As we have already mentioned in our general positioning on educational trends in 2018, we will review each one of them. In this post we will go into more depth about Visual Thinking to get to know it better.
Visual thinking is something innate to the human condition. Ever since man has been man , he has made visual representations to express ideas, tell stories, confront and solve problems. The clearest example is that of cave paintings. Thanks to them, people were able to organize hunting, settlements and community tasks. Visual thinking is a concept in vogue, although it was already named by Rudolf Arnheim in 1969.
Visual thinking is a tool that consists of expressing and manipulating ideas through simple and recognizable drawings , creating connections between them by means of mental maps , with the aim of understanding them better, defining objectives, identifying problems, discovering solutions, simulating processes and generating new ideas.
Visual thinking works because 80% of our brain is designed to assimilate and process images, so they require less effort than reading a text. This expands the capacity for understanding and synthesis, facilitating the exposition of ideas when words are not enough, triggering shared processes of thought, dialogue, design and action.
How to turn ideas into images?
According to Dan Roam , expert in visual thinking and author of the book “Your World on a Napkin” the process of Visual Thinking has these simple steps
Visual thinking Look Look . We absorb visual information and select what is in front of us.
Visual thinking See See . We select what is interesting and group that information through the relationships between elements and patterns.
Visual thinking Imagine Imagine. We interpret and manipulate elements to discover new patterns.
Visual thinking Show Show . Once a pattern is found and understood, it should be shown to other people for feedback.
This process is not always linear.
Yes, but… what if I don’t know how to draw?
Let's go back to when you were little. Back then, you weren't afraid to draw and it never crossed your mind that you would do it wrong. Over the years, we limit our ability to draw based on our artistic talent. But the truth is that we are all capable of making stick figures, lines, squares, circles, arrows and a few more shapes... so there is no reason not to start working with the tools of visual thinking.
With time and practice, you will see that your graphics will become better and faster; furthermore, it is not about faithfully representing reality and it has nothing to do with becoming an artist, but rather about being able to make simple, straightforward and universal images that can be understood here and on the other side of the planet.
If you are one of those people who says “ I don’t know how to draw ”, here are some very simple tips and exercises to help you start using the tools of visual thinking… And if you are one of those lucky ones who are really good at drawing, be sure to check them out. They can give you some tips on how to improve your skills.
Basic shapes: All graphs are made from these basic shapes, so let's start with the simplest shapes to loosen up a bit.
Pictographs and ideographs: If you are already encouraged to make more complex figures, you can practice. With these figures you will be ready to graphically represent many ideas.
Dolls and doodles: Starting from a shape like a circle, triangle or rectangle, you can draw the head, legs and arms with simple lines.
Visual thinking drawing
Uses in education
Teachers know better than anyone how important Visual Thinking can be in education , especially those dedicated to Early Childhood Education. Why? The answer is very simple, because before we start writing or reading we already know how to draw and it is with images that a child learns to express themselves in their first educational steps.
The success of this form of representation is due to the fact that the list of usa cell phone numbers human brain is trained to assimilate images with great ease and processes a drawing better and with less effort than a text.
The uses of visual thinking in teaching can be endless, as it can be applied to all types of educational levels. Younger children can begin to express ideas and connect them with their first drawings, manually, with the paints and markers that we have all traditionally used. Likewise, older students can benefit from the most positive aspects of Visual Thinking through new technologies, in addition to being able to use the classic pencil or pen.
Students will only need a little motivation and perhaps a push to unleash new ideas. In this way, simple or complex drawings, concept maps or, for example, mind maps, will be useful for students when making presentations, taking notes, solving problems, planning activities, etc.
Visual thinking mapping
There is still more, many ideas to help you in your visual representations.
New technologies can help you in different ways: you can use applications that help you create what goes through your mind, such as Mind Meister , an application that allows you to create mind maps .
Other possibilities include working with Word Clouds, infographics or charts. Visual editors like Canva or Picktochart are great for designing materials online and with simple, manageable templates.
visual thinking with Mindmeister