Dual Coding

Learning Matters #14 Dual Coding 

 What is it? 

Your teachers will often give you information using both verbal and visual materials at the same time. This is one of the most effective ways to help retain knowledge in your long-term memory, giving you the best chance of recalling your learning to link to new topics and for examinations.  

 Having the same information in both formats - visual images and words - gives us two different representations of the same piece of information. This works because visual and verbal information are processed differently, which when both viewed simultaneously improves learning - hence the term “dual coding”.  

Learning can be represented visually in a number of ways, including: 

• Graphic organisers
• Flow charts 
• Diagrams  
• Cartoon strips 
• Timelines 

Over the next few weeks, Learning Matters will give you some ideas to help you visualise your learning through images and diagrams when you’re revising.