Why graphic organizers work

National Institute for Literacy. Dexter, D. Douglas, K. The effectiveness of electronic text and pictorial graphic organizers to improve comprehension related to functional skills. Journal of Special Education Technology, 26 1 , Hall, T.

Graphic organizers. Retrieved March 20, Manoli, P. Graphic organizers as a reading strategy: Research findings and issues. Creative education, 3 03 , Robinson, D. Increasing text comprehension and graphic note taking using a partial graphic organizer. The Journal of Educational Research , 2 , Stull, A. Learning by doing versus learning by viewing: Three experimental comparisons of learner-generated versus author-provided graphic organizers.

Journal of Educational Psychology , 99 4 , Categories: Instruction , Learning Theory , Podcast. Does this approach work well in a high school science classroom? High school science would be a perfect place for graphic organizers!

Hi Chelsea and Jennifer, I teach secondary school science in the UK and love using graphic organisers to help the students make notes, understand the links between different things and make comparisons. I love your work! I work with new teachers and you have simplified the how and clarified the why.

I recommend your work to everyone. I recently shared your Single-Point rubric at a state meeting. Thank you! These are simple shapes preset in various arrangements, but the power is the outline pane that allows you to easily increase or decrease the number of shapes. While the teacher can determine which SmartArt arrangement to use, this allows the student to decide how many to make use of.

Thanks for the article! I especially like the idea of using a Graphic Organizer as an assessment tool. I plan to try that this week. Jennifer, Thanks for posting this! I love graphic organizers and this is a wonderful resource. I think Hyerle has come up with something really powerful. Thanks so much for these links, James.

I have been referred to Thinking Maps over and over, and they seem wonderful. I really wish they had some kind of online resources for people outside of school systems to learn. I would imagine homeschoolers must feel the same frustration!

It really helps to see my ideas laid out in picture form in a nice, logical flowchart. I can see how this technique would be invaluable in the classroom. Thanks for sharing! Hi Jennifer! I work for Cult of Pedagogy, and also taught at the elementary level for many years. I needed to be more purposeful and direct with my teaching, helping kids understand how organizers are a tool that helps them plan their ideas, make connections, and see how concepts are related.

I think I was using them just to use them, or maybe because some of them looked kinda cute. Circles, lines, words, doodles…even with the youngest of kids, are effective when used with intention.

I hope this helps! Hi Jennifer, Thanks you for this great resource, and for all the great work you do in this space on the craft of teaching! I am a late-starter to the education sector but loving it! Something that I would like more guidance in, and I think it is related to this area, is the issue of starting an extended response essay.

Other tips I would give my students is to use key words from the actual question provided, so that the language is correct, and that they address the question right away. I never suggest that they repeat the question. See what you think! I think this article is helpful and yet the irony is that there is no graphic organizer to show how this tool can be useful or how to develop them for your content.

There are only lists and bullet ponits. Consider adding one? This author reminded me of the power and effectiveness of graphic organizers in helping students organize, make meaning and see the connections to the items they are learning or thinking about. With sufficient demonstration and guided practice, many students will be able to complete graphic organizers independently. In addition, allowing students to complete the graphic organizer with a partner or small group has the added benefit of creating opportunities to discuss the information, which in turn will help them to further clarify and reinforce the concepts.

Initial Thoughts. Opinion Question: No Resources What are the responsibilities of middle- and high school teachers for teaching vocabulary and comprehension skills within their content areas? Page 1: Literacy in Content-Area Instruction What should content-area teachers know about vocabulary instruction? Wrap Up. What should content-area teachers know about comprehension instruction?

Page Using Graphic Organizers Graphic organizers are visual aids designed to help students organize substantial amounts of content information. Transcript: Cynthia Shanahan, PhD Graphic organizers come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and for all different purposes. Substances Properties of Substance Interactions with other substances Atomic expression Close this panel.

For Your Information Many Websites offer graphic organizers. Here are a few to get started:. Back Next Nor, 11th Grade, World History Select a historical novel and summarize its key elements. A graphic organizer from the National Archives , for example, provides multiple prompts to help students analyze and close read historical documents, consider the author and historical context, and generate additional questions for continued research and reflection.

Over-scaffolding a graphic organizer means the higher-ordered skills of evaluation, determination, and judgment are used in the design stage by the teacher rather than in the instructional stage by the student. Shift the intellectual responsibility by asking students to construct their own visual representation.

Upon reflection, students reported that the act of creating their own organizer enhanced their grasp of the concepts because they had to sift through the information in a more critical way. It also provided a visual that identified gaps in their understanding. Concept mapping not only allows students to consolidate their thinking but also provides a formative assessment the teacher can use to check for understanding and surface misconceptions.

If this is our goal, students need the opportunity to construct the processes to achieve those ends. In and out of school, scaffolds are meant to be removed; educators have to be willing to remove the training wheels or temporary platforms and let students become independent learners.