Visual and Verbal Learners

Visual learners remember best what they see–pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, and demonstrations. Verbal learners get more out of words–written and spoken explanations. Everyone learns more when information is presented both visually and verbally.

In most college classes very little visual information is presented: students mainly listen to lectures and read material written on chalkboards and in textbooks and handouts. Unfortunately, most people are visual learners, which mean that most students do not get nearly as much as they would if more visual presentation were used in class. Good learners are capable of processing information presented either visually or verbally.

Characteristics

• Relate to such words as:  see, look, observe, read.
• Like to read books and magazines for both information and pleasure.
• Enjoy watching television documentaries and films in which both visual and verbal information are presented simultaneously.
• Read a newspaper or magazine regularly as a source of news.
• Prefer to read what an expert has written on a subject than to listen to a lecture or discussion.
• Prefer to look over written direction and diagrams to assemble or use something rather than to hear someone explain how to do it.
• Feel frustrated when teachers simply give oral instructions for assignments and tests instead of also writing the instructions on the board or on a handout.
• Take extensive notes during class lectures and discussions to review later.
• Make lists regularly of daily goals and activities.

Teaching Strategies to Help Learning

• Written instructions for all assignments and tests.
• Visual / Verbal aids: handouts, outlines or summary notes of lectures, written definitions of new terms, written oral explanations for charts, graphs, and diagrams.
• Follow-up reading for any class lectures and discussions.

Verbal Learners

Verbal learners are also referred to as auditory learners and prefer a course that is presented in the form of a lecture or class discussion. Verbal learners have the tendency to read out loud, repeat information and ask a variety of questions for clarification. They learn best through online forums, verbal instructions, webinar lecture and email.

Characteristics

• Learns from oral explanation/direction and benefits from auditory repetition.
• Understands the world by talking about it.
• Taps a pencil, hums or sings if things are too quiet.
• Likes music, rhythm, and interesting sounds.
• Enjoys hearing himself/herself and others talk.
• Likes to recite information or read orally.
• When reading silently, moves lips, says words to self, and often reads slowly.
• Good at remembering and telling jokes.
• Would rather listen to a story; enjoys talking about stories.
• Easily distracted by sounds and noises.
• Spoken language is easy, written expression more difficult.
• Counts to self; talks to self when solving problems.
• Discusses problems and talks through the steps when solving a difficult problem.
• Demonstrates good oral spelling.
• Can solve math problems in head.
• Plans for future by talking about it.
• Has trouble with maps, diagrams, and visuals.
• Learns by oral explanation.
• Studies by reading notes to friend; likes “talking through” information.
• Gives ten reasons for everything. Can be verbose.
• Can remember names better than faces

Teaching Strategies to Help Learning

• Read explanations out loud. Be sure to go over all important facts out loud.
• Make up songs to go along with subject matter. The crazier the better.
• Say words in syllables.
• Make up and repeat rhymes to remember facts, dates, names, etc.
• Create a study group to help the verbal learners.
• Use mnemonics and word links.

Example

Here we will discuss how a teacher can explain Producer Surplus both visually and Verbally to the students.

Producer surplus is the seller’s net gain from selling a good. Alternatively, we could say it is the excess of what a seller is paid for a good above what he would have barely been willing to accept for it. Graphically, it is the area above the supply curve, below the price, and left of the quantity sold.

Visual Learners:

Example: A seller sells a good for a price of $7. It costs him $4 to produce the good, so $4 is the lowest price he would be willing to accept. He earns producer surplus of $3.

In Figure above, we imagine 4 sellers: A, B, C, and D. A would barely be willing to sell a unit of the good for $1, but if the going price of the good is $4, A earns producer surplus (PS) of $3. B would sell for $2, but since he charges $4 he earns PS of $2. C earns PS of $1, while D, the “marginal” seller, earns zero PS, since he is barely willing to sell for the going price of $4.

In Figure above, we see that at a price of $7, producer surplus is $20 (blue). If the price rises to $10, then existing sellers gain (3×8)=$24 each (yellow), while new sellers gain (3×4)/2=$6 (green).

Verbal Learners:
What are the supply curves showing to us?
• The willingness of firms to supply a product at different prices.

What this “willingness “depends on?
• Firms observe price in the market, compare it with production costs and decide to produce or not. Then, willingness to supply depends on cost of production.

When are firms willing to supply an extra unit?
• Only when they recover the additional cost of producing that last unit.

When price is higher or equal to marginal cost
• Difference between the lowest price a firm would be willing to accept (marginal cost) and the price it actually receives.
• Producer surplus measures the net benefit received by producers from participating in a market. Total amount firms receive from consumers minus the cost of producing the good.