Students draw to learn about water

Wed, Jul 29, 2009 (12:55 p.m.)

The Alexander Dawson Foundation’s six-week summer program for gifted Clark County public school students, “Water: Science and Culture in a Changing Climate,” is incorporating a new system of note taking—teaching students to take notes graphically as experts from all sides of the water issue in southern Nevada present their views on the topic. Nick Payne, a graphic facilitator from the United Kingdom, encourages students to capture discussion content using visuals and organization in a pictorial way. The students draw what they’re learning in bold colors and big pictures instead of writing traditional notes. “The kids become more engaged taking graphic notes rather than just writing it down,” Payne said. “If you have kids recording their lessons it completely changes the relationship between the teacher and the student, for the better.”

Discussion: 3 comments so far…

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By Deb_F

July 30, 2009

3:49 p.m.

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Using graphic images for learning is well established in education best practices (see info re: Project CRISS: Santa, Havens, & Valdes 2004 or Robert Marzano's work). For many students, it's a far more effective means of locking content into long term memory. Great stuff!
By tnoeth

July 31, 2009

11:04 a.m.

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Many students are visual learners. This method is the same as Tony Buzan from the 60's. He has written a book on mind mapping. There is one specifically for kids, called Mind Mapping for Kids. He also runs seminars where one can learn how to use mind mapping.
My students love this method for taking notes and brainstorming ideas.
By DawsonCenter

Aug. 5, 2009

6:55 p.m.

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Deb F and tnoeth: We loved to see your comments, and welcome more. This visual essay cannot give a full picture of what we are doing, but you should know that it is quite distinct from both Mind Mapping and Project CRISS. We are looking forward to presenting our findings more formally.