Olive Hickmott 
Elephants in the Classroom 
Uncovering every student’s natural power of mental imagery to enhance learning

The Elephants in the Classroom talks directly to parents and teachers, providing a much-needed new perspective on the explosion of learning difficulties in our classrooms… and empowering them, with simple skills, to make many aspects of learning easier.Complementing Bridges to Success, this book explains how unlocking the use of mental imagery in a child’s thinking can enable them to maximise their learning experiences. The challenges faced by neurodivergent thinkers and learners (for example, those with Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, ADHD, Asperger’s and Autism) in today’s conventional teaching settings could be addressed by a better understanding of how students learn visually. This book explores how some of the most talented creative children, with unrecognised and tremendous potential, can be the ones who struggle most in school.Hundreds of thousands of children are growing up, plagued by poor literacy, poor numeracy, the inability to concentrate, sensory overload and other problems that hold them back and may seriously affect their behaviour. Although committed to multi-sensory teaching and learning, schools often don’t know how students employ the critical thinking skills of mental imagery – this is visual learning.The Elephants in the Classroom explains how these students, often with gifted with exceptional creative skills, can learn to control their mental images to make learning easier. Visual learning skills can be explored by parents at any age and easily taught, especially in primary school. Slightly adjusting how we educate children will allow them to maximise their learning experience. Although mental imagery is a natural skill for everyone, its contribution to learning is often overlooked.