One of the major innovations in education over the past few decades has been the discovery of various learning styles. Researchers have determined that there are neurological reasons why some people learn best through their sense of sight, while others learn best through their sense of hearing.
This insight has led many people to wonder whether the playing field is level in education, or whether some kinds of learners are naturally better suited to traditional academics. Luckily, there is a learning tool that is appropriate for both visual and auditory learners: the flashcard.
Flashcards combine elements of visual and auditory learning in a seamless way that makes them appropriate for students of all types. Visual learners need to see something in front of them before they can truly understand it. A teacher can lecture all day to visual learners, but until the information is written down they will not begin to consolidate it into memory. A flashcard is the perfect medium, then, for a visual learner, because it presents the essence of an idea or concept in a clear and precise image. Whether a flashcard contains text, pictures, or a combination of the two, it is in an ideal format for visual learners.
Visual learners are not alone in reaping the benefits of flashcards, however. Auditory learners can also assimilate new information from a flashcard with ease. Auditory learners are those people who need to hear something out loud before they can really understand it. These kinds of students may pass their eyes over a page of text without registering a thing, but will immediately comprehend once the same information is spoken out loud. For these learners, using a flashcard is as simple as reading aloud. Instead of quietly rehearsing the information on a flashcard, an auditory learner needs to practice saying the question and answer to him or herself in order to learn it.
Research indicates that auditory learners thrive when they both speak and hear new information while studying. Auditory learners can even have a friend read the flashcard to them as part of their study. In any case, auditory learners will discover that flashcards are not just for people who learn with their eyes. On the contrary, flashcards are for everyone!
