Beyond Drawing: Helping Teachers Turn Knowledge into Visual Learning

Reflections from the Visual Teachers programme with Jabatan Agama Islam Perak, 13–14 October 2026

By Coach Amirul Iskandar Mannan

Teachers Are More Than Deliverers of Information

Every day, teachers face an important challenge.

They may understand their subjects extremely well. They may have years of classroom experience and a genuine passion for teaching.

But understanding something ourselves and helping someone else understand it are two very different things.

A concept that seems straightforward to a teacher may be confusing to a student.

A lengthy explanation may contain all the right information, yet still fail to create understanding.

This is where visual communication can make a difference.

The objective is not to turn every teacher into an artist. It is to help teachers become more effective communicators of knowledge.

That was an important focus of the Visual Teachers programme conducted with teachers from Jabatan Agama Islam Perak (JAIPk) on 13 and 14 October 2026, through a collaboration involving Yayasan Wiba Prima.

From Visual Thinking to Classroom Application

I had the opportunity to work alongside my friend and training partner, Dr Ruzaimi Mat Rani, whose work in visual thinking and Visualization Through Freehand (VTF) has helped shape the programme's methodology.

Dr Ruzaimi focused on developing participants' visualisation capabilities through VTF and Design Thinking.

My responsibility was to help participants connect those capabilities to their daily teaching responsibilities.

For me, three questions mattered most:

When can teachers use visualisation?

Where can it support the teaching and learning process?

How can teachers develop useful visuals for their actual lessons?

These questions are important because learning a technique is only the beginning.

The real value comes when that technique becomes part of everyday practice.

A Practical Workflow Teachers Can Reuse

During the application component, we introduced a six-step approach designed to help teachers prepare visual explanations.

1. PILIH — Choose

Identify one specific learning outcome. What should students understand, remember or be able to do?

2. PECAH — Break It Down

Identify the essential information students need. Remove unnecessary complexity without losing accuracy.

3. SUSUN — Organise

Consider the structure of the information. Is it a sequence, comparison, process, timeline, hierarchy or relationship?

4. VISUALKAN — Visualise

Use simple shapes, symbols, arrows, keywords, and freehand sketches to make the information visible.

5. SEMAK — Verify

Check that the content is accurate, the visual is clear, and the explanation is appropriate for the students.

6. GUNAKAN — Apply

Decide how to use the visual during teaching, discussion, revision, or assessment.

The strength of this workflow is its simplicity.

Teachers can use it repeatedly, regardless of the topic being taught.

Where AI Fits into the Process

We also explored the potential role of artificial intelligence in preparing visual teaching materials.

AI can assist educators in breaking down complex information, organising key points and suggesting different ways to represent a concept visually.

For example, a teacher might ask AI to organise an approved lesson topic into a simple sequence or comparison that can be drawn on a whiteboard.

But AI should never become the final authority on what is taught.

This is particularly important in Islamic education, where religious accuracy and appropriate references are essential.

The principle is straightforward:

AI boleh cadang. Guru wajib semak. Guru yang menentukan.

AI supports the preparation. The teacher retains professional judgement, responsibility and accountability.

I often describe this distinction as using AI for the Bits while humans remain responsible for the Bricks.

Technology can assist with execution, but purpose, values, decisions and accountability belong to people.

The Real Test Happens After Training

One of the challenges in professional development is ensuring that participants can apply what they have learned.

A workshop may be engaging. The activities may be enjoyable. Participants may leave feeling motivated.

But what happens when they return to work?

For teachers, the question becomes:

“Can I use this in my next lesson?”

That is why I believe practical training should help participants produce something usable.

In Visual Teachers, the aim is to connect visualisation techniques to authentic teaching needs.

A teacher might use a timeline to explain a historical event, a flow diagram to illustrate a process, or a comparison chart to clarify differences between concepts.

The format should serve the learning objective, not the other way around.

