Have you ever felt like the student in the picture above? I cannot count the amount of times I have had to sit through a PowerPoint presentation, either at the high school or college level, with this exact look on my face. The face of pure boredom! As a kindergarten teacher, I have been trying to find ways to get information across to my students in a way that would interest them. Infographics are a great way to present information to students in a more visually appealing and interactive way. Troy and Hicks(2017) rely on Wikapedia's description of infographics as "graphic visual representations of information , data, or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly"(p. 60). Infographics give students the opportunity to analyze data in a quick manner and then respond accordingly. There are many different reasons why utilizing infographics in the classroom can benefit not only the teachers' instruction but also the students' learning. You will find in the presentation below six different reasons why using infographics in the classroom and benefit students.
There are many other reasons for educators to utilize infographics in the classroom. One of the hardest things for educators to accomplish, especially with my experience in elementary grades, is engagement during lessons. Many of the students I have encountered love to complete tasks on a Chromebook, iPad, or other form of technology. Analyzing infographics and constructing their own, plays to their interest. Students are able to draw many conclusions from these types of resources. "In addition, because infographics present data-numerical, written, and visual-they can be a powerful medium for making arguments" (Turner and Hicks,2017, pg.61). Students are engaged in not only constructing viable arguments, but they must also dive deeper into the research process in order to find information to back up their claims.
Along with student engagement, Turner and Hicks (2017) believe "creating an infographic might allow students to expand the kind of inquiry they do in the classroom" (p.75). Most students are accustomed to traditional ways of receiving and gathering information and creating presentations to present their findings. Creating infographics requires students to not only use the traditional methods of research, but they also have to create a visual representation of those findings. Martrix and Hodson stated "Rather than present this position in a text-based format, students must design an information visualization to illustrate their argument" (para. 3). A deeper level of thinking is involved when creating a visualization of the information students are trying to convey. They must find information that supports their claims and then construct a visual that is "aesthetically pleasing and, from a technical sense, easy to distribute" (Tuner & Hickes, 2017, p.62).
Once students have created their visuals, their peer are given an opportunity to react or reply to the student's stance. Matrix and Hobson conducted a study where "students received between 5-10 commnts about their graphcis over a two week period, ranging from the bried but encouraging: 'good job, I love your use of color!' variety, to lengthy in-depth commentary and informed close questioning about both design process and subject matter" (para 15). Therefore, students are using a deeper level of thinking and questioning when being exposed to their peers infographics. As educators, we are always trying to find ways to push our students to think deeper about subject matter. We should strive to help them perform at these deeper levels of thinking, and the use of infographics is just one of many ways to help prepare out students for higher education experiences.
References
Educational Technologies Infographic. (2018). Top six reasons why students prefer digital content.
Retrieved from https://elearninginfographics.com/students-prefer-digital-content-reasons-
infographic/
Gemba Academy. Bored kid [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://blog.gembaacademy.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/04/bored-lid.jpg
Matrix, S., & Hodson, J. Teaching with infographics: Practicing new digital competencies and
visual literacies. Retrieved from https://www.beds.ac.uk/jpd/volume-4-issue-2/teaching-with-
infographics/
Turner, K., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write
digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Jordan, I was really looking forward to see your response to infographics since you teach early elementary. As I've been researching and reading about this topic I've been thinking about how this could be projected across all grade levels. They are something that can be simplified or made more complex for all learners.
ReplyDeleteOne article I read stated, “When course content is primarily offered through text, students who prefer visual learning methods may experience a less than optimal learning environment. Considering that 65% of learners report they are visual learners, it seems reasonable that text heavy courses may not address the learning and retention needs of many students .” (Yarbrough, 2019. p.3). I think that infographics can be brought to the table to help all of our learners take in the information we give them. Turner and Hicks (2017), said that "infographics require students to do content-rich research.."(p.80). I believe that even lower elementary students can do the research and produce infographics on their developmental level. I hope that some of the presentation tools shared helps you find resources for your kiddos to use.
References
Turner, K., & Hicks, T. (2017) Argument in the real world: Teaching
adolescents to read and write digital texts Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Yarbrough, J. R. (2019). Infographics: In Support of Online Visual
Learning. Academy of Educational Leadership
Journal, 2.
I agree that as teachers, it can often be hard to keep students' attention, especially for the younger grades. As teachers, we must always be looking for new means to present information to students, means that keep the students engaged and interested for longer than a minute or two. In my classroom, I find it challenging to keep student's attention for very long. The only exception being, when technology is involved. Thus, I would have to agree that infographics are a great tool that can be utilized in the classroom, both while presenting information and assessing student's knowledge on what one had taught. Turner and Hicks(2017) state that "We do not want students to simply read and write infographics; rather, we want them to read and write the arguments that infographics present to the world" (p. 80). To me, this quote screams higher-level thinking. Often my students have a hard time explaining why they think the way they do. So to me, having students create infographics would be an excellent way to help them back up their argument with more than the standard "I don't know." Plus, when you add in the fact that it utilizes technology, I can almost picture a class of happily engaged students.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Turner, K., & Hicks, T. (2017) Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to
read and write digital texts Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Great post, Jordan! As educators, we are always looking for that special thing to make our instruction pop or to grab our students' attention. When we guide our students into creating anything in the classroom, they take pride in presenting these creations to their classmates. I especially love teaching the students how to debate rather than argue their case. This also seems bizarre to the students and I get the "dog-tilts-head and hurumphs" look. It's also very hard for our elementary students to stay on track and to keep their information organized. Infographic mentor texts and skeleton infographics would be a great way to help the students that you mentioned above who always seem to lean on their "I don't know" crutch. Troy Hicks (2017) mentions several ideas at the end of the chapter that could easily be the starting point of a great debate/argument. These ideas could also involve some parental homework that utilizes social media input and could potentially have lasting effects on the students, families, and class.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Turner, K., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.