Musings by Dr. Pegler: VSL

Showing posts with label VSL. Show all posts

Monday, October 22, 2012

VSL Learners: Summary

Some last thoughts on the topic, right at the end of the grading period and before the elections! It will be a relief to be done with the class, the elections, and getting grades in! I will almost feel carefree!

The biggest thing I've learned is that there are people out there who really do think, learn, and store information in a very different way than I do. Although, to be honest, I've been doing some self-reflection lately and I realize that I do store more information in pictures than I though. People, maps to name a couple. I also find myself moving more in the VSL direction as I age. Is this a function of aging, or of the increasingly visual society that I am part of? I don't enjoy reading as much (this could be because I've read all of the good books, though) as I used to. My attention span isn't what it was. and so on. And my typing is getting worse and wlsrs. or worse or something. slepping too. I mean spelling.

The last few weeks as I teach I've come to realize how much I rely on speaking. At times I can see my class s l i p p i n g away from me. I'm not always sure what to do to get them back, but I'm working on it! Twenty-five years of teaching don't change over night! I also wonder how much of middle school students' inability to follow verbal directions is because of their visual nature. Their auditory learning ability isn't as well developed. Anyway, I'm going to keep working on this area. I play to use even more visuals, writing things down so they can see them. I already have the students get up and move around after about 30 minutes of sitting, especially when they are taking notes.

I am, of course, fortunate that my students can move around so much because I don't have a very crowded room. I also plan so that many days the students are actively doing things and after a few introductory minutes they are not sitting as much. This teaching style is almost natural for me.

Many of the other suggestions I already do, but could do more of. We have a cell rap - music for the parts of a cell - and I could have the students make their own in different content areas such as atomic makeup. I try and give the students different options on how they present their knowledge.

Some criticisms of the class and the readings
My biggest criticism is that the bulk of the thoughts we interacted with came from Dr. Silverman either directly or indirectly. This makes me wonder about its validity. Is this VSL stuff just a fringe idea, or is it one that is new enough there isn't enough work and research? Or were we not exposed to other scholars in the field?

Some of the suggestions of Dr. Silverman are over the top. VS people aren't going to bring in a utopia, merely new combinations of strengths and weaknesses, good and evil. And since people are on a continuum that describes how they learn, most people would be helped by the techniques we've studied, but it wouldn't be a revolution in society or education. Nor does the workplace require a new set of skills, it probably requires additional skills on top of the old ones.

I've enjoyed reading all the notes and discussion from my colleagues at the school where I teach. I wish I could share them all with you. I hope that if you've read all of the other entries that you found them useful and interesting. In case you haven't read them:

Part one:
Education post: Visual-Spatial Learners: Identification
http://peglermusings.blogspot.com/2012/09/education-post-visual-spatial-learners.html

Part two:
Education post: Visual-Spatial Learners: Gender Differences
http://peglermusings.blogspot.com/2012/09/education-post-visual-spatial-learners_12.html

Part three:
Education Post: VSL, Reading and Writing
http://peglermusings.blogspot.com/2012/09/education-post-vsl-reading-and-writing.html

Part four:
VSL Learners, Part 4 Handwriting difficulties
http://peglermusings.blogspot.com/2012/09/vsl-learners-part-4-handwriting.html

Part four: (second part)
This week we look at handwriting, spelling, and taking notes.
http://peglermusings.blogspot.com/2012/09/part-4-second-part.html

Part five:
VSL Learners Part 5, Math!
http://peglermusings.blogspot.com/2012/10/vsl-learners-part-5-math.html

Part six:
VSL Learners: Part six Using Visual-Spatial Strengths to Learn New Material
http://peglermusings.blogspot.com/2012/10/vsl-learners-part-six-using-visual.html

Part seven:
VSL Learners: Part seven Organization!! Yikes!
http://peglermusings.blogspot.com/2012/10/vsl-learners-part-seven-organization.html

Part eight:
VSL Learners: Part eight: Creating a visual-spatial classroom
http://peglermusings.blogspot.com/2012/10/vsl-learners-part-eight-creating-visual.html

Sunday, October 21, 2012

VSL Learners: Part eight: Creating a visual-spatial classroom

Here's the assignment:

We have come to our last lesson in the class. I plan to write one more blog entry after this one, sort of a summary of the class.

Use a variety of evaluation methods.

a prezi

Allow students to show their learning in a variety of ways. Papers, posters, prezis, powerpoints, movies, skits, oral tests and quizzes, and interviews are all methods of testing and evaluating. All have their advantages and disadvantages.

