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Introductory Verbal to Visual

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My name is Doug Neill, and here's a bit of my background:

April 1st, 2017 - Here's an update on the early stage development of this resource kit in which I outline the specific components that I'm building:

June 22nd, 2017 - Check out the first sample video lesson! It focuses on how students can start incorporating arrows into the note-taking process. If you sign up you'll get to share feedback on this lesson style to make the next ones even better!

August 1st, 2017 - I've added follow-up practice activities to each of the video lessons! You'll be able to download a PDF with all of them so that you can print, copy, and use them in your class. Here are a few examples:

August 14th, 2017 - Lessons currently available: Handwritten Fonts, Icons, Faces, Arrows, Stick Figures, Color, Scenes, Containers, Lists, Dividers, Empathy Maps, Filtering, and Synthesizing. In the queue: lessons on the six different sketchnoting processes mentioned in the first update video. After that, all of the others described here!

Why might you join this pilot program? Here are a few reasons:

Any questions or concerns? Send an email my way: doug@verbaltovisual.com.

Think you might want to use these resources in future school years? No need to buy them again - you'll have full and lifetime access to all past (and future) Sketchnoting In The Classroom resources.

I want you to be able to dig into this resource kit to see whether or not it's a good fit for you and your classroom. With that in mind, if you're not satisfied with what you see after your first 30 days, I'd be happy to return your money.

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Sketchnoting In The Classroom - Verbal To Visual

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My name is Doug Neill, and here's a bit of my background: April 1st, 2017 - Here's an update on the early stage development of this resource kit in which I outline the specific components that I'm building: June 22nd, 2017 - Check out the first sample video lesson!

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My Pencil Made Me Do it

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My Pencil Made Me Do It: A Beginners Guide To Sketchnoting In The Classroom

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TEDxTalks

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How to draw to remember more | Graham Shaw | TEDxVienna

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Jessica Stillman

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But, according to a fascinating new study, the right answer is: whenever the last time was that you tried to learn something new. Put away the highlighter (really, science shows they're worse than useless) and skip the flash cards. The fastest way to cram new information into your brain is by drawing it, concludes the research.

You're probably not using the best, research-backed study technique

The setup of the studies by a Canadian research team was simple and may remind you of college language or science classes -- a group of volunteers was asked to memorize a list of words or definitions. Half were instructed to repeatedly write them down. The others were told to draw them in order to memorize them. Who did better when tested for recall?

The doodlers were the hands-down winners.

And, no, it didn't matter in the slightest if participants showed any artistic ability. After just 40 seconds of low-quality sketching, subjects not only remembered significantly more, they also recalled more detail and context about the words and ideas they were studying. In short, they learned more, faster.

Why drawing is the most effective study technique

Why is drawing such a powerful way to study? To figure this out, the researchers tried to narrow down what exactly about drawing was so effective. Would tracing an existing drawing of an idea have the same effect? Would looking at someone else's visual representation? While both of these approaches were better than just reading over a word or concept, drawing beat them all.

The researchers hypothesize that's because drawing gives your brain so many different ways to engage with new material -- you have to figure out how to draw it by imagining it in detail in your mind, you experience the physical feeling of rendering that idea, and then, in the end, you look at a visual representation of it.

The bottom line is simple: Most of us are probably not using the best techniques to study. And drawing is the top of the heap when it comes to research-backed approaches. Not only will it help you get smarter fast, but drawing is also so simple and discreet that you can use it in almost any setting -- from a lecture hall to a meeting room.

So next time you want to learn, don't read or write. Doodle instead.

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Drawing Is the Fastest, Most Effective Way to Learn, According to New Research

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But, according to a fascinating new study, the right answer is: whenever the last time was that you tried to learn something new. Put away the highlighter (really, science shows they're worse than useless) and skip the flash cards. The fastest way to cram new information into your brain is by drawing it, concludes the research.

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Artful Parent

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More than 75 creative drawing ideas for kids, including inspiring drawing prompts, games, and tips for improving drawing skills and confidence!
Looking for creative drawing ideas for kids?

Picking up a crayon and making marks on paper is often the very first art activity for young children. Drawing requires very little in the way of materials (simply a sheet of paper and a drawing tool), is easy and engaging for all ages and levels of ability, and is usually mess free.

Drawing allows children to

EXPRESS themselves

PROCESS their world

EXPERIMENT with ideas and techniques

MAKE ART anywhere

INTERACT with others

& develop FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Creative Drawing Ideas for Kids

Here are over 75 creative drawing ideas for kids! These ideas, activities, and posts include drawing games, creative drawing prompts, improving drawing skills, and ways for connecting through drawing.

Fostering Creativity and Confidence in Kids Drawing

Kids begin to draw full of confidence. Here are some ways to help them hold on to their creativity and confidence as they grow and develop.

Drawing Skills and Techniques for Kids

Want to help your kids learn specific drawing skills and techniques such as observational drawing, perspective, or shading?

Using How to Draw Books for Kids

Books with step-by-step instructions on how to draw have their time and place, especially when used as a starting point for learning specific techniques.

Activity Sheets to Encourage Kids Drawing

Drawing activity sheets can be good for art invitations, quiet-time art, or for keeping kids engaged while traveling.

Kids Drawing Prompts

Using drawing prompts can be more fun and encourage more creativity that starting with a blank page.

Drawing Games for Kids

Drawing games are so much fun and a wonderful way to encourage creativity and connection.

Connecting with Kids Through Drawing

Besides drawing games, here are some more great ways to connect with children through drawing.

Want more creative drawing ideas for kids? Click to see The Artful Parent archive for the entire category!

And if you're looking for a particular drawing activity, use the search field in the right sidebar of the site.
Pin It for Later

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75+ Creative Drawing Ideas for Kids that are FUN & Foster Confidence

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More than 75 creative drawing ideas for kids, including inspiring drawing prompts, games, and tips for improving drawing skills and confidence! Looking for creative drawing ideas for kids? Picking up a crayon and making marks on paper is often the very first art activity for young children.

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Jarod Rosello

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When I was a kid, I loved drawing. I loved the way it felt to make marks on a page, the sound of the graphite scratching against the paper, the feel of the pencil against my fingers.

I liked the sensation of moving my hand and arm in swooping or looping gestures. And I liked the marks left by these gestures: lines against a surface, the visual contrast and tension. With a little imagination, I could see characters who'd never existed before come to life. But drawing was also an activity that got me in trouble. At school If I had a sheet of paper in front of me, I doodled on it. I would draw in my notebook instead of work on what I was supposed to be doing. Drawing was often seen as an off-task activity. At home, my artistic endeavors were appreciated, but not regarded as something to aspire to. As the child of immigrants, I was encouraged to focus on more serious, scholarly pursuits. I grew up believing that the thing I loved and cared about didn't really matter. So eventually, I just stopped doing it.

Like me, many children use drawing as a primary way of responding to and representing experiences, ideas, and imaginings. Before we can form words, we make marks on a page to tell stories about who we are and what we care about.

We draw what frightens us, perplexes us, and excites us. Our early drawings were opportunities to examine ourselves in the world, to challenge concepts and beliefs, and to imagine who we might be in the future. As an act, drawing is deeply entangled with literacy development, but doesn't often receive the same attention or regard as language.

Drawing helps us discover what we know. It gives shape to our often divergent and nonlinear thoughts. It helps us construct new knowledge, by offering a non-verbal approach to thinking through logic and causality. But drawing is also a deeply embodied act that activates the body by privileging sensation and desire over linearity and discursiveness. Drawing emphasizes our subjective rationality, highlights our material constraints, and creates the conditions for surprise and delight. Drawing allows us to sidestep the structures of language to speak without saying, to know without articulating, and to sense without containing. Drawing cares more about how we feel than what we think.

Okay, I never really stopped drawing. I just pushed it to the margins for a long time, and hid it in places other people couldn't see. I could never really shake it. In fact, there were times when my body seemed to need it. In the darkest of times, I found that drawing in my sketchbook was the only thing that would help me feel better. It didn't matter how well I drew, and it didn't matter if anyone even saw it. Drawing helped me be present with my feelings, it helped me endure confounding thoughts, it helped me wait out the darkness for the light. And this is still how it works for me.

Not everything we feel or everything we know can be articulated through language. As a cultural-historical system, language not only gives shape to our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, it tells us what they'll be as well. In order to share (or prove) what we know or how we feel, we necessarily have to render it in language, an act we all struggle with from time to time. Think about all those times we resort to metaphor to explain that what we mean is more than the words we're using to say it. We've been moving from thoughts to words for so long, it's easy to believe that the only way to know something, is to put it into language. It's even easy to mistake thought and language as the same thing.

Can we know something if we can't say it?

Can we think through drawing?

What are feelings before we've named them?

I'm a sucker for cartoon characters. I love how improbable they are. Their impossibility. Their absurdity. As caricatured humans, they also help reveal and uncover the limits of our humanity.

It makes sense to me that cartoon characters would emerge from drawing. It's true, of course, that drawing can be used to document and look more closely at the world around us. It can be used to uncover the depth of our thoughts, to reveal the complexity of our world. It can be used inquire. But what excites me most is drawing's ability-through the ambiguity of line-to render the unimaginable in a visible form, free from the constraints of logic or reason. Drawing offers us an opportunity to imagine new trajectories for ourselves and for the world around us. When I draw, I can act on what I sense-those vibrations and movements in my body-without having to figure out what they are or what they mean.

In a few months, my own graphic novel, Red Panda & Moon Bea r, comes out. It's a wish fulfilled for my twelve-year-old self. A book full of monsters and creatures, impossible happenings. It's also got characters who remind me a lot of myself. They're silly and irreverent. They care deeply about the people around them. They're powerful and strong. They know a lot of stuff, but they also make a ton of mistakes. They're helpful and destructive. Beings of contradiction and ambiguity. Just like all of us. The narrative in this book is itself a kind of line drawing: meandering and diverging. It splits apart, goes in separate directions, rejoins itself later. It moves in odd shapes, full of surprise. It resists logic and reason. It's motivated not by what should come next, but by what could come next.

Now I'm all grown up-a college professor-and I teach comics and cartooning in a creative writing program. I've discovered that people who like to tell stories, often (used to) like drawing as well. I've had countless adult students come to my office to confess their desire to to drawing. I get to hear stories about drawing with parents as children, making their own comics and zines, and the too-often abandonment of these activities. The older I've gotten, the more my actions have been motivated by a desire to retrieve my own past. Like my students, I'm looking for the things I love, and so many of them began in my childhood. Maybe it's because we're getting farther and farther away from it. Maybe we're worried it'll disappear entirely. Maybe we're scared to forget. But maybe you still feel that desire to draw, the tingle of excitement in your body. Maybe, when you pick up a comic or watch a cartoon, you get that rushing sensation, that urge to make something. Maybe you left drawing, but drawing never left you.

So, I'll quote the cartoonist and educator, Lynda Barry: "To all the kids who quit drawing...come back!"

Some drawing and art-making resources:

1. Marjorie & Brent Wilson's book, Teaching Children to Draw , is not just a resource for working with children, but an exploration of what it means to draw.

2. Andrea Kantrowitz's article, Drawn to Discover, details a cognitive approach to drawing. http://www.andreakantrowitz.com/drawn-to-discover.html

3. Nick Sousanis's essay in comics form, The Shape of Our Thoughts, explores the way drawing comics approximates human thought. His book, Unflattening , furthers and continues this conversation. http://spinweaveandcut.com/the-shape-of-our-thoughts/

4. Deanna Petherbridge's, The Primacy of Drawing , is an theoretical and historical text on the ways drawing helps us construct knowledge and the ways we think through drawing.

5. Elliot Eisner's The Arts and the Creation of Mind , is an argument for art-making in an educational context, and draws from a lifetime of research in art education.

6. Dave Eggers' short short story, How the Water Feels to the Fishes , is a great example of the ways we use metaphor to articulate sensations of the body.

7. Maxine Greene's collection of essays, Releasing the Imagination, approaches art-making (including writing and literacy) from a curricular and pedagogical perspective, and situates it as an imaginative endeavor that can be used to construct a more equitable future.

8. My article/comic, Drawing with Milo, documents the ways drawing is entangled in the life of a ten-year-old boy. https://educate.bankstreet.edu/occasional-paper-series/vol2013/iss30/12/

Jarod Roselló is a Cuban-American cartoonist, writer, and teacher originally from Miami, Florida. He is the author/artist of the middle grade graphic novel, Red Panda & Moon Bear, and the forthcoming (adult) graphic novel, Those Bears. He teaches fiction and comics in the creative writing program at University of South Florida. You can find him at www.jarodrosello.com and on Twitter and Instagram at @jarodrosello.

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When I was a kid, I loved drawing. I loved the way it felt to make marks on a page, the sound of the graphite scratching against the paper, the feel of the pencil against my fingers. I liked the se...

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Sylvia Duckworth

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Hello sketchnoter friends!

Please click here to receive regular email updates to this page (Note: Not necessary to sign up again if you already signed up on the pop-up form to this website).

Welcome to the page for #SKETCHNOTEFEVER resources. This campaign was designed to bring awareness to sketchnoting and to build people's visual dictionaries or vocabularies for use in sketchnotes.

What is sketchnoting? Sketchnoting, or visual note-taking, is an effective and fun way to take notes using doodles and text. It has many other benefits such as increased focus and engagement in class, improved comprehension and memory retention, helps develop creative thinking skills and allows students an alternative way to display their learning and make connections to course content. It has a calming and relaxing effect too! ( Click here for articles and studies that support sketchnoting.)

Please click the links below for the 3-minute video lessons (Note that you might need to pause the video from time to time while you and your students are drawing if it goes too fast). There is also a link to a slide with the icons which you can use or show your students afterwards.

Please note that these are only mini-lessons for sketchnoting. For a detailed teacher's manual on how to sketchnote, check out my new book published by ElevateBooksEdu which you can order from

Please note that a new, UPDATED VERSION of my book is now available with 100+ new icons, new fonts, a new "Icons with shapes" activity and all thirty-four #sketchnotefever lessons below!

(Animation above by the amazing Brian Briggs)

1. School icons: for the video. for the slide.
2. Easy fonts: for the video. for the slide.
3. Animal icons: for the video. for the slide.
4. Fancy fonts: for the video. for the slide.
5. Transportation icons: for the video. for the slide.
6. More fancy fonts: for the video. for the slide.
7. Weather icons: for the video. for the slide.
8. Food and drink icons: for the video. for the slide.
9. Halloween icons: for the video. for the slide.
10. Banners: for the video. for the slide.
11. Containers/frames: for the video. for the slide.
12. Arrows: for the video. for the slide.
13. Bullets and Dividers: for the video. for the slide.
14. Faces: for the video. for the slide.
15. Female hairstyles: for the video. for the slide.
16. Male Hairstyles: for the video. for the slide.
17. People: for the video. for the slide.
18. School subject icons: for the video. for the slide.
19. More icons: for the video. for the slide.
20. Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day icons: for the video. for the slide. Bonus lesson: Even more icons! for the video. for the slide.
21. Winter Holidays: for the video. for the slide.

