When I was in elementary school, one of the things I loved making were collages out of magazine clippings. I always felt intimidated trying to draw out the ideas and thoughts in my head so collaging was a way for me to express myself.  Fast forward to now and we have all these amazing tools and technologies to help us give form to an idea.  According to visualization expert, David Sibbert, “If you want everyone to have the same mental model of a problem, the fastest way to do it is with a picture.” (Berger, 2014).

While I’ve tried bullet journaling in the past, creating a sketchnote style video really forced me to sit and contemplate my Why, What If, and How questions with greater intention and focus.  Unlike your typical note taking, the act of physically moving my notes and considering the right visuals to convey my thoughts actively engaged me in my understanding versus being passive.

I chose to use digital tools in my sketchnote video because I wanted to have the ability to point my students to all the ways they could brainstorm beyond traditional pen and paper.  I used a Post-It app to record and sort my questions and then I used Procreate to draw out some of the reflections I had about the process.  Additionally, I learned how to screen record everything which provided greater reflection as I could go back and watch my process.  

In working with elementary school students, we use a lot of visual cues in anchor charts, instructions and discussions, however this exercise made me question why sketchnoting isn’t encouraged more as we progress in school? I look at the notes my teen daughters are taking in their classes and wonder if they wouldn’t also benefit from this style of visually note taking.

References

Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: The power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas (Reprint ed.). Bloomsbury USA.

Yen, K. (2024, March 31). Working a Wicked Problem [Video].https://youtu.be/f-ak1mpKnKU