The 5 Key Aspects of IQ Testing: Visual-Spatial Learning

Hi, I'm Elizabeth Blaetz, Head of School at Vanguard Gifted Academy. I hope you're enjoying our series about diving into IQ scores. Today, we're going to share about visual-spatial learners. 

Visual-spatial learners are amazing because they can formulate three-dimensional pictures in their minds. There is such a depth of perception with visual images that these children can tell you they've been somewhere because they can identify the landmarks. They aren't going to know the name of the street, but they know there was a Dairy Queen on the corner. They register information in pictures.

You may be able to imagine the challenges somebody like this might have in a classroom full of words and oral language. These people are often doodlers, and teachers often try to stop them from doodling when, in fact, that learner is gaining insight and depth of understanding through drawing. That picture is making the concepts that are being discussed concrete in that child’s mind. 

It's really important for a teacher or an educator to know if a child is a visual-spatial learner. A visual-spatial learner has a wealth of knowledge in pictures and there are amazing fields for them to go into, but school is challenging for them.

They're not as organized because they work from the visual side of their brain, which is the creative side of their brain. They organize information based on pictures. 

This is an amazing ability. These children can tell you what something's going to look like before they even create it, but they also have a challenge because they have this amazing visual perception within their minds. Sometimes what they build or what they make doesn't suit them. They get frustrated because they can't make it as good as it looks in their mind, so you need to give them strategies for understanding the difference between what they can imagine in their minds and what they can create.

As they grow and become adults they create amazing things. Whether it's in architecture or it's in theater and movies, that mental picture really serves them in an amazing way, but school is tougher. When you're looking at IQ scores and you see that somebody is a really strong visual-spatial learner, you need to give them strategies that allow them to be successful. Doodling is a great strategy. It turns into note-taking and results in their ability to have better understanding of the concepts. 

Thank you so much for joining us to learn about visual-spatial learners. I hope you've enjoyed the series so far and you'll join us again for our next topic: verbal comprehension.