22. Spring icons: for the video. for the slide.
23. Summer icons: for the video. for the slide.
24. Fall icons: for the video. for the slide.
25. Sports icons: for the video. for the slide.
26. Space icons: for the video. for the slide.
27. Travelling icons: for the video. for the slide.
28. Musical instruments: for the video. for the slide.
29. Hands: for the video. for the slide.
30. Baby icons: for the video. for the slide.
31. Wedding icons: for the video. for the slide.
32. Social Media icons: for the video. for the slide.
33. Table icons: for the video. for the slide.
34. Kitchen icons: for the video. for the slide.
Please use the hashtag #SKETCHNOTEFEVER to tweet/Instagram/Facebook your drawings so that we can all share in our progress.
(Another creation by the brilliant Brian Briggs . Yes, he sketchnoted this. With a Google Tilt Brush!)

Did you complete all 34 #SKETCHNOTEFEVER lessons and post your drawings on social media? If so, contact me (with your full name) on or (@sylviaduckworth) or by email (sduckworth100@gmail.com) and you will receive a personalized certificate!

Or did you complete all 13 NEW #SKETCHNOTEFEVER lessons?

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Hello sketchnoter friends! Please click here to receive regular email updates to this page (Note: Not necessary to sign up again if you already signed up on the pop-up form to this website). Welcome to the page for #SKETCHNOTEFEVER resources. This campaign was designed to bring awareness to sketchnoting and to build people's visual...

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The article offers the author's insights on her interest about sketchnoting, which means taking notes that are enhanced with sketches, doodles or drawings, and text. Topics discussed include using sketchnoting in her presentation about infographics, the book "Sketchnoting Handbook," by Mike Rohde, and ideas for incorporating the value of note-taking in classroom.

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Next.cc

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NEXT.cc is an eco web that develops ethical imagination and environmental stewardship. NEXT.cc introduces what design is, what design does and why design is important through over 100 journeys.

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core77

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The recent rise of the "visual thinking" movement in business borrows from the natural ways designers work-using sketches to explore and express ideas, manipulating complex systems of thoughts on sticky notes, and using rough visuals to make sense of the world. Humans are, of course, wired to be visual thinkers from birth, so it's only natural that people are attracted to these tools, and the power they have to help solve problems and explore opportunities.

In the long list of tools one could use for visual thinking, sketchnotes are one of the most exciting. Simply put, sketchnotes are visual notes that are drawn in real time. Through the use of images, text, and diagrams, these notes take advantage of the "visual thinker" mind's penchant for make sense of-and understanding-information with pictures. Often these notes come out of lectures or conferences, and have gained a lot of attention and interest in the past few years when people post scans of their sketchbooks from events like SXSW or various design conferences for the whole internet to see.

This kind of note taking has an obvious appeal for both the coverage of the event as well as the aesthetic quality of getting a peek inside someone's sketchbook-but good sketchnotes are actually much more than a set of beautiful doodles.

Sketchnoters aren't reporters, information designers, or illustrators. They're actually all three at once. This form of rapid visualization forces you to listen to the lecture, synthesize what's being expressed, and visualize a composition that captures the idea-all in real time. A musicians' " circular breathing" for the Moleskine crowd.

Instead of recording what's being said verbatim, good sketchnotes capture the meaningful bits as text and drawings. Better sketchnotes use composition and hierarchy to give structure the content, and bring clarity to the overall narrative of the lecture. The best sketchnotes express a unique personal style and add editorial comments on the content-entertaining and informing all at once.

Sketchnotes serve a few purposes:

They're PERSONAL: They act as a visual journaling tool so when you attend a lecture, you can remember the bits of information and images that have meaning for you. Sketchnotes are also a great way to record your ideas and observations-these aren't reporter's notes, they're your thoughts and interpretation of the subject matter as well.

They're PUBLIC: Great sketchnotes create a "map" of the presentation that provides a visual summary for others to read and explore. More and more sketchnotes are shared online, giving people views into both the content that was being presented, as well as the point-of-view of the sketchnoter.

They're PRACTICE: Sketchnoting hones your skills in observation & listening, distilling and structuring information, creating narratives, and-of course-rapid sketching.

Consider sketchnotes to be the antidote for the age where lecture attendees only partially engage in the speaker's presentation while they Tweet the last quotable quip and check their RSS reader for the latest update on Engadget. The sketchnoter is focused, singularly engaged in what's being said, and is fully engaging their mind to shape something from that content on the blank page in front of them.
Next up: How to sketchnote.

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Sketchnotes 101: Visual Thinking - Core77

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sketchnotes by Craighton Berman, click for full-sized images!sketchnotes by Craighton Berman, click for full-sized images!This post is the first in a new "sketchnotes channel" on Core77 (www.core77.com/sketchnotes) that will explore the application of visual thinking tools in the worlds of design and creative thinking. The recent rise of the "visual...

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Core77

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Sketchnotes 101: The Basics of Visual Note-taking - Core77

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Welcome to the second article in the the new Core77 “Sketchnotes Channel” (www.core77.com/sketchnotes) where we’ll be exploring the application of visual thinking tools in the worlds of design and creative thinking.So you say you’re ready to start sketchnoting.Maybe you’re not much of a sketcher but you take a lot of…

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Smashing Magazine

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People make all sorts of visual notes. An army of sketchnoters is out there, and everyone has their own style. Some do amazing sketches and lavish letters. Some translate complicated concepts into easy-to-grasp diagrams. But for the sake of this article, let's keep it simple. Making your notes more interesting doesn't have to be a huge undertaking. It's not like learning to play the piano or taking up diving. If you think sketchnoting looks fun, Elisabeth Irgens has some tips to get you started.

Have you ever seen someone make creative notes at a conference and wished that your own notebook was more presentable? It's probably much easier to do than you think. You don't have to be an aspiring lettering artist, and you don't need to develop top-notch drawing skills.

Making your notes more interesting doesn't have to be a huge undertaking. It's not like learning to play the piano or taking up diving. If you think sketchnoting looks fun, I have some tips to get you started.

Creative Note-Taking For Anyone

People make all sorts of visual notes. An army of sketchnoters is out there, and everyone has their own style. Some do amazing sketches and lavish letters. Some translate complicated concepts into easy-to-grasp diagrams. But for the sake of this article, let's keep it simple.

The laser show at the Smashing Conference in Oxford earlier this year.

It doesn't matter whether you call it sketchnoting or doodling or scribbling or simply "adding some joy" to your notes. Just aim for something visual that takes your notes to the next level. Combine this with an effort to slow down when forming letters, and I'll bet you will surprise yourself at the difference it makes. The goal is to create something that you would want to take out again and look at - and, hey, perhaps even show others.

Me at the Smashing Conference in Oxford. (Image credit)

You Are Your Own Target Audience

Sketchnotes done live over 45 minutes can't capture everything. They won't be a perfect structured summary. My notes are not intended to stand on their own feet. They have value for me and perhaps other attendees at the conference.

Make the notes for yourself first. Share them if you want - other attendees will probably love to take a look. Sketchnotes can spread the word to the outside world about an interesting talk or about the conference itself. But people who have not heard the talk can't expect the sketchnotes to carry much meaning on their own. I mention this because people sometimes misunderstand their purpose.

Keeping this in mind will help you get started on your own sketchnotes. You don't have to try to "instantly" explain everything or worry that you'll miss one of the speaker's key points. It's OK - they're just your personal notes.

A Bit More Useful And A Lot More Fun

So, why bother with any of this? Because the act of writing stuff down helps you to remember. This is a basic study technique. The sound bites you capture from a talk will jog your memory when you flip through the notes later. By drawing something to create connections, you will increase your ability to remember. Notes that combine words with sketches are more useful than text alone. Chances are you don't even hang onto boring old regular notes anyway.

Making something you will look at later might be the most helpful benefit. But all in all, you could do worse than to have "fun" be your main reason for taking sketchnotes. When the primary purpose is fun, you'll let yourself play around. Write something silly, draw objects that talk, and in general don't be so serious. I reckon fun is reason enough.

Stationary Geeking

We all know that it's not about the tools, but so many wonderful pens are out there, waiting for you to try them. You can find a lot of motivation in a set of shiny new pens that have perfect nibs and a long way to go before drying out. I hereby grant you permission to go nuts in the pen aisle.

You have had plenty of ballpoint and rollerball pens, but have you tried a fineliner? Its tip is made of fiber or plastic, like on a marker, and it comes in a variety of widths and colors. Any brand is fine. My handwriting looks a lot more neat with a fineliner than with any type of ball tip. This might not be the case for your style and scale of letters. Try!

You can start by getting two different widths of black fineliners to create contrasting lines. (I've been using 0.4 together with 1.0 a lot lately.) You will also want to get tools for coloring and shading. You can add shadow with a light-gray marker, which does wonders for elevating your doodles.

A handful of different hues are enough to add a splash of color. The daring may want to venture outside the primaries and secondaries of the basic color wheel. Look for color names like salmon, asparagus and raspberry for a more elegant touch than your basic red and blue.

Paper Can Inspire, Or Scare, You

Choose the paper that will inspire you the most or - if more relevant - scare you the least. Do you like the idea of starting a new notebook and filling it with sketchnotes? Then go find a nice big expensive one to start your collection.

My favorite at the moment is a spiral-bound notebook with a format somewhere around landscape A4. These sketchbooks are a pain to haul around, but I like the large pages of thick paper and how it folds to lie flat on my lap.

Does a softer start with training wheels sound more appealing? Blank canvases are known to distress, so we need to outwit ourselves. Some alternatives for less daunting paper:

a clipboard with single sheets of paper,

a cheap notebook with a million thin pages,

any scraps of lined or squared paper,

a very small sketchbook (use several pages instead of just one!),

the back of something you found in your swag bag.

Cheating With The Content

Remembering something that was said while continuing to listen as you're spelling and sketching is impossible. My trick is to draft notes in another notebook and to snap photos of certain slides. It sounds like extra work, but this is the only thing that works for me. My brain can't perform all of those tasks at the same time; I have to "switch" between them.

It might look like multitasking, but I am shifting my focus back and forth from draft notebook to sketchnote. (Image credit)

By jotting some words on the side, I can zip back to sketching what I was working on. Lettering something already written down elsewhere makes it easier to keep listening because I'm just drawing one letter at the time. When I get stuck for content, I refresh my memory by checking Twitter to see what other attendees have commented on. You can always count on finding the funniest quote of a talk via the conference's hashtag.

Solving The Layout Puzzle

People often ask me how I plan a layout without knowing the structure of the talk. The truth is that I almost always either run out of space too soon or have trouble filling the page. Some speakers list the topics they'll cover. Pay close attention if they do: This is a sketchnoter's gold. A lot of times, though, you can't plan much of anything - you just have to wing it.

If you're sketchnoting live, you really only have the scheduled duration of the talk to go by. Has the speaker reached about the halfway point at the same time that you have? Also, save space for any excellent closing points. If you end up with too much empty space, go ahead and put something huge in the bottom-right, or draw a sun. I tend to cram too much onto the page and should remember that white space is not the enemy either.

Preparations For The Conference Pro

I noticed once that I was stressing a lot to avoid certain mistakes. Speaker names, Twitter handles and talk titles: You want to get those correct. To make this easier, I prepare a cheat sheet with this stuff - one talk per page, all ready for my draft notes on the side. I write down the title, too, because that first slide might disappear before you're ready to start. (And watch out for changed titles!)

Want to publish your notes as soon as they're done? Prepare a list on your phone with the speaker's Twitter handle and talk title. Rather than searching for the correct spellings for your tweet, you could spend this saved time on your notes or taking a coffee break.

Another problem for me was wasting precious time pondering which colors to use. The finished product often ended up looking less than harmonious, too. So, before the Smashing Conference in Freiburg, I planned a color scheme. I picked a series of nine matching colors, one key color for each talk, with touches of the previous and next colors as accents. Just going through the colors in order during the two days made things easier.

Bootcamp For Perfectionists

Sketchnoting is excellent training to combat those pesky perfectionist tendencies. I know you've got plenty of them, and I know how detrimental they can be. I used to suffer from illusions that I could go home and "finish the notes later." This never happened. Ever. Now I photograph my notebook right there on the floor of the venue, and that's it. No completing tomorrow, no fixing spelling mistakes, no retouching when I get home. Tweeting your notes right away is very much optional but highly recommended! For me, deciding that the page was done there and then made all the difference.

There is no right or wrong way to take sketchnotes at a conference, and you should absolutely make your own rules. Some people like to get a head start with an elaborate title or a caricature of the speaker. Some people scan their notes later and color them digitally. You don't have to cover the entire talk either. Snippets are excellent and give you much more freedom. Figure out what works for you, change the rules as you go, and give yourself some sort of a deadline.

"Sounds Great, But I Can't Draw!"

Sure you can. You can draw arrows, smileys, stick people, browser windows, mobile phones, boxes, stars and clouds. Practice at your desk with an online talk first, and I'll bet the result will be a lot better than you expect. Now, go get yourself some new pens!

Other people are technically better than us in a whole range of things. Don't let that get in your way. We could look at a master writing calligraphy and feel we are not worthy of even holding a pen. Sketchnoting should be like running, cooking and photography. It's for anyone and everyone who wants to try, have fun and improve as they go along.

Further Reading

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How To Get Started With Sketchnotes - Smashing Magazine

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People make all sorts of visual notes. An army of sketchnoters is out there, and everyone has their own style. Some do amazing sketches and lavish letters. Some translate complicated concepts into easy-to-grasp diagrams. But for the sake of this article, let's keep it simple.

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Heck Awesome

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Tanny McGregor & Shawna Coppola

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Sketchnoting for Engagement & Deeper Comprehension

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tips4teaching

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Feel free to download and share the range of SketchNotes on Educational topics. Share your educational sketchnotes on Twitter using the tag #EduSketchnotes

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Benefits of Using Doodling & Sketchnoting in the Classroom

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Benefits of Using Doodling & Sketchnoting in the Classroom

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Education Week Teacher

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I have always been a doodler, drawing figures and squiggles in the margins as I talk on the phone or sit through a professional-development lecture. It might look like I'm not paying attention, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Doodling while I listen helps me focus; in fact, I find it difficult to focus on audible information if my hands aren't engaged with pen and paper. But I'd never given serious thought to the educational benefits of doodling until I saw Sunni Brown's TED Talk Doodlers, Unite! Brown makes a strong case for the benefits and legitimacy of doodling, citing evidence-based as well as anecdotal research. Intrigued, I quickly immersed myself in the topic.

With the help of social media, I discovered Mike Rhode's Sketchnote Army, myriad online articles at MindShift and Edutopia, and more recently, Wendi Pillars' new book Visual Note-Taking for Educators. I spent last summer practicing my own doodling and sketchnoting skills, drawing inspiration from the visual note-takers I'd seen at national conferences that seemed to effortlessly capture big ideas on giant canvases while the speaker presented. Their work, similar to the animation in an RSAnimate video of Sir Ken Robinson's Changing Education Paradigms TED Talk, convinced me that doodling and sketchnoting were powerful learning tools that belonged in my classroom.

