Raising the Bar:

Educational Approaches that Go Beyond Labels

1st Annual Education Conference May 2013

Broadening Perspectives: How to Assess, Support and Develop Visual-Spatial Thinking in the Middle

and High School Curriculum

Karen McDowell,BS, Lead Teacher, CTC

PRESENTATION SCOPE AND GOALS

•  Background - what is it? why do we need it? how is it connected to education? how can we recognize it- what do we look for? how can it be a problem?

•  How do we work to incorporate and strengthen it ? •  How can we assess it?

•  Examples

o  Spontaneous/naturally occurring examples o  Structured developmental activities to support o  Pulling from academic content

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We look with our eyes

(looking); we see with our brains

(sight); and we understand with our minds

(vision)

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"Thinking in language and words is alien to me. I think totally in pictures. It is like playing different tapes in a video recorder in my imagination”

- Temple Grandin “If I can’t picture it I can’t understand it” -Albert Einstein

"Experience deposits images” - Rudolf Arnheim

“It is impossible even to think without a mental picture” - Aristotle “

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Examples of Visual Spatial Capacities Understand, Analyze, and Interpret What We See

•Fixation-aiming eyes, shifting gaze between objects, maintaining steady visual attention

•Focusing-shifting between near/ far • Tracking-following a moving object •Figure-ground-pick out details without getting confused by the background or surrounding images

•Visualization-seeing in mind’s eye •Visual closure-visualizing the whole of an object when part of it is hidden or missing

Examples of Visual Spatial Capacities Understand, Analyze, and Interpret What We See (con’t)

•Visual Discrimination - see differences between objects that are similar

•Visual Memory-recall what we've seen •Visual Form Constancy- mentally turn and rotate objects in our minds and picture what they would look like

Recognizing and Assessing Learning Styles

Auditory Sequential Visual Spatial

Whole vs. Part “A-ha” Moments

VISUAL SPATIAL OVERVIEW

•  Thinks primarily in pictures •  Relates well to space •  Whole part learner •  Learns concepts all at once- ah ha

moments •  Learns complex skills easily •  Good synthesizer •  Sees big picture- misses details

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•  Excels at math reasoning vs. computations •  Learns whole words easily •  Must visualize words to spell them •  Prefers keyboarding to writing •  Creates unique methods of organization •  Learns best by seeing relationships •  Reads maps well

VISUAL SPATIAL OVERVIEW

•  Good long term visual memory •  Patterns easy "I see the pattern” •  Learns concepts permanently- turned off by rote, drill, repetition •  Develops own problem solving methods •  Very sensitive to teacher's attitudes •  Generates unusual solutions to problems •  Develops asynchronously •  Uneven grades •  Master languages through immersions •  Is creatively, mechanically, emotionally,

or technologically gifted •  Late bloomers

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Know any of these guys???

When problems arise

CHARACTERISTICS OF VISUAL SPATIAL LEARNING

•  Learns holistically rather than in a step-by-step fashion •  Processing primarily in pictures rather than words,

ideas are interconnected (imagine a web) •  Heightened sensory awareness to stimuli •  Refuse to attempt trial-and-error learning-failure •  all-or-none learning style-the aha phenomenon •  Immediately see the correct solution to a problem or

they don't get it at all •  Sense a teacher's anxieties and ambivalent feeling

towards them- react- “the teacher hates me” •  Overviews or summaries are strength- whole picture vs.

detail •  Reading comprehension is usually much better than

their ability to decode words •  Loves Lego, puzzles, jigsaws, computer games,

television, making things •  Need to see the whole picture before they can

understand the parts- see the forest and miss the trees •  Visual info helps form mental images

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VISUAL SPATIAL CHALLENGES AFFECTING LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT •  Poor conservation of space-space isn't moving , they are -afraid of slide,

ball coming at them •  Inability to track, focus, eyes work together- may contribute to poor eye

contact •  Inability to judge speed and distance •  Representational/symbolic higher level thought needs imagery

VISUAL SPATIAL CHALLENGES AFFECTING LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

•  Differentiating specific objects from their backgrounds

•  Assimilating object parts into a coherent whole

•  Recognizing objects from unusual angles,perspectives, partially hidden

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•  PARKING LOTS!!! •  Navigation (i.e. finding your way around) in familiar or novel environments •  Judging velocity (speed) (e.g. how fast is that car moving toward me?) •  Judging distance and depth (e.g. how far is it from my hand to that cup?) •  Searching the visual environment in a systematic fashion-Finding objects in

cluttered environments •  Reading text or numbers; the person may “skip over” characters •  Recognizing numbers, symbols, objects, faces, traffic signs

