Dual coding = powerful learning

Marrying words with mental images makes them easier for students to learn and remember.

“He is a good storyteller who can turn men’s ears into eyes.”

- Moroccan proverb

Sound structured literacy programs are explicit, systematic, cumulative, and multi-sensory. Much of the emphasis on the latter point arises from Dual Coding Theory, or DCT.

Developed in the early 1970s by psychologist Allan Paivio, DCT confirms what tutors working with dyslexic kids were already seeing: combining print and visuals yields powerful results.

The simple DCT overview is that the mind has specialized subsystems to process both verbal information (written and spoken language) and nonverbal information (mental images, spatial representations). Encoding information in both systems improves working memory and strengthens comprehension.

An obvious example: If you learn the word “giraffe” only as text, your mental image probably won’t match a real giraffe. If you see the word and an accompanying picture, you have a stronger association, something to compare to your imagination.

Paivio distinguished three types of processing. Representational processing is directly reading a word or seeing a picture. Referential processing is using one system to activate the other, like reading the word “cat” and picturing a cat, or vice versa. Associative processing links words and images together and connects disparate words and images (“bark” = dog).

Paivio’s research underlies two Lindamood-Bell programs, Seeing Stars and Visualizing and Verbalizing, designed to improve spelling, comprehension, and writing. The first complements L-B’s core reading program (LiPS) by emphasizing the visualization of letters, with plenty of air writing and mapping letters to sounds. The second teaches students to turn text into “movies in their minds” for faster, more accurate recall.

Activities such as building clay letters, tracing letters in sand, and later using flow charts and diagrams are all in line with DCT. Here are two exercises I have found powerful using DCT principles:

1)    Vocabulary T-cards. Write the vocab word on the blank front side of an index card. On the ruled back, work with the student to write a short definition (NOT from a dictionary) on the top red line. Divide the rest of the card with a vertical line. On one side of the line, have the student write a sentence using the target word. On the other side, have the student draw a picture that will help remember the word. It could be a mnemonic, or something silly, or something surprisingly detailed…the point is whatever works best for your student. This is especially useful for abstract nouns such as love, justice, happiness, etc.

Then you can review the words like normal flashcards – show the vocab word, have the student define it, move on. I’ve been astonished over the years how many kids can recall a word just from seeing their drawing. It also works vice versa: reading the word invokes their drawing and sparks their memory.

2)   Rhyming lists. Say you want your child to remember a list, such as 10 items they need to pack for vacation. First, rhyme each number with a concrete image: one is sun, two is shoe, three is tree, four is door, five is hive, etc. Use your imagination. Then tell your progeny the first thing they need to remember, say a suitcase. Have them say, “One is sun,” and then have them picture their suitcase in the sun. Maybe their next item to remember is suntan lotion. “Two is shoe. Picture the suntan lotion in a shoe;” “Three is tree; see your passport in a palm,” etc., etc., until you have listed all 10 items and associated them with the number’s matching word.

I saw this demonstrated at a conference in a group setting. It was amazing! After forming a joint list (I think it was 12 items) the leader would say, “One is sun” and point at a raised child’s hand: Suitcase!  “Two is shoe:” suntan lotion! “Three is tree:” Passport! Nobody got one wrong.

There are many other ways to use DCT, of course. I have always found it beneficial to link sounds with letters, letters with words, and both with pictures as much as possible. I would encourage all teachers to do the same.

It’s true we live in an overly-visual world of computers, movies, graphic novels, and smart phones. Too many kids have their images provided for them or thrust upon them. When they see a block of text, they lack the skill (and desire) to turn it into imagery. This is where DCT can help fill the gap.

Where a story lacks pictures and looks boring – even textbook paragraphs! – help turn it into a mental movie. You will not only be improving reading skills; you’ll be shaping a mind that can enjoy its own imagined world.

If you want more information on the V/V or Seeing Stars programs, leave a comment or reach out via Linguistics Edge. Always glad to share ideas and information.