It turns out that various forms of doodling have all kinds of benefits for our brains. Doodling is actually a form of mnemonics, connecting images with information and significantly increasing our ability to remember what we've learned. In a 2009 study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, 40 participants were asked to listen to an extremely boring recorded telephone conversation. Half of them were instructed to doodle as they listened, and half were given no such instructions. At the conclusion of the study, people who doodled remembered 29 percent more information than their counterparts who did not doodle.

In 2014, psychologists Pam A. Mueller of Princeton, and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of University of California, Los Angeles, published their research on the benefits of hand writing notes (as opposed to typing them). Their findings indicate that students learn more and retain it longer if they write their notes by hand. Capturing important ideas by hand, whether writing words or creating images, stimulates neural pathways between motor, visual, and cognitive skills. In other words, writing and drawing can make us smarter.

Drawing Lessons

This is my first year including doodling and sketchnoting in my classroom, and it hasn't always been easy. For one, I never realized how firmly wrong ideas about the purpose of doodling are entrenched, nor did I anticipate getting flak from colleagues who felt I was encouraging students to daydream. Here are a few lessons I've learned thus far:

Start slowly. As tempting as it might be, don't jump into doodling and sketchnoting without first laying a solid foundation. Get comfortable with your own sketching so you can share your work with your students. I make a habit of including images in my note taking at conferences and meetings, which helps me grow and provides an example for my students to follow. I deliberately incorporate opportunities for my students to try doodling and sketchnoting as part of my lesson. It's easy to make the mistake of introducing something new and then forgetting to give students time to play with it and get comfortable.

Make it fun and stress-free. Anticipating possible student trepidation, I bought inexpensive 4x5" colorful notebooks and boxes of good black ink pens for my classroom. On the first day, I gave each student a notebook and pen, explaining these were theirs and could be used inside-and outside-my classroom. To introduce our new learning strategy, I invited our school's retired art teacher (an accomplished doodler) to share simple techniques we could use to improve the images we were creating. Engaging "how to" videos on Kathy Shrock's Guide to Everything site and the Braindoodles site provided even more inspiration (and were easy to link from my class website so students could access the lessons from home).

Expect pushback from students. Often students want to stick with the "tried and true" when they're presented with a learning strategy that seems risky (i.e., something that has the potential to embarrass them if they "get it wrong"). I believed if I gave my students the opportunity and freedom to be creative, they would embrace it. And some students did just that. But many responded as though I'd ask them to recite Shakespeare in front of strangers. Naked. "I don't know what to draw," or "I'm not artistic" were the most typical responses. Other common responses included concern that notes would be incomplete, or they would get in trouble with teachers.

Provide opportunities for students to use their doodles in real time. In my teacher academy (a course for students considering a career in education), students use their doodle skills to play a modified version of Pictionary with academic vocabulary. They enjoy the competitive nature of the game, but more importantly, they know it's essential to have a strong grasp of the vocabulary concepts in order to play well. If you don't believe me, try playing Pictionary with terms like formative assessment or operant conditioning without using a single word, only images.

It's important to note, doodling and sketchnoting are not synonymous. Doodling infers creating repetitive images such as spirals, circles, and boxes, or perhaps stick figures and flowers. It is used primarily to help maintain focus and retain information. Sketchnoting allows the listener to supplement written notes with drawn images to reinforce a key concept or connect big ideas. It can be a great way to synthesize and study written notes, using visuals to recreate and condense pages of notes as you review them.

Sketchnoting and doodles aren't for everyone. One of my seniors gets reprimanded each time she tries to incorporate sketchnoting in her government course. The images help her remember events and dates for when she's testing. But her teacher firmly believes she is daydreaming, even though she has asked him to call on her more frequently so she can demonstrate that doodling is the antithesis of daydreaming. Some of my students still prefer traditional note-taking, but I suspect these future educators will not reprimand their own students for doodling.

Understanding the brain science behind doodling will equip my students-the educators of tomorrow-with the ability to differentiate instruction and assessment for their students, whether or not they personally use doodling to learn.

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The Benefits of Using Doodling and Sketchnotes in the Classroom (Opinion)

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I have always been a doodler, drawing figures and squiggles in the margins as I talk on the phone or sit through a professional-development lecture. It might look like I'm not paying attention, but nothing could be further from the truth.

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"Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable." By William Pollard What are sketchnotes you are probably asking yourself? Mike Rohde, author of The Sketchnote Handbook describes them as "...rich visual notes created from a mix of handwriting, drawings,...

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6 Ways to get Students Engaged with Sketchnotes

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6 Ways to get Students Engaged with Sketchnotes

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Art With Jenny K

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· by: JennyK

I've been hearing a lot about "sketch notes" recently. I invited Stacey from Expressive Monkey to share with us all about sketchnotes because she has a super awesome sketchnotes resource! I think you'll love how Stacey breaks down the "6 Ways to get Students Engaged with Sketchnotes." She is also giving away a copy of her resource AND she generously made a free sample product to share with all of you so you can get started right away using sketchnotes! Please enjoy this guest post by Stacey from Expressive Monkey!

What are sketchnotes?

Sketchnotes are visual notes where lines, symbols, icons, frames, bullets and other visual elements are used to organize and structure the page.

Sketchnotes keep students actively involved with the information you are giving them because they must use both oral listening and visual reasoning to create the sketchnote page. They help students relate facts to the main idea because of the visual arrangement of facts near a larger heading or picture. And they also help students remember the information better because they are processing the information using more parts of their brain than just typing or writing linear notes.

Sketchnotes are most effective when taking notes about concepts and ideas. They are less effective when taking notes where a large number of facts must be recorded because of the space limitation.

Sketchnote taking might take a little more time at first. Give students time to create a heading or graphic element, then begin the lesson. Have students start with a blank page and have a fine tip marker for writing and sketching. Once they get the hang of it, they can use a highlighter (grey in a nice color) for adding some shading.

Talk about what kind of visual structure they might use to take notes before they begin. Expressive Monkey has more info on The Visual Structure of Sketchnotes in another blog post.

Make sketchnotes part of the lesson and have students share their pages with each other. The emphasis is not on how artistic the page is, but on the idea and information that is conveyed. As students share, remind them that they are sharing ideas, not art. They might share what they used as a heading, what kind of visual structure they used to map out the page or what kind of content they recorded.

Why is what you are teaching important to students? Make sure this is part of the discussion. Since sketchnotes capture the "Big Ideas" or essential information, make sure you are not just giving them lots of bits of information, but packaging facts under the umbrella of a big idea. The big idea makes the lesson more relevant to students.

Sketchnotes take some time and practice. Let students know that you are learning along with them. Share that you think the extra effort needed to learn this will pay off in the future. Try sketchnote talking on the board during the class along with them (during a video or TED Talk). Let them know what visual structure you are using and why you chose it. For example, use a flowing structure for a series of events, or a web of ideas for ideas radiating around a central topic.

The Basics for sketchnotes include:

Using TEXT to show hierarchy (or which words are most important).

Using IMAGES or SYMBOLS to remind you of the big idea.

Using STRUCTURE such as bullets, frames, connectors and captions to lead your eye and organize the page.

My Sketchnotes Toolbox has a page of visuals to help remind students of some of the tools they can use. Remember that they are not creating works of art, the idea is more important than how realist something looks. So stick figure and quick sketches are preferred over realistic renderings because they can be done quickly and convey the information just as well.

Instead of doing the first sketchnote taking experience on a difficult topic. Choose one that the students are already familiar with so that they can focus on the sketchnote taking, instead of trying to make sense of a new topic. One topic that has worked for me is to have students make a sketchnote page about themselves. I have step by step instructions for this in my Sketchnotes Toolbox. Another idea is to have students interview each other and create a sketchnote page on another student, then share with the class.

After a little practice, students will develop their own sketchnotes style and vocabulary of images and symbols that they can use without as much additional thought.

I found these blogs helpful when researching sketchnotes:

Download your FREEBIE HERE or by clicking on the image below to get started using sketchnotes right away!

Enter to win the full resource that can be seen HERE and take sketchnotes to the next level!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacey Peters, creator of Expressive Monkey, has 25 years of experience teaching elementary art in Ohio. She believes that anyone can create art and is always looking for waysto create drawing pages that give students choices and ideas for expressing themselves visually.

Category: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Art integration, Art Techniques, Art w/Mrs. K., Featured Teacher, Misc, TPT

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6 Ways to get Students Engaged with Sketchnotes

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· by: JennyK I've been hearing a lot about "sketch notes" recently. I invited Stacey from Expressive Monkey to share with us all about sketchnotes because she has a super awesome sketchnotes resource! I think you'll love how Stacey breaks down the "6 Ways to get Students Engaged with Sketchnotes."

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Educator’s Guide: Sketchnotes for Visual Note Taking

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Practical Online Teacher Training - Simplek12

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SimpleK12 is the #1 Source For Professional Development For Teachers. Earn CEUs. Connect with peers. Attend a FREE webinar event today!

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by Apple Distinguished Educators

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digital sketchnotes for visualizing learning

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Digital Sketchnotes for Visualizing Learning - Free Course by Apple Distinguished Educators on iTunes U

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Digital Sketchnotes for Visualizing Learning, Apple Distinguished Educators, Learning Resources, iTunes U, educational content, iTunes U

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Doodlers Unite

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Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our comprehension -- and our creative thinking. So why do we still feel embarrassed when we're caught doodling in a meeting? Sunni Brown says: Doodlers, unite! She makes the case for unlocking your brain via pad and pen.

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Sketchnoting for Beginners on the iPad

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Epic Sketchnoting

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Sketchnoting is not just an attractive way to take notes, it can improve retention and learning. These sketchnoting resources will get you started with your students. You don't have to have a ton of talent, just a little know-how. I'll update these sketchnoting resources, so tweet me or leave a comment to add your favorites. Don't get overwhelmed, just get started.

Twitter Tip: If you want to find and share great sketchnotes, follow the # edusketch hashtag on Twitter.

Resources on Sketchnoting and Visual Notetaking:

Most Valuable Sketchnoting Resources

Sketchnoting Tools

Places to See Awesome Sketchnotes

People Who Sketchnote Education Topics

Sketchnoting Resources and Books to Help You Dive Deep

Sketchnoting Research and News

Drawing to Learn | Learning Sciences Research Institute
http://www.lsri.nottingham.ac.uk/research/drawingtolearn

"Ainsworth, Prain and Tyler (2011) in a paper in Science argue that drawing can play a number of important roles in learning:, namely:
Drawing to enhance engagement - surveys have shown that when students draw to explain they are more motivated to learn compared to traditional teaching of science.
Drawing to learn to represent in science - the process of producing visual representations helps learners understand how scientific representations work.
Drawing to reason in science - student learn to reason like scientists as they select specific features to focus on in their drawings, aligning it with observation, measurement and/or emerging ideas
Drawing as a learning strategy - if learners read a text and then draw it, the process of making their understanding visible and explicit helps them to overcome limitations in presented material, organise and integrate their knowledge and ultimately can be transformative.
Drawing to communicate - discussing their drawings with their students provides teachers with windows into students' thinking as well being a way that the peers can share knowledge, discovery and understanding."

Categories: Education Trends and Topics, Free Resources, How to Guides..., iPads, Tech Tips, Tools

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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Epic Sketchnoting Resources: How to Get Started Teaching Sketchnoting

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Sketchnoting is not just an attractive way to take notes, it can improve retention and learning. These sketchnoting resources will get you started with your students. You don't have to have a ton of talent, just a little know-how. I'll update these sketchnoting resources, so tweet me or leave a comment to add your favorites.

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Sketchnoting in the Classroom

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Sketchnoting, in its purest form, is creating a personal visual story as one is listening to a speaker or reading a text. I also believe the interactive notebook, which includes the process of taking…

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Learn how to draw simple banners for your bullet journal in this step-by-step photo tutorial. Use them for dates, collection, and tracker headers, or just as decoration.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure for more information. *UPDATED: 1/28/2019
Looking back at this post, I really am astonished and humbled by my progress. This was one of the very first posts on The Petite Planner-at that time, Bujos and Java.

But, because it's been 2 years and my drawing skills and tutorial/teaching techniques have improved, I also wanted to update this post. Plus, if you stick around until the end, I made a free printable step-by-step banner drawing guide for you.

The original post (washed away into the internet landfill now) showcased six banners for your bullet journal. They were a mix of curly, wavy, back and forth banners. And at the time, they were my best work and I am not at all ashamed of them.

However, as time has progressed, I want to give you the best experience here on The Petite Planner. And that includes more structured tutorials that you can follow along and grow with.

With that, here are the major changes made to this post:

There are now only 5 instead of 6 banners.

All of the banners in the updated post are straight lines. I will be creating a second post that will be linked here to go into the more complex, wavy and spiral style banners. But for this post, I wanted to keep the tutorials beginner friendly.

There is now a free printable included!

Each banner section includes visual and written steps and tips to follow along with.

Beginner Friendly Banners for Your Bullet Journal

1). Basic Banner

This is the most basic banner there is. Start with two horizontal parallel lines, taking into account how long your word or phrase inside the banner will be.

Then, draw your tail ends. In the photo, the tail is split, with an arrow shape pointing in. However, you could also reverse this shape to have arrows that point out from the ends of the banner. Or, you could create your own ends.

2). Single Fold Banner

The number one concept you have to learn when drawing banners is the fold or crease. But once you learn how to do it, you can create any banner you want.

Start with a large rectangle where you will write your header. Then, choose one side to add an underturned fold and end. From that side, draw one horizontal line about halfway down the rectangle. Then, keeping in mind the width of your banner, draw a parallel line below that line, extending it a little ways further than the end of the rectangle.

Connect the lowest line to the rectangle with a short vertical line and then draw the tail end of your banner.

The last step is to create the fold in the banner. To do this, draw a diagonal line from the lower left corner of the lowest banner section to the lowest right corner of the higher banner. When you do this, it will create a small triangle shape.

To add depth and dimension, fill in the triangle with a line pattern or a solid color fill.

3). Multiple Fold Banner

This banner may look complicated, but if you followed the steps for Banner #2, this one will be a breeze.

Just like before, start with your rectangle and then draw your parallel lines for the first dropped section of the banner. On this banner, do it on both sides.

Now, instead of adding your tail, you are going to connect your horizontal lines with vertical lines. It will resemble a smaller rectangle with the upper corner being hidden behind the main rectangular portion (see step 3).

Next, you will add the last dropped/folded section of your banner. Similarly to the step 2, draw your horizontal lines extending from the sides of the banner piece above. Again, keep in mind the width of your banner and try to keep it the same.

Now, draw a vertical line on each side to connect the lowest line to the folded banner above. Then add your tail.

