Let's first talk briefly about the power of visible thinking.
Learning is the consequence of thinking. Expecting students to think deeply can be a challenge. How exactly should we expect our students to do this? What does it mean to think? How do we know what or how they're thinking about something if we can't see their thoughts? When we give our students specific tools to help them better structure and deploy their own thinking, learning outcomes improve. When we help them build, connect, and refine their thinking in more overt (ie. visible) ways, we are essentially helping them to develop their metacognitive skills, which leads to better thinking. Visible thinking routines provide a window into what students understand and how they are understanding it. As teachers, this offers us an opportunity to be intentional about how we plan and adjust our learning experiences to help our learners dig deeper into content, and hear and see each other's questions, insights, and perspectives so that we can support the development their thinking habits and refine their thinking as needed.
There are a plethora of ways to make thinking visible and we will explore many of them in The Hive this year. One of the ways we recently asked students to process information visually, was through a sketchnoting exercise related to the process of weathering, erosion, and deposition (slow changes that shape the earth). Sketchnoting is a form of visual note-taking where students (or really anyone) synthesize and visualize ideas about what they are learning about through a combination of picture drawings, diagrams, and text. This type of exercise trains us to summarize ideas and establish connections between them. Creating these visual notes during our exploration of weathering, erosion, and deposition and then having students participate in a gallery walk of their classmates' sketchnotes, was an engaging way for students to share and build upon one another's knowledge, ultimately gaining a deeper understanding of this scientific information.
This week's guest bloggers reflect on this experience. Enjoy.
I loved our first sketchnoting experience because it really helped me to process my thinking and have it stick in my mind. Writing and creating simple drawings is a fun treat to the eye! - @HarryPotter
Sketchnoting is helpful because it lets me imagine my learning. For example, in our first sketchnoting experience, I could imagine the process of weathering, erosion, and deposition in my mind and then I thought of key words and drawings that went with it and it was like it was happening right in front of me. It was almost like the drawings came to life! I hope we have a chance to do this again. - @SoftballPiggy
Sketchnoting is helpful because you learn a lot more when you draw what you are learning about with words. You have to struggle a little bit, but if you lean into the struggle like I did, you will figure out how to represent what you are learning in pictures and it will make a lot of sense. - @soccerqueen6
Sketchnoting helped me paint a picture of how weathering, erosion, and deposition work together to change the earth's surface. For example, if I were stuck on how canyons are formed, I would try to draw it and label the process step-by-step. The sketchnotes help me paint a picture of the process in my mind. - @puppyonline
Sketchnoting helps me by making a more solid memory of what I am learning in my brain. It is also helpful because instead of just writing notes, we can be creative and it's fun. You can also look back at your sketchnotes and quickly remember everything you learned. - @TheScienceGeek
Sketchnoting helps me because it allows me to get my thoughts down in pictures. It helps me understand my thoughts way more than before. For example, when we were first learning about weathering, erosion, and deposition, it didn't make any sense. Once I started sketchnoting about it, it all started coming together like puzzle pieces. I learned about the process and how it can create landforms like rock arches and sand dunes. - @LightningDragon
Sketchnoting is helpful to me because drawing keeps me focused. When I draw and write about what I am learning, it also helps me understand the subject way more than I already did. - Seafoam-da-Seawing
Sketchnoting helps me because I have an invisible disability. I forget things a lot. I once forgot to do my chores and got in big trouble. So sketchnoting helps me go back and remember what I learned. Plus, it's fun doing it and I enjoy drawing, which makes school more fun. - @Lebamboom
Sketchnoting helps me make sense of my learning because before sketchnoting, I could not remember anything about weathering, erosion, and deposition. When my teacher showed us how to use sketchnoting as a way to think about what we learned, it helped me so much and now I will remember a lot more about it. I see it way more clearly now. It's super fun and I hope we do it again. - @HockeyKitty
Sketchnoting helps me make sense of my learning for many reasons. First of all, I love to read, especially chapter books. I love to imagine the images and imagination is the key to sketchnoting. Also, it's just so calming and relaxing to sit there in the quiet with focus music on in the background. Quiet means I can actually process what I am learning through my head and onto paper any way I can - either in writing or in pictures. It's a great way to learn. - @WritingMachine
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