Graphic organizers can be very effective in assisting the student in understanding the "process," rather than just seeing the problem and the solution. It gives the student an understanding of what takes place inside the black box. Knowing how to get from point A to point B is important, so they can later fugure out how to get from point X to point Y on their own.
I believe grafics such as flow charts aid in the
understanding of troubleshooting.By creating a step by step flow chart,you are "walking through"
a problem
Jeffrey,
The old saying about "a picture is worth a thousand words" comes to mind with your comment. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I too have had many times that a concept was misunderstood or miscomunicated in the past, but a good graphic representation and a guided conversation could help a student reason through the actual function of something.
I use scaffolding to help students organize their learning efforts. Braking down the information into bite sizes portions makes it easier for the students to understand. I teach a planning course that has seven main step and each step has sub sets. Breaking the steps down and showing the relationship significantly enhances the students ability to learn to the material.
I like the idea of using a graphic organizer as I have not used them in the past. In my line of work, the use of a presenting a problem and having the students work out solutions only begs the use of a problem/solution organizer. Not only will it keep student discussion points and lists of alternatives organized; it will keep the group on task in order to solve a hypothetical problem set. Again, perfect for group projects. I'll have to give it a try.
Edward,
Good example of the benefits of using graphic organizers in student knowledge retention.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Using graphic organizers will enable the student to skip the decode and recode process because ideally that has already been done for them, just the key points are being shown at that time.
Michelle,
They are so helpful to students because of what you said. They can see how parts contribute to the whole when the information is placed on a graphic organizer.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Even though I am in the medical field, I find that many students are very artistic and benefit from drawing pictures of diseases. This greatly improves retention and they have fun doing it.
This is something I will need to incorporate into my classes. If a student can draw out a problem and the class can contribute to the solution by "seeing" the problem written down, then the entire class would benefit.
I teach nursing foundations so I have them when they are first entering the program. I use the graphic organizers a LOT. I find that it really helps adult learners...especially those who have been out of school a long time...to learn more efficiently and more effectively. I allow them time in the first couple classes to help design graphic organizers that will help them throughout the entire program
Frederick,
Yes, they do. They help the students to stay focused on what is critical information for them to acquire.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Graphic organizers used in lectures give students a visual effect to assess them in understanding the reading and lecture.
Steven,
You are helping your students "own" the content with your approach. The more you can do that the more learning will occur. Good job with this instructional delivery method.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I have students take notes on lab activity material, then organize it into a flow chart. This helps the students retain the information because they write the steps, create the flow chart, follow the flow chart, and perform the lab task. I have noted a much higher success rate when the students create their own flow charts, as opposed to something that has been prefabricated.
David,
They are a valuable support tool for student use. They give direction and understanding to how the segments of the course fit together. Thanks for the good comments about their use.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Graphic organizers can help students to decode course information into sequences or units that will help them remember and later apply new information. They can be the foundation for recoding strategies, especially if students are actively involved in completing graphic organization charts after content has been delivered and decoded. Student participation in graphic organizers will increase student success with recoding and application of new course concepts and skills that demonstrate the student has understood and applied the course material to new situations.
Mary,
Having taught a furniture design course in the past I know that your students enjoy seeing how furniture design and development has changed over the years. Good teaching strategy.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I use pictures in my history of furniture class to show the progression of periods and also how they relate to the past.
