Organization for the Visual Spatial Brain

When it comes to the Visual Spatial Learner (VSL) and organization some interesting traits tend to occur:

• Because the VSL is so right-brained and just "sees" things rather than "know" them they tend to have piles rather than structured organization
•  The VSL is also very non-linear so while they may appear to be highly messy and disorganized they can often find anything they need from a "messy pile" because their visual minds remember where that certain color or bent corner of a paper looked like among the seemingly disorganized pile of madness 

  Even though the VSL often does fine with a "mess of an area", they still need to learn a few techniques to help them work successfully in a world that will require some form of organization. These are a few of the techniques that I found most applicable and useful in my visual arts classroom:

•  Using highly visual planners (like a calendar with images and words) like the example below
• Folders over 3-rings!!! VSLs like to stuff over bind....3hole punching takes way too long for the VSL
• Color associate everything....red for new art vocabulary, blue for graded sketchbooks, purple for sculpture ideas (use a folder that matches the color and pen that matches the task)
• Offer choice and control to the VSL in regard to the type of folders or colors; that way they dictate which color makes the most sense for which task in their mind