Finally, just like in Banner #2, create the folds in the banner by drawing diagonal lines from the inside-bottom corner of the lowest banner section to the outermost bottom corner of the section above.

You will have a total of four folds for this banner. Fill them in with a pattern or solid color fill to add contrast and dimension.

4. Wrapped Banner

Now that you have worked on adding multiple folds in Bannens #2 and #3, we're going to move on to this wrapped banner.

Start with a rectangle and then draw another rectangle that is slightly shorter below the other banner, leaving a gap roughly the width of your banner.

Draw your tail ends as you have in the previous banners above. For the top rectangle, draw your end above the banner. So, start with your horizontal line halfway down the rectangle and then draw your parallel line above the rectangle and extending a little way back behind it.

To create the connection between the two forward facing rectangular banner portions, you will want to start with pencil.

From the uppermost right hand corner of the top rectangle, use your pencil to draw a diagonal line connection to the uppermost left hand corner of the bottom rectangle. Now, draw another diagonal line from the lowermost right hand corner of the top rectangle to the bottommost left hand corner of the bottom rectangle, using your pencil.

Now, use your pen to trace over the lines where between the two rectangles. Then use an eraser to erase the pencil lines left inside the rectangles.

Finally, add your fold to the tails as you have done in the precious banners and then add a line pattern or solid color fill to add some dimension.

5). Two-Face Horizontal Banner

This is the final banner in this short doodle tutorial. And I saved the hardest for last.

By now, I believe that you have the lines down and have a good grasp on folds. So, don't be intimidated by this 6-fold banner. You got it!

Start with two rectangles on the same horizontal plane, with a gap between the. Now, just as you have done, you are going to add your horizontal lines for the tails.

For the center connection, about halfway down the height of your rectangle draw a horizontal line that connects the two rectangles. This is a dropped/folded piece of the banner. So, for the bottom line, which falls below the two rectangles, you need to extend that line out a little past the end of each rectangle. This gives you enough room to put a fold on each side.

Then, follow the same steps you took in the Multiple Fold Banner (#3) to create the ends of your banner.

And finally, you will add in all of your fold by connecting the dropped sections to the next section above it with a diagonal line. If you are confused at all, go back up to Banner #3 to try the folds.

You will have a total of six folds in this banner. Two on each end of the banner and then two in the middle, connecting the lower middle dropped portion.

Free Banner Practice Printable

As I revamped this post, I realized how great the need was for a printable practice sheet.

This printable includes all of the banners and steps shown in this post, as well as space for you to practice on your own.

Print this out on a plain piece of US Letter Size Paper as many times as you need to practice. I just ask that you don't redistribute it or try to profit off of it.

Simply fill out the form below to get your printable immediately. You will be added to my list of subscribers. I send out about one email a week with updates, news, exclusive freebies, and coupons for my printable shop. And You'll gain access to the VIP Resource Library which is where all of my free printables are housed. Pretty sweet tradeoff, right?

I hope this banner drawing tutorial has helped you to feel more confident when creating headers and doodle decorations for your bullet journal. In the near future, I will be sharing another banner tutorial for more complex banners, so be sure to connect with me on social to keep up to date on new posts-all of my links are below my signature and in the top menu of my site.

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Beginner Friendly Banner Tutorials + Free Printable

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Learn how to draw simple banners for your bullet journal in this step-by-step photo tutorial. Use them for dates, collection, and tracker headers, or just as decoration. This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure for more information. *UPDATED: 1/28/2019 Looking back at this post, I really am astonished and humbled by my progress.

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Ink and Ideas Podcast and Sampler

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Today on the Heinemann Podcast, we're learning about creative ways to grow our thinking.

Tanny McGregor is the author of Ink and Ideas: Sketchnotes for Engagement, Comprehension, and Thinking. In it, Tanny explains the power behind putting words and pictures together in the method of "sketchnoting." One of the benefits of sketchnoting is bringing focus and strengthening memory. It also allows for multiple perspectives in the classroom to be represented in authentic and personal ways.

Our conversation begins with Tanny's first introduction to sketchnoting and her grandfather's profound influence on her work...
Below is a full transcript of the conversation.
Tanny: Well, I think I just observed him for hours upon hours. Growing up about three hours from our family's farm, I visited in the summertime. He was always very busy, as you could imagine, with jobs around the farm from 4:30 in the morning until after it was dark, but when he would come into the house, he'd often sit in this recliner in their parlor room in this old ... You can sort of picture it in the Appalachian Hills, of this white house punctuating this green landscape. He would sit there often with some reading just to relax.

I always noticed a blue pen in his hand, and was confused for a while about why he would even bother to take notes because I associated notes with an assignment or studying for a quiz. It wasn't until years later that I started to realize that for him to understand as deeply as he needed to and wanted to, he needed to pause and decelerate himself, and make his thinking visible.

He was a man of action and work all the time, so it was really just some of the few times that I ever saw him slow down, and it just happened to be reading, and writing, and sketching were part of that process for him.

Brett: Why don't you sort of go through the early part of the book. You talk about how as a student yourself, sometimes you were allowed to sketch note, and other times you were forbidden from it. Why was that?

Tanny: Yeah, maybe I didn't really understand the why behind that until I had my own classroom. I know just speaking from experience teaching first graders and third graders for the first 10 or 12 years of my career, I sometimes felt that kids weren't engaged. I felt that they maybe weren't paying attention, that they were daydreaming, and the more I read and learn now about how we code our thinking in a visible way, I wish I could do that all over again. And welcome those behaviors because I know in order to focus, many of the students I've had have the same tendency I have. That's just to be making some kind of representation of our thinking whether it's directly related to content in the classroom or just a way to process, like with repeated shapes or lines or the same word written over and over. I know now that for many of us there's a reason behind that.

Brett: You write and you show that it really is a strong tool for comprehension so how do you make the case to the world that this isn't just drawing, this isn't just doodling?

Tanny: Just yesterday, in a couple of classrooms in Boston I saw it sort of materialize right before my eyes, especially in this case. I was in a classroom without a relationship with the students. Didn't have a lot of time to get to know them, and warm up to each other at all. But within just a few minutes after learning some sketch noting features, kids were able to show in just a few minutes time what was going on inside their heads in a variety of ways where they had a lot of choice along the way.

And it turned out to be, if we had 20 students in the class, there were 20 different representations of the same informational content that we happened to be sketch noting.

So for me I just noticed over and over that some students, and I could say many students, are able to communicate to me and with each other, maybe more importantly, in a way that they might not be able to share in just conversation or writing about their thinking. But their thinking is clear and evident and more meaningful when given a chance to slow down and show it in a way that allows them to express themselves differently.

When I'm working with younger kids we'll even weave our fingers together and talk about words and pictures, and if we can find a way to blend those together, that's a really powerful way to communicate. We'll talk about how it doesn't have to be pretty, and it's not about making cute notes, it's about the meaning and the thinking behind it all.

So if I had to come up with a one sentence definition, it would be very difficult for me, but maybe a series of words might be better. I think it's creative. I think it's meaningful. I think it's inclusive. I think it's welcoming, and I think it's recognizing that we have such different thinking that it would be a shame not to allow sketch noting or visual representation as a viable response option for our kids.

Brett: You mentioned choice. You talked a little bit about their ... Say more about choice, and how this is a tool to give students more choice.

Tanny: Some of these things might seem minor, but just even allowing students to have some ownership over materials and how they want to orient the space where they're working. So often kids are presented with, even if it's a graphic organizer that's sort of predetermined by someone else, and they don't get a lot of chance to make those spatial decisions or decisions about color, I think part of the metacognitive process that really works hand in hand with sketch noting is that kids are making decisions about how they think the text is organized. So that can tell me something about their thinking.

So in essence they're really starting far before where they might be starting if a graphic organizer was handed to them. They're thinking about all kinds of little things along the way, and in every step I can notice and learn about what's going on, that invisible process inside their heads.

Brett: Let's talk about that process. Where are more of those benefits for students to be doing sketch noting?

Tanny: I think the benefits are many, and I feel as if I'm just scratching the surface. We look to research which we do at the beginning of the book, and even in the time since the manuscript was turned over, there have been things I've read that have been like just, "Wow, I wish I could have included that at the time."

But the benefits are many including making the content if it's nonfiction, making it stickier, so we're going to remember more and remember it longer. Understanding in a different way because we're slowing down and able to notice and wonder at the same time that we're taking in new information.

The benefits that I think maybe aren't appreciated enough or that we haven't, as a profession, talked about as much would be the reduction of stress and anxiety, helping kids to take a deep breath, and giving them some space to think about their own learning. So in Comprehension Connections the first chapter was devoted to metacognition, and thinking about ways that we can make that concrete. But at that time I wasn't even thinking about how time is sometimes what we need for a metacognitive thought to kick in.

So I think sketch noting provides a lot of obvious things like deeper comprehension and helps us with memory and focus. I think there are some other benefits that maybe aren't as easy to measure that we can start to appreciate and use for our students' benefit in the classroom.

Brett: We just filmed a video with you which people can see online of you doing some sketch noting of your introduction. One of the things that I found fascinating watching you was how you listen and almost store the sound of what you heard while you're sketch noting. You sort of file it away, but even when the person stops speaking, you still need more time to keep sketch noting. How do you know when you're done? How do you know when the sketch noting is done or is there pressure to just sort of be in that space and just do it as you need to do it?

Tanny: I think it's an and. I have a notebook that I use in professional learning back home in my district, and in meetings just everyday kinds of meetings, and during planning time with teachers, I'll take some sort of visual notes that I know they're not intended to be shared. And so those might have a different look, and I'm not using some of the planning kinds of thinking that I might otherwise, but many times the sketch notes that I'm creating, I know I want to share them with somebody. Maybe it's a teacher and we're working in a coaching relationship, and it's observational kinds of notes, and it's something I know the teacher will want to hold onto for a while.

I want to make decisions there that will make it easy to read, that will show the teacher what I think is interesting and important right away. Then there are other times when it becomes even more important to think about all of the features if I know it's going to be something that maybe I'm going to tweet out about a great article I read, and I want to show a true synthesis of what I was thinking.

Sometimes it's just the sketch noting right there, live in the moment. Whatever happens, happens. It's just the process. And other times, just like with published writing would be, or painting or lots of things, producing music, I want to spend time afterwards in reflection and making some other choices that will help communicate more clearly the information that I think is most important.

Brett: You write in the book that there's power in sharing sketch noting, as a student it's important, especially early on, you say, "It's important to share those sketch notes with others."

Tanny: I've noticed, even if it's something as simple as a gallery walk in a classroom where students after a time can get out of their seats and walk around, they're very interested to see the visual representations that other kids come up with. And in sharing those, often kids will want to get right back to their own work because they're so filled with new ideas after seeing what their friends have come up with. I think we're the same way.

Another use that I found for all of us in professional learning, for example on Twitter, there are so many great conferences and workshops that I wish I could attend and can't attend. And we all feel that same way, but if I see a sketch noted version of even a day long workshop, I feel like I was there. I can see that person's thinking along with the great content of the workshop in a way that I might want to keep and share with others.

Brett: How as an educator do I create a safe space for my students in the classroom to let them know, it's okay to do sketch noting, and to get into sketch noting?

Tanny: Yeah, a couple of ways that I've tried with kids, just sometimes starting with the picture book. Isn't that the best way to start for so many things? But there are a couple of great picture books. They're listed in Ink and Ideas, and there's so many more out there as well, just to give kids that support in knowing that it's not about perfection, it's about process, that this isn't a detailed drawing or piece of artistry that we're going to frame necessarily. It's more about just finding a way to quickly show your thinking, and always asking yourself what's interesting and what's important. And letting those questions drive you.

Brett: What if there's a little resistance there? How do you work with that resistance?

Tanny: Yeah, and yesterday this happened. I was in a fourth grade classroom, and after introducing what we would be exploring during the lesson, one of the students, I think was so articulate in being able to share her thinking right at the onset, saying, "You know, I'm just already wondering how many things can go wrong with this for me?"

I love that she was able to say that, and some of the educators in the room were nodding in agreement, like, "I'm feeling the same way." And I feel that way too. But I want kids to know and sometimes it's through just letting kids see not just their peers, but letting them see me or other teachers struggle through that decision making process and how it's not perfect.

Even the video that we have taken of me trying to sketch note live, I'm having all sorts of misgivings along the way. So of course, more practice makes you confident, but I almost like it that in the process of it all, you still have a bit of insecurity, because I think it forces you to summarize and synthesize. And it's really letting that cognitive thinking rise to the surface.

So in making all of those decisions all the time it's sort of like the first time, every time that you sketch note.

Brett: How do we sort of get our brains ready for sketch noting?

Tanny: I think it's helpful to realize that we're using the same kinds of thinking that we use when we read closely and deeply, that we're using the proficient reader strategies for example.

We are determining importance. We're making inferences. We're making connections and asking questions, and ultimately that synthesis on paper or on the screen is really just like this amalgamation of all of those deep comprehension strategies.

I think it's helpful just to realize that the strategies you're already using as reader, you're going to use those now. It's just with a pen or stylus in your hand, and it's going to feel different. It's going to look a little different than what you're used to writing on sticky notes or in the margins, but ultimately what you're going to come up with, is what I think can be even a richer way of showing what's normally invisible.

Brett: Can you just sort of explain what deceleration is and why that matters?

Tanny: I started thinking about this a couple of years ago about how often I heard the word acceleration used in schools where I work, in titles of articles, in studies, and started thinking about the urgency that we all feel in classrooms to move faster, and push harder, and cover more ground and all of that.

Then thinking about how when I'm creating a visual representation of my thinking it's like the opposite of all that. I'm feeling myself exhaling through the pen in a way, and so I started thinking about how interesting it is that you don't hear the word deceleration in education very often.

I think the benefits from decelerating really have a strong connection to the depth of our thinking.o at one point in the book I have a sketch note from my digital sketch notebook where I just show all of the things that promote deceleration in my own life. They could be things like taking a walk in the woods or reading a great book, and lots of things that we all engage in to try to de-stress and clear our minds a bit. But thinking with pen in hand is right up there with all those things for me, and I've found it to be true with many of the kids I work with.

* * *

Learn more about Ink & Ideas at Heinemann.com

Internationally-known teacher and conference speaker Tanny McGregor brings nearly 30 years of professional experience to her popular sessions. Her workshops are known for their creative and engaging style. Originally an elementary school teacher, Tanny has served as a literacy coach, gifted intervention specialist, and preK-12 staff developer.

Tanny is the author of three books, Comprehension Connections (Heinemann, 2007), Genre Connections (Heinemann, 2013), and her newest release, Ink & Ideas (Heinemann, 2018). Tanny was also a contributor to the seminal work, Comprehension Going Forward (Heinemann, 2011). In addition to writing and consulting, Tanny serves as a teacher on special assignment for West Clermont Schools in Cincinnati, Ohio. She and her husband Miles have four daughters and two grandsons.

Follow her on Twitter @TannyMcG!

