​
WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION FOR TALENTED & GIFTED

Wisconsin Association For Talented & Gifted

  • Get Involved
    • Membership
    • News
    • Partnerships
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Meet The Board
    • Gifted Listserv
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Advanced and Accelerated Learning in WI
    • WATG Blogs >
      • News from the Board
      • Noticias de las Mesa Directiva
      • Gifted in Perspective
      • Dotados en Perspectiva
      • Ask the Doctor
      • Gifted @ Home
      • Student Voices
      • Guest Blogs
      • Tools to Use Today
      • From the Bookshelf
      • GT Meanderings
      • Advocacy Blog
      • Justice for All
    • Podcasts
    • Parenting
    • History + Pioneer Profiles
    • Awards & Scholarships
    • Past Newsletters
  • Equity
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Resources
    • Advocacy Blog
  • Annual Conference
    • 2023 Annual Conference
    • Keynote Speakers
    • Speakers #WATG22
    • Exhibitors/Sponsors
    • Parent Conference
    • Teen Conference
    • Logo Contest
    • Past Conferences
  • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
    • Membership
    • News
    • Partnerships
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Meet The Board
    • Gifted Listserv
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Advanced and Accelerated Learning in WI
    • WATG Blogs >
      • News from the Board
      • Noticias de las Mesa Directiva
      • Gifted in Perspective
      • Dotados en Perspectiva
      • Ask the Doctor
      • Gifted @ Home
      • Student Voices
      • Guest Blogs
      • Tools to Use Today
      • From the Bookshelf
      • GT Meanderings
      • Advocacy Blog
      • Justice for All
    • Podcasts
    • Parenting
    • History + Pioneer Profiles
    • Awards & Scholarships
    • Past Newsletters
  • Equity
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Resources
    • Advocacy Blog
  • Annual Conference
    • 2023 Annual Conference
    • Keynote Speakers
    • Speakers #WATG22
    • Exhibitors/Sponsors
    • Parent Conference
    • Teen Conference
    • Logo Contest
    • Past Conferences
  • Contact Us

Different from Me: Visual-Spatial Learners

3/1/2020

0 Comments

 
I recently read an article by a mother who was writing about her experience as a visual-spatial learner in school.  She shares her story and some of her experiences trying to learn the way schools teach. As one gifted visual-spatial youth once told me “For me this is a great picture…trying to fit a round peg in a square hole.  Will it go in? Sure. But will it actually fit? Of course not. It’s not supposed to. As Dr. Seuss said: “why fit in when you were born to stand out?” The trouble is, many gifted visual-spatial students have a hard time fitting in because most people do not understand them, and school is not built for them, even though visual-spatial skills are key in STEM fields.  Many times, these students are referred for special education, put on medication, or seen as needing behavioral intervention. Often, these interventions are predicated on grave misdiagnoses.

The author of the article, Ms. Currivan, gives a few suggestions for helping visual-spatial students learn.  Two of these suggestions are engaging in homeschooling, and accessing schools built on meeting the needs of students who learn differently from the linear-auditory way most often found in schools.  Many of the things that Ms. Currivan shares are very familiar to me, both as a parent of a gifted learner and as a teacher. While there have been conflicting views over the years about how children learn, and about learning styles, one thing is sure:  if you know a student or adult who is a visual-spatial learner, you know that they learn differently. This kind of learning is often in conflict with the manner in which most schools teach students; learning is geared toward linear-auditory learners. I recommend the article to learn about students and adults who may seem different from others, and who may seem to learn differently than others.

A very important point to keep in mind for both parents and teachers is if you have a child or youth who learns differently from you, do not discount their way of learning; instead, value it.  In your view, if they are having difficulties, investigate rather than diagnose or make assumptions or judgments based on your biases just because they function differently. We tend to misunderstand ways of learning that we  cannot relate to or comprehend. If I see the world in a linear-auditory manner and a student sees the world in a visual-spatial manner, our two approaches could not be more different. We each see things the other does not, and yet both contribute to understanding the whole. That does not mean that one is right, and one is wrong and must be fixed. It simply means that different approaches to parenting and teaching are necessary. This is where teaching from a foundation of Universal Design for Learning is key.  

Valuing differences in learning and living in the world makes our journey more diverse and robust.  Learn from the students who you think are different, remembering that they may need time to trust you and learn how to express what is in their mind, because they rarely get to do so.  By asking them how they learn, how they see things, how you can best help them learn, you will further develop your parenting and teaching skills and better meet your students’ needs.

Article

How I Struggled in School As a Visual-Spatial Learner.  There’s a Solution.
Teresa Currivan, July 26, 2017
https://medium.com/@teresacurrivan/how-i-struggled-in-school-as-a-visual-spatial-learner-4411aea3faab

Books

Visual Learning and Teaching:  An Essential Guide for Educators K-8
Susan Daniels (2018).  Free Spirit Publishing, Inc. 

Visual-Spatial Learners:  Differentiation Strategies for Creating a Successful Classroom, 2nd Ed.
Alexandra Shires Golon (2017).  Prufrock Press

Raising Topsy-Turvy Kids
Alexandra Shires Golon (2004).  Denver, CO: DeLeon Publishing.
Available on Amazon.

Upside-Down Brilliance:  The Visual-Spatial Learner.  
Linda K. Silverman (2002).  Denver, CO: DeLeon Publishing. (out of print).
Available on Amazon.

Journal

Journal for the Education of the Gifted
CEC TAG Journal (The Association of the Gifted)
Special Issue:  Rethinking Human Potential:  A Tribute to Howard Gardner
March, 2020, Vol. 43, Issue 1.

Websites

Gifted Development Center, Visual Spatial Resource-Books and Resources

Center for Spatial Intelligence and Learning, Temple University
https://news.temple.edu/related-stories/center-spatial-intelligence-and-learning

Universal Design for Learning
http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.XlqaxS2ZPYU

​
0 Comments

    Ask the Doctor

    Picture
    Dr. Wanda Routier, Former WATG Board Member

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    August 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Picture
WATG Privacy Statement

Get Involved

Advocacy
News
The Board

Resources

​Blogs
Awards & Scholarships
Pioneer Profiles
G/T Groups

Equity

Conference

Contact Us
Keynote Speakers
Logo Contest
Teen Conference
Past Conferences