds
B. Fruit
D. Mammals
E. Reptiles
F. Fish and aquatic
G. Insects
H. Amphibians
III.
Body Parts
A. Feathers
1. Down
2. Primary
3. Secondary
4. Tail
5. Wings
B. Camouflage
C. Bone structure
D. Feet
1. Long, thin toes
2. Webbed
3. Hooked talons
4. Small grasping
5. Thick, sturdy for walking
IV.
Nocturnal
A. Owls
B. Whippoorwills
C. Night Hawks
V. Nest Materials and Locations
A. Cavities
B. Trees
C. Ground
D. Gravel
E. Grass
F. Sticks
G. Mud
H. no nest
VI. Migrations
A. None
B. Within US
C. Central & South America
D. 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 stories
Let 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 serviceoriented 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.
Pockets
Calendars
Computers
Visualizing homework before end of
school
A 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, of
visual and some of muscular type. Conventional words
or 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.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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?
I visualize things in my mind before
I have to do them. It is like
having a mental workshop.
Jack Youngblood, 1950- , American
The soul never thinks
without a picture.
Aristotle, Greek 384-322 B.C.