As a visual learner myself, I have come to appreciate well-designed visual aids in the classroom. For me, the chance to see important information summarized concisely and effectively boosts my memory and recall of that information. Over the years, though, I’ve discovered that not all visual learners are the same. For me, if I visually see words organized on a visual aid, I will remember that not only for the test, but also long after. But for some, the use of graphics is what helps them remember those important concepts. To be able to address both kinds of visual learners, it’s important for visual aids to be concise and effective.

Visual aids come in many forms. You may write on the board, create an overhead transparency or a PowerPoint presentation or handout for your students. Whichever form you choose to represent the important concepts to your students, it’s important to be concise and effective in your design.

Concise visual aids contain the fewest words needed to help students remember the concept. If the visual aid is used to summarize the main points from a lesson, then a keyword should be used for each main point. By boiling down the main point into one keyword, students are better able to remember all the keywords and see how they tie together. By adding an image to the keyword, students are then able to remember all the information represented in that keyword. When you are concise in the creation of the content for the visual aid, it becomes a lot easier to be effective!

In addition to being concise, visual aids need to be effective. Once you’ve decided on the graphics and words you want on your visual aid, it’s time to organize them. The layout of the visual aid should be simple and uncluttered. Don’t try to put too many ideas on one visual aid. It may be necessary to make several visual aids depending on the amount of information you are conveying. To make a visual aid to accompany every step of your lesson, PowerPoint presentations are a great way to supplement your lesson visually. The templates allow for consistency from slide to slide and they have built in font sizes that are easy to read. They also help you limit the amount of information you cram on to one slide so that each slide is never overcrowded. If you are creating overhead transparencies the font size should be in the 20s and never smaller than 18. This will help you keep it simple and not overcrowded. Another important part of an effective visual aid is that it should be easy to understand and read. The purpose of the visual aid—summarizing a list of key points, showing a process, or highlighting differences—should be clear from the layout of the visual aid. Choose graphics that embody the concept so fewer words are needed.

My favorite strategy for using visual aids to accompany a lesson is as follows. For each main point of the lesson I create a visual aid that covers the keyword and concept of that point. Then, after all the points are presented, I summarize them in one visual aid. I reuse the keyword from the individual visual aids along with the most attention-grabbing graphic. The repetition helps students flow through the information and realize the last visual aid is a review and not new information. Good luck using visual aids to supplement your lessons!