Have you ever wondered why things are specific colors? Or have you ever noticed that things are in color for a reason? Children prosper with color. Not only children but any learner prospers. Their learning potential grows when presented with colors because their memory and attention levels increase and improve.

     In today’s world, when we are overwhelmed and are almost always looking at some sort of screen, we don’t realize how much amusement we are getting from all the different colors. We also don’t realize that we are only attentive when this array of colors comes into play. When you really think about it, this takes a toll on learning. Because of screens, anything without bright colors isn’t as interesting. When children start learning, they are given material in black and white. This makes your learning boring, and you won’t retain the information well. So many studies were performed to show the importance of color. But one thing that all these studies had in common was that they all proved that things in color grab people’s attention. One study showed that ads/commercials in color are more noticed and read up to 42% more than the same ads but in black and white. Many psychologists have also announced that when you are alert, your short and long-term memories get enhanced. Looking at something with colors definitely gets you more alert than just looking at plain, non exciting black and white. Grabbing students’ attention is important because the more they are involved and the more they observe, the more they pick out and learn. Colors can be used to strengthen clarity, indicate something, get attention, and differentiate items. All these some way or another make you notice more. When you notice more, you can learn more. Not only can using colors give prominence to a particular piece, it can subconsciously increase the attention levels and spans of learners, and also increases your memory capacity.

     Again, like previously, many tests were also performed to see how colors can improve memory, which improves learners. One study showed that students who were shown color images executed around 10% better on a memory test when compared to others who were given black and white images. Another test showed that student performance was aggravated when things were presented in color and tested in black and white, and conversely. For example, if students learn something in color, if they are not tested on it in color, they may perform poorly, and vice versa. Color is used to develop pattern recognition, absorbing new information and memory, of course! It can also conspicuously help you to compare, understand, pinpoint and recall information faster. Did you know that even Alzheimer’s patients show that color cues increase memory? This shows what a strong influence color can have on people. In addition to color improving memory and attention levels in students, it can also improve in children with special needs.

     A test showed that between 5–20% of children experience visual stress while reading. This causes reduced reading speed. Another study reported that when students with autism used colored overlays for reading, they had a 35% improvement in their reading speed. Color can also be used to help children who are partially sighted. Colors that provide differentiation between items can drastically help learners with the perception of them. All this shows the importance of colors and how using colors in the right ways can improve and benefit students.