Use a variety of teaching methods

Lectures have only one major advantage. A large amount of information can be disseminated in a short period of time. When used, lectures should be accompanied by short quizzes (whether graded or not) that test what the students have just covered (clicker questions). This allows for a change of pace and for a quick check on whether or not the students understand the material. Lectures should incorporate discussion, pictures, sound and movies when possible. Students should be allowed to stand up and move around periodically. As a colleague says, "The mind cannot absorb what the butt cannot endure."

Keep the room comfortable and well lit and interesting.

I enjoy my room. I try and keep the room at 70 F give or take two degrees. If the temperature gets much over 72 F I start to feel sick. Golon claims that this (70 F) is the optimal temperature for learning.

Golon also claims that posting new items in the room is necessary to help retain interest. I don't do so well here. I put up some posters and leave them. Two of them (sequoia trees) have been up for years! Golon also gives recommendations for wall colors and carpet color (p. 160).
Natural light is preferable to artificial light. My school was designed fairly well in this respect. We have a lot of natural light.
Although Golon claims that students do better listening to music, I disagree with letting students listen to ipods etc. in class. I am listening to music now as I write this, and I have no problem in principle to students listening to music. Many students, however, spend so much time playing with their music device that they get little work done.
Golon cites research as showing that certain smells such as peppermint help students learn and improve mental ability. (p. 161)

Other teaching ideas

Present material visually as well as orally.
Use maps, diagrams, charts, photos, etc.
Use hands-on activities whenever possible.
Give students enough time.
Encourage color coding notes
Venn diagrams
Using fantasy (I want to do this with my students this year by having them visualize the journey to the center of an atom. I could do something similar as they explore a cell.)
Use metaphors - How is a car/factory like a cell? How is the body like a car/factory?
I've been thinking about having my Physical Science student create sentences, words and puns with the element symbols and names. I usually just have them memorize the name and symbol, but results have been going down in the last few years compared to ten years ago. Can you find He3 below?

Sources for images

Sunday, October 14, 2012

VSL Learners: Part seven Organization!! Yikes!

VSL Learners: Part Seven Organization!! Yikes!

Here's the assignment:

We begin with an article by Dr. Silverman, "Why All Students Need Visual-Spatial Methods." In the article she points out that as the economy shifts to an information age and then a conceptual age, the needs of the marketplace will change and employers will require different skills. She quotes

and

Silverman continues,

So what do we make of this?

First, I don't think that it's a question of either/or. We shouldn't get rid of following directions. Society depends on people who can follow traffic and other laws. And to employer's directions. Besides, most young people won't start out in jobs where the second set of skills are valued. They will work in fast food places, or retail and those requirements haven't changed in the years since the articles above were written. These entry level job employers value the first set much more than the second (with the exception of the people skills). Eventually many of the young people (if they have the discipline and get the training) may go on to acquire or invent jobs that involve the second set as well. The first set of skills are unlikely to go out of style.

So how do we help our VSL students acquire more of the first set of skills which many of them find difficult?
First, I would like to say that in my experience many, many students have organization problems. I think that lack of organization is due to several factors including personality type and bent (including how one best learns), immaturity (a huge factor), lack of practice, and poor parenting. I think that the last is a factor that is often ignored. Parents don't have the energy or discipline themselves to help train their children. I realize of course that certain personalities reinforce certain traits and habits, but could it also be that certain habits reinforce certain personalities? I'm also amazed at how many nationalities don't seem to have trouble with organization and study skills. Generally, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indian, and European students are very organized. American students not so much. Are there fewer VSL students from those other nationalities? It would be interesting to see the research if there is any. Or could it be that those other cultures value and stress good study habits and organization?

http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/Visual_Spatial_Learner/vsl.htm

Here's how to increase organizational skills.

