Understanding How Visual Thinking Strategies Support Dyslexic Learning

Concept Mapping

The term 'Mind Map' is often confused with the term 'Concept Map'. Concept Mapping, is a way of visually illustrating the relationships between concepts and ideas. Often represented in circles or boxes, concepts are linked by words and phrases that explain the connection between the ideas, helping users to organize and structure their thoughts, further understanding and discover new relationships. Concept mapping is popular in science, health education, engineering and more.

A Concept Map is a useful tool for those who feel stuck with writing essays as it helps them to arrange key information it in a way that makes sense.

The key benefits to using Concept Mapping are:

It helps users generate new ideas
It encourages users to explore and make connections between topics
It allows users to clearly communicate information
It helps users to integrate new concepts with existing concepts
It enables users to gain enhanced knowledge and evauate that information

Digital Concept Maps can also be converted into Microsoft Word documents for further editing. This is ideal for expanding on written assignments.

There is a useful Concept Mapping 'explainer' video: How to make a concept map

Mind Mapping is a visual representation of hierarchical information that includes a central idea surrounded by a series of branched associated topics. Mind maps can be used to develop 'thinking templates' that can be used for specific thinking activities for example, a SWOT analysis that has a structure for thinking but needs populating with relevant details. For example, a student could use a mind map to organise how they prepare for an exam. The following is an example of a mind map that helps students get ready for exams:

Final Comments

The great thing about using visual thinking strategies is that it is something that anyone can use to reach a deeper level of thinking and productivity. It is especially useful for students with dyslexia who are especially creative or have a tendency for non-linear thought that makes conventional essay writing difficult to engage with.

Using visual thinking strategies can reduce coursework overwhelm and procrastination. For many students, using visual thinking strategies digitally, with software such as Inspiration 10, is a perfect starting point to then go on to edit mistakes and expand on written assignment within Microsoft Word.