visuaLearning

Knowledge based societies today are highly focused on transfer of information based on text. During school time and later on during vocational training, university studies or further education learning proceeds through reading and writing. At the same time communication by means of pictograms increased a lot in everyday life as well as in business life. Many work processes in connection with PC work with icons. All software programmes e.g. of Microsoft or Apple guide the user through their programmes by the support of icons. Vending machines are equipped with touch screens as well as computer information sources in museums. They all include pictograms, pictures and icons in order to make information more accessible to the user. In all these examples the understanding of pictures and signs is required.

Common learning theories do not give an appropriate answer to the question how learning happens through visual processes. The question about the influence of pictures in learning process as well as the reception is left to disciplines related to arts, e.g. design, advertising, etc. and has not yet been posed by adult educators in particular. From our experiences in basic skills we know that especially people with low literacy skills depend on processing information by means of pictures. This is regarded as a compensation strategy for managing daily life. In the same time it is a special strength or competence that has not been acknowledged or recognised enough yet for reasons that this is an informally acquired competence. With this project we want to build up on current findings from both basic skills and acquisition of informal competences in order to find out how the so called “visual learning” easies the process of learning. In order to find some evidence for our assumptions we want to interview learners with reading and writing difficulties and so called “third age learners”. We want to focus on their learning biography and the role pictures play during a lifespan. For trainers we will develop, provide and evaluate a workshop which qualifies them for “visual learning”. The workshop will on the one hand sensitise the trainer about the role of pictures in learning processes and on the other hand qualify them in drawing pictures and apply them in teaching. This competence is known as visual facilitating.

In der heutigen Wissensgesellschaft ist die Gesellschaft auf textbasierte Informationsvermittlung fokussiert. Gleichwohl hat sich in der Alltags- und Arbeitswelt auch mehr und mehr der Gebrauch von Piktogrammen, Bildern und Icons entwickelt. Von Interesse ist die Frage, welche Bedeutung visuelles Lernen in Lernprozessen vor allem bezogen auf den Bereich Grundbildung hat.