Learning styles determine how successful a person can be at interpreting different kinds of information. There are four basic learning styles; visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. However, visual learners outnumber any other category. 

 

While it is not the most powerful sense, sight is the most important to humans. Vision is the sense that humans rely on the most, so it makes sense that this is the way most of us learn best. 

 

With social media on the rise, the human attention span is constantly shrinking. With illustrations, infographics, and visual information it is easy for the brain to organize and interpret information. In fact, the popularity of infographics on social media supersedes that of traditional posts most of the time. 

 

Think about it. People are likely to read only a fraction of the written information on a website, and even when we do read, we skim through the details. Why do we do this? Regardless of your reading comprehension, sometimes it just takes too long. Our attention spans have been curated and morphed by social media. On the flip side, the human brain can interpret visual information in 13 milliseconds. The fact of the matter is that we would rather see visual content than textual. 

 

Visual interpretation of information is not only a preference, but actually improves human retention. When conjoined with a visual aid, we are 55% more likely to remember that same information three days later as opposed to simply hearing the information. 

 

If students can retain information with more ease in less time when provided visual information, why are most classes still revolving around reading textbooks and listening to lectures? The educational system is not constructed in favor of those that do not benefit from ‘traditional’ teaching styles. 

 

This plays into the stigma that artists, or the creatively minded struggle or are less successful. By not catering to the needs of the student population, impressionable minds are veered away from the arts. The benefits of human ability for visual interpretation often goes unutilized, and stunts the growth of students’ artistry. 

 

The world should cater to the preferences of its learners, in order to enhance the learner’s ability to consume and interpret information.