The Old Jail Art Center
OJAC Educator's Resources
Art students
The Old Jail Art Center education department is committed to helping educators incorporate visual learning into their classrooms and integrate art into their curricula. As such, the museum offers a variety of programs and media to support in teaching through art.
Why does the Old Jail Art Center put so much effort into visual education? Visual learning improves student performance!
In a research study entitled Graphic Organizers: A Review of Scientifically Based Research, the Institute for the Advancement of Research in Education (IARE) has proven that the use of visual learning techniques improve student learning and performance in: reading comprehension; retention; thinking and learning skills such as organizing and communicating ideas, seeing patterns and relationships, and categorizing ideas; and, student achievement across grade levels, diverse student populations and content areas. The study also describes how visual learning supports the implementation of cognitive learning theories: dual coding theory, schema theory, and cognitive load theory. A study directed by the National College Board appears to support these findings as it suggests that visual learning can lead to significantly better national test scores.