VISUAL SPATIAL CHALLENGES AFFECTING LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

•  Can lead to rigidity and repetitive behavior •  Deficient in auditory sequential skills •  Highly perfectionist, cannot handle failure •  Representational/symbolic higher level thought

needs imagery •  Tracking, focusing, eyes work together- may

contribute to poor eye contact •  Sensing time

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•  Judging volume (e.g. will these leftovers fit in that container?) •  Walking: turning corners, maneuvering through doorways or around furniture •  Driving: turning corners, noticing and avoiding obstacles, reading traffic signs •  Identifying facial expressions (e.g. does this person look angry or sad?)

VISUAL SPATIAL CHALLENGES AFFECTING LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

•  Finding objects in cluttered environments •  differentiating specific objects from their backgrounds •  assimilating object parts into a coherent whole •  recognizing objects from unusual angles or perspectives •  recognizing an object that is partially hidden from view •  searching the visual environment in a systematic fashion •  reading text or numbers; the person may “skip over” characters •  recognizing numbers or other symbols •  recognizing familiar objects or faces •  navigating in familiar or unfamiliar environments

VISUAL SPATIAL CHALLENGES AFFECTING LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

•  Critical, abstract , logical thinking- only processing parts, can't get main idea, inference, conclusions, predict , evaluate

•  Written language comprehension •  Oral language comprehension •  Weak concept imagery •  The minds eye

What are Some Clues? Characteristics of Dis-function

•  Shields or covers eyes •  Difficulty shifting gaze- paper to blackboard •  Turns or tilts head as reading •  Difficulty tracking moving objects, following line of printed words •  Trouble with comprehension of reading •  Confuses likeness and differences in pictures ,words •  Omits words and looses place when reading •  Difficulty with writing size, shaping, lining up •  Difficulty with fine motor involving spatial relationships- puzzles, cutting

edges •  Writes up or down hill •  Orients drawing poorly on the page •  misjudging spatial relationships- bumps or missteps •  Poor sense of direction- confuses right/left •  Trouble with direction concepts- up/ down, over/under •  Does not visualize from reading •  Overwhelmed by moving objects

Traditional Education- Designed for auditory sequential

•  Curriculum sequential and in order •  Emphasis on one right answer •  Rewards fast pace/quick answers •  Emphasizes rote memory, repetition, drills •  Require work to be shown- step by step •  Emphasis on details and not whole picture •  Lecture based •  Organization necessary •  Standardized timed tests for assessment •  Learning isolated skills with no connections •  Fast paced- get through the curriculum •  Rewards the product vs. the process

•  Teachers misinterpret the student's difficulties with the instructional strategies as inability to learn the concepts

•  Assume that the student needs more drill, rote memorization

•  Emphasize the students' weaknesses instead of their strengths

•  Caught up in a spiraling web of failure, assumes he is stupid, loses all motivation, and hates school

•  Teachers then assume that the student doesn't care or is being lazy

•  Behavior problems come to the forefront •  Cycle creates a very deep chasm in the student's

self-esteem

Repercussions of teaching style

Teach To Their Strengths While Strengthening Their Weaknesses

"Let's try it out and see how it works" is an active learner's phrase; "

"Let's think it through first" is the reflective learner's response.

Foundational Activities

•  anagrams •  part-to-whole relations •  visual transformations •  following maps to navigate through city streets •  reassembling stacks of cubes from different •  perspectives •  duplicating complex arrays of spheres •  creating mirror images of geometric patterns •  mind mapping

"Piaget Visual Spatial"

video

"Foundational VS Capacities"

video

Taking Advantage of Spontaneous Opportunities

How are they viewing and experiencing their inner and outer world? How are they understanding and thinking about how others view may be same/different perspective? •  William and the menu perspective •  Mike and the corn toss •  Charlotte and pictionary •  Atlanta hiking view •  Ryan 8 feet tall •  Can I fit in this spot

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VIDEO

"How Big is Katniss"

Connection Between Visual Spatial and Academics- CORE •  Construct various forms of geographic representations to show the

spatial patterns of physical and human phenomena •  Compare present and past events to evaluate the consequences of past

decisions and to apply lessons learned. •  Use the properties of similarity transformations to establish the AA

criterion for two triangles to be similar. •  Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text,

order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

•  Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment

•  Predict how the gravitational force between two bodies would differ for bodies of different masses or bodies that are different distances apart.