First, realize that this is a long process. It will not happen in a few weeks. It will take months or years. Persistence is necessary. I have found that parents often lose patience and give up. This is hard for some parents because they also lack (for whatever reason) those organizational skills and the discipline in their own lives. It is therefore hard to transfer these skills to another person.
Second, what works for one student may or may not work for another. This can be especially frustrating for parents who succeed with one method for an older child but who find that this method does not work for younger siblings. Students should be encouraged to try different methods for a length of time to discover/develop what works for them. They may change as they get older. I used to be more of a stack person. Now I'm more of a file/sprawl person, much to my wife's annoyance.
Planners and calendars Students need to develop some sort of calendaring method to keep track of assignments. We as adults use them, so the kids should too! There are lots of options for this from paper to notebooks to software. When placing items in the planner, it is helpful to write the assignment on the due date and also on several dates before that so that I am reminded that I need to work on it during the interval. Families may also need to have a calendar at home where activities and assignments are written.
Folders Students should be taught how to organize their material by subject and within subject by homework, completed assignments, notes, and whatever else may be important for that class.
Coloring coding notes and folders is another way of helping students interact with their notes enabling them to quickly review the important words and concepts. Color coding folders increases the chances that materials will end up in the right place.
Routines Putting one's belongings in one place helps reduce lost keys, glasses, and phones. It also reduces the likelihood of leaving home with doors unlocked and stoves on! In the classroom we should have routines as much as we can so that students know what to expect. They will be more likely to deliver what we want from them. (http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/PDF_files/Articles%20Archive/vsl/v9.pdf)
Modeling organization One of the important factors for teaching students how to be organized is to show them organization. That may mean that we go overboard to show them, because for many adults our organization is in our heads, on our phones etc. and isn't obvious to young people. So we may have to put up assignments in several places, and repeat them often, and have the students write them down several times. One of my colleagues at my school said that she doesn't assume that her Kindergarten students are able to pack their own backpacks before school starts. So she teaches them how to pack their backpacks! I am so thankful for those who teach younger students these skills. Hats off to you all!

Sources and Resources:

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

VSL Learners Part 5, Math!

Here's the assignment:

Again, continuing our discussion of VS learners, (Visual Spatial Learners) we look at math. First, a look at what our author Alexandra Shires Golon says in chapter 9 in her book Visual-Spatial Learners. She begins the chapter by imagining a 13 x 13 grid which students will memorize with multiplication facts. That's pretty daunting! She makes it a little more bearable by doing the ten x tens, and the ones and zeros which takes care of a bunch from the start! To continue to make the process easier, cut the grid in half, because there is a corresponding fact elsewhere on the grid! Then add the twos and the fives. Suddenly the process seems so much easier. This is a great way to teach facts, and, I believe, to help students overcome their fear of large projects and tasks that seem daunting at first. The students learn the patterns, and use the patterns to fill in the grid and learn their facts! She then advocates using humor (You have to be 16 to drive a 4 x 4) and rhymes (6 x 4 = 24) (page 100). She continues with more patterns for the rest of the multiplication table. Again, she encourages showing the students the numbers (such as multiples of 12) and having the students look for patterns. This is good practice for any student, VSL or not. Dr. Silverman claims that students can learn their multiplication facts in two weeks if they are taught in a similar manner described above. I would think that frequent review and repetition would help the students retain the material long-term.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSUj9pbE1TyC554w_o6ejhnnAmr100FKOIBQSI-krcI1lvL6Wo0

For most difficult combinations she suggests using a drawing with the number of items on it. The item should be something that the student has an emotional tie with. They should place the drawing where they will see it last thing at night and first thing in the morning.

When I learned multiplying multiple digits, I learned the old fashioned way. She suggests using lattice multiplication, method I am completely unfamiliar with. (Since I don't want to run into copyright problems, here's a link to an example.) You still have to carry in this method, so I'm not sure that it's really any better than the old method done neatly and carefully.

She also praises the use of math manipulatives. Since I never taught math using manipulatives and don't need to worry about it now, I can't really comment on their use. The math teachers at my school use them frequently and report that they are very helpful for students.

Whitney Rapp describes in detail the on page five the steps that a VSL must go through to follow a math lesson and learn a new concept. At nearly every step the student can get lost. This article also gives many suggestions for the teacher to help the student learn including games, movement, manipulatives, real life problems and others.

So in summary, I think that the aids to memorizing multiplication facts that were described above were useful for all students. Not only are they useful for teaching the facts, but also in helping students discover, understand and remember patterns. This is essential in science and math. There’s no reason that VSL can’t memorize and use facts, they may take longer or need different aids in getting there.

I think new methods, patience, and consistent review are needed until the students have ingrained those facts as part of themselves, just as athletes and musicians build their skills until they are second nature. We need to ensure that students don’t become discouraged with their difficulties and are taught and encouraged to be persistent. Real life applications are to be encouraged in math and related topics so that students can better enjoy math and see its relevance to real life.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Part 4 - second part!

