The more we know about the brain and how it acquires and keeps knowledge, the more we recognize how important visualization is to the brain. It is estimated that the 95% of the work of the brain is visual. That is pretty convincing. Most of us need to see what we are talking about, we need to see to understand, and we need to see to make connections and create memory.
While the word is powerful, images are often more powerful. Consider the adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words." It makes sense then, that we would try to provide visual images for our learners. Those images might be actual pictures, they might be graphic organizers, they might be charts, graphs, and tables, but whatever they are, they give our students a visual representation of what is being learned. I do not know about you, but I found this image much easier to comprehend than the text that accompanied it in my chemistry book.
There are many graphic organizers out there to use. Some just use lines and shapes to help students get organized. Others may use more interesting pictures, but their intent is to create a picture for students to see what they are learning. It is powerful stuff.
The creator of the mind knew that our minds would need visual reminders. Probably the best nonlinguistic representation of a lesson is the very life of Christ. The Bible tells us, "The word became flesh and dwelt among us." Christ became the embodiment of all the promises that God had given to us. He became the salvation for which we all search and yearn. We know how to live righteously because we have a picture of a righteous man. We know how to live sacrificially because we saw His life. We know how to be a servant because He first served us. Yes, it is not a surprise that the creator of the mind would teach according to these brain friendly techniques.
