Colloquium Paper

Erica Klinger · Spring Internship

 

To Doodle, or Not to Doodle.
That is the Question.

Tapping into Visual-Spatial and Bodily-Kinesthetic
intelligences to help solve classroom behavior
and focus problems.

 

Doodling. The Sketch's Ugly Twin. Should We Fight it or Encourage it?

 

I have always been a doodler. I am sure that this drove many of my teachers crazy mostly because they misinterpreted my actions to being bored in class and not listening to the lesson. Doodling could be easily misunderstood, especially for people that don't doodle. I am not saying that there aren't students out there that doodle because they are bored or students that intentionally deface property with their doodles, but rather that we can learn more as teachers by understanding and discussing why students doodle and potentially turn this perceived negative behavior into a positive one. This should, in turn, open the doors to thinking and discussing, "how can we teach our students more effectively?" I have found that there is no one simple solution, rather multiple methods that teachers can use that are more specific to each individual student. My hope is that this colloquium stimulates a discussion that offers realistic solutions that can be useful in any classroom.

 

So how can we turn a seemingly meaningless act of doodling into an activity that is meaningful for both the teacher and the student? We can start with listening to what the students are trying to tell us by doodling in class. In a natural health article, "Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, or the Age of Doodling", the author writes:

 

"I've often humorously suggested to teachers that one good way to identify students' most highly developed intelligences is to observe how they misbehave in class. The strongly linguistic student will be talking out of turn, the highly spatial student will be doodling and daydreaming, the interpersonally inclined student will be socializing, the Bodily-Kinesthetic student will be fidgeting, and the naturalistically engaged student might well bring an animal to class without permission! These students are metaphorically saying through their misbehavior: "This is how I learn, teacher, and if you don't teach me through my most natural learning channels, guess what? I'm going to do it anyway." These intelligence-specific misbehaviors, then, are a sort of cry for help--a diagnostic indicator of how students need to be taught."

 

What I propose in this colloquium is addressing this multiple intelligence issue by first understanding how the brain works and what methods can work for every student - regardless of their learning style. I believe that some behavior and concentration issues might be avoided if teachers composed their lessons addressing more specifically the attention spans of each grade level. For example, if students in grades 3-7 have an attention span of only 8-12 minutes, a lesson would be more effective if the presentation of the information changes every 8-12 minutes (either by changing the grouping, location or method of teaching for the students). Research that I found to back up this theory includes the concepts of Brain-Based learning, "pulse learning" and using "Brain Gym" exercises to help students focus for long periods of time. Brain-Based learning is a scientific theory that is based on the structure and function of the brain. It reveals that, "as long as the brain in no prohibited from fulfilling its normal processes, that learning will occur." It points out that traditional methods of schooling have actually inhibited learning by ignoring the way that the brain processes information.  Pulse learning (breaking information into manageable chunks) and Brain Gym exercises are teaching methods that can physically help the brain to process information better. For those that argue, "why should we change our lecture methods to suite those few disruptive students, when the bulk of the class is getting it?" I would respond that these methods would help everyone - including the teacher. The research that I have done in the past year helps to strengthen this point.

 

Besides Brain-Based learning, another important issue to address with multiple intelligences is the concept of different learning styles. The more avenues or methods you can use to deliver the same information will increase a student's ability to retain the information. Taking notes and writing outlines like we were taught may work for short-term memorization, but other methods like graphic organizers are needed if you want students to connect the information in relationship to each other and to the larger picture - of life. The learning styles that I will focus on in this colloquium are the visual-spatial and bodily kinesthetic intelligences. I chose these two because these are my dominant Intelligences and because I believe that these are some of the most difficult to integrate into the academic classroom, but are two that are necessary for long-term retention of material.

 

During the colloquium I will use student doodling as a theme to explore the topics of Brain-Based Learning and Multiple Intelligences. Doodling is an activity that for many teachers is a sign of a student not being focused on what the teacher is saying. I have found that in many cases, the opposite may be true. We will first discuss why students doodle, focusing on how doodling is kinesthetic movement which helps the brain to process information while your hand is moving. Because the brain is given the time to process information, it is more likely that a student will have an answer when asked a direct question after a period of lecture.

 

Have you ever been asked a direct question and the answer was at the tip of your tongue and it wasn't until you were driving in the car or taking a shower that the answer came to you?

 

Second we will discuss the definition of these Visual-Spatial and Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligences and if they are realistic methods for teachers to use in the classroom to maximize student learning. We will talk about how by organizing information visually can actually be a realistic way to connect large amounts of information - which the standard linear outline format of note taking fails to do. Did you know that mind mapping can add structure, help review, repetition and recall, and even helps to prompt additional questions? According to JCU study skills, mind mapping can be a helpful note-taking and summarizing tool help students to be better prepared for exams by retaining information better. At the colloquium, I will present some graphic organizers and examples of student mind maps and we will discuss why these would or wouldn't work for common lecture topics.

