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

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

Here's the assignment:

Create a blog with at least 8 entries to share resources and/or strategies with other educators, administrators, and/or parents. Be sure to include pictures, links, etc. in your blog. Make sure to describe how the resource or strategy might be useful to you and how it would impact VSLs.

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

• http://blogs.woodtv.com/2011/04/08/first-70-degree-day/
• http://g-o-v-t.wikispaces.com/E)+Comparison+Based+G+-+O+-+V+-+T+
• http://apreppyeducation.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html
• http://www.evidencesofcreation.com/dna02.htm
• http://chemistry-problems.tumblr.com/page/2
• http://uni-aza.blogspot.com/2011/10/forward-email-dd.html
• http://www.technospot.net/blogs/created-animated-non-linear-3d-slide-shows-prezi/

VSL Learners: Part seven Organization!! Yikes!

VSL Learners: Part Seven Organization!!  Yikes!

Here's the assignment:

Create a blog with at least 8 entries to share resources and/or strategies with other educators, administrators, and/or parents. Be sure to include pictures, links, etc. in your blog. Make sure to describe how the resource or strategy might be useful to you and how it would impact VSLs.

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

Tom West (1991), author of In the Mind’s Eye, suggests that in the 21st century employees will require strong visual skills: “ready recognition of larger patterns, intuition, a sense of proportion, imaginative vision, the original and unexpected approach, and the apt connection between apparently unrelated things” (p. 88).

and

Daniel H. Pink (2005), author of A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age, proposes that, now that information is readily available on the Internet, success in today's world is dependent on empathy, intuition, 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 by 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." (p. 55)

Silverman continues,

Success in school still depends upon:

• Following directions
• Turning in assigned work on time
• Memorization of facts
• Fast recall
• Showing steps of work
• Neat, legible handwriting
• Accurate spelling
• Punctuality
• Good organization; tidiness

What positions require the skills so heavily prized in school? These auditory-sequential skills are actually limiting the potential of all students to gain employment in today's world. Citizens of the 21st century are rewarded beyond school for:

• Ability to predict trends
• Grasping the big picture
• Thinking outside the box
• Risk-taking
• Problem-finding and problem-solving skills
• Combining one's strengths with others' to build a strong team
• Computer literacy
• Dealing with complexity
• Ability to read people well

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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)
7. 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:

• http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/hints4helping_kids_organize.pdf
• http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/PDF_files/Articles%20Archive/vsl/v36.pdf
• http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Why_All_Students/
• http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2009/02/note-worthy.html
• http://organizeclutter.com/?p=250
• http://www.cleansweepsupply.com/pages/item-smd11943.html
• http://www.tmssoftware.com/site/dbplanner.asp

VSL Learners Part 5, Math!

Here's the assignment:

Create a blog with at least 8 entries to share resources and/or strategies with other educators, administrators, and/or parents. Be sure to include pictures, links, etc. in your blog. Make sure to describe how the resource or strategy might be useful to you and how it would impact VSLs.

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.

Part 4 - second part!

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

Here's the assignment:

Create a blog with at least 8 entries to share resources and/or strategies with other educators, administrators, and/or parents. Be sure to include pictures, links, etc. in your blog. Make sure to describe how the resource or strategy might be useful to you and how it would impact VSLs.

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.