Why might incorporating graphic design into the classroom be valuable? I can’t say it any better than the wyzowl blog: “…studies have shown that people tend to remember an impressive 80% of what they see and do.” Eighty percent. That’s a staggering statistic. It almost makes me want to market a lesson the way an ad agency markets a soft drink. I see the incorporation of graphic design as really a two-way proposition. Teachers can be more purposeful when incorporating graphic design into their instruction and students can use graphic design as a new way of showing what they know.
As a special education teacher, I’m always thinking about how my students will absorb the information. It can never be one-dimensional and it can never be a one and done situation. The information needs to be presented using different mediums over different occasions. I always have to be cognizant of the font I choose, the size of the font and how much text I have on a page. To keep their interest, I often include visuals. And although I haven’t asked my students to make any infographics, I do spend time teaching them how to read them and interpret the information as a valuable part of the text. Something I would love to try do with my instructional kids is mind mapping or concept mapping, where pictures are used to represent and show relationships between ideas. Not all student are exceptional at using words to show acquired knowledge, but graphics give students another avenue to display learning.
In the spring, I will teach the novel Number the Stars. I never teach a novel without a guided reading packet that I create, and I have to give a lot of thought to the graphics of the packet. I always choose a serif font because it’s easier for kids to read (or so I was told by a mentor teacher I had many years ago). I also always choose a larger font size because I have some kids who are visually impaired. If I have too many words or complex sentences on the page, I will lose kids, so I have to make sure the layout is clean and uncluttered. I also use bold and italics to help draw attention to important aspects of questions. Additionally, I will incorporate images and fun icons as bullet points to help maintain focus and interest. Since the book is about the Holocaust and that is a complex, deep issue for kids, we could do some mind/concept mapping when exploring these difficult themes and concepts.
As a special education teacher, I’m always thinking about how my students will absorb the information. It can never be one-dimensional and it can never be a one and done situation. The information needs to be presented using different mediums over different occasions. I always have to be cognizant of the font I choose, the size of the font and how much text I have on a page. To keep their interest, I often include visuals. And although I haven’t asked my students to make any infographics, I do spend time teaching them how to read them and interpret the information as a valuable part of the text. Something I would love to try do with my instructional kids is mind mapping or concept mapping, where pictures are used to represent and show relationships between ideas. Not all student are exceptional at using words to show acquired knowledge, but graphics give students another avenue to display learning.
In the spring, I will teach the novel Number the Stars. I never teach a novel without a guided reading packet that I create, and I have to give a lot of thought to the graphics of the packet. I always choose a serif font because it’s easier for kids to read (or so I was told by a mentor teacher I had many years ago). I also always choose a larger font size because I have some kids who are visually impaired. If I have too many words or complex sentences on the page, I will lose kids, so I have to make sure the layout is clean and uncluttered. I also use bold and italics to help draw attention to important aspects of questions. Additionally, I will incorporate images and fun icons as bullet points to help maintain focus and interest. Since the book is about the Holocaust and that is a complex, deep issue for kids, we could do some mind/concept mapping when exploring these difficult themes and concepts.