 

If students were provided the opportunity to draw during a lecture, would it make their need for doodling a more productive activity?

 

Lastly, I will present a unit that I taught this year that is an example of how a topic could be presented in multiple ways that utilize the three main intelligences that the brain needs to retain information (visual, kinesthetic and auditory). This example should encourage a group discussion about what changes teachers could make in the classroom for a richer and more productive learning experience for all students. You might assume that the only place that students want to sketch is in their art classes. Not necessarily.  The makeup of all classes, whether they are academic or electives, are generated from the same "pool" of students who will possess a wide range of learning styles and intelligences. So as a result, any teacher can benefit from this colloquium topic.

 

Brain Gym exercises are examples of simple ways that teachers can refocus their students and give them time to process information in a fun way, but can we take the time to do them in class?

 

To support my theory that teaching with visual and kinesthetic methods will enhance motivation and concentration, I collected data in a few different ways. Drawing from many studies that have already been done on Brain-Based Theory and Multiple Intelligences, I collected information that specifically connects Visual-Spatial and Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligences to positive behavior and increased focus in students. A major part of my data was also collected from my own students. At the high school level, I asked 3 students from among my classes to volunteer to help me in my study. One I believed to be Visual-Spatial, one that I believed to be Bodily-Kinesthetic, and one that I was not sure about. I gave each of them sketchbooks that they could carry around with them to all their classes for a determined period of time. Then at the end of that time, I met with each student and discussed how or if they used the sketchbooks and in what way. I hoped to find out if they thought that using a sketchbook changed their behavior or focus in any way. I also had them reflect on their teacher's behavior and if they had any reaction or comment during this sketchbook activity. My findings from this activity will be presented at the colloquium.

 

The third way that I gathered data was from my 7^th grade classes. I designed a book unit and had the student create 3 different books in a way that enforced 3 different intelligences, Bodily Kinesthetic, Visual-Spatial and Auditory or Interpersonal. At the end of the unit, each student filled out a feedback form that would first determine their main intelligence and then get feedback on how they felt about each book process. By learning what they thought kept them the most engaged, the least focused and which process gave them the most "successful" product, I could correlate whether students linked the most fulfilling working method with the most successful final product. I could also conclude whether the process they liked the best was the one that matched their individual learning style. I will present the results of this study at the colloquium.

 

 

Discussion Point Number 1: Why Do Student's Doodle?

 

Sketching is commonly used for many different reasons. A few that we will discuss in this colloquium are: for brain stimulation, as a focus aid, as an alternative to the written word, for therapy, as a form of expression and as a tool for comprehension. In reference to my colloquium topic that addresses behavior and focus, I'd like to concentrate on the first two but have included the others as supportive information.

 

Doodling as brain stimulation. There is even a scientific argument that supports doodling. With the recent push to have laptops for every student in the classroom, some are comparing the use of the Internet to doodling and that it is a more productive experience. Saudi Computer Society remarks that activities like doodling, emailing or chatting with friends on-line is, "actually equivalent to engaging the right and left lobes of the brain in an intense aerobic workout."

 

Doodling to focus. Activities and strategies for ADD and ADHD students frequently include encouraging them to doodle. "Allow students to do constructive doodling. Some students are more attentive when doodling," claims The Center for Adolescent Studies at Indiana University. This could hold true even for students without diagnosed learning disabilities. A teacher might perceive a student who is doodling as not paying attention, when in fact, the activity and movement involved in doodling is helping the student to stay focused and listen to the teacher.

 

Doodling as an alternative to the written word. Verbal and mathematical methods are more popularly accepted means of solving problems, but the process of transforming any kind of problem, whether it is a standard word or design problem or a behavior problem can use the Visual-Spatial intelligence. Creating a visual organization of information makes it much easier to see what to do next for many students. Whether a student starts with an initial sketch or visual "snapshot" of the problem or uses charts for data organization, they are both visual tools for solving the problem.

 

Doodling can be therapeutic. Students sometimes use sketching as an outlet for their emotions. As teachers we should always be on the lookout for signs of violent behavior, but in one situation a student was suspended for doodling because it was interpreted as a terrorist threat. Last year, an article in Time Magazine, "When Doodling Turns Deadly..." argued that a student named Becca "...shouldn't be punished for doodling. If anything she should be rewarded for showcasing her pent-up annoyance in such a peaceful and non-destructive manner. Rather than suspend Becca, let's take a moment to give her a round of applause. And it sounds to me like she could also use an art class." On a more positive note, doodling has also been used as a tool help students. Psychologists at the University of Technology, Sydney encouraged everyone to doodle during their summer sessions and found that this helped severely troubled teenagers with their literacy and behavior problems. Whether positive or negative, exercising anyone's spatial/visual intelligence can only open doors to other ways of translating information.