Part four:
This week we look at handwriting, spelling, and taking notes.

Here's the assignment:

Part two - spelling and taking notes.

Again, I'm so glad that I don't have to teach spelling! Hats off to elementary teachers!

Dr. Silverman teaches how to learn to spell visually. Now this is a complete mystery to me. She talks about picturing the word in your mind, placing it in front of your head, closing your eyes and spelling the word backwards. Strange. Anyway, if it works for you, then great!

Most of us who know English are no doubt familiar with various spelling rules -- most of which seem to be broken fairly regularly. (This is, in my opinion, great reason for learning German, French, Latin, Greek and a few other languages that are mostly phonetic. Then you understand more of the history of our language and spelling makes more sense.) Our author, Golon, also urges VSL learners to create pictures so that they will remember how to spell the words. She advocates creating a story to go with the picture and including humor, different letter sizes, and color. When students have created a mental image they can spell the word backwards. Now, that's sort of cool - I guess. I can't do it. But what use is it? For students who use a keyboard, she recommends typing the words in different fonts. Each font should reflect somehow the meaning or feel of the words. For example "elegance" would be typed in a distinctive, beautiful font.

Note taking
This is a skill students will need from Middle School through college. In some form students need to learn to take notes. I took notes, but the process of writing and listening seemed to usually get the material in my head. I rarely went back and studied them until I was working on my PhD.

Here are some suggestions for helping VSL to take notes.
Doodle! Contrary to being counterproductive, it actually helps you remember what you hear and see. So claims Sunni Brown in a TED talk. 29% greater retention, she claims. Doodling is effective because it helps engage the person in at least two learning modalities (visual, kinesthetic, auditory, tactile). Sunni argues that doodling is especially necessary when information density is high and the need for its understanding is also high. The main problem with doodling with younger children is that they don't know how to doodle and still pay attention. Many of our students get lost in the doodle. (The same thing happens with ipods, music online etc. These items become distractions in and of themselves rather than aiding the student to relax.)

Golon claims that pictures are permanent ways of remembering things (how does she know?) and that VSL should be encouraged to take notes in pictures. This is probably a good idea if they really do remember material that way and if they can keep up with the notes. For me drawing pictures is time-consuming and tedious. Is it better for VSL? For those who can't draw fast enough she suggests taping lectures. This would probably work well for older students, but I'm skeptical of taping for younger students. In today's busy society who will find or make the time? She also recommends a mixture of text and pictures, using abbreviations. This is a good idea, if you are consistent with the abbreviations! These websites have examples. http://www.austinkleon.com/visual-note-taking/ http://www.smekenseducation.com/picture-based-note-taking-helps-students-comprehension.html http://sunnibrown.com/visual-note-taking-101/ (an online course for $121!)

As part of the reading for this week, we are to read and interact with Dr. Silverman's article on the power of images. (and take notes on it in pictures. Oh dear! That was hard and even my pictures ended up heavily text laden!) While I understand that she is trying to help students who are more visual learn and correct the neglect that they have suffered, some of what she says is laughable. She claims on page 1 that visual learning and society will usher in a golden age or near utopia. Has she no idea of what the Nazis and Communists used? Doesn't she realize that propaganda can be images as well as words? What about pornography? TV ads? Images can be used, and will be used, and are used, as much for evil as words are. That's the human condition. She goes on to talk about how society demands more visual thinkers and fewer auditory and sequential learners and thinkers. I disagree. I want my doctors, dentists, rocket scientists, drug manufacturers, and bridge builders to be VERY sequential. Airline pilots, too. The idea of them building a structure based on intuition is scary. And one of the first requirements of a job is SHOW UP ON TIME! I find her arguments here to be very simplistic and lacking in documentation. It's not an either/or situation.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

VSL Learners, Part 4 Handwriting difficulties

Part four:
This week we look at handwriting, spelling, and taking notes.

Here's the assignment:

Before we start, one comment that might have gone better in last week's materials and that is the following quote. For years I have wondered why some students (or people) get puns and others don't. Here's a significant clue. If you are a person that thinks that a word only labels one thing, then you can't get puns.

Handwriting is increasingly becoming a skill of the past. Keyboarding is faster, and helps VSL students get their ideas down more quickly. This article relates many events that can happen during birth that may lead to young people having hearing or writing problems and many ideas for helping to overcome difficulties in these areas.

