Guest Editorial: Minds, Models, and Maps
Mon, Sep 24, 2012 4:25 PM
Visual Aid Importance in Classrooms
The journal Minds, Models and Maps by Kenneth Wesson explores the importance of the use of visual aids in a science classroom. He begins by stating that science is too massive to bring into a classroom completely. Sketches, maps, models and other visual aids open students to the reality of the science world. Wesson says that visualizing is integral to reading for comprehension, to understand what they read; students rely heavily on “picture- making” which can be viewed as their second way of knowing. The article continues with a list of nine easy strategies for incorporating illustrations, models and maps. Although I found strategies such as introducing a big idea by allowing students to discuss and draw a picture of what they think they will learn based off of a title and maintaining a “mind- map” recording vocabulary, what they see, hear and do (making the scientific method familiar to students) interesting, as a pre- service teacher and a visual learner myself, I was already convinced that visual aids are important in a classroom setting of any type. I do however give this journal article a three out of five stars because Wesson does a good explanation for using visuals in the classroom and he gives some good strategies to incorporate visuals into any teaching unit.