Better Visuals, Better Conversations

Visual communication also creates opportunities for students to participate.

Instead of simply watching the teacher draw, students can be invited to complete a diagram, identify missing steps, explain relationships, or produce their own visual summaries.

The drawing becomes a tool for thinking, discussion and checking understanding.

And perhaps that is the most important point.

Visual Teachers is not just about drawing. It is about making thinking visible.

Moving Forward

My appreciation goes to Jabatan Agama Islam Perak, the participating teachers, Dr Ruzaimi Mat Rani and Yayasan Wiba Prima for the opportunity to contribute to this professional learning programme.

I hope the ideas and techniques shared will continue to find their way into classrooms, helping teachers communicate more clearly and giving students more ways to understand what they learn.

Because ultimately, the value of training is not measured by how much information we present.

It is reflected in what people can do differently afterwards.

THINK BETTER → WORK SMARTER → CREATE IMPACT.

---

Watch the Programme Highlights

🎥 Visual Teachers — 13 October 2026:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwe3QWueGcs

🎥 Visual Teachers — 14 October 2026:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiLY8b9IzFQ

Interested in Visual Teachers?

Schools, education institutions and organisations interested in exploring practical visual communication and teacher development programmes are welcome to connect with Yayasan Wiba Prima.

Let's help more educators turn knowledge into understanding.

#VisualTeachers #VisualThinking #VTF #DesignThinking #TeacherDevelopment #PendidikanMalaysia #PendidikanIslam #AIinEducation #YayasanWibaPrima #CoachAmirul

 

Which AI Is the Best? Why the Top-Ranked AI May Not Be the Best for Your Work

By Coach Amirul Iskandar Mannan

ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok — which AI should you use?

It's a question I often receive when conducting AI training programmes.

With so many AI tools available today, it's understandable that people want to know which one is the best.

Some people look for the smartest AI. Others want the fastest, the cheapest or the one that produces the most impressive answers.

But here's something I always encourage my participants to consider:

The best AI isn't necessarily the one sitting at the top of the leaderboard. The best AI is the one that helps you do your work better.

Understanding AI Rankings

Just like universities, cars or smartphones, AI models can be compared using different performance measures.

In the AI world, these comparisons often involve benchmarks — standardised tests designed to evaluate particular capabilities.

For example, AI models may be assessed for reasoning, coding, knowledge, mathematical problem-solving, instruction-following, and other capabilities.

However, different benchmarks measure different things.

Being number one in one benchmark doesn't automatically mean being number one in everything.

This brings us to two useful websites I want to share.

1. BenchLM — Explore the AI Leaderboard

Website: https://benchlm.ai/

BenchLM allows users to explore AI model rankings and compare different models.

You can investigate which models are leading according to its ranking methodology and explore various performance indicators.

The website also provides information about capabilities, pricing, and other practical considerations.

Think of it as a useful starting point when you want to know how different AI models compare.

One important reminder: Always check when the information was updated and understand the methodology behind a ranking.

Not every model has the same level of independent evidence supporting its score.

2. Artificial Analysis — Compare AI Performance and Value

Website: https://artificialanalysis.ai/

Artificial Analysis is another useful platform for understanding the AI landscape.

It provides model comparisons covering factors such as intelligence benchmarks, speed and pricing.

Why does this matter?

Because choosing AI isn't only about getting the most intelligent model.

In actual work environments, we need to consider other questions.

How quickly can the AI complete the task?

How much does it cost?

How consistent are the results?

Does it meet our actual requirements?

What level of review or verification is necessary?

A highly capable model may be more than you need for a straightforward task. A lower-cost or faster model might sometimes be the more practical choice.

The objective isn't simply to choose the most powerful AI. It's to choose the most appropriate AI.

My Approach: Learn to Use Cross-AI

During my training programmes, I often encourage participants not to limit themselves to only one AI tool.

Personally, I like exploring an idea using one AI, then using another to develop a second perspective or alternative approach.