So, what's one to do with difficulties with handwriting? Try keyboarding, give more time when writing is essential, use other evaluation methods (oral, pictures, acting), and teach calligraphy. Calligraphy? How could this help? In order to do calligraphy you need to slow down and learn consistent letter formation. This helps you to write more carefully even when not doing deliberate calligraphy. I've noticed improvement in my handwriting as well as in some students who have learned some calligraphy. I've thought that an art class with calligraphy would be very helpful for many students' handwriting. There are even books that have been written to help people, including adults, improve their handwriting!

Back to keyboarding. In addition to increasing the speed of getting one's ideas on paper (so to speak), it also uses the entire brain and both hands. Voice activated software is also an option. Susan Jones lists many accommodations for those with writing difficulties and their teachers. Dr. Magen has more on her site.

For those classrooms that do wish to pursue handwriting, there are methods and curriculum available. Handwriting without tears is one of them.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Education Post: VSL, Reading and Writing

Part three:

Here's the assignment:

This week we look at reading and writing for the Visual-Spatial Learner. I teach Junior High (7 and 8) grade science, so some of this material is not as relevant for me.

Reading
Golon begins her discussion with the claim that phonics is often taught in the schools in the USA. My wife, who teaches Special Education and is endorsed in Reading and Elementary said that most schools teach phonics as part of their teaching reading, but that isn't their entire approach.

On a personal note, I didn't understand phonics at all until I learned German and Spanish, but that is because English is only partially phonetically based. (Problems with phonics may be more a fault of English than any problem with learning styles. I took to those two languages like a duck to water. and learned phonics well - for German, Spanish, and Welsh. I then applied it to English.)

Many VSL learn words best by sight words - recognizing an entire word at once. They can create a picture for the word. Students should therefore learn lots of sight words, creating pictures for themselves to help them do so. (I don't get that - isn't it easier to remember the word as I do by its shape rather than by creating a shape and then matching it to the word and remembering the whole system?) Apparently, however, creating images does help readers improve their reading skills. Golon suggests reviewing the images the reader has formed whenever they reach a punctuation mark. Once students have begun to learn words by sight they can begin to learn analytic phonics such as similar beginning or ending sounds, common roots and so on. This is a great approach for all students.

Speed reading is another skill that Golon encourages. It's skipping all the words that don't create a mental image. That keeps the basic information but allows for quick reading. (I think that it also loses the details and the richness of the text. Perhaps rereading more slowly should be encouraged?)

Important textbook information is often indicated with bold, italics and other clues and supported by graphics. We start the year in my 7 grade class with a textbook scavenger hunt that helps students understand where important information can be found. Some of my team mates are even more intense in teaching students how to use their textbooks. (from a posting for our course by another teacher, Mr. Paul)

Color coding with post its and sticky notes is also a good way of sorting information and helping students remember it. My daughter color codes her class notes. This approach forces her to read the material, re-read it, organize it, and gives her opportunities for quick review of important or difficult material.

Creative Writing
I'm so glad that I don't have to teach reading to beginning readers. Or creative writing!

Many VSL have vivid imaginations and great ideas for creative writing, but aren't able to get their ideas down. This may have several causes including spelling, punctuation and grammar problems, handwriting, organizing their thoughts or using vocabulary that's below their level. Imagine trying to capture in words the movie as it flashes through your head! Golon offers several suggestions to help students get from brain to paper.

Draw pictures of what you're thinking first, then write from there.
Dictate and record what you're thinking. Then go back and write and edit.
Learn to type. It's faster than handwriting.
Alternative assignments --videotaped interviews, movies, slide shows. Dioramas, maps, posters.

All of these assignments can and do show that students understand books and material and are to be encouraged as ways of evaluating what students have learned and giving them opportunities to write -- creatively or otherwise. However, with these alternatives students do not to learn to write, so actual writing can't be eliminated. In those times students need to be prepared and organized. They need to start the writing process by planning what they want to say and getting down their ideas. Then they can go back and fill in the ideas. Outlines may not work as well as webs for VSL. Webs can be written or drawn or some combination. Students need practice developing and using this skill so that they will be prepared when they need to write. Want to see what a web might look like? Or here.

In summary, one writer described writing for the two different styles as: "The writing of a visual thinker is like a map of all the possibilities; a verbal thinker writes like a guided tour." The author provides a table of problems in writing that VSL as writers often encounter. Imprecision, not communicating well with the reader, too much of the thought process tied up in the mind of the writer, lack of organization are a few of the problems that can rise.

