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November 14, 2004
Visuo-Spatial Learning
I noticed today that I spend a good part of my waking, speaking hours wondering if I'm coming across clearly to those around me. It seems that some people come across really in control of the words that come out of their mouths at all times. The truth is (and it has taken me a long time to realize this) that I may not truly understand what I am talking about if I am pressured to respond quickly. Does this make sense?
I am what those in the world of Educational Psychology call a "Visuo-Spatial Learner." That means I learn best when I can actually see or interact with the concepts that are presented to me. As a result of this, when conversing with someone about an advanced topic, I may have to take a break and "rotate" my thoughts in my head, and visually consider what I am thinking about. This is really hard for others (and myself) to accept sometimes. The simple fact is that verbal debate or conversation only works if there is relatively fast banter between the participants.
I've learned many tricks to help deal with my "condition." Sometimes simply introducing a third person into the conversation gives me enough time to get a good grasp on my opinion, at least enough so that I can succinctly verbalize it. Using external representations helps me tremendously. Simply ensuring that a concept is outlined on a whiteboard or piece of paper helps greatly.
Perhaps this all sounds weird, but I think there are many more out there like me who have a hard time realizing it. In the end, I don't look at this as a problem, I just look at the world differently than others. Many people are auditory learners (so they can remember facts just by hearing them), while others are simply visual learners (meaning they only have to see something in order to easily remember it...this is different than the visuo-spatial learning style). These learning types should be widely taught, and taken into account in the classroom. Material should be presented in many forms, using many types of media, which can help students tremendously...Perhaps I'll study this one day (when I'm done looking at "folk" theories, and other stuff...ooh, perhaps it can be studied in conjunction with Large-Scale Displays...).
Whatever the case, if you have to deal with me on a daily basis, don't treat me like a weirdo. Just because I'm a visuo-spatial learner doesn't make me any less smart. In fact, maybe you can find some of these tendencies in your own outlook...
Posted at November 14, 2004 12:16 AM