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Created: October 13, 2003
Latest Update: October 13, 2003
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

Enhancing Visual Learning

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, October 2003.
"Fair use" encouraged.

On friday, October 10, 2003, Chris Blunt, CSUDH, wrote:

Chris Blunt from your 220-01 Analytical Statistics Class in the evening.

Hi Jeanne,

I think it's a great idea that you choose not to give tests. I find myself learning more with the way you teach. I agree with the pressure that tests give, but I would love to know why when I take a tes, I just totally freeze up no matter how long I study. I do agree that I am a visual learner, but you would think that if you read something you should remember it. You have any suggestions?

On Monday, October 13, jeanne responded:

Yes, actually quite a few. The freesing up happens because you learn visually, as you say, and you haven't found a technique for getting what you've learned into your apperceptive mass in a way that you can retrieve it easily, and that you have faith in that ability to retrieve it..

There's an old law joke about this that will help you remember where you're getting hung up:

A Harvard law student studied so hard that he was always first in his class. He used a standard means of recalling all that information: acronyms. Look up acronym. Looking the word up is both visual and active and involves your other senses in learning.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Search:

With this technique, you read the material. Outline it into pieces you need to remember: For example you might have read how to design and give a survey. Let's say these were the steps you read that you have now outlined:

• Start with a sample survey on a similar idea.
• Brainstorm questions, with the sample survey to guide you.
• Code questions to be sure you have offered enough choices and covered all issues.
• Make dummy tables. Be sure you have socioeconomic data for crosstabs.
• Do some sample runs and revise questionnaire.
• Collect data according to your sampling plan.

Now go back and assign a letter to each of the steps:

• Start with a sample survey on a similar idea. Read sample. S sample
• Brainstorm questions, with the sample survey to guide you. Brainstorm questions. B brainstorm
• Code answer choices to be sure you have offered enough choices and covered all issues. Code choices. C code
• Make dummy tables. Be sure you have socioeconomic data for crosstabs. Make dummy tables. D dummy
• Do some sample runs and revise questionnaire. Run sample data and revise. R revise
• Collect data according to your sampling plan. Questions subjects. Q question

Now these initials give you:

SBCDRQ and all you have to do is make up a word that fits those letters, or a phrase, or a sentence or whatever. Here's what I came up with on my first try:

"some bad clerks don't read the questions"

But I'll bet I could get it down to SBeCDReQ - now there's a good word to memorize for you.

Play with the word:

SBECDREQ with Memory Probes

Memorize the phrase.
Write the phrase down as soon as you get into test room and are permitted to start.

Memorize the word for which each letter in the phrase stands.
Write those words down as soon as you can write the phrase down.

Now start on your test.

* * * * *

And now back to the joke. The Harvard student studied constantly, staying in the library when others went out for fun. But by the end of the course he had condensed the entire course into one acronym. He knew he was going to ace the exam.

After the exam, he was devastated, wringing his hands, near tears. "What's the matter?" asked the others, knowing that he had the whole thing down to one word.

"I forgot the word."

Heed the joke. Memorizing is a poor excuse for learning. But recognize the amount of visual input you could get into the entire process. What's more, the process forces you to set up some paper clips in your apperceptive mass, some ideas that you can relate the material you are studying to, in your own mind, so that when you pull up one of those things you remember, others come with it, just like a string of paper clips. (Theory reference: Herbart's apperceptive mass.)

How's that for starters? jeanne