Visuals in a classroom can be incorporated in many ways. From having a PowerPoint, to a white board, or poster, or using a document camera. As long as a student is looking at something and engaging their brain the visual is being used. Visuals allow the student to understand a concept by actually looking at it rather than picturing it in their heads or just hearing the information. As Tate says, effects of visuals increase after 2 weeks, but direct instruction diminishes. Students’ remember visuals because they are able to actually see it and remember that image.
Application:An application of visuals could be for every class during an introductory course. One that is sticking out to me is from when I was a peer mentor for the HDE 191 course. The instructor was teaching how to balance your schedule by writing things in a planner. In order to make it clear how to use your planner, she put her planner under the document camera and showed them her semester schedule. This allowed the students to see exactly what she meant and how it can be different depending on the person. The visual of the actual planner made the concept relatable and applicable to their lives, making them more excited about actually using their planners. For the rest of the class, she had them fill in their own planners using their syllabi and any work schedules they have. They all seemed to enjoy the activity and fully understood the topic.
Assessment: Quick Write (Barkley & Major, 2016, pp. 105-110)I would have the students complete a quick write on what they find useful or not useful about using a planner. This would allow me to analyze how many students felt they would actually use a planner and how many may have been disengaged throughout the lecture. I would also be able to clarify during the next class period any concepts or concerns that came up about using their planner.