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On the Podcast: Sketchnoting with Tanny McGregor

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Today on the Heinemann Podcast, we're learning about creative ways to grow our thinking. Tanny McGregor is the author of Ink and Ideas: Sketchnotes for Engagement, Comprehension, and Thinking. In it, Tanny explains the power behind putting words and pictures together in the method of "sketchnoting."

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Verbal to Visual

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Hello friends and happy new year! (Not to mention new decade...how'd that happen so quickly?)

As we close out the year, I thought I'd share the sketchnoting videos from the past year that: are some of my favorites; and 2) seemed to resonate with you as well.

Here's a chance to remind yourself of those ideas from earlier in the year and catch up on those that you might have missed!

Curious about the sketchnoting tools I use? Here are my favorites!

Full blog post: My Sketchnoting Toolkit

An analog approach to developing big projects.

Full blog post: The Shoebox Method

Some simple tools to capture your next adventure in a unique way.

Full blog post: A Sketchnoted Travel Journal

How I make these hand-drawn videos.

Full blog post: Whiteboard Animation Workflow

Build up from basic icons to more complex representations of ideas.

Full blog post: How to Expand Your Visual Language

A step-by-step process to get you set up for any sketchnoting session.

Full blog post: A Menu for Sketchnoters

My new favorite resource to help folks overcome their fear of drawing.

Full blog post: Google's Massive Archive of Simple Drawings

How to structure the page for your next digital note-taking session.

Full blog post: iPad Sketchnotes: A Simple Template

Why you might want to scale back the amount of information you consume each week.

Full blog post: Less Consumption, More Creation

Increase your comfort level with drawing as you build up your visual thinking skills.

Full blog post: How to Build a Daily Drawing Habit

I hope that the videos above give you a bit of momentum with your sketchnoting efforts as we wrap up one year and start the next.

If you'd like an even bigger jump-start on your sketchnoting skill development in 2020, here are two suggestions:

1) Take part in the development of our next course: Digital Sketchnoting. We're having a kick-off webinar for that course on January 15th and I'd love to see you there!

2) Get access to bonus resources connected to each of the YouTube videos that I make by becoming a Patron. There you'll find extra downloads, behind-the-scenes updates, and monthly Q&As.

Here's to lots of sketchnoting in the coming year (and decade)!

Cheers,

-Doug

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Top 10 Sketchnoting Videos of 2019 - Verbal To Visual

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Hello friends and happy new year! (Not to mention new decade...how'd that happen so quickly?) As we close out the year, I thought I'd share the sketchnoting videos from the past year that: are some of my favorites; and 2) seemed to resonate with you as well.

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My Pencil Made Me Do It: A Beginners Guide To Sketchnoting In The Classroom

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Freedman has come to see sketchnoting as a bridge between early elementary, when students necessarily think visually because they are still learning to read, and middle school, where suddenly all visual thinking seems to stop.

"One of my girls at the end of the year said that, 'I learned that sketchnoting helps me remember things more,' " Freedman said.

Freedman uses sketchnoting resources on the website of Sylvia Duckworth, a former teacher and author who has become a sketchnoting celebrity. Duckworth breaks down the elements of a sketchnote like icons, containers and font to help the artist think about organizing the sketch. Freedman has found those tools help her students organize their thinking as well.

"My students have their own podcast and they sketchnote their segments on notecards," she explained. Storyboarding in this segmented way allows them to move things around, finding a structure and coherence that doesn't come as naturally when writing is the first step in the process. "They wouldn't have been able to do that if it were on paper. They just don't see it that way."

She's also found that allowing students to sketchnote an outline or first draft of a writing assignment can dramatically improve the quality of the thinking and writing she receives. Freedman says her students always want the first draft to be the final draft, and they often write the bare minimum. But when they sketch first, not only do they organize their thoughts better, but they also tend to add more detail and evidence from what they've read. They have a template to follow, one that didn't feel as intimidating to make.

Since the genius project experiment, Freedman has offered sketchnoting as an option to her students in many other ways. She's found that student sketches are a great jumping-off point to ask them more about their thinking -- they look at what they've drawn and can tell her far more than they used to. And, she can easily spot when there are misconceptions.

For example, she quickly realized her students didn't understand what theme was because, when she asked them to sketchnote the story's theme, they would draw characters and setting. That was an immediate sign to Freedman she needed to reteach the idea of theme, something she might not have known from the cryptic sentences her students used to write in response to the same kinds of questions.

"It allows me to ask better questions because I'm not just looking at a simple answer or a paragraph," Freedman said. "I'm trying to interpret what's in front of me, too."

Freedman has also found sketchnoting to be surprisingly helpful dealing with the inevitable conflicts that crop up in the middle grades.

Ss learning about what sketchnoting is @HeckAwesome #sketchnote @manuelherrera33 @ZajacSLP #jjpride pic.twitter.com/hIwdRg2vgN

- Rayna Freedman (@rlfreedm) October 1, 2018

"I had these two girls that were up each other's throats," Freedman said. She asked them to stay in from recess one day, but rather than lecturing them, she asked each girl to sketchnote how she was feeling. Then they each looked at the other person's drawing and drew what it made them think. The drawings revealed the misunderstanding at the bottom of the conflict, and gave each girl enough emotional distance to truthfully express how they were feeling.

Kim Zajac is the speech and language pathologist at Freedman's school. She has also found sketchnoting to be a powerful tool for her students. One boy was regularly in conflict with other classmates. Zajac encouraged him to sketch out what happened in those interactions and to imagine and sketch alternative ways to handle it next time.

"Make it less of a criticism process and more of a social expectation process," Zajac said. This student wouldn't have been able to talk about how these interactions made him feel without the sketches. They gave him a concrete reference for his feelings and reactions to other kids.

In another instance, Zojac had a student who struggled to keep his speech rate up when he presented. To support him, she first had him explain his ideas to her while she sketched them. Later, when he presented in front of the class, he had the sketch as reference, which helped him stay on track.

"If they can just dump it out, put it in some symbolic form, then it allows them to recall it back, think deeper, and present it in a different form," Zojac said. And for the kids she supports, who have speech and language issues, sketchnoting offers important insights into their thinking that is otherwise difficult to access.

"It isn't about things being pretty," Zojac said. "It's not about creating a piece of art. It's about creating a piece of thinking."

Sketchnoting With Special Needs Students
Carrie Baughcum teaches students with special learning needs at South Middle in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Her students have a range of disabilities from motor challenges, to language challenges, to emotional and behavioral issues. She usually has students for English, math, social studies and a resource class, but they are integrated into other subjects throughout the day. And, as they become more independent learners throughout their time in middle school, they often transition out to the general classroom more often.

Before Baughcum discovered sketchnoting, she used a fairly traditional approach with her students. She was focused on building their comprehension skills and did a lot of skill practice with them. She always saw gains and made solid progress on her students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), but she hadn't done a lot of thinking about how to get them excited about what they were learning.

Baughcum had begun drawing at home with her daughters as a way of spending time with them. It was an uncomfortable experience for her. She didn't feel like a good artist, but noticed herself improving as she kept at it. And, she loved the insight she got into her own children's minds through their drawings.

"I was certain that the students in my special education classroom, two to three years below grade level, that they couldn't do it," Baughcum said at the Building Learning Communities conference. But she decided to test the theory one year with a group of students that happened to be all boys.

"It was one of the most challenging groups I've had in 20 years of teaching," Baughcum said.

They were reading an adapted version of Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Fall of the House of Usher." Baughcum asked her students, "What movie is playing in your head when we read this paragraph?" No one said anything. So, she started narrating out loud what she imagined as she read.

She modeled drawing those thoughts into the margin of the book. Her students dutifully copied down what she had drawn. That went on for a while. Baughcum would walk around the room and ask her students questions about what they were drawing, even though the drawings were copies of what she had described. One day, a student decided to draw something different. Baughcum calls it the "going rogue moment." It transformed her classroom; overnight every student wanted to show that they imagined something unique.

"Since that moment when he went rogue, all the other students embraced the idea that they had these ideas in their head and we can draw them," Baughcum said.

Her students didn't have a lot of experience visualizing, but once she started asking them to do so, and they got comfortable with the idea, Baughcum has seen the practice deepen their comprehension. But, she cautions, it doesn't always look how she expects. She's even written a guide to sketchnoting in the classroom called My Pencil Made Me Do It.

"Their drawing could be so off base, but if I can go over and ask them about it, and they can connect it, then that's the right image for them," Baughcum said. She's adamant that the drawings themselves are not the point. It's the thinking behind the drawing that interests her. To keep her students focused on the process and not the product she's careful to use phrases like "visual thinking" and "doodling to learn."

Baughcum doesn't care what the drawings look like, as long as her students can talk about the ideas they represent. She never gives feedback on the drawings themselves, only on the thinking. She often spots misconceptions in the drawings her students have made -- valuable information for her -- but also opportunities to discuss editing the drawing to fill in those comprehension holes.

"The conversations we have in my classroom have become richer," Baughcum said, and there's less lag time retrieving thoughts. She points out to students how much cognitive processing is happening as they sketchnote. They're listening to information, making sense of it, connecting it to other information they know and to a visual image, and then drawing it. It's an active process, which is why Baughcum has found it to be so powerful for her students.

"That offers this really wonderful desire to want to do it more because they're feeling good about what they're thinking," Baughcum said.

Sketchnoting has changed what she expects from her students. But she acknowledges that using this practice in class is a marathon, not a race. It takes time to help students learn how to visualize, to see a picture in their heads. And, she's worked with them to think carefully about the icons, fonts and containers they're sketching. She wants them to have a reason for each choice they make in their sketchnote because those choices are directly connected to the material they are learning.

"When we're sketchnoting in class I tell students is it new, is it interesting, does it make you feel something? If so, it's probably worth taking down."

Baughcum also says it's important for teachers to sketchnote with their students. Drawing can make people feel vulnerable, so when the teacher acknowledges she's new to this as well, and makes mistakes, it creates room for students to try new things, too.

"Before I started sketchnoting with my students, I wasn't really a drawer," Baughcum said. "I have noted that opening up this new permission to draw and learn has opened up opportunities for students to show me parts of themselves they may not have shown before."

And she's seen huge successes. Like the first-year student who struggled tremendously with reading. Getting through a whole paragraph was almost impossible for him. But by visualizing the story as it was read to him, doodling in the margins, and connecting the ideas on the first read-through, he could then read it on his own. Baughcum was also quick to point out that students can sketch on Post-it notes pasted into books if they aren't allowed to write in the texts themselves.

"It surprised me that my students, no matter how impaired their cognitive level might be, or their reading level might be, how well their potential to visualize and connect to doodling is," Baughcum said. She even has students who use assistive technology to write because their motor skills make handwriting very difficult, but they can sketch. And the social worker on her team has picked up on the sketchnoting success to help make social and emotional learning themes more concrete for students as well. Students have created an icon library of their feelings that they use to express their emotions.

Baughcum isn't suggesting that every teacher drop what they've been doing for years to start sketchnoting. But she says if teachers open the door for sketchnoting, even allowing students to sketch as part of another note-taking strategy -- like Cornell notes -- it may be helpful to some students. She thinks of it as a layering strategy. She didn't stop covering her curriculum to only sketchnote. She gradually exposed her students to different elements of sketchnoting, building up their visualizing capacity and organization skills by practicing it alongside existing social studies or reading activities.

She also says teachers have to be patient with themselves and with their students. Often mindsets are the hardest things to overcome. Baughcum has had students who refuse to draw. But she's found ways around that. One student was adamant that she could not draw, but Baughcum still wanted her to visualize because she saw how much it helped her other students in their comprehension. She let the student print out pictures and glue them to her sketchnote to make visible her thinking. And ultimately, the girl decided to give sketchnoting a shot after all.

Baughcum says she's always been a fearless teacher, ready to try anything that might help her students learn. But sketchnoting has stretched her in ways she didn't know she needed to be stretched. It's revealed some of her own mindsets about what she believed students with learning disabilities could and couldn't do. Her students have shown her those beliefs just weren't true.

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Why Teachers Are So Excited About the Power Of Sketchnoting - MindShift

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Many teachers are using sketchnoting or "doodling for learning" in their classrooms as a way to make thinking visible. Many are finding the practice improves memory, engagement and comprehension.

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Want students to remember something? Ask them to draw it.

It's long been known that drawing something helps a person remember it. A new study shows that drawing is superior to activities such as reading or writing because it forces the person to process information in multiple ways: visually, kinesthetically, and semantically. Across a series of experiments, researchers found drawing information to be a powerful way to boost memory, increasing recall by nearly double.

Myra Fernandes, Jeffrey Wammes, and Melissa Meade are experts in the science of memory-how people encode, retain, and recall information. At the University of Waterloo, they conducted experiments to better understand how activities such as writing, looking at pictures, listening to lectures, drawing, and visualizing images affect a student's ability to remember information.

In an early experiment, they asked undergraduate students to study lists of common terms-words like truck and pear -and then either write down or illustrate those words. Shortly afterward, participants recalled 20 percent of words they had written down, but more than twice as many-45 percent-of the terms they had drawn. This experiment helped to establish the benefits of drawing.

In a follow-up experiment, the researchers compared two methods of note-taking-writing words by hand versus drawing concepts-and found drawing to be "an effective and reliable encoding strategy, far superior to writing." The researchers found that when the undergraduates visually represented science concepts like isotope and spore, their recall was nearly twice as good as when they wrote down definitions supplied by the lecturer.

Importantly, the benefits of drawing were not dependent on the students' level of artistic talent, suggesting that this strategy may work for all students, not just ones who are able to draw well.

Across a total of eight experiments, the researchers confirmed drawing to be a "reliable, replicable means of boosting performance"-it provided a significant boost to students' ability to remember what they were learning.

Why is drawing such a powerful memory tool? The researchers explain that it "requires elaboration on the meaning of the term and translating the definition to a new form (a picture)." Unlike listening to a lecture or viewing an image-activities in which students passively absorb information-drawing is active. It forces students to grapple with what they're learning and reconstruct it in a way that makes sense to them.

The researchers also suggest that drawing results in better recall because of how the information is encoded in memory. When a student draws a concept, they "must elaborate on its meaning and semantic features, engage in the actual hand movements needed for drawing (motor action), and visually inspect [the] created picture (pictorial processing)."

At a neural level, the strength of a memory depends largely on how many connections are made to other memories. An isolated piece of information-such as a trivial fact-is soon forgotten in the brain's constant effort to prune away unused knowledge. The opposite, however, is also true: The more synaptic connections a memory has, the more it resists eventually being forgotten.

So when we draw, we encode the memory in a very rich way, layering together the visual memory of the image, the kinesthetic memory of our hand drawing the image, and the semantic memory that is invoked when we engage in meaning-making. In combination, this greatly increases the likelihood that the concept being drawn will later be recalled.

This Is Not About Learning Styles

It would be a mistake to think that drawing is beneficial because it taps into a particular learning style. Research has debunked the idea that students learn best when teachers try to match instruction to a single modality.