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Visual Spatial Concepts Imbedded in Academic Content-

Essential for Higher Level Comprehension

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VIDEO

"Try on Someone Else's Space"

VIDEO

"The Great Santa Debate"

•  Motivate by relating material to what has come before and what is still to come and to the students’ own personal experience

•  Provide a balance of concrete information (facts, data, experiments) and abstract concepts (principles, theories, models)

•  Balance material that emphasizes practical problem solving methods with material that emphasizes fundamental understanding

•  Use pictures, schematics, graphs and simple sketches liberally, show films, provide demonstrations

•  Computer assisted instruction •  Provide open ended problems and exercises that call for •  analysis and synthesis •  Reward diversity and divergent thinking •  Applaud creative solutions, even incorrect ones

Instructional Strategies

Instructional Strategies

•  Talk to students about learning styles •  Teach inductively vs. deductively -have them

“Guess the Rule” from examples •  Use metaphors (the human body runs like a car) •  Use fantasy (a red blood cell passing on a journey

through the body) •  Venn diagrams- compare and contrast •  Use similes (the aftermath of WWI was like

leading up to a thunderstorm)

Instructional Strategies

•  Show them, don’t tell them •  Use visualization techniques- zoom in, split screen, slow

motion, fast forward, instant replay •  Give them the big picture- tell them the goal of the

lesson •  Teach to strengths •  Emphasize creative imagination •  Use discovery techniques- discover their own methods

of problem solving •  Avoid drill , repetition, rote •  Avoid timed tests •  Do not require them to show their work

Instructional Strategies

•  Allow time to process thoughts, ideas, images, words- support well thought out answers above fast ones

•  Allow them to visually represent what they have learned, construct, draw

•  Give more weight to content vs. format of papers •  Incorporate technology •  Use keyboarding or voice activated computers’ •  MAKE LEARNING RELEVANT,MEANINGFUL,

SIGNIFICANT THEM- EXPERIENCE!! •  Teach to their interests- research paper on fans?

SURE!

SPATIAL LANGUAGE EXAMPLES

The Cellar Flooded The Grass Glistened The Ground Shook The Shoe Smelled The Submarine Fired The Ceiling Cracked The Rainbow Fade The Roof Creaked

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The Sky Darkened The Tree Swayed The Ratio Lessened The Quantity Dwindled The Indicators Weakened The Percentage Decreased The Value Diminished

Strategies

Spelling Strategies Whole Image vs. Phonics

Spelling Strategies Whole Image vs Phonics

Whole image vs. phonics

•  Draw illustration that includes all of the letters of the word

•  Add color, size, or humor to emphasize letters giving them trouble

•  Write letters on stairs and “climb" up mentally •  Type each word using different font that matches mood

of word •  Visualization approach •  Store the image- spell forward and backwards

Reading Strategies

•  NO IMAGE- NO UNDERSTAND!!!! •  Picture dictionaries •  Make treasure boxes of favorite words- silly sentences,

categories( action words, words with all the same size letters, double letters, letters below the line)

•  “Guess the Word” “Guess the Character”- yes/ no questions •  Not easy to visualize words( went, the, over) – funny phrase and

picture- “The monkey went over the bridge” •  Word hunt on book pages- image words •  Consonant blends through tongue twisters- “Please play on the

planet Pluto"

Reading Strategies

•  Alternative formats that demonstrate story comprehension- interviews, dioramas, mini- film, storyboards, musicals , dramas, letters, newspaper articles, birth certificate, headstone, epitaph, business card

•  Webbing software- Kidspiration, Inspiration •  Dictate to tape recorder •  Graphic organizers •  View videos •  Notes on color coded index cards by topic(can be in images not words) •  Visualize and Verbalize structure word cards

Book Reports- Explore Alternatives!

Look Towards the Future

architecture ,physics, aeronautics, research, engineering, computer programming, photography scientist, advertising, inventor, design, musician, entrepreneur, artist, self-employment, teacher, architect, mathematician, marketing

Assessment

Appendix A Visual/Spatial Cognitive Profile- This is an important chart for observation describing the hierarchy of visual/spatial competencies and matches them to activities in the manual. It can be used as a tool to monitor progress.

www.eyecanlearn.com

Visual Spatial Take-home

Activities are based on:

"An Inventory of Piaget's Developmental Tasks" developed by: Center for Research in Thinking and Language Department of

Psychology Catholic University

Conservation of Number

Quantity of Space

Sequencing

Marble Order Prediction cont.

Picture Analogies A

Picture Analogies B

Picture Analogies B cont.

Shadow Prediction

Perspective Variations

RESOURCES

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http://www.visualthesaurus.com

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