Sketchnote Fun

The process of note taking or brainstorming through doodling, sketching, and thinking out loud is referred to as sketchnoting. This week I produced a video of my brainstorming process using this method. It was fun to partake in an activity that I will soon ask my students to do.

Beyond the obvious opportunity to show one's creativity, sketchnoting aids in the retention of information, therefore improving content transfer. In reference to doodling and sketchnoting, Deidra Gammill states, "Doodling is actually a form of mnemonics, connecting images with information and significantly increasing our ability to remember what we've learned" (Gammill, 2016). Additionally, sketchnoting helps in recalling details and aids in comprehension of information.

An example of sketchnoting. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

For my students, an opportunity to use this creative way to retrieve and process information is when learning anatomy and physiology. Students struggle with the memorization of horse limb anatomy. With sketchnoting, students would be encouraged to review bones of the limb through drawings but also weave connecting topics such as joints, tendons, ligaments, and bone composition into their note taking. This note taking could occur during class and outside of the classroom to help to visualize the connections between these two areas of study.

My sketchnote example uses sticky notes and drawings I created while brainstorming. I was hesitant, as I really haven't done something like this before, but there's no wrong way to perform sketchnoting. The note taking seen in the video below did prove to be beneficial to my learning. When brainstorming through visuals I was able to reach a better place of understanding. Time to roll out the paper and get my students some Sharpies.

References:

Gammill, D. (2016, January 6). The benefit of using doodling and sketchnotes in the classroom. Education Week Teacher. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2016/01/04/the-benefits-of-using-doodling-and-sketchnotes.html.

Sketchnoting Definition by Amytangg is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0