Instead, what's happening is that drawing taps into multiple modalities-visual, kinesthetic, and semantic-which is superior to tapping into only one. When students draw something, they process it in three different ways, in effect learning it three times over.

In the Classroom

Student-created learning aids: Instead of buying or printing posters that reinforce learning-maps, anchor charts, or diagrams-have students create them.

Interactive notebooks: Don't let students take notes verbatim-push them to be creative. One side of their notebooks can be used for written notes, the other for drawings, diagrams, and charts.

Data visualization: Asking students to collect, analyze, and present data in visual form can deepen their understanding of a topic. Examples include visualizing concepts in math, analyzing classical literature, and exploring fractals.

Bookmaking: Blending academics and art, students at Symonds Elementary create their own books to visually represent topics in subjects ranging from science to English language arts. Students can also create comics books to tell stories or describe events.

Assessing learning through art: Jill Fletcher, a middle school teacher in Hawaii, uses "one-pagers" to challenge students to show their understanding about a topic through art, making it less about finding the "single correct answer" and more about crafting a response they can stand behind. And students at Normal Park Museum Magnet School create travel journals as a visible record of their learning.

There are several ways that teachers can incorporate drawing to enrich learning.

The takeaway: Encourage students to draw. Doing so is a powerful tool to boost student learning because it improves recall by challenging students to explore an idea in different ways.

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Want students to remember something? Ask them to draw it.

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An assessment called a one-pager has students use art to show what they know-and it can be used across the curriculum.

I'm not a fun teacher. It's embarrassing to admit, but making my class engaging does not come naturally. Many of my middle school colleagues fit right in with our quirky middle school students, but I don't. So I need to work extra hard at being engaging.

In my second year of teaching, I realized I could make my assessments something my students looked forward to doing by switching to a strategy called a one-pager.

Assessing Learning With One-Pagers

With a one-pager, a student mixes art with parameters related to course content on a single sheet of white 8.5 x 11 printer paper to show what they understand about the content. A teacher can make the assessment formative or summative by modifying the parameters and increasing or decreasing the rigor.

The most powerful part of using art this way is that it makes the one-pager less about finding the single correct answer and more about crafting a response to the criteria the teacher presents. Students get to be creative, and since there are many different ways for them to answer the prompt, their thinking is challenged in new ways. They're not trying to find the solution-they're trying to find a solution they can stand behind.

While one-pagers have criteria, there aren't rules. This point is critical because it means students have freedom to lay out their one-pager in any way they want. I've seen incredibly creative one-pagers, and grading them is fun. I know that doesn't sound possible, but one-pagers are often so unique that seeing how students document their learning can be really enjoyable.

The most crucial element is that students have freedom in the evidence they select, the answers they create, and the placement of different elements on the page.

I'm an English teacher, but after I shared a short presentation on one-pagers with the math department, two math teachers sought me out to let me know they had tried this strategy with their students and found it really effective. I realized that this assessment tool might be useful in other areas as well.

Using a One-Pager With a Nonfiction Text

If you want to assess students' understanding of a nonfiction text, you can start by having them write the title and author somewhere on page. Next, they should add a quote from the text-their favorite line, or the one they see as most important-and explain in writing why they chose it.

Next they should explain the main idea or ideas of the piece in their own words, and write down two questions they have about the text-I often give sentence starters for this.

Then they get to the art, drawing a picture that relates to the main idea or ideas. Students have a lot of fun with this. It's important to emphasize that you're not assessing the one-pager based on appearances-what matters is that they show their understanding.

I also ask them to list a couple of key terms-they decide what those are-and supply their own definitions, and to list a couple of interesting or fun facts they learned and a couple of personal connections to the text.

Finally, they can add images or icons to their key terms, and write captions for their images, to make the one-pager understandable to someone who hasn't read the text.

Using a One-Pager in Math Class

To use a one-pager in a math class, students write what type of problem they're explaining. They also create two real-life examples-little stories like, "We had 10 apples after the party, and we know Sarah took 5, but we aren't sure how many we had to begin with. How many was it?" Then they draw a real-life example. Coming up with the real-life examples often takes as much creativity as the artwork.

Next they show different ways to solve the problem, if there are multiple ways. They also write their own sample problem modeled on the teacher's example. They should list and explain key terms, and think of a question they have about the process or application-once again, giving them sentence starters can help here.

Finally, they should describe the step that's trickiest to remember, and come up with a strategy for remembering it.

Some Additional Tips

If students don't like to draw, they can find an image on the internet, print it, and either cut it out or trace it. Few of my students have done this, but it's an option. I tell students that icons and stick figures are fine-the idea is not to create a masterpiece but to display deep understanding.

I make coloring the images optional because sometimes students get too caught up in making the art perfect.

When making an exemplar, I always show students one that's based on a different text from the one they're working with-and it's purposefully an exemplar where the art is not outstanding. I tell students I made it and explain what I was thinking for each of the elements. I tell them I could have done better with my drawings, but was more focused on the ideas. And I let them know it's fine for them to focus on both the ideas and the art.

There are many ways to use one-pagers aside from assessment-as posters, for example. But starting off using them to assess learning will help your students see themselves as creators of their own knowledge.

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An assessment called a one-pager has students use art to show what they know-and it can be used across the curriculum.

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Increasing Student Engagement with Sketchnoting

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Increasing Student Engagement with Sketchnoting

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The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM

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Amy Traggianese | April 2019

Ahh, sketchnotes. You might hear some people call them visual journals, others call them doodles. Their images are everywhere! Making them look pretty is NOT the point! So... sorry friend, t elling me you can't sketch note because you "can't draw a straight line" is going to work. Artistic talent has to do with it!

The Benefits of Sketch Noting

The sketchnoting process provides a space to construct meaning and provide better recall. I create them when I am taking notes. Sketchnoting helps people of all ages understand and process knowledge. They certainly help me recall details from a meeting, talk, or even a podcast!

There is plenty of research to back this up. Let's start with Marzano and Classroom Instruction that Works . Non-linguistic representations are one of the research-based strategies proven to increase student achievement. Non-linguistic strategies can be sketches, graphic organizers or mind maps to make learning and comprehension visible. Perhaps you have provided these types of outlines for your students:

Students of all ages can use frames like this. Older students can create their own, or you can provide a few examples for them. Check out the resources of these sketchnote stars: Tanny McGregor , Sunni Brown and Silvia Tolisano. Their websites and books have many easy, usable sketch note ideas for you and your students. Start documenting that learning, today!

Better for our Brains?

Is it really better for our brains to take notes by hand instead of typing on a computer? Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer, two scientists at Princeton University, wanted to find out. Mueller had switched from taking notes on her computer to pencil and paper and noticed that she remembered much more from lectures. While typing notes on his computer, Oppenheimer discovered when he looked up, he had no idea what the speaker was currently talking about. These two personal experiences prompted their 2014 study.

Mueller and Oppenheimer discovered that college students had better long-term comprehension when they take notes by hand. Handwriting notes forces us to process the information; typing on a computer merely transcribes it. Writing out notes has always been natural for me. I never have felt a connection with notes that I write on a computer or tablet.

What about you? Do you take notes by hand, or on a device?

Opportunities

As teachers, we need to give our students opportunities to learn, understand and then use information. Imagery is important in our world. Allan Paivio's dual coding theory : when we present information in visual and linguistic form, recall and learning improves. Creating sketchnotes will help students construct meaning and remember their learning.

Have you started providing student choice in your classroom? Sketchnoting is a great way to provide some choices. Many teachers have a few different organizers for students to choose from. provide different types of organizers they can use. You can display a few simple ideas for students to refer to, like these:

Are you just starting to introduce your students to sketch noting? Try group doodling!

Sketchnoting with your Students

All students benefit from cooperative learning and being active during a lesson. Group doodling is a great way to learn sketchnoting with your students! When I read about this strategy in The Doodle Revolution I knew it would be perfect for when a class would benefit from a visual of the lesson. Students create a large, visual reminder together.

I'm picturing them using a yard or two of wide paper from a roll or very large poster board. Using broad-tipped markers is a must: you can't erase them and the drawings and words can be seen from far away. After it is created, it can be posted in the classroom! Yes, most of us will hate to admit it, but a group doodle will be much more meaningful to them than a visual that the teacher creates. Other bonuses are that everyone is heard, and students can capture the content of the lesson quickly.

Sketchnotes, doodles, visual journaling are different names for similar processes.

Let's go back to "...not being able to draw a straight line." That old, ridiculous line is not true for anybody. You, and everyone else in the world can draw lines and shapes. If you need an image to look at to draw an object (like I do), use The Noun Project . There are over one million simple icons for EVERYTHING. The creators call it "global visual language," and it is!

Get Started!

Awesome, right? The icons are SO simple, they are easy to look at and draw your own. See? Artistic talent isn't needed, just get started!

How will you start using sketchnotes with your students? Let's chat about it below!
Additional Resources:
Classroom Instruction That Works ASCD.org

Dual Coding Theory Instructional Design Take Notes by Hand for Better Comprehension Association for Psychological Science
Ink and Ideas by Tanny McGregor The Doodle Revolution by Sunni Brown

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Increasing Student Engagement with Sketchnoting

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Amy Traggianese | April 2019 Ahh, sketchnotes. You might hear some people call them visual journals, others call them doodles. Their images are everywhere! Making them look pretty is NOT the point! So... sorry friend, t elling me you can't sketch note because you "can't draw a straight line" is going to work.

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The human hand was made to draw. Researchers and practical experts (not artists) agree that drawing is a fundamental component of the learning and communication experience.

Most of us stopped improving our drawing skills after compulsory art classes wrapped up in high school. We left the concept of 'drawing as art' to the professionals and hobbyists with talent.

However, each of us has continued drawing in small ways.

We doodle in the margins.

We draw out instructions.

We sketch business process diagrams on a whiteboard.

These drawings are part of our human experience, and each one is a method of teaching ourselves or teaching others.

None of us, however, consider those examples 'art forms'- because they are not. But it is drawing. The line between art and 'drawing as communication' invokes fear, apologies, and requests for help from 'the pros'.

I say that it's OK to draw! - And many other people- researchers and practitioners say this too!

Let's start with the research:

The Powerful Influence of Drawing on Memory

In a 2016 University of Waterloo study and in this 2018 follow up The Surprisingly Powerful Influence of Drawing on Memory, researchers led by Dr. Myra Fernandes propose that drawing improves memory by "promoting the integration of elaborative, pictorial, and motor codes- facilitating the creation of context-rich representation."

In comparison to other memorization tools (mnemonic techniques) like visualization, writing, and image tracing, the study definitively shows that drawing was the best option for memorizing words, textbook definitions, and individual pictures.

It comes down to how many loops of thinking, how many places in the brain, and how many input/output paths it takes to definitively ENCODE information into our brains.

This profound finding illuminates the multi-encoding model. We can absorb information by simply listening, seeing images, or reading words, but drawing brings out a multi-modal reinforcement that forces our brain to use that input in a new way. Drawing involves the imagination and forces our brains to create a mental image of a subject or idea in our brains.

Measureable Gains in Performance.

Outlined below exhibits the extra value that drawing provides the learner - note the drawing box with its 'mind-centric' efforts of image building - known by the researchers as the elaborative and pictorial encodings.

Picturing to Understand - A practical case study

In 2005, Felice Frankel was the Principal Investigator at MIT in connecting the act of drawing with the understanding of complex scientific concepts. Her background in the physical sciences as a Senior Research Fellow differs from those of psychology and cognitive researchers- but she enlisted their help when she created the Picturing to Learn project- an initiative that forced students to draw out their understanding of scientific concepts.

Picturing to Learn earned two National Science Foundation grants and involved workshops, the occasional pairing with designers, and then the use of drawing in day-to-day curriculum.

The results of the program forced participants to have full clarity of the details of various topics. Drawing forces complete understanding it seems- and when drawing fails- it is apparent that the drawing creator is missing something. Being able to imagine a concept in the mind's eye is a key component of understanding. A student quote taken from the picturingtolearn.org website:

When I became responsible for teaching others ... through drawing ... I really had to understand the science and learned a great deal from the process." - Mariana Shnayderman, MIT student, 2003

Ms. Frankel continues to value imagery in scientific circles and has authored gorgeous photo books and instructive guides to scientific diagrams.

Drawing should be recategorized as a symbolic tool

Professor D.B. Dowd of the Washington University in St Louis continues the strain of understanding from Ms. Frankel in his book Stick Figures. "If practiced in the service of inquiry and understanding, drawing does enforce modesty...You quickly discover how little you know." He also states that "Drawing makes us slow down, be patient, pay attention..."

As I am, the good Professor Dowd is a critic of putting all drawings in a box labeled as "art", and seeing them graded according to the creator's proficiency and skill. Centuries of institutionalized art review have confined drawing into an "aesthetic cage". But, Dowd has said - "If you take a step back, and define drawing as symbolic mark-making, it's obvious that all human beings draw. Diagrams, maps, doodles, smiley faces: These are all drawings!"

Study: Doodling itself blocks daydreaming, and is an effective learning aid

In a study published in 2009, What Does Doodling Do? - in Applied Cognitive Psychology by Jackie Andrade, we learn that the act of free-form doodling itself increases the learning capacity of the doodler/listener. In this experiment, a dull phone call was prepared for a set of 40 participants. Half of the participants were asked to doodle (fill in predefined shapes) during the 150-second phone call. A surprise test was given regarding the content of the phone call. The results? Doodlers recalled 29% more information on the test regarding that call than the non-doodlers.

During boring tasks, cognitive researchers believe that the human brain may take up a secondary thought process -and start daydreaming, this is called a selective blockade. Doodling, however, can act as a thought-blockade blocker, allowing more attention to be placed on the more boring subject matter. It seems doodling acts as a doorstop to keep the information flowing.

My research shows that beneficial effects of secondary tasks, such as doodling, on concentration may offset the effects of selective blockade." - Andrade.

Sketchnotes - Practical drawing and learning

Our hands are made to use tools - and to draw. Not only do our hands comprise most of the nerve endings of our bodies, but they also comprise the highest numbers of muscles as well. Author and sketchnoter Mike Rohde echoes the concept of drawing blocking out distractions:

When your mind and body are working in tandem, there is little room left for distractions." -Mike Rohde

Mike Rohde's The Sketchnote Handbook first published in 2013. The book is a how-to and visual guide to visual note taking -and a personal favorite. Through sketchnoting, Mr. Rohde has popularized his most beloved mantra "Ideas, Not Art".

A rock star in the sketchnote world, you can find him echoing the first study mentioned above in the second chapter of his book " Why Sketchnote? Because sketchnoting engages your brain in more ways than plain notes can, AND they help you remember more detail."

Mike is absolutely right in the meaningful way that drawing engages our brains. He applies this learning to the often personal and private world of individual note-taking. Sketchnoting is growing in popularity among teachers- and many are adopting the practice, and sharing with young students.

The salesperson discovers drawing

If proof of drawing as an effective learning and communication tool can be found in the form of increased revenue, we turn to the conference room and whiteboard.