For example, I might start with ChatGPT to structure an idea or prepare an initial draft.

Then I may explore how Claude or Gemini approaches the same problem.

This gives me something valuable: options.

And options help us think.

But using more AI tools doesn't automatically guarantee better answers.

We still need to check the facts, evaluate the output and decide what is useful.

AI can generate options. Humans must exercise judgement.

Five Questions to Ask Before Choosing an AI Tool

1. What exactly am I trying to achieve?

Are you writing a report, analysing data, preparing training materials, conducting research or solving a problem?

Start with the outcome, not the AI brand.

2. Which AI performs well for this type of task?

Use benchmark websites as a starting point. Look for evidence relevant to your actual needs.

3. How does it perform with my real work?

Test the same task across two or three AI tools using suitable, non-confidential information.

Compare the results fairly.

4. Is it practical and worth the cost?

The most advanced AI isn't always necessary. Consider speed, affordability, accessibility, and ease of use.

5. Can I trust the output?

An impressive answer isn't necessarily an accurate answer.

Check important facts, figures, calculations and references. For confidential or sensitive work, follow your organisation's data-protection requirements and approved AI policies.

A Simple Exercise You Can Try Today

Here's a practical challenge.

Take one task you frequently perform at work.

It could be drafting an email, summarising a non-sensitive document, brainstorming ideas, or developing a training outline.

Give the same task and instructions to two or three AI tools.

Then evaluate:

• Which produced the most accurate answer?

• Which understood your requirements best?

• Which needed the least correction?

• Which saved you the most time?

• Which gave you the most useful outcome?

You may discover that your favourite AI isn't always the best option for every task.

And that's perfectly fine.

The purpose of the exercise isn't to find one permanent winner.

It's to develop your ability to choose wisely.

From Using AI to Thinking Better

I believe the real opportunity with artificial intelligence goes beyond learning prompts and mastering tools.

It's about developing better ways to think, work and make decisions.

AI can support us with drafting, organising, comparing, summarising, and generating ideas.

But the bigger questions remain ours.

What are we trying to achieve?

Is the information reliable?

Does the solution make sense?

What are the consequences of our decision?

Who remains accountable?

This is why I always remind participants:

There is no ONE AI tool for EVERYTHING.

Don't become loyal to a tool at the expense of the outcome.

Be curious. Experiment. Compare. Learn.

Most importantly, never surrender your judgement.

Final Thoughts

So, which AI is the best?

My answer remains:

The best AI is the one that best fits your task, your needs, and your responsibilities.

Explore BenchLM and Artificial Analysis.

Understand the rankings.

Test the tools.

And make your own informed decisions.

Because ultimately, success with AI isn't about having access to the highest-ranked model.

It's about knowing how to turn AI capabilities into meaningful results.

Think Better → Work Smarter → Create Impact.

---

Let's Continue the Conversation

Which AI do you currently use the most?

And have you discovered a particular task where another AI performs better?

Share your experience. We can all learn from one another.

Coach Amirul Iskandar Mannan
Trainer | Speaker | Facilitator

Further Reading

• BenchLM: https://benchlm.ai/

• Artificial Analysis: https://artificialanalysis.ai/

#ArtificialIntelligence #GenerativeAI #AITraining #AILiteracy #FutureOfWork #DigitalTransformation #WorkSmarter #CoachAmirul

Apabila Setiap Garisan Ada Maknanya

Apabila Setiap Garisan Ada Maknanya

Alhamdulillah, pada 7 Oktober 2026, projek Certified Visual Teachers (CVT) menerima satu detik yang amat bermakna. Delegasi Sekretariat Malaysia-UN SDG Trust Fund, diketuai Ketua Sekretariat Encik Rizatuddin Ramli, bersama penyumbang dana Yayasan MySDG dan Jabatan Pendidikan Negeri Johor, telah mengadakan lawatan pemantauan impak ke tiga buah sekolah di Kulai, Johor.

