Neuland newbees present: Using visualization for learning

Do you always take notes at school and university, have neat study sheets, but still can't remember the information? Maybe you're like me and sketchnoting can help you.

What's behind it?

We asked ourselves: Are there specific topics or products that Neuland's young trainees are particularly passionate about? In our new series "Neuland newbees present," we share a trainee contribution with you each month, and today our Alischa shows you how you can use visualization for learning.

What you should know

Visual sketchnoting is a learning method where you link images or small drawings with information. It might sound complicated at first, but it's quite simple in practice. You don't need any special drawing skills to do it.

Our brains generally remember images better than text, and visual sketchnoting helps you link images and text. This allows your brain to retrieve the "stored" text beneath the symbols when you later look at them, and often you can even remember what happened in class.

This method works very well, especially for visually oriented people, and you are one of them if you:

• You often decorate the margins of your notes and design them with small patterns or shapes.
• You can concentrate better if you doodle something on a piece of paper during the lecture or lesson.

If you've done this before, then you've already visualized it. And if not, just give it a try anyway!

How to proceed from here

You start by gradually increasing the complexity, for example by highlighting keywords in your notes with color. After that, you can use simple symbols, like stick figures, traffic signs, or just patterns. For instance, you could mark particularly exam-relevant passages in the margin with a stop sign.

Over time, you'll develop an eye for it and automatically start looking for and using more symbols. If you can't think of any yourself, you can find inspiration online or in our bikablo® books and keep improving.

Don't get discouraged at the beginning.

It might not look very clear or pretty at first, but the learning effect is still there. Besides, you'll be slower initially than if you were copying.

I recommend visualizing your notes at home first to help you study. It's like learning a new language; the more you visualize, the more fluently you'll become. Eventually, you'll create symbols and containers automatically, and you'll be able to remember things more effectively.

What you need for this

Basically, all you need are markers, paper, and ideas. However, if you discover it for yourself, are looking for new inspiration, and want to make everything even more beautiful, I have a shopping list for you here that includes everything you might need for visual sketchnoting.

Have fun trying it out, your Neuland trainee Alischa 🙂