Using Images to Reinforce Learning

Last updated: 02 June 2010
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Summary

This paper supports the use of relevant images in teaching and learning materials. It highlights the potential benefits and introduces some guidelines for the correct use of images, using Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) as an example.

Background

The two sides of the brain have different attributes and respond to different stimuli. The left is analytical, verbal, sequential and linear; the right is visual, spatial and holistic. It follows that the left is more logical, responding better to textual material, whilst the right is more imaginative, responding to images. If the right side is not stimulated, it is harder for students to put ideas into context. Studies have shown that the use of relevant images can increase a student’s recollection and comprehension of new material, as well as stimulating discussion and promoting interest.

Recollection

Short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) store and remember information as “chunks”. Unlike STM, LTM does not seem to be limited to a finite number of chunks or concepts that can be stored and retrieved. Furthermore, images have a direct route to LTM - each image storing its own information as a coherent “chunk” or concept. However, images must be meaningful to be retained.

Comprehension

Images are generally more evocative than words and more precise in triggering a wide range of associations. Whilst text can communicate a fact, argument or logical sequence, images invoke lateral thinking, objectivity and global context. By establishing a better balance between the use of images and the use of words, educators can increase the learning potential of their students.

Toward Los Angeles, California 1937 By Dorothea Lange. Library of Congress on Flickr: The Commons - No known copyright restrictions.

Guidelines for appropriate usage

When producing teaching materials using a VLE, it is important to ensure that visual material is only used in an appropriate context. Images relevant to the text they accompany will assist learning, while others may distract or worse contradict the text.
Different images require different selection criteria

Instructional images have been classified into three types, on the basis of how they convey meaning:

• Representational - those pictures that share a physical resemblance to the concept being portrayed, e.g. photographs
• Analogical - those pictures that explain a concept by showing a similar example and drawing a comparison between the two
• Logical - those pictures that show logical representations of the physical concepts being represented, e.g. flow charts, graphs and charts

When incorporating images into a VLE or generally into teaching and learning material, each type requires a different approach:

• Representational images must faithfully represent the original image
• Analogical images only work if the analogy supports the textual content and vice versa. It helps if the analogy is self-explanatory
• Logical images that do not simplify the figures or concepts they represent are superfluous

How to gauge a suitable complexity for an image

When selecting an appropriate image or diagram, remember that simplicity is the key. Einstein thought scientific theories “should be as simple as possible, but no simpler” and the same can be applied to images used to support learning.

Einstein 1931. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution on Flickr: The Commons - No known copyright restrictions.

Benefits for students

Although educational psychologists continue to debate the relative importance of the different parts of the brain, they do agree on one thing: everyone is different. A teaching method may be suitable for one student, but inappropriate for another. Images can sometimes be used as substitutes for words or to produce non-verbal information. This benefits learners with poor verbal skills in particular; the additional visual content brings into play the holistic skills of the right side of the brain. It is also important to recognise that for some learners the visual image has little or no value.

Avoiding misinterpretation

It is always important to avoid misinterpretation and images can assist in this, as long as a balance between visual and textual context is achieved. However, images have a key advantage over textual content: an individual’s response to an image will be described in their own words. By absorbing the information and recording it in a way that makes sense to them, students will increase their understanding and recollection of a concept.

Summary, references and further reading

This paper has shown that images have the potential to improve a student’s capacity for learning and to assist instructors in conveying a concept. Some of the information has been quoted or paraphrased from academic papers on the subject. References for these quotes can be found in our in-depth report, The Use of Images to Support Instruction and Presentation.

For practical information on incorporating images into teaching and learning materials, take a look at our other guides in the finding and using digital images section of the JISC Digital Media website.

Last updated: 02 June 2010
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