Projek ini, di bawah Malaysia-UN SDG Trust Fund, dilaksanakan oleh Yayasan Wiba Prima dengan sokongan Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia dan JPN Johor. Ia menggunakan kaedah Visualization Through Freehand (VTF), pendekatan lakaran visual spontan yang dimajukan oleh Dr. Ruzaimi Mat Rani, yang hanya memerlukan pensel dan kertas.

Mengapa pendekatan semudah ini penting? Kerana ia boleh dilaksanakan di mana-mana bilik darjah, tidak kira kaya atau miskin sumbernya. Inilah teras prinsip Leave No One Behind.

Di SK (F) Sinar Bahagia, saya menyaksikan sesuatu yang sukar dilupakan. Guru Besar terkesan melihat murid Pendidikan Khas melakar, sehingga setiap garisan yang dihasilkan mempunyai maksudnya tersendiri. Di saat itu, saya yakin bahawa kaedah yang mudah dan kos rendah benar-benar mampu memberi impak besar, terutama kepada mereka yang paling memerlukan.

Perjalanan ini bukan bermula semalam. Sejak 2023, lebih 2,500 orang guru telah dilatih dalam kaedah VTF di beberapa negeri, dan pendekatan ini turut menerima pengiktirafan antarabangsa di QS Reimagine Education Awards, London, pada 2025 dan sekali lagi pada 2026.

Di bawah projek UN SDG Trust Fund ini pula, 100 orang guru telah dilatih dan kini mengaplikasikan VTF di dalam bilik darjah masing-masing, dengan sasaran menjangkau kira-kira 15,000 murid di seluruh Johor. Mereka bakal menerima pensijilan Certified Visual Teachers pada Januari 2027.

Setiap guru yang dilatih bukan sekadar belajar melukis. Mereka menjadi pemangkin perubahan kepada ratusan murid. Dan apabila setiap garisan yang dilakar seorang murid mempunyai makna, di situlah pembelajaran yang sebenar berlaku.

Terima kasih kepada semua guru, JPN Johor, KPM, Sekretariat Malaysia-UN SDG Trust Fund dan Yayasan MySDG. Insya-Allah, perjalanan ini akan terus kita kembangkan untuk manfaat lebih ramai anak bangsa.

📰 Liputan penuh Utusan Malaysia: https://utusan.com.my/nasional/2026/10/delegasi-malaysia-un-sdg-trust-fund-tinjau-program-guru-visual-bertauliah/

 

Beyond the Certificate: What 20 UniSZA Students Taught Me About Entrepreneurship

By Coach Amirul Iskandar Mannan

On 9 October 2026, my article “Daripada Kemahiran Kepada Pendapatan: Peluang Melalui Usahawan Tutor Online” appeared in Utusan Malaysia.

Alhamdulillah.

Seeing the article in print felt meaningful, especially after the long Usahawan Tutor Online (UTO) journey.

But the real story is not about getting published.

It is about what happened inside a classroom at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), and what that experience could mean for thousands of other students.

An idea that started years ago

UTO began in 2022 through an initiative involving Yayasan Wiba Prima and Drawzania.

The idea was straightforward.

What if we could help someone learn a visual skill, teach that skill to others, and turn it into a potential source of income?

Through collaboration with UniSZA's Pusat Pemindahan Ilmu dan Pendidikan Berterusan (P2P), UTO developed into a Senate-recognised professional certificate programme.

In September 2026, we finally delivered the first professional certificate cohort.

Twenty students from UniSZA's Faculty of Innovative Design and Technology (FRIT) joined us for five days.

For Dr Ruzaimi Mat Rani and me, the challenge was not simply to deliver an interesting training programme.

We wanted participants to experience something real.

From learning a skill to finding a customer

The students began by developing their visual and drawing capabilities.

Then we introduced the business challenge.

Who would you teach?

