How to Get Started with Doodle Notes with Your Teens & Pre-Teens at Home
Interest in homeschooling has ‘exploded’ in 2020. A lot of rockstar parents were already educating their kids at home, and now many more parents believe that homeschool can provide their children and teens with a more stable and valuable education amid the Coronavirus pandemic. With schools and cities changing their restrictions time and again, this jump in interest in homeschooling students is no surprise.
If you homeschool a teen or preteen, or anticipate doing so soon, you will definitely want to learn about doodle notes to make their education as engaging and valuable as possible!
What are Doodle Notes?
Doodle Notes are a unique visual note-taking method with built-in features that increase focus and memory by taking advantage of a collection of brain research, including Dual Coding Theory.
As new input enters the brain, it’s stored in short term memory in two distinct categories. Graphic information, images, and other sensory input are processed in the VISUAL center while auditory input, words, and text are processed in the LINGUISTIC center of the brain.
This is a great way for our brain to take in both types of information, and the system works very well. However, in order to convert the new information into true learning, we need it to be saved and stored in long term memory.
To do this, we need referential connections between the two zones. We have to CONNECT the information in the visual area with the information in the linguistic area.
When we are able to blend the text/auditory input together with the images, we boost the potential for retaining the information!
The Benefits of Doodle Notes
The doodle note strategy integrates both hemispheres of the student’s brain and helps maximize focus, learning, and retention of the lesson material. Here’s a quick list of some of the benefits for you:
- Engagement: Students are much more engaged with the content when they can use color, creativity, and imagination.
- Mental Connections: Students can connect content with their interactions with the doodle notes.
- Focus: Doodling has been proven to activate the brain’s pathways to keep students just busy enough to keep from daydreaming.
- Learning: Students are busy with doodling, BUT are not distracted from the learning at hand.
- Picture-superiority Effect: Blending images with text offers a stronger learning experience than using text alone.
- Memory: Students will say things like, “Yeah! I remember when you said that as I was doing little dots around the word “midpoint” and I wrote that formula right in the corner with my orange pen!”
Added bonuses include:
– relaxation and decreased math anxiety
– super engaged students
– excitement about “customizing” the page (They LOVE doodle days!)
– an end result that they want to pull out, show off, and reference as a study tool as much as possible because they are so proud of it
– stronger retention, leading to higher test scores
– brain boosts in other areas, such as creativity & problem solving
Click here to read more about Dual Coding Theory and the benefits of Doodle Notes!
How to Get Started
Start with a Freebie: Our “QUICK START” page has free downloads to help you get started right away. On that page, you can find a free resource titled “Engage your Brain.” It’s a doodle note sheet about doodle notes and the benefits of Engaging the left side of your brain with the right. This page is a perfect way to introduce your class to a new strategy and show them how their brain works! They can learn a little about the way the brain reacts when you integrate the left and the right hemispheres. You can find other free doodle notes here as well.
Read Tips from Other Teachers: Take advantage of other teachers’ advice who have before you by visiting ‘In the Classroom’.
Join our Facebook Group: Join our community of teachers who share a love for doodle notes. Support and inspire each other. It is a fantastic platform to post your beginner questions or relate to other posts.
Shop Doodle Notes: Browse the Shop page for different levels and styles!
Once you get a handle on doodle notes, check out this post about using and creating Doodle Note Templates.
A FREE GUIDE:
We know it’s not easy to homeschool, but with this information, hopefully, you realize the benefits of doodle notes and the positive impact they can have on your child’s homeschool experience. If you’re looking for a great resource to really guide you on your doodle notes journey, download this free handbook by typing in your email at the bottom of the page!