Research indicates that the use of visuals greatly improves the effectiveness of a teacher. When the only teaching method used is lecture, learners only remember about 10% of what is said verbally. When visuals are added to the lecture or verbal presentation the percentage remembered by learners increases to 60%.
Many companies that sell teaching materials also sell resource kits that have visuals that support the lesson being taught. These resource kits usually have posters, maps, and handouts. The cost of the resource kit is a great investment but the cost should not prevent a teacher from using visuals. Visuals can be made. Make handouts such as pre-test, fill in the blank, and post-test. Use poster paper for groups to record responses to questions. The whiteboard can be used to share an outline for the lesson or to give emphasis to certain points of the lesson. Create a PowerPoint presentation to support a verbal presentation and show it on a television or use a video projector.
We live in a very visual society. We watch television. Commercials are often 10-30 seconds. Videos can be rented or downloaded with ease. Imagine if a person could watch an instructional video on how to make or repair something in comparison to only hearing the instructions verbally and not being able to visually see it. Obviously the video would be preferred. Visuals reinforce what is said verbally.
When a person visually observes something there is a greater chance he will remember the visual than what was verbally said. Every teacher should use visuals so as to be a better teacher and help learners learn more.
0 Comments