Use pictures or icons in your lessons. Our brains often remember images better than words ā especially in combination with each other: it then enters the (working) memory in two ways, making it processed more powerfully (see also dual coding). By also presenting learning material visually, you ensure that students often remember it much better. So, for example, add images or icons to a presentation or learning text. It is important that the image matches the content: otherwise, it only distracts (see cognitive load theory). Also teach students to use pictures and icons when learning, for example by adding them to a summary or schemas they create. It is even more powerful if students come up with these themselves, so they can give their own association to it. For a long time, it was thought that students learn effectively by, for example, seeing information visually or by feeling it. In other words: everyone has one particular learning style. However, there is no evidence for this. The problem with learning styles is, among other things, that there is a difference between how people like to learn and how people learn well. Additionally, there is extensive meta-research (Clark, 1982) that shows there is no ā or even a negative ā correlation between learning styles and learning outcomes (sugar is tasty, but not always good). There is also the danger of categorizing people into boxes, while most people do not fit into one box. There is no proven good test to measure this, and there are simply too many learning styles. Research by Coffield, Moseley, Hall, and Ecclestone has identified as many as 71 learning styles. There is hardly any scientific evidence that shows that adapting education to learning styles has an effect. It can even have a negative effect. Everyone learns differently, so don't categorize people into boxes. Although learning styles appear in many (older) books, in training sessions, and in education, it is a persistent myth that cannot be substantiated by research. It would actually be better to learn in a different way sometimes, to vary more and strengthen your weaker points.
De Bruyckere, P., Kirschner, P. & Hulshof, C. (2016). Jongens zijn slimmer dan meisjes: 35 mythes over leren en onderwijs. Amsterdam, Nederland: Lannoo Campus | Anderz.
Weinstein, Y., Sumeracki, M., & Caviglioli, O. (2018). Undertanding how we learn: a visual guide. New York, Verenigde Staten: Routledge.