At the age of 15, Albert Einstein the visual thinker and life long campaigner for educational reform left a traditional school in Munich . His grades were poor . He was told he was an insult to the school . After an education walkabout where family and friends educated him piecemeal . He started at a Swiss school founded by Pestalozzi, the educational reformer. The school practiced visual methods of learning and teaching .
Basic to Pestalozzi’s approach was the view that “conceptual thinking is built on visual understanding and visual understanding is the basis of all knowledge”
Each item of learning was carefully linked to a visual base image. The school used maps, diagrams, and other visual materials for instruction.
The atmosphere was relaxed and informal.
Modern neuroscience supports the effectiveness of Pestalozzi’s visual first approach .Practical applications today include video trainer linkedin learning . Sprouts school who we sponsor and the khan academy . Sal Khan runs a not for profit . Recently he featured in Forbes Under the banner headline the 1 trillion dollar opportunity .
More than 2 centuries after Pestalozzi death .Technology has caught up. The long anticipated and promised revolution in how we teach and learn is just beginning to gather momentum .