Doodling to Learn
Some doodles are more purposeful,
though. These are meant to
convey ideas rather than to relieve
boredom. Pictures, diagrams, and
drawings in textbooks help teach
complex concepts to students.
Illustrations in books add emotion
to the story. Yet students aren’t
always encouraged to make
their own sketches to help them
understand or share concepts
and emotions.
A 2011 article in the journal
Science argued that science learners
should be encouraged to draw
more. Author Shaaron Ainsworth
of University of Nottingham
explained that when teachers
ask science learners to draw their
understanding of a concept, the
students tend to feel much more
motivated and engaged in the
task compared to when they are
asked to write. In addition, when
students make their own visual
representations, they understand
them better than representations
other people made.
Sunni Brown’s book promotes a
technique she calls “infodoodling.”
The infodoodle is a mixture of
words, shapes, and images that
represent a concept. People can
create these doodles for their own
personal use. For example, Brown’s
friend used infodoodling to help herI would love to build
the handwriting/
sketching/doodling
version of Instagram
someday. Maybe a
Muse reader will
do that.”
- computer scientist Lisa Cowan
Hands-
On