Why would someone want to join your class?

What would you offer?

How would you promote it?

And most importantly, would someone actually register?

The students formed nine teams and began building their small teaching businesses.

They created offers, developed marketing materials, and reached out through social media and their personal networks.

Some found interested customers quickly.

Others had to improve their messages or approach more people.

Seven teams ran paid classes, while two started with free classes.

Both approaches provided opportunities to learn.

A paid class tests whether customers are willing to exchange money for the value offered.

A free introductory class can help a new tutor gain experience, understand learners, and build confidence.

Neither approach guarantees future success.

But both can help someone begin.

The moment learning became real

One of my favourite moments was watching the students present evidence of the classes they had conducted.

They were no longer talking about a hypothetical business.

They had taught real people.

They had experienced the pressure of preparing lessons, communicating with participants, and delivering something they had promised.

They also discovered that entrepreneurship involves much more than creating an attractive poster or writing a business plan.

You need to understand people.

You need to communicate.

You need to earn trust.

And you need to deliver value.

That is why I believe application must be part of the learning process, not merely an activity at the end of a training programme.

Technology makes the journey easier

One important difference between launching UTO in 2022 and delivering it in 2026 is the accessibility of AI.

Today, students can use AI to explore ideas, prepare marketing content, improve communication and organise their business activities.

That can reduce the time and effort required to get started.

But AI is not the hero of the UTO story.

The students are.

AI can help produce a poster, but someone still needs to understand the customer.

AI can help prepare teaching materials, but someone still needs to teach.

AI can suggest ideas, but someone still needs to make decisions and take responsibility.

As I often share in my programmes, AI can help with the Bits, but humans must own the Bricks.

The opportunity beyond UniSZA

What excites me most is the possibility of giving more young people access to experiences like this.

Imagine students discovering that a skill they already have, or one they can learn through a structured programme, could be valuable to someone else.

Imagine a student conducting a small class during the weekend.

Imagine that first experience developing into regular teaching, additional income, or perhaps a larger business.

Not everyone will become a full-time entrepreneur.

And that is perfectly fine.

The objective is to create options.

For students from lower-income families, those options may be particularly meaningful.

This is where universities, foundations, zakat institutions, corporate sponsors and community organisations can play an important role.

We already invest in helping young people gain knowledge and qualifications.

What if we also invested in giving them structured opportunities to create value in the real world?

And what if we followed up after 30 and 90 days to understand who continued, what they achieved, and what support they still needed?

That would help us move beyond measuring attendance and satisfaction towards understanding meaningful outcomes.

The next chapter

I am grateful to Dr Ruzaimi Mat Rani, Yayasan Wiba Prima, Drawzania, P2P, FRIT and the UniSZA team for making this first cohort possible.

I am equally grateful to the students who were willing to try.

We cannot yet say how many will continue teaching or eventually build sustainable businesses.

That journey is still unfolding.

But we can say they have experienced something important.

They have taken an idea into the market.

They have taught real learners.

They have begun discovering the value of their capabilities.

And for me, that is a meaningful first step.

The question now is not simply whether we can deliver another UTO programme.

It is how many more students we can allow to begin.

If your university, foundation or organisation is exploring practical student entrepreneurship and income generation initiatives, I would welcome a conversation about how we might create more opportunities together.

Because education should not only prepare people to find opportunities.

It should also help them develop the confidence and capability to create opportunities.

---

This article expands on my Utusan Malaysia contribution published on 9 October 2026.

#UsahawanTutorOnline #UTO #EntrepreneurshipEducation #StudentEmpowerment #UniSZA #ExperientialLearning #YouthDevelopment #SocialImpact #CoachAmirul

Anak Susah Fokus Belajar? Mungkin Kita Perlu Tanya Soalan Yang Berbeza

 

Anak Susah Fokus Belajar? Mungkin Kita Perlu Tanya Soalan Yang Berbeza

When a child struggles with learning, it's natural for parents to want to solve the problem.

