Category: Critical Thinking and Creativity

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How to Unlock the Power of Visual Memory

Are you looking for strategies that help your students unlock the power of visual memory? If so, keep reading.

1. Teach the learner to learn sequences and lists of information in segments (e.g., telephone numbers are learned as 123, then 874, then 1710, etc.).

2. Get the learner to take notes when instructions are being given following the “What, How, Learning materials, and On occasions where” format.

3. Show ideas following the outline of (1) Who, (2) What, (3) Where, (4) On occasions where, (5) How, and (6) Why.

4. Make it pleasant and positive for the learner to ask questions about things not grasped. Praise the learner by assisting, congratulating, etc.

5. Teach the learner to recognize common visual symbols (e.g., a red octagon means stop, a skull and crossbones represent poison, etc.).

6. Give the learner written instructions, rules, lists, etc. Praise the learner for being able to recall the information given in the written form.

7. Praise the learner for remembering information received visually: (a) give the learner a concrete reward (e.g., classroom privileges, line leading, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the learner an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).

8. Assess the appropriateness of the task to ascertain if ( a) the task is too easy, (b) the task is too complicated (e.g., too much information to remember) or ( c) the duration of time required for the learner to remember is sufficient (e.g., the presentation of information was too brief, the time lapse between the presentation of content and request for recall was too long, etc.).

9. Inform the learner of the situation in which the content was initially presented to help them remember information (e.g., say, “Remember yesterday when we talked about …?” “Remember when we were outside, and we looked at the …?” etc.).

10. Give the learner visual signals to help them remember the information previously presented (e.g., using keywords printed on the smartboard, exposing part or all of an image, etc.).

11. Draw the learner’s attention to crucial aspects of visual images (e.g., by highlighting, outlining, drawing arrows, etc.).

12. Give auditory information (e.g., oral instructions or explanations, etc.) to support information the learner receives visually.

13. Make the learner recall days of the week, months of the year, birthdates, addresses, telephone numbers, etc., after seeing this information in written form.

14. Consider using an education app to help the student enhance their visual memory. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

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How to Teach Kids with Interpersonal Intelligence

When we talk about “intelligence” most of the time, we think about kids and adults who spend a lot of time in lecture halls and libraries quietly studying. Over the years, the concept of intelligence has evolved. 

Developmental psychologist Howard Gardner came up with the concept of multiple intelligences, which challenges the traditional notion of intelligence (IQ) as a singular ability. One of the eight intelligences that Gardner presented is “interpersonal intelligence” – the ability to communicate and interact effectively with others. People who have high interpersonal intelligence are known to be excellent communicators. His theory was explained in his book “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.”

The Gift and Skill of Relating to Others

Having interpersonal intelligence is both a gift and a skill. Some have this natural talent for communicating, but those who do not have a natural talent can learn it. Those who have this gift can pick up on other people’s moods, temperaments, and motivations without the other person saying it.

Gardner presented Anne Sullivan as a good example of a person with high interpersonal intelligence. Anne Sullivan, who had little formal training in special education and was partially blind, taught a young Helen Keller. Helen Keller was a disabled child who lost her sense of sight and hearing at just nine months old. Anne Sullivan gave Helen Keller the tools she needed to overcome her disabilities so she could succeed later on in life. Helen Keller became a lecturer and disability rights activist as an adult.

In this example, you can see how Anne Sullivan was able to use her strengths to help Helen Keller. Despite her limitations, she was able to build a strong lifelong relationship with Helen Keller. In the end, they helped each other realize their full potential and overcome disability.

People with Interpersonal Intelligence

Other well-known people who have high interpersonal intelligence include Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Oprah Winfrey. They are known to have the ability to communicate and connect with people—one can say that they are quite influential.

Those who have high interpersonal intelligence might have potential in the field of teaching, counseling, sales, and public speaking. Their common characteristics include being adaptive and having the ability to think out of the box. They can come up with solutions that are creative and innovative.  

It’s a common misconception that all interpersonally intelligent people are outgoing, gregarious social butterflies. However, shy, introverted people can have this ability; after all, it’s all about communicating effectively and forming connections with people. 

Building on the Gift of Interpersonal Intelligence in the Classroom

Interpersonal skills can be taught in the classroom by giving peer-to-peer work, group tasks, and requiring students to deliver presentations. Tasks like these encourage students to work in teams—share ideas, delegate tasks, negotiate which parts of working on.

To help students develop interpersonal intelligence, they can be encouraged to head class meetings, organize small and big group activities, and even become student leaders. Pair a student with high interpersonal intelligence with shy and introverted classmates.

Those who are perceived to be high in interpersonal intelligence can benefit from being allowed to participate in as many activities as their current workload. They can model these skills to their classmates so that others will be encouraged to engage with others. 

Summary It would be great if parents and teachers could identify the type of intelligence that their child possesses. Knowing that will help the adult identify the strengths and areas for improvement of each student. Interpersonal intelligence is a natural ability, but it can also be learned. Incorporate some of the strategies suggested in the previous section to strengthen this ability.

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Using the Arts to Develop Children’s Critical Thinking Skills

It’s no doubt that critical thinking is essential to education and, ultimately, success in life, but does developing this skill have to be so hard?

As parents and teachers, we can get caught up in the “critical” aspect of critical thinking, often turning the acquisition of complex processing and problem-solving abilities into an overly serious matter of assigning elaborate math and science problems or forcing our kids to try to think in ways that their brains are not developed enough to understand. Although the development of these right-brained skills is part of the critical thinking process, we spend a meager amount of time and effort teaching the equally important creative, inquisitive thought patterns that the arts encourage.

Using Art to Harness Innate Curiosity

Children have unmatched levels of curiosity by nature, and strengthening our schools’ arts programs could be the solution to teaching the critical thinking skills that are necessary to keep the world functioning for future generations.

Think back on your elementary school experience for a moment when math, science, and the more “practical” classes were largely theoretical endeavors involving unknown variables and untouchable subject matter. The arts, however, provide students with hands-on learning, real-time problem solving and the ability to bring the hypothetical down to earth.

According to Dictionary.com, critical thinking is “disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded and informed by evidence.” When employed, critical thought enables us to make objective judgments about stimuli and information to find a solution to a given problem. With art education, students learn to take a slower, more observant approach to the world, giving them greater access to the clues that make solving complex problems possible.

Researchers at Walden University agree that guiding children to observe, examine and reflect on pieces of art, translates to a more careful analysis when problem-solving in other situations. Not to mention, growing students’ appreciation for art helps to improve tolerance, empathy, and resiliency, which are crucial to producing solutions that benefit society as a whole.

How to Implement Art in the Classroom

It’s one thing to understand the importance of art in critical thinking, but how can we take this, again, theoretical evidence and apply it in classrooms? Arts integration is a powerful method that employs the arts in every subject. When teaching history, for example, encourage students to draw upon their creative, left-brain functioning to act out important events, create theme-appropriate music, or illustrate interpretations of your lesson.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs get most of the attention these days, but recent movements make a place for art within this framework by creating STEAM (STEM + Arts) classrooms, which utilize self-expression and other arts integration techniques to create a balanced learning experience.

After all, careers in STEM fields – like computer programming and engineering – boil down to precise applications of artistic solutions to real-world problems. STEAM proves that creativity and practical knowledge can (and should) coexist in schools. Historically speaking, art drives science and science drives art. Therefore, the arts more than deserve a place in every classroom’s curriculum. How else would we nurture our kids’ curiosity and develop the critical thinking skills necessary to ponder, digest, and solve all of the world’s abstract problems?

How do you integrate the arts into your classroom? Drop a comment below to keep the conversation going!