Concept Sketches

Science and social studies textbook diagrams are well-designed text features for learning, but often do not fulfill the task of communicating the information effectively to students for several reasons. Too often, students do not give appropriate time or attention to diagrams and charts as they skim through textbooks, or they undervalue the importance of the figures or the data represented by them. Some students do not know how to read technical text/figures/diagrams, so they are unaware of the importance of the information found in those texts. Sometimes students can identify or fill in the labels on a figure, but they may not understand the significance or knowledge represented by the relationship of the labels to the relevant concepts.

Concept sketches are informal diagrams that illustrate the main aspects of a concept, annotated with concise labels that identify the concept features, show the processes associated with the process of the concept, and clearly depict the interconnection among features and processes. Having students generate their own concept sketches helps them to learn deeply about concepts and to effectively communicate information about them.

 

Implementation

• Sketches with concept captions connected to specific parts of the sketch with short straight or curved line segments.
• Arrows are not used because, according to research, arrows suggest movement, hence sketch readers would be misled.
• Arrows are included only where movement is part of the process (e.g., tectonic plate motion, water flow direction, river flow, etc.).

2. Concept sketches are best used to support student learning when students actively construct the captions, and if possible, the sketch itself.

• Rote copying of pre-written concept captions and labels during lectures also does not provide active learning for students.
• To save time, project or provide a ready-made sketch as a handout.
• Providing a prepared sketch early in the semester will model how to create a sketch, and can be particularly valuable for complex diagrams or abstract concepts.

3. In a discussion-based, upper level class, have pairs of students create concept sketches of critical diagrams, graphs, and tables from an article to be discussed. This helps to identify confusion and clarify points.

4. Making concept sketches in the field supplements traditional field notes and forces students to observe more carefully and to decide what data is and is not important to record.

5. Concept maps are flow-chart-like hierarchical diagrams that help students understand, organize, and communicate ideas and how they relate to each other.

• They are best used as a discovery process tool rather than as a pre-created image to be studied.

6. When used as a formative assessment, concept sketches provide the instructor with a better understanding of student background knowledge and reveal misconceptions.

Classroom Management

1. Have students draw their sketches in class forces them to think more deeply about the concepts.

2. Providing prompts (photos, textbook-style illustrations, computer animations, video clips, in-class demonstrations, hand samples, etc.) before students sketch is critical.

3. Before students sketch, ask them to:

• List what they think are the key features and processes in contrast to inessential things.
• Decide how various elements are related.
• Brainstorm how to depict the system with all of its elements.
• Draw and annotate the sketch.

4. Have selected students share their concept sketches for discussion, comparison, and critique.

• Compare lists in Step 1, share ideas from Steps 2 and 3, and compare final concept sketches from Step 4.

• Use the jigsaw technique to compare different but related sketches.
• Use think-pair-share throughout the development of the sketching/ labeling processes.

5. Follow up development of the concept sketch by having students use the sketch to solve a problem.

• Ask students to make a prediction based on what they have learned from their concept sketch.
• Ask students to think about how the system might fail or function abnormally, what the consequences would be, and how the system could be fixed.
• Ask students to think what might happen if aspects of the system were changed.

6. Suggested Formative Assessment

· Provide a partially completed concept sketch.

· Working in pairs, students explain the concept using the partial information and fill in gaps about the topic.