So, happy writing, and I hope that this helps you read and write better wherever you all on the VSL-ASL spectrum.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Education post: Visual-Spatial Learners: Gender Differences

Part two:

Here's the assignment:

This week's topic is gender differences in VSL (Visual-Spatial Learners). Our book, Visual-Spatial Learners by Alexandra Shires Golon discusses the topic in a very short chapter 3. Golon makes a case for boys being more visual-spatial than girls, especially early on. This is traditional wisdom and appears to be accurate. However, she also points out that boys are in general not as "school ready" as girls. This means that they are not as likely to be as good with language and communication and fine motor skills as girls are. Boys are also more likely than girls to be disruptive if they are bored or unhappy with what is taught or how it is taught. (So it may be that there are more VSL girls than we think, but they don't stand out as much.) (See also the Visual Learner site.)

Golon believes that much of the "problem" with boys isn't really with the boys, but rather with how boys are taught. They are often taught using lectures and textbooks rather than with more engaging activities. I remember my seventh grade history teacher. All he did was lecture. Every day for forty-five minutes or an hour. I took notes, but the only time I reviewed them I didn't get an "A"! It was boring, but I learned my American History! The next year I repeated American History because we moved to a different school district. We used the textbook a lot; it was mostly primary sources in the book. In tenth grade we again did American History and I remember an activity where we had to role play the Constitutional Convention. I remember studying in detail the reasons for the various compromises that were made. Then we acted out the debates. It was certainly more interesting than the other two classes!

Recent research indicates that VSL outnumber ASL (Audio-Sequential Learners). It would be interesting to know if this has changed as our culture moves more toward the visual, or whether it has always been this way.

Are you curious about whether or not you are more right or left brained? Here's an online test for it.

Implications for teaching this are still somewhat tentative since we haven't covered that material yet in this course. The most obvious one for me is have more hands on materials for the kids. I tend to talk too much and have class discussions. I enjoy the interaction and they engage me, whether at school or in other venues. But I can see how some students' eyes glaze over and they get lost. So I try and have demonstrations, and get them writing and sketching in their notebooks. Plus the labs. And the videos. Hopefully the students understand the material and are given many opportunities to learn it and show that they understand it.

In conclusion, here's a young mother's take on a VSL daughter and how she's handling it. My students are a bit older, so it's not as useful for me. Wish I had read it when our girl was young!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Education post: Visual-Spatial Learners: Identification

As part of a class that I am taking, I am writing a series of blog entries related to visual-spatial learners (VSL). I need to:

So, here goes. For the class we are reading the book, Visual-Spatial Learners by Alexandra Shires Golon. I'm only about forty-one pages into it so far, but it reads easily. So far the book (and the class) are concentrating on identifying VSL students and individuals.

VSL students are to be contrasted with Audio-Sequential Learners (ASL). There are also Kinesthetic Learners, but Golon groups them with the VSL students for her book.

Golon likens learning in a style that's not yours to writing with your non-dominant hand. You may be able to write legibly, but you will never be as comfortable writing with that hand, nor will it look as good. So too, for VSL learners, you can learn to learn sequentially, be more "organized", and learn auditorially, but it won't ever be as easy for you as learning visually and spatially or kinesthetically.

How do these people learn? They think and store information in pictures! I must say that I find this notion rather peculiar, as I certainly don't (except for maps). In fact I don't even think in words - I guess I must think in ideas, because words and pictures slow me down. I guess there is one other area where I store information spatially. I know where passages are in my Bible by which page and what part of the page they're on. That's one of the reasons I don't want to switch to a new volume, even as my old one gets worn!

VSL also don't learn well by repetition and drill, so math and foreign language taught that way can be deadly. They are often more intuitive; they see an idea or a solution all at once, and showing how they got there is difficult for them. They have trouble sequencing and organizing ideas (and themselves!). They are often very creative artistically - and they often "think outside of the box". Or they don't even know that there is a box!

For further information on the characteristics of these learners, check out Linda Kreger Silverman's Introduction to VSL or Starjump. Here's a good graphic that helps describes these students, taken from the Starjump site.

So, future sessions will address how to give these learners the tools they need to do well in school, especially for teachers. Hopefully we'll also find resources on how to enable students to use their strengths to learn better, and how to overcome their "disadvantages" with their own learning style without forcing them to be someone that they aren't. Most authors on this topic that I've read stress that methods that help VSL, will also help reinforce and teach the ideas for ASL students as well.

Musings by Dr. Pegler

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