Some sales professionals today decide to phone in the sales calls and rely all to heavily on a slide deck or presentation. Slide reading is a 21st-century business faux pas, and some sales and marketing managers are taking notice and responding.

A practical and revenue-friendly application of drawing is the use of the whiteboard as a sales and collaboration tool. The B2B salesman and his conversion away from Powerpoint and towards the whiteboard are finding success in many sales organizations.

Yanking away slide decks and projectors, and then replacing them with whiteboard markers along with a storyboard/plan, sales staff are being directed to fully understand their products, services, and value propositions. The student quoted above " When I became responsible for teaching others ... through drawing ... I really had to understand.. " starts to make even more sense if it comes from a salesman.

Not only is this methodology proving effective, but it is also doing a better job at engaging clients as well. As soon as a client grabs the marker... the sale is well on its way.

My own learning through drawing epiphany

As a graphic recorder for live events and digital sketchnoter for virtual events, my experience is all about listening and drawing. I listen to a speaker in real-time and draw a representation of the thought for attendees of an event - whether it be a conference, workshop, business meeting, or community gathering.

A friend of mine was interested in a particular discussion in which I participated. I was asked "so, what did he talk about?" regarding a particular speaker. Being that the event was a week in the past, my initial reaction was "I have no idea". But 3 seconds later, I said: "Wait, no, I drew it!" I verbally recalled what I had drawn in my mind's eye as I wandered through the process in my head. I was really amazed at the recall enabled by that multi-modal memory.

I talk about drawing and learning in this client video

I drew during a keynote session for AASHE's 2021 Annual Conference (The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) I was given the opportunity to talk about WHAT I drew and how it affects me.

Adopting the concept of learning by drawing

We are all students at one point of the day or another. If you are outside of school, studies show that you should be engaged in active learning for one hour every day JUST to stay up to date in your field. Adopt the sketchnoting mantra and draw your way to better understanding.

Drawing for a Living

If you would like to hire me to draw for your organization, or to talk about drawing, please reach out to me directly! My daily life includes Live Illustration for In-Person Events, Virtual Events, and for Strategic Planning Meetings- I love talking about my story, and how creativity is NOT out of reach for any of us!

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Drawing Substantially Activates the Brain to Learn and Understand - Big Paper Strategy

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The human hand was made to draw. Researchers and practical experts (not artists) agree that drawing is a fundamental component of the learning and communication experience. Most of us stopped improving our drawing skills after compulsory art classes wrapped up in high school.

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The What and Why

Back in 2006, a man named Michael Rohde had the idea to harness the power of doodling and use it to create more memorable notes. Rohde found this rewarding for several reasons. First, it helped him concentrate on the topic at hand; second, the notes were visually appealing; and third, he found that notes with illustrations stayed in his memory much better (Rohde, 2013). From this initial experimentation came the practice he named "sketchnoting." This practice has been in the business world for a long time. Businesses hire graphic recorders/visual facilitators to sketchnote meetings and conferences for the participants. Just for fun, do a Google search for "graphic recording" or "visual facilitator" and see how big the practice is. There are international associations dedicated to the profession and conferences held all around the world so they can continue learning and expanding their network. It's time for educators to follow the business world's lead and latch-on to this practice.

If you decide to take the plunge, there is plenty of research to support your decision. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 2012) talks about the importance of visuals and learning in Media Literacy in the K‐12 Classroom (www.iste.org). Chapter 3, "Visual Literacy," is dedicated to helping students understand how to read and understand visual information. In sketchnoting, students are the interpreters and creators of visual information through text and drawn images. Janet Zadina, a neuroscientist and an educator, writes "the learner must make a connection from his or her existing neural network (background knowledge) to the new material" (p.18). Sketchnoting is a way to make that connection. It is one way in which educators are able to guide students to use metacognition in the learning process. Finally, Allan Paivio's (1971) Dual Coding Theory states that both verbal and visual processing is essential to learning. When we activate both channels at once, so that they're working together, we're better able to understand and remember ideas.

Sketchnoting, or visual note taking, is a creative and individual process. There isn't a right way to create a sketchnote. Different ability levels are expected, and what makes sense to one person might not make sense to another. Text can be added as little or as much as is comfortable for the students, giving those with limited vocabulary the opportunity to participate in the activity as well. Different backgrounds provide a variety of sketchnotes and is celebrated in the classroom. Visuals are universal, which making sketchnoting perfect for linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms.

The How

As mentioned above, there isn't a right way to sketchnote. Basically, you just need to be brave enough to start. Unfortunately, the first thing many people say when asked to draw something is, "I can't draw." This is why Sunni Brown, author of The Doodle Revolution, doesn't ask people to draw. Instead, she asks people to doodle, which is much less intimidating. As with anything, practice makes progress. Be prepared to share your work with students so they can see how you change and grow while you all learn together. The most important thing is for students to use images to make connections to what they are learning. You can have students sketchnote during lectures, videos, movies, podcasts, and while reading books. You can have them sketchnote their Reading Autobiography, a science experiment, how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the timeline of the American Revolution, or how multiplication works. Sketchnoting is perfect for the classroom because it can be used with all levels and all subjects.

Here are some things to get you started:

You can use paper and markers/crayons or a tablet with a stylus.

Practice doodling. Start with basic shapes. How many things can you make out of a square, or a circle, or a triangle?

Don't worry about perfection. This isn't art. Sketchnoting is simply using visuals to enhance learning.

Build a visual vocabulary. Keep a notebook with pages of simple icons you'll use regularly.

Develop your own style. Do you like to use a lot of color? Do you like to draw more realistic or cartoonish? Remember, your sketchnotes will look different than everyone else's.

Start by taking traditional notes before you create your sketchnote. This will take the pressure off when trying to come up with an image that best represents the information. It will also allow you to plan the layout. Once you build your confidence you'll be ready to sketchnote live.

Remember, we aren't teaching how to draw. We're teaching students to use images to enhance their learning. The quality of the doodle has nothing to do with it. It just has to make sense to the doodler.

Start with something you know a lot about, like a recipe for their favorite food, Sketchnote Selfie, or a list of goals.

Print Resources:

Brown, S. (2014). The doodle revolution: Unlock the power to think differently. New York, NY: Penguin.

Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Perry, K. & Weimar, H. (2017). Sketchnoting in school: Discover the benefits (and fun) of visual note taking. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Rohde, M. (2013). The sketchnote handbook: The illustrated guide to visual note taking. New York, NY: Peachpit Press.

Zadina, J. (2014). Multiple pathways to the student brain: Energizing and enhancing instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Web Resources:

Sunni Brown's Ted Talk "Doodlers, unite!: https://www.ted.com/talks/sunni_brown

Verbal to Visual Youtube Channel (Doug Neill): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuFm4ARxn306lX_OWMnz0-w

Sketchnote Army: https://sketchnotearmy.com/

To keep up with my sketchnotes and doodles visit: http://karinlibrariansketchnotes.tumblr.com/ or http://karinsletteringanddoodles.tumblr.com/

Categories: Blog Topics, Student Engagement/ Teaching Models

Tags: doodle, doodling, sketchnotes, sketchnoting, visual literacy, visual note taking, visual thinking

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Sketchnoting and Why It's Important - Knowledge Quest

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The What and Why Back in 2006, a man named Michael Rohde had the idea to harness the power of doodling and use it to create more memorable notes. Rohde found this rewarding for several reasons. First, it helped him... Read More ›

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PD in Your PJs: Sketchnoting with Sylvia Duckworth

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How To Improve Memory Power & Concentration with Sketchnotes

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How To Improve Memory Power & Concentration with Sketchnotes

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Has it ever happened to you that you watched an inspiring interview on YouTube for 30, 40, 50 minutes but you forgot all about it in a couple of hours or days? What about a Ted Talk or a lecture? Maybe a podcast episode?

Well, this is why visual notes or sketchnotes can be so powerful. With sketchnoting, you not only activate another part of your brain that would otherwise be dormant, but it also makes your notes much more inviting to revisit in the future.

I have mild dyslexia, which I have struggled with ever since I was a kid. I am grateful for my learning disability because it always made me work extra hard to keep up. However, this also means that learning by heart and memorizing lists and graphs for exams as a student was definitely not easy for me.

Fortunately, I discovered sketchnoting while I was doing my Master's degree and it helped me a lot to prepare for exams and to retain more information than ever before, even after the exam was already behind me. In this blog post, I will explain some of the theories and arguments behind why sketchnoting is an effective tool for learning. Then, at the end of this post, I will give you a small exercise that you can try for yourself.

Side note: If you don't care about the theory, skip to the exercise by clicking on the button below.

Dual Coding And Doodle Study

The 'dual coding theory' was first coined by Allan Paivio in the 1970s. This theory suggests, that humans process pictures and text differently (Rohde, 2012). But Allan Paivio's research shows that people's memory improves when they received information through both verbal and visual modes (Roßa, 2017).

"When both modes are active, your brain creates an associative library of words and images with mental cross-references between them." (p.28, Rohde, 2012). That means that sketchnoting activates both verbal and visual modes to capture information.

In his book, Mike Rohde (2012) also argues that "The visual map you create can help you recall the details of a presentation. I often recall thoughts, feelings, and other details when viewing my sketchnotes." (p.30, Rohde, 2012). This is something that I experienced first hand as well. I can recall graphs and checklists from my Master's studies without any difficulties. I believe it's also because it takes much more mental energy to come up with a doodle that matches the content, which means that your focus and concentration are also heightened.

There was also an interesting study, conducted by Jackie Andrade, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Plymouth, UK. A group of 4O volunteers was asked to listen to a monotonous two-and-a-half minute phone message. 20 of the participants shaded boxes while listening, the other 20 simply listened. After listening to the message, volunteers were given a surprise memory quiz. The group of 20 doodlers recalled on average 29% more than the non-doodlers." (Rohde, 2012; Sample, 2009).

Here is an example of how I memorize lists now. At the end of this post, you will find another example to practice your visual notetaking skills.

Visual Faster Than Verbal?

Based on my own experience and many other studies such as the phone message example, we can see the benefits of visuals when it comes to memory improvement. Not only that, but Mike Rohde (2012) also argues that: "Drawing an idea can often take just a fraction of the time needed to describe the same idea in verbal detail." (p.35, Rohde, 2012).

If this is the first time that you heard of sketchnotes or you're still a beginner, you might be skeptical about this one. I understand. In the beginning, it definitely took me longer to doodle as well. But the more you practice, the faster you will become. Especially with my mild dyslexia, I love that with my sketches, I never have to worry about spelling mistakes.

"Sketchnoting allows you to relax, engage in the speaker's points, and have fun turning what's in your head into visual notes you'll want to share and refer to again and again." (p.38, Rohde, 2012).

Do This to Improve Your Memory

Imagine that you have to memorize a graph for school, university, or maybe for a presentation at work. Let's say this graph is The Process Redesign Orbit from the book Fundamentals of Business Process Management (Dumas et al., 2018).

Source: Fundamentals of Business Process Management (Dumas et al., 2018)

Now, close your eyes and try to recall the four dimensions placed at the top of the arrowheads. Depending on your memory skills, you might be able to recall all of the dimensions. If you're more like me, you can only think of 1 or 2 out of the four words you read on the graph. But even if you managed to recall all four, do you think you will still remember tomorrow? How about a week from now? How about one week after you had that exam or presentation?

I had to memorize this graph over a year ago for my exam. I was hospitalized or in bed at home during most of my lectures, so I didn't have a lot of time to prepare, and this was just one of the essential graphs for the exam. If you would wake me up in the middle of the night today, I would still be able to tell you what's in this graph.

So let's try something! Grab a pen and a piece of paper and copy this graph below onto your paper. Remember, it's not just the words that you have to remember, but also the location of the words in the graph. Don't scroll down further until you've done this.

Source: Fundamentals of Business Process Management (Dumas et al., 2018)

After you've done sketching something next to the words: creative, transformational, analytical, and transactional, close your eyes again and try to recall the words. Try to remember what you doodled, and where you doodled it. What is the connection between the word and the image on the paper? You don't have to be an artist, a doodle will do. Here are some of my doodles if you got stuck.

You might be wondering why my doodle for 'transformational' looks the way it does. Well, for me the word 'transformational' reminds me of the movie Transformers. It's been probably a decade since I've seen it, but I remembered cars transforming into talking robots so that's what I sketched. The picture below is the original digital sketchnote I took on my iPad when I was studying for the exam.

Try this the next time you have to learn something: add doodles that match the work or concept that you're trying to learn and let me know if it helped. Also, if you tried the exercise post it on Instagram and tag 'colombodoodles' in your post so that I can see what you came up with.
Please stay safe and wherever you are, have a lovely day!
Video Animation

REFERENCES:

Dumas, M., Rosa, M. L., Mendling, J., & Reijers, H. A. (2018). Fundamentals of Business Process Management (2 edition). Springer.

Rohde, M. (2012). Sketchnote Handbook Illustrated Guide (1 edition). Peachpit Press. https://geni.us/YO8YNiF

Roßa, N. (2017). Sketchnotes: Visuelle Notizen für Alles: von Business-Meetings über Partyplanung bis hin zu Rezepten. Frech Verlag GmbH. https://geni.us/AE5B

Sample, I. (2009, February 27). Doodling should be encouraged in meetings, claims psychologist. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/feb/27/doodling-doodles-boring-meetings-concentration

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How to Improve Memory Power and Concentration with Visual Notes (Sketchnotes) - Sophia Colombo

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Has it ever happened to you that you watched an inspiring interview on YouTube for 30, 40, 50 minutes but you forgot all about it in a couple of hours or days? What about a Ted Talk or a lecture? Maybe a podcast episode? Well, this is why visual notes or sketchnotes can be so...

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Mike Rohde is the bestselling author of The Sketchnote Handbook and The Sketchnote Workbook. He presents sketchnoting workshops around the world that encourage people to use visual thinking skills to generate, capture, and share ideas more effectively.

In this awesome interview, we talk about sketchnoting, including what it is and how to do it. And we talk about Mike's traditional publishing journey and how he was able to make his book a success.

Visual Thinking Benefits

Visual thinking isn't just a skill that's important for right-brain, ultra-creative designers. In fact, visualization and visual thinking evolved to help our ancestors better survive, and it's a key aspect of human intelligence.

Even if you tend to be a very poor visual thinker, practicing with sketchnoting and drawing can make a big difference in your creative output and ability to solve problems.

There are huge benefits to using visual and spatial thinking. It can boost your creativity, activate differents parts of your brain, and help you come up with new and unique ideas that you never would have come up with otherwise.

So don't worry if you can't draw, find it almost impossible to visualize, or scored poorly on visual or IQ tests. You don't need to be a genius to benefit from the fun and creative insights that can come from a little visual thinking.

And one of the best and easiest ways to get started is with sketchnoting.

What Is Sketchnoting?

