Mindshift has an interesting article about doodling. The article is in reference to a paper published in Science called Drawing to Learn in Science by Shaaron Ainsworth, Vaughan Prain, and Russell Tytler. The paper suggests that since science often involves new concepts that are complex to explain in words, visualization is an important component in understanding and communicating the ideas. They also suggest that because doodling is an active process, the students are more engaged than they would be in passively writing down what the instructor said. Further, the process of creating a diagram that adequately explains the concept develops reasoning skills.
This is of interest to me not just because of the value as a teacher, but because I’m serial doodler and have been soundly chastised by former managers for doodling during meetings.
Click here to read Mindshift’s interpretation of the article. To read the actual paper at Science, requires a subscription.
