Is doodling beneficial for learning? This is a question many teachers are now asking. Liz Dwyer wrote the article “Good education” and recently indicated that, “People are more apt to remember something if they write it down, it makes sense that drawing further stimulates the brain’s ability to recall information.” She says that letting children doodle in class, which most teachers usually forbid, actually helps the kids remember the information being taught better. This isn’t just careless scribbling, however. If a science lesson is being taught, the kids would draw a picture of the content. For example, if they are learning about planets and their locations, they would draw the planets and label them. Kids will be more likely to retain content if they draw what they understand. Also, it is proven that children who doodle during science class actually enjoy the class more than those who don’t. Some researchers say that along with reading, writing, and speaking, drawing should be a part of the education curriculum for sciences. “The most striking thing was the effort that students would apply to learning about science when they read and then drew what they could understand from the text, and how much enjoyment they derived from doing this,” researcher Shaaron Ainsworth says in More Doodling Makes for Better Learning. There are plenty of opportunities for doodling not only on paper, but also on whiteboards and mobile devices. On the Ten Great Art Resources for Your Interactive Board website, there are different and beneficial drawing experiences for students. There is Crayola for younger students, where they can choose from a selection of crayons or pens to draw with. And there is Jackson Pollock as well where kids can paint without the mess. All they need to do is click to change the color. Another great tool is Daddleboard. It is an online whiteboard that features online collaboration. It helps students visualize, explore and communicate ideas.
I believe that doodling in class for learning benefits is a wonderful idea. A lot of kids are not audio or visual learners, but are kinesthetic learners. These kids need to be able to learn the way that is best for them, which is hands-on learning. Drawing is a great way to reatain information and I support the idea of using these online whiteboard tools for students to draw on. Learning through drawing can be both effective and enjoyable!