We look for more exercises. We consider another tuition class. We reduce screen time. We tell them to concentrate. Sometimes we simply ask them to study longer.

But I've been thinking about a different starting point:

Before asking a child to learn more, should we first try to understand how they appear to learn better?

“Tak fokus” doesn't always tell us what to do

Saying that a child “cannot focus” describes what we're seeing. It doesn't necessarily tell us what will help.

That's why observation matters.

Perhaps the child becomes more engaged when allowed to do something rather than only listen.

Perhaps involving them in a discussion makes a difference.

Perhaps listening to an explanation helps.

Perhaps they need repetition before something begins to make sense.

None of these observations should become a permanent label.

The purpose is not to say:

“Anak saya memang jenis ini.”

A more useful question is:

“Bila saya cuba cara ini, apa yang berlaku?”

That small change in language changes the parent's role from someone trying to diagnose the child into someone learning alongside the child.

FAHAM → CUBA → PERHATI

I've simplified this into three actions:

FAHAM — Start by trying to understand how your child responds to learning.

CUBA — Change one small thing in the way you support them.

PERHATI — Observe what happens.

Did the child engage longer?

Did they understand more easily?

Were they able to explain the idea afterwards?

Did they become frustrated?

Would the same approach work again?

Then repeat.

That's far more useful than simply giving a child a “colour” and assuming we've discovered the answer.

I made a short video about this

I've shared some of this thinking in a short Bahasa Melayu video:

Watch: Anak Susah Fokus Belajar? Mungkin Ini Puncanya
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iq3PigrKgC4 

The video is also part of a bigger experiment I've been working on.

Introducing KPBA

I've developed a short parent programme called:

KPBA — Kenali Personaliti Belajar Anak

Lain Anak, Lain Cara Belajarnya.

KPBA is a 30-minute LIVE online session designed to give parents a simple starting point for reflecting on how their child responds to learning.

After the session, parents complete a 24-question reflection together with their child.

They then receive a personalised reflection profile by email showing the tendencies that appeared most strongly in their responses.

But I don't want the journey to stop at a result.

That's why KPBA continues with a 7-Day Challenge.

Parents receive a practical guide and can use a 7-day e-Tuition trial as one environment in which to try different approaches, observe their child's responses and reflect on what appears to help.

The objective isn't to prove that a child belongs to one category.

It is to help parents become better observers of their own children.

A small experiment for RM19

I'm intentionally starting KPBA small.

The first session will be:

17 October 2026
10.30 pagi
LIVE Online — 30 minutes
RM19 per family

Why RM19?

Because at this stage, I want families to experience the idea, use it with their children and tell me what works, what doesn't and what can be improved.

This is V1.

We'll learn from real parents and continue improving it.

Perhaps the better question isn't “Why can't my child focus?”

Perhaps it's:

“What seems to help my child learn?”

That is a question we can actually explore together.

And that's what I hope KPBA helps parents begin doing.

FAHAM → CUBA → PERHATI.

🌈 Lain Anak, Lain Cara Belajarnya.

Learn more about KPBA and register for the 17 October session
https://kenalipersonalitibelajaranak.netlify.app/

Suggested blog tags: Parenting, Pendidikan Anak, Cara Anak Belajar, KPBA, Learning, Education, Ibu Bapa, Coach Amirul

What Happens When Students Have to Launch a Business — Not Just Write About One?

 

What Happens When Students Have to Launch a Business — Not Just Write About One?

There is something wonderfully imperfect about the photograph accompanying this article.

It is simply a whiteboard.

Nine team names. Marketing channels. Responses. Bookings. Revenue figures. Scribbles. Corrections.

It isn't particularly beautiful.

But to me, it represents something important about how we might rethink entrepreneurship education.