Sketchnoting is a visual way of taking notes. Normally, notes are text-based. But there's a problem with that: text-based notetaking limits the type and amount of information that you can record and remember.

Text-based notetaking relies on just that one mode of taking notes. The human brain processes text-based notes one way and image-based notes in a different way.

Sketchnoting allows us to capture more data and use more areas of our brain, increasing the likelihood that we're going to remember that data.

Using the sketchnoting technique allows you to process information visually. Human beings are very visual people, and we're becoming more so in the Internet Age, especially now that smartphones are everywhere.

Just think about how you react to image posts on Facebook or Instagram, in contrast to long text posts. Pictures get your attention!

The Four Components of Sketchnoting

There are four main things elements involved in sketchnoting:

1. Drawing

This is exactly what it sounds like. You're drawing images related to what you're taking notes on.

2. Lettering

Here, you draw the letter rather than print it-you're using your visual brain and your drawing and handwriting skills to process information differently so you remember it better.

3. Writing

Your drawn and hand-lettered notes aren't the only way to remember things. In sketchnoting, you also add text-based notes to accompany your drawings, giving you multiple ways to process, record, and remember information so that you use all parts of your brain.

4. Selection

You don't have to write down every word you hear. Record the really important stuff, whatever jumps out at you about the topic you're taking notes on. You'll remember more if you don't try to remember everything, but pick out the important bits.

Handwritten Notes vs. Notes Typed on a Computer

Scientific studies have shown that people who write handwritten notes recall the subject matter much better than people who use a laptop to type what they're hearing word for word.

When the scientists looked into the results more deeply, they discovered that actually using pen and paper to record notes forced the people who were doing it to analyze what they were hearing and condense it. Writing by hand means you have to think about the subject matter actively in order to take notes.

In contrast, the people who were typing acted like stenographers and were unable to recall the material as well because they didn't actively engage with the material when they took notes-the words flowed onto the page without actually getting processed, so they lost out on a valuable part of the learning and memory process.

How to Use Sketchnoting

You can use sketchnoting to:

Take notes in a meeting

Capture processes

Capture experiences

Check out Mike's sketchnote about a latte art competition at a café!

Sketchnoting Is for Everyone

You might feel like sketchnoting is something you can't do because you aren't good at drawing. But that's not true! Sketchnoting is for everyone in the same way that writing and typing are for everyone.

Sketchnoting is about capturing ideas visually. You're taking notes for yourself. If you draw something that captures the idea that you want to remember, that's all you need to do.

It doesn't have to be a museum-worthy art piece. It just has to capture the idea you want to recall and use later, in whatever way works for you. And by adding a little extra visual element to your notes, you can boost your creativity and improve your memory.

What's not to like?

The Five Basic Elements of Drawing

In his efforts to make sketchnoting accessible to everyone, Mike hit on the five basic elements of drawing:

In The Sketchnote Handbook, Mike teaches you how to combine these elements to be able to sketchnote the idea that you want to communicate, no matter whether you think you're good at drawing or not.

Sketchnoting incorporates sketches and text to communicate ideas. So if you're not really good at sketching when you start, you can lean more heavily on text.

The ratio of sketches to text will also change depending upon what you're taking notes on. If you're taking notes for a meeting and need to record details, you're probably going to rely more heavily on text.

But if you're sketchnoting a TED Talk, you might be more inspired to sketch most of your notes.

Mike Rohde's Traditional Publishing Journey

Mike got his book deal because a published author friend of his encouraged him to write a book about sketchnoting, then recommended him to the acquisitions editor at Peachpit press.

From there, he created a book proposal, drafted the book, and came up with graphic art for the project.

Mike attributes his success to developing friendships with people without a motive. His approach to networking is to be friends with as many people as possible, and to be nice to everyone.

Mike's Marketing Plan

Mike did two things to market his first book on sketchnoting:

1. He blogged regularly about the process of creating the book.

2. He used social media to identify influencers in his market space to send review copies to.

Mike believes that regular blog updates coupled with sending review copies to influencers allowed his book to be a success faster than it otherwise would have been.

Links and Resources Mentioned in This Interview

http://rohdesign.com/ - Mike's website

https://twitter.com/rohdesign - Connect with Mike on Twitter

https://www.instagram.com/rohdesign/ - Connect with Mike on Instagram

http://sketchnotearmy.com/ - See other people's sketchnotes on this blog and get inspired

The Sketchnote Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note Taking - Mike's book on sketchnoting

The Sketchnote Workbook - Mike's second book on sketchnoting, which teaches sketchnoting techniques

Have you tried sketchnoting? Share in the comments!

For more creative note-taking ideas, read on:

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How Visual Thinking Helps You Remember More and Be More Creative

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS Mike Rohde is the bestselling author of The Sketchnote Handbook and The Sketchnote Workbook. He presents sketchnoting workshops around the world that encourage people to use visual thinking skills to generate, capture, and share ideas more effectively.

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Help Students Understand & Recall Concepts with Sketchnoting

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Help Students Understand & Recall Concepts with Sketchnoting

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A former colleague of mine was a doodler, drawing figures and squiggles through our department meetings. She assured her colleagues that even though it looked like she wasn't paying attention, nothing could be further from the truth. Doodling while listening helped her focus she assured us.

I had never given serious thought to the educational benefits of doodling until I attended "Make Thinking Visible with Sketchnoting" a SPEAQ conference by Marie-Andrée Ouimet in December 2018. Sketchnoting is a technique for note taking that uses a mix of words and visual elements, including drawings; shapes like lines and arrows; as well as hand-drawn lettering. Sketchnoting is content driven doodling!

The theory behind sketchnoting

A theory from neuroscience called dual coding explains why we should use sketchnoting over plain old text notes. Dual coding is the idea that the brain processes incoming information through 2 channels, one verbal and one visual. When learners activate both channels at once using sketchnoting, Marie-Andrée explains that the brain codes verbal and visual concepts together and builds a visual map of what students are hearing, seeing and thinking.

Marie-Andrée Ouellet, Coach, consultant and speaker
Sketchnoting activates verbal and visual modes to capture concepts. Your whole brain is absorbed in hearing, synthesizing, and seizing ideas.
EscouadeÉDU

You don't need to be Michelangelo

Sketchnoting is about ideas not art. You should write the key points and avoid summarizing. There are 6 "fundamentals" you can use to easily put your thoughts to paper:

Lettering: using various typographic treatments to give emphasis to major ideas

Bullets: to create lists and keep blocks of text tidy

Frames: shapes (bubbles, boxes, thought clouds) used to enclose words to bring emphasis and structure

Connectors: arrows and lines to connect ideas. Make a chain of thought.

Shading: adds dimension and contrast to your notes

People: stick figures will do to start

Also with time and some practice you can come up with a collection of icons (emoticons) that you can use over and over again as visual representation of an idea or word.

Why sketchnoting?

promotes the active processing of new concepts

offers differentiated instruction

provides a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategy

helps students who struggle taking traditional notes or need a fresh approach to learning

stimulates creativity and spontaneity

fosters a useful balance of main ideas and details

provides an opportunity for knowledge organization skills to develop

aids understanding and recall

Sketchnoting for more than just note taking

create a cheat sheet for an exam

use as a collaborative tool

review and prepare for an exam

demonstrate comprehension of a video, article, concept, theory, etc.

illustrate a plot in a narrative

summarize a paragraph or a novel

gather ideas during a brainstorming activity

rewrite/recast existing notes from class

organise research notes before writing a paper or creating a video

Find a medium you like

Some sketchers love to doodle on paper with pen and pencil (and some like my former colleague, are very picky about the paper, pen and pencil they use!)

Maybe you or your students would rather use large sheets pinned to a wall or a white board. However there are some very interesting digital tools that could bring out the sketchnoter in you. Some apps can help you create notes that look way better than what you could do alone on paper:

One of the best apps for taking notes on an iPad is Paper by WeTransfer (previously Paper by 53). The developer presents its app as an excellent medium for "capturing and organising the thoughts and images that you need every day". It is free with in app purchases and lets you sketch out ideas with a rich selection of brushes and colors using simple gestures.

Create talking sketchnotes using ChatterPix. Simply take a photo of the notes you have sketched, draw a line to make a mouth and record your voice. Designed for children, this app's features make it ideal for college students who benefit from both visual and verbal notes. It is free and also available for Android.

Create collaborative learning experiences where students and teachers can share notes on thoughts and ideas in real-time using Explain Everything. The free plan allows users to:

work on up to 3 projects

use on any device

collaborate with Voice Chat

share web video links

Profweb strives to offer free tools and services to its readers. However, this one of a kind notebook for a cost is worth mentioning. At Marie-Andrée's workshop I discovered the Rocketbook Everlast, a reusable smart notebook. It combines the utility of the cloud with the feel of pen and paper. You can take your notes and when you're done wipe them off and start over. Before you erase your work, take a photo with the Everlast app on your phone and your notes will automatically be sent as a PDF or JPG to your preassigned destination, such as a Google Drive folder, Dropbox or email account, etc.

There are so many mediums. Whatever you're most comfortable with is where you should start.

Stop giving doodling a bad rap!

Apparently the advantages for our brain of drawing sketches, pictures or designs are endless. Doodling, sketching or drawing can be used as mnemonics, to connect images with information and significantly increase students' ability to remember what they've learned.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is becoming widely recognised as a way of supporting students' individual learning styles. Sketchnoting can be used to cater to individual learner differences.

For more ideas and resources, consult Marie-Andrée's sketchnoting website [in French]: La folie du sketchnote.

Let me hear about your experience with sketchnoting or doodling.

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Help Students Understand and Recall Concepts with Sketchnoting | Profweb

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A former colleague of mine was a doodler, drawing figures and squiggles through our department meetings. She assured her colleagues that even though it looked like she wasn't paying attention, nothing could be further from the truth. Doodling while listening helped her focus she assured us.

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Sketchnoting can add some fun and variety to the otherwise routine practice of note taking, but let’s delve deeper into the why and not just be enamored with the how.

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The What and Why

Back in 2006, a man named Michael Rohde had the idea to harness the power of doodling and use it to create more memorable notes. Rohde found this rewarding for several reasons. First, it helped him concentrate on the topic at hand; second, the notes were visually appealing; and third, he found that notes with illustrations stayed in his memory much better (Rohde, 2013). From this initial experimentation came the practice he named "sketchnoting." This practice has been in the business world for a long time. Businesses hire graphic recorders/visual facilitators to sketchnote meetings and conferences for the participants. Just for fun, do a Google search for "graphic recording" or "visual facilitator" and see how big the practice is. There are international associations dedicated to the profession and conferences held all around the world so they can continue learning and expanding their network. It's time for educators to follow the business world's lead and latch-on to this practice.

If you decide to take the plunge, there is plenty of research to support your decision. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 2012) talks about the importance of visuals and learning in Media Literacy in the K‐12 Classroom (www.iste.org). Chapter 3, "Visual Literacy," is dedicated to helping students understand how to read and understand visual information. In sketchnoting, students are the interpreters and creators of visual information through text and drawn images. Janet Zadina, a neuroscientist and an educator, writes "the learner must make a connection from his or her existing neural network (background knowledge) to the new material" (p.18). Sketchnoting is a way to make that connection. It is one way in which educators are able to guide students to use metacognition in the learning process. Finally, Allan Paivio's (1971) Dual Coding Theory states that both verbal and visual processing is essential to learning. When we activate both channels at once, so that they're working together, we're better able to understand and remember ideas.

Sketchnoting, or visual note taking, is a creative and individual process. There isn't a right way to create a sketchnote. Different ability levels are expected, and what makes sense to one person might not make sense to another. Text can be added as little or as much as is comfortable for the students, giving those with limited vocabulary the opportunity to participate in the activity as well. Different backgrounds provide a variety of sketchnotes and is celebrated in the classroom. Visuals are universal, which making sketchnoting perfect for linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms.

The How

As mentioned above, there isn't a right way to sketchnote. Basically, you just need to be brave enough to start. Unfortunately, the first thing many people say when asked to draw something is, "I can't draw." This is why Sunni Brown, author of The Doodle Revolution, doesn't ask people to draw. Instead, she asks people to doodle, which is much less intimidating. As with anything, practice makes progress. Be prepared to share your work with students so they can see how you change and grow while you all learn together. The most important thing is for students to use images to make connections to what they are learning. You can have students sketchnote during lectures, videos, movies, podcasts, and while reading books. You can have them sketchnote their Reading Autobiography, a science experiment, how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the timeline of the American Revolution, or how multiplication works. Sketchnoting is perfect for the classroom because it can be used with all levels and all subjects.

Here are some things to get you started:

You can use paper and markers/crayons or a tablet with a stylus.

Practice doodling. Start with basic shapes. How many things can you make out of a square, or a circle, or a triangle?

Don't worry about perfection. This isn't art. Sketchnoting is simply using visuals to enhance learning.

Build a visual vocabulary. Keep a notebook with pages of simple icons you'll use regularly.

Develop your own style. Do you like to use a lot of color? Do you like to draw more realistic or cartoonish? Remember, your sketchnotes will look different than everyone else's.

Start by taking traditional notes before you create your sketchnote. This will take the pressure off when trying to come up with an image that best represents the information. It will also allow you to plan the layout. Once you build your confidence you'll be ready to sketchnote live.

Remember, we aren't teaching how to draw. We're teaching students to use images to enhance their learning. The quality of the doodle has nothing to do with it. It just has to make sense to the doodler.

Start with something you know a lot about, like a recipe for their favorite food, Sketchnote Selfie, or a list of goals.

Print Resources:

Brown, S. (2014). The doodle revolution: Unlock the power to think differently. New York, NY: Penguin.

Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Perry, K. & Weimar, H. (2017). Sketchnoting in school: Discover the benefits (and fun) of visual note taking. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Rohde, M. (2013). The sketchnote handbook: The illustrated guide to visual note taking. New York, NY: Peachpit Press.

Zadina, J. (2014). Multiple pathways to the student brain: Energizing and enhancing instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Web Resources:

Sunni Brown's Ted Talk "Doodlers, unite!: https://www.ted.com/talks/sunni_brown

Verbal to Visual Youtube Channel (Doug Neill): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuFm4ARxn306lX_OWMnz0-w

Sketchnote Army: https://sketchnotearmy.com/

To keep up with my sketchnotes and doodles visit: http://karinlibrariansketchnotes.tumblr.com/ or http://karinsletteringanddoodles.tumblr.com/

Categories: Blog Topics, Student Engagement/ Teaching Models

Tags: doodle, doodling, sketchnotes, sketchnoting, visual literacy, visual note taking, visual thinking

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Sketchnoting and Why It's Important - Knowledge Quest

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The What and Why Back in 2006, a man named Michael Rohde had the idea to harness the power of doodling and use it to create more memorable notes. Rohde found this rewarding for several reasons. First, it helped him... Read More ›

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Edutopia: How Drawing Can Lead to Deeper Understanding

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Edutopia: How Drawing Can Lead to Deeper Understanding

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How Drawing Can Lead to Deeper Understanding