Graphic Organizers
Overview
Visualizing how ideas fit together helps learners construct meaning and strengthens their recall. Graphic organizers outsource the memory demands of a task by mimicking the brain's mental schema, supporting learners' cognition and, in turn, their literacy skills.
Use It In Your Learning Environment
There are a variety of graphic organizers, from contrastive to concept maps, that can be used across content areas. For learners with low Working Memory, graphic organizers help structure and track information, and can support Composition. When learners record and review their notes in graphic organizers, they are able to recall this information more easily because they have repeatedly worked with it. This also helps develop their Foundational Reading Skills such as inferencing, as learners can more easily connect information across a text with their own Background Knowledge. Products can develop graphic organizers that can be manipulated—layout, shapes, colors, fonts—which can provide even more support. Being able to personalize the graphic organizers can engage learners to take ownership over their own learning.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Visual Learning Tools Strategies
Visual reading aids, such as handouts and online guides, help learners to maintain Attention and serve to support the learning process.