5 Helpful Study Tips for Visual Learners

5 Helpful Study Tips for Visual Learners All of us have a preferred learning style. This just means that your mind is specifically suited to one mode of informational input – hearing things (auditory learners), experiencing things (kinesthetic learners), or seeing things (visual learners) – more than another. No one is only suited to one mode of input, but most people have a clear preference and one of the inputs will be stronger than others. If you prefer being shown something to simply being told, you might be a visual learner. The problem with studying for visual learners is that most (bad) teachers will only use one style – its most likely to be the one they prefer themselves. And if youre in the latter years of your education, auditory input – lectures – is what youre mostly going to get. Try not to be discouraged, however. All types of learners face their own unique challenges. Instead, understand that you should simply adapt your study habits to suit your learning style. Heres how you do it: Use Video Lessons Use resources like Khan Academy that have created videos specifically with visual learners in mind. Everything is written down before your eyes by the instructor, and explained in-depth with lots and lots of examples. They utilize pictures and slides to explain everything from algebra to art history, and a visual learner will do well by watching them. If your professors teaching is not suited to your preferred learning style, use these visual lessons to catch up on any material you might have missed. Flashcards Flashcards are absolutely essential for visual learners. Use them in tandem with another visual learner and you can pick up on things at the same pace. These will be put to use when youre preparing for multiple-choice tests or when you have to memorize lots of facts rapidly. When making flashcards, try and aim for succinct descriptions and answers – those work best. Visual learners should try using different pens and markers to color-code prompts from different categories. Try adding a picture, so that you can associate an answer with a visual. Flowcharts, Graphs and Infographics Visual learners need a visual input to associate with a fact, and flowcharts, graphs and infographics are the best ways to do that. If youre reading your notes and cant make sense of them or youre getting lost, look up an inforgraphic to learn it more quickly and retain more information. Chances are, someone on the Internet has made one for whatever subject or topic you need. Slideshare.net and reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful are great resources to use if you havent found one through your preferred search engine. Use Diagrams and Drawings to Visualize Your Notes In class, when youre trying to retain lots of information, it might be easier for you to draw a quick graph or diagram for future reference – for visual learners, this might be the part of the notes they will remember best. So, in history class, if there is a timeline of events, draw a line with branches coming from it and write short notes on the date and what happened for maximum retention. Start doing this, and youll find that most information can be broken down and systematized into a list or chart. If the instructor is using any drawings or diagrams in the PowerPoint, make sure to copy them down. Use Highlighters Lots of visual learners, interestingly, struggle with reading information from a book. If youre reading something and come to find that you havent been paying attention, try and read with a highlighter in your hand, noting important information. Firstly, this will force you to read more carefully. Secondly, you will retain more information by creating a visual marker for it. However, try to highlight as little as possible – if youre highlighting everything, its as if youre not highlighting anything at all. Hopefully, youll be putting these tips to good use. Most importantly, a blanket rule for visual learners should be to try to visualize all the information they receive. Train your mind to create an image to match what youre hearing – for instance, if someone is giving you directions, try and create a map in your mind. This will train your brain to retain information from other inputs better and become the best learner you can be.

Discover the Mysterious Shakespeare Lost Years

Discover the Mysterious Shakespeare Lost Years What are the Shakespeare lost years? Well, scholars have managed to piece together Shakespeare’s biography from the scant documentary evidence that has survived from Shakespeare’s time. Baptisms, marriages, and legal dealings provide concrete evidence about Shakespeare’s whereabouts- but there are two big gaps in the story which have become known as the Shakespeare lost years. The Lost Years The two periods of time that make up the Shakespeare lost years are: 1578–1582: We know little about Shakespeare’s life after he left grammar school and his marriage to Anne Hathaway in 1582.1585-1592: After the baptism of his children, Shakespeare again disappears from the history books for several years until he resurfaces in the early 1590s as a London-based playwright. It is this second â€Å"bout of absence† that intrigues historians the most because it is during this period that Shakespeare would have perfected his craft, established himself as a dramatist and gained experience of the theater. In truth, nobody actually knows what Shakespeare was doing between 1585 and 1592, but there are a number of popular theories and stories, as outlined below. Shakespeare the Poacher In 1616, a clergyman from Gloucester recounted a story in which the young Shakespeare was caught poaching near Stratford-upon-Avon on the land of Sir Thomas Lucy. Although there is no concrete evidence, it is suggested that Shakespeare fled to London to escape Lucy’s punishment. It is also suggested that Shakespeare later based Justice Shallow from The Merry Wives of Windsor on Lucy. Shakespeare the Pilgrim Evidence has recently been presented that Shakespeare may have made a pilgrimage to Rome as part of his Roman Catholic faith. There is certainly lots of evidence to suggest that Shakespeare was Catholic- which was a very dangerous religion to practice in Elizabethan England. A 16th-century guest book signed by pilgrims to Rome reveals three cryptic signatures thought to be Shakespeare’s. This has led some to believe Shakespeare spent his lost years in Italy- perhaps seeking refuge from England’s persecution of Catholics at the time. Indeed, it is true that 14 of Shakespeare’s plays have Italian settings. The parchment was signed by: â€Å"Gulielmus Clerkue Stratfordiensis† in 1589Believed to mean â€Å"William, clerk of Stratford†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Shfordus Cestriensis† in 1587Believed to mean â€Å"Shakespeare of Stratford in the diocese of Chester†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Arthurus Stratfordus Wigomniensis† in 1585Believed to mean: â€Å"(King) Arthurs compatriot from Stratford in the diocese of Worcester†