High school students’ verbal-visual continum and mathematical performance

Source abstract

Representation is a critical component of teaching and learning mathematics, as the effective use of multiple forms of representation can accommodate students’ preference for solution strategies, including visual and verbal approaches. In mathematics education, learners are often broadly categorized along a visual–verbal continuum. This study examined the relationship between students’ mathematical performance and their visual–verbal learning preferences. Results from an independent-samples t test showed no statistically significant difference in mathematics achievement between visual and verbal learners. In addition, the chi-square test revealed no statistically significant association between students’ gender and their visual–verbal learning preferences. These findings suggest that mathematics instruction should intentionally integrate multiple representations.