Visual-Spacial Learning

I have had a battle with Learning the way things are taught in the School Systems. They tend to teach to the Lowest Common Denominator. It was complicated by my being a little A.D.D.
I would get bad grades, and nobody could figure out why, because I was testing in the 97 percentile.
Well, here we are, more than 20 years later, and they have finally started putting things together.
Dr. Linda Kreger Silverman. Ph.D. has put into words what we previously didn't understand. It is called "Visual-Spatial Learning".
These are 3 things to look at when trying to decide if you are a Visual-Spatial Learner:

Visual-spatial learners think in pictures rather than in words. They learn better visually than auditorally. They learn all-at-once, and when the light bulb goes on, the learning is permanent.

They do not learn from repetition and drill. They are whole-to-part learners who need to see the Big Picture first before they learn the details.

They are non-sequential, which means they do not learn in the step-by-step manner in which most teachers teach. They arrive at correct solutions without taking steps, so "show your work" may be impossible for them.

This was my problem. I couldn't show my work in most cases (I did learn how to at least look like I was showing my work). I couldn't do things sequentially, but that is how it was being taught. And if I tried memorization and practice, my grades actually dropped.
I finally got out of High School with a 3.5, and finished my degree with a 3.7. I could have done a lot better, but the system is not geared to handle Visual-Spatial Learners.

This is my view of the world,

When you look at it this way, it is amazing I got out of High School!

There are some Great Resources on the Web:
The Gifted Development Center
Visual-Spatial Resource
and of course,
"Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual-Spatial Learner" by Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D. (ISBN: 1-932186-00-X)
(The review is HERE)

Now, there are many ways that we can deal with Visual-Spatial Learners, but the most common are to put them in Resource, get them a Tutor, or stuff them in something like the Sylvan Learning Center.
These aren't necessarily bad, but if we can learn to deal with them in the right way, and work with them in their learning experience, we might have a more successful experience.
Many schools are now offering programs designed to deal with people with "different" or "special" learning needs. These programs have been a long time coming. However, they also have a long way to go.
Something we did with my daughter is put her in a "Physio-Neuro therapy" learning environment. This type of environment is provided by Learning Technics.
There may be other programs out there, but this program uses a variety of things to re-train the brain to work more efficiently and re-learn pathways to accomplish learning. It also works more specifically with people that are Visual-Spatial in nature. (although they don't specifically advertise this, it is a byproduct of the methods they use to help students learn how to learn.)

SO if you have ever wondered why learning was difficult for you, or why it is hard for your child, take a look at this, see if it fits, and if not, there are other resources for other types of learning. Good Luck!