From learning about entrepreneurship to experiencing it

Over five days at UniSZA, participants in the FRIT Professional Entrepreneur Certification Bootcamp — Sijil Profesional Usahawan Tutor Online (UTO) went through a learning journey that was deliberately practical.

The challenge was not simply to understand entrepreneurship.

They had to do it.

Participants developed their capabilities, identified potential customers, created an offer, developed marketing materials, approached real people, managed registrations and prepared to deliver an actual online class.

The journey could be summarised simply:

SKILL → OFFER → MARKET → CUSTOMER → DELIVERY → FEEDBACK → IMPROVEMENT

And once the businesses met the real world, something interesting happened.

The market doesn't give everyone the same answer

Different teams achieved different results.

Some generated paid bookings.

Two teams deliberately chose to run their first programmes free.

Some attracted participants quickly.

Others had to rethink their marketing channels, messages or follow-up.

That's exactly what should happen.

A classroom exercise often has a model answer.

The market doesn't.

When someone doesn't respond to your WhatsApp message, that's data.

When people show interest but don't register, that's data.

When they register but don't attend, that's data.

When customers are willing to pay, that's data.

When you offer something free and people still don't come, that's data too.

The entrepreneur's job is to learn from that evidence.

Perhaps we need to rethink what “success” looks like

One of the dangers of entrepreneurship programmes is measuring success only by whether participants can produce a business plan or make a convincing presentation.

Those are useful skills.

But they are not the same as building a business.

A beautiful business plan has never had to convince a customer to take RM10 out of their pocket.

A real entrepreneur does.

That's why I increasingly like this learning sequence:

DO → EXPERIENCE → PRACTISE → APPLY

Give learners enough knowledge to begin.

Then let reality become part of the classroom.

Where does AI fit?

AI was also integrated into the programme.

Participants could use AI to help generate ideas, improve messaging, develop marketing materials and accelerate parts of the business-building process.

But there was an important principle underneath this:

Use AI for the Bits. Humans own the Bricks.

AI can help draft.

AI can generate.

AI can analyse.

AI can accelerate.

But the human still has to decide:

Who am I trying to help?

What value am I creating?

Is this claim true?

Should I charge for this?

How do I treat my customer?

What did I learn when things didn't work?

What should I do next?

AI can assist entrepreneurship.

It cannot take responsibility for being the entrepreneur.

The whiteboard matters

And that's why I like this photograph.

It isn't a picture of participants sitting in rows listening to a trainer.

It is evidence of people trying things.

Behind those numbers are conversations, decisions, experiments, successes, disappointments and lessons.

That's learning.

What happens after the certificate?

Perhaps the most important question now isn't what happened during these five days.

It's what happens over the next 90 days.

Will participants conduct another class?

Will they improve their offer?

Will they find new customers?

Will someone turn this experiment into a genuine source of supplementary income?

Will one of these nine little brands still exist a year from now?

We don't know yet.

And I think it's important to say that.

A five-day programme cannot promise to create successful entrepreneurs.

What it can do is help people experience the process of becoming one — and give them tools, confidence, evidence and a starting point from which to continue.

For me, that's a much more meaningful outcome than simply completing another course.

Don't just teach entrepreneurship.
Create opportunities to experience it.

Think Better → Work Smarter → Create Impact.

Before We Teach Students to Solve Problems, Should We Teach Them to See the Problem?

 

Before We Teach Students to Solve Problems, Should We Teach Them to See the Problem?

My reflections on Dr Ruzaimi Mat Rani’s latest Utusan Malaysia article — and why visual thinking matters even more in the age of AI

This week, my friend, partner and mentor Dr Ruzaimi Mat Rani published another thought-provoking article in Utusan Malaysia titled:

“PISA cemerlang: Ajar murid cara memvisualkan masalah.”

At first glance, the article is about education, PISA and how our students approach problem-solving.

But I believe the message goes much further.

It raises a question that applies not only to students, but also to adults, leaders, organisations — and increasingly, anyone working with Artificial Intelligence:

Can we solve a problem effectively if we cannot first make sense of the problem?

