Drawing Helps Students Learn

Here's a link to a new article by Youki Terrada about how drawing boosts students' learning, memory, and retention.  "The Science of Drawing and Memory" appears on the edutopia.org website.

No surprise to anyone who has used sketchnotes in the classroom!

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.