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and follow the order of events. Similarly, you make sense of what you’re
studying if you can make an image of it and put it in order.
Understanding imagery and order makes what you’re studying
clearer to you. Even figuring out a math problem is something you do in
different ways. The problem “5 x 2” has a lot more meaning if you “see”
five branches of a pear tree with two pears on each branch. You use order
in solving that same problem by putting (“seeing”) the two groups of five
together to make ten.
You may be someone who thinks best by putting things in order (a
sequential thinker), or by using images (a global thinker). But even if
those aren’t your strengths, almost everything you study requires some
images and some order, and you’ll be a better learner by strengthening
these styles.
TIPS FOR EVERYONE ON IMAGES AND ORDER
USING IMAGERY
The concrete world is made up of images. But not everyone can use their
senses to “see” images in a book or on a tape. To know if you’re really
understanding the imagery of what you’re reading or listening to, draw a
map or a picture of what you see or hear. Is your image complete? If it’s
vague or missing something, you may need more information. If so, go
back to the text or tape again.
USING ORDER
Order is the result of connections; if you discover connections between
different events or facts, you’ll most likely be able to put them in some
sort of order. To know if you’re understanding the order of what you’re
reading or listening to, make a list of events and number them in the
order they occur. Or make a timeline: draw a line and write in or draw
events in the order they occur. If you need more information to complete
your list or timeline, review the text or audiotape.
1.
2.
3.
Seeing Images vs. Seeing Order
Lilly and Amelia work together as paralegals. They just started a
pre-law program at their local college.
In her office cubicle, Lilly has her files arranged around her
in open wire baskets of different colors. Lilly is an image thinker;
she can only learn something if she can picture it in her head. She
associates images with other images in a comprehensive way
that doesn’t follow a specific order. This way of thinking is also
called global thinking. When writing a paper, Lilly begins by
drawing a picture of what she wants to say or imagining the pic-
ture in her head. Lilly needs to hold on to the images in her head
that produce her ideas.
Amelia’s files are kept in drawers in both alphabetical and
numerical order. Amelia can only learn something effectively if
she can understand an order, or sequence, to it. Amelia is a
sequential learner. She begins her paper by writing an outline.
She might change the outline somewhat as the paper progress-
es, but she needs to work with her sense of order.
If Lilly were required to make an outline, and Amelia to
draw a picture, they probably would not get as much out of writ-
ing the paper as if their styles were reversed.
MAKING IMAGES, MAKING ORDER, MAKING SENSE
27
ARE YOU AN IMAGE THINKER OR A
SEQUENTIAL THINKER?
IMAGE THINKERS
How can you tell if you think best by imagining things in pictures?
Answer the following questions and find out.
•Do you remember people’s faces well?
•If you leave bills or receipts in different places, do you usually
remember where they are?
•When watching a sports event, do you usually see in your head
what might happen next?
Find Out!
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28
•Do you usually like to fuss with the way something is arranged,
such as furniture or flowers?
•Are you apt to notice if a picture is not hung straight?
If you answered yes to at least three of the above, you probably think
in images. You learn more powerfully by the pictures you see in your
mind.
SEQUENTIAL THINKERS
How can you tell if you think best by putting an order to things? Answer
the following questions and find out:
•Is it easy for you to be on time for an appointment?
•Do you like to do crossword puzzles?
•Do your friends or family tell you you’re good at filling out
forms?
•Do you file bills or receipts you want to save in a certain order?
•Does your watch have the actual time?
If you answered yes to at least three of the above, you’re probably a
strong sequential thinker. You just naturally seem to know the order of
things.
Or, maybe in some ways you learn sequentially, and in other ways
you learn globally, with images. Only you learn like you.
TIPS FOR IMAGE THINKERS
Lilly and Amelia like studying together. Lilly relates what she’s studying
to what she already knows in very broad ways, often in ways that would
not occur to Amelia. Lilly is what’s called a global thinker.
When Lilly is trying to understand a text that focuses on order, she
uses imagery to help her understand the order of events. History class
was a challenge for her. “All those dates!” she exclaimed. “They don’t
make sense to me.” She focused on the pictures that came to mind first.
Then, she put the pictures in an order, like making a cartoon. She
associated dates with the pictures. She used imagery to understand the
order of events.
Find Out!
MAKING IMAGES, MAKING ORDER, MAKING SENSE
29
Here are some tips to help you if you learn best by thinking in
images:
•To make the most of reading: Take notes by drawing pictures
that come to mind or describing the pictures in your head into a
tape recorder.
•To make the most of writing: Describe the pictures in your head
on paper or into a recorder, and then write what you play back.
TIPS FOR SEQUENTIAL THINKERS
Amelia sees connections in an order that might be based on time or
importance. In either case, she naturally thinks in an orderly way. Amelia
is what’s called a sequential thinker. She notes events and puts them in a
sequence to understand them.
When Amelia is trying to understand a text that focuses on imagery,
she uses her sense of order. Her poetry class was a challenge—all those
descriptions! She turned her reading into a kind of detective story, asking
herself: “What happened first? Then what happened? What next? What
led up to the ending?” It was her sense of sequence that allowed her to
create pictures in her head of what happened.
If you learn best by thinking in order:
•To make the most of reading: Write and re-write your notes in
list or outline form, putting details under major topic headings. If
you’re using a tape recorder, read your list into it. As you play it
back, listen to any changes you want to make so that the order is
clearer or stronger for you.
•To make the most of writing: List or outline what you want to
say. Your outline might be a series of questions. If so, put similar
questions together to form categories. If you’re using a tape
recorder to get started, read your questions into it, play it back
and re-record any changes that make the order clearer to you.
1.
2.
3.
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30
INSHORT
There are two general ways to make sense of what you’re studying:
1. Understand the imagery of what you’ve read or heard. Make pictures
in your head. Go back to the text for information to make the
pictures clearer.
2. Understand the order in what you’ve read or heard. Number events
or make a timeline that shows you the order of events.
If you’re a global thinker, you think more in pictures and make connec-
tions that don’t necessarily follow a certain order. If you’re a sequential
thinker, your connections are based on time or importance.
Practice Tips
Use imagery and order the next time you study. After you read, draw
what pictures come to mind. Then, go back and number events as they
occur—on the text, if it’s yours, in your notebook if it’s not. Make a
timeline of the events. Go back to the text for any information you need
to make your picture and timeline clearer.