Visual is not just about drawing

Mention visual communication and many people immediately think about art.

“I cannot draw.”

“I am not creative.”

“My drawings are ugly.”

But that misses the point.

Visual thinking is not about producing a beautiful drawing.

It is about using simple visual elements to help our brain organise information and understand relationships.

A box.

An arrow.

A stick figure.

A timeline.

A circle around an important idea.

A simple comparison.

None of these requires artistic talent.

What they require is thought.

And that is precisely why drawing can become such a powerful thinking tool.

When the problem becomes visible, our thinking changes

Imagine receiving a complicated problem containing several people, events, numbers, conditions and possible outcomes.

We can keep everything in our heads.

Or we can put it on paper.

The moment we begin drawing the relationships, we may suddenly notice:

“That connects to this.”

“This information is missing.”

“These two things are actually separate problems.”

“This is the real bottleneck.”

“That assumption may be wrong.”

The drawing has not magically solved the problem.

It has helped us think about the problem differently.

That distinction is important.

This matters even more in the age of AI

Today we have another temptation.

Instead of struggling with the problem ourselves, we can simply open ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or another AI platform and type:

“Solve this for me.”

AI may give us an answer.

It may even give us a very convincing answer.

But there is a danger.

If we never understood the problem ourselves, how will we know whether the answer actually makes sense?

This is why I constantly emphasise in my AI training:

Think before prompting.

AI can help us analyse, organise, generate and accelerate.

But humans still need to understand the purpose, context and consequences.

One very practical way of doing this is to make our thinking visible before handing the task to AI.

Sketch the problem.

Map the people.

Draw the process.

Show the relationships.

Identify the desired outcome.

Then prompt.

The quality of the conversation with AI often improves because the quality of our own thinking has improved first.

From information consumers to problem solvers

Education cannot only be about helping students remember more information.

Information is everywhere.

AI can already retrieve, summarise and generate enormous amounts of it.

The more important capability is becoming:

What can you DO with information?

Can you understand it?

Can you connect ideas?

Can you identify what matters?

Can you see patterns?

Can you communicate your thinking?

Can you turn complexity into something understandable?

Can you solve a problem when there is no obvious answer?

These are fundamentally human capabilities.

And visual thinking can help develop them.

We should not wait until adulthood

I therefore agree strongly with the direction highlighted in Dr Ruzaimi’s article.

Imagine children becoming comfortable from an early age with taking a blank piece of paper and saying:

“Let me draw the problem first.”

Not because they want to become artists.

Because they want to become better thinkers.

Imagine that habit continuing into university, the workplace, entrepreneurship and leadership.

Before the meeting: draw the issue.

Before presenting: map the message.

Before making a decision: visualise the choices.

Before prompting AI: structure the problem.

That is a very different relationship with visualisation.

The bigger idea behind Profits from Visuals

This is also one of the ideas behind our book, Profits from Visuals — How Visuals Drive Profits for Individuals and Organisations.

The word profits is deliberately broader than money.

When people communicate more clearly, there is value.

When teams understand each other faster, there is value.

When a complicated idea becomes simple, there is value.

When someone sees a problem differently and discovers a solution, there is value.

And when a student develops the confidence to put an idea on paper and explain their thinking, there is tremendous value.

My takeaway

Perhaps improving education is not only about giving students more information.

Perhaps we also need to give them better ways of thinking about information.

And one of those ways can be surprisingly simple:

Pen. Paper. Think. Draw. See.

Because visual is not merely something we look at.

Visual can be how we think, how we communicate and how we solve problems.

And in a world increasingly powered by AI, I believe that deeply human ability will matter more, not less.

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If you would like to explore how visual thinking and visual communication can improve the way we think, communicate, learn and solve problems, get in touch with me for a copy of:

Profits from Visuals — How Visuals Drive Profits for Individuals and Organisations

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