 

Doodling as a form of expression. It is not hard to connect how sketching could be related to artistic expression. But it can be difficult to understand how a teacher can help these doodlers refine their ideas and find their artistic talents. Sometimes it is hard for the student individually to make that leap. In many ways, doodling could be compared to graffiti art and many times the activity is discouraged instead of encouraged in a more positive way.

 

Doodling as a tool for comprehension. Some schools with art-based curriculums use drawing as a tool for comprehension instead of as an art. For example, the Waldorf Education is based on the belief that "when children relate what they learn to their own experience, they are more interested and engaged." Drawings support the writings in the core discipline classes as a means of relating their learning to their own lives. Research shows that pictures tend to be remembered better than words. (Paivio, 1973;  Nelson, 1976; Weldon & Coyote, 1996). Results indicated that the doodlers and note-takers during a brief lecture had similar recall scores, while those who merely listened scored significantly lower.

 

 

Discussion Point Number 2: Multiple Intelligences.

 

Traditionally, only the verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences have been

emphasized in the classroom. However, there are many instances in the classroom that require the ability to visualize problems into a mental picture. Not only does this process entail the

Visual-Spatial intelligence but also the Bodily-Kinesthetic, as the student needs to have a sense of how the physical world works. This paper raises the question; can the incorporation of more visual and kinesthetic techniques aid in the solution of common behavior and focus problems in the classroom?

 

What is Visual-Spatial Intelligence?

Whenever you form visual pictures in your head before you do something, you are drawing upon your spatial intelligence. For example, when you stand in a grocery store aisle and visualize the contents of your refrigerator before purchasing yet another carton of eggs, you are recreating aspects of your visual world. People, who use this frequently to make sense of the world, usually enjoy designing, drawing, visualizing and doodling. They like to daydream and are comfortable participating in activities such as art, LEGOs, video, movies, slides, imagination games, mazes, puzzles and illustrated books.

 

What is Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence?

Do you ever do an activity, anything - from taking a jog to taking a shower, and feel ideas shooting through your mind? Well this is what frequently happens to a person with Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence. They learn through somatic sensations. These people usually have highly developed coordination, balance and strength and enjoy dancing, running, jumping, building, touching and gesturing. You can often see these people take jobs in acting, building, sports and anything that requires hands-on learning.

 

Teachers and students may not all be doodlers, but each of us probably knows someone who is. Just because you are one specific intelligence, does not mean that is the only beneficial way to learn - there's value in challenging yourself to try them all. Forcing all kids to take learn the same can make some kids feel like a failure when they don't retain the information. Take a look at the attached sheet called "Mind Mapping." Follow the instructions and start creating an image map on what you know about multiple intelligences and bring it to the colloquium. We will finish it in class. Be creative and don't be afraid to doodle - it will not be handed in or graded :)

 

 

Discussion Point Number 3: How can we tap into intelligences to improve classroom behavior and focus?

 

The discussion focuses primarily on research findings. One of which, is conducted by Harvard's Project Zero. Their research projects focus on the Arts and Multiple Intelligences and link the use of the arts to better classroom behavior. Project Zero's mission is to "understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as humanistic and scientific disciplines, at the individual and institutional levels." The following are a few interesting quotations from their findings.

 

"In interviewing the principals of 41 schools using Multiple Intelligences, 78% of them said that their schools had realized gains on standardized achievement scores and 63% attributed the growth to "practices inspired by MI theory."

 

"Because of our MI focus, our kids are more likely to find learning fun and less likely to find school boring. Discipline problems tend to disappear when students are excited about learning and finding success."

 

Is there a correlation between multiple intelligences and discipline? 

In the New Teacher's Handbook, the author Benna Golubtchik says yes:

 

"Research has shown that many discipline "problems" can also be understood and dealt with by applying the theory of multiple intelligences. What teachers used to think of as "petty annoyances" can tell you a great deal about a student's intelligence profile. Not all students will be quiet when you request it, and if they are, they may not all be giving you their full attention. Some students have difficulty sitting still even for short periods of time. Others tap their feet or pencils without even realizing they are doing it, or that it is disturbing to other students. Some are constantly daydreaming. Some are extremely quiet and do not participate in class. Others are always whispering to their neighbors. If you think of these behaviors not simply as discipline problems, but as learning challenges, you can help your students channel their natural tendencies into productive means for learning."

 

 

In order to understand these "learning challenges," lets explore these Intelligences in more detail.

We already touched upon the use of graphic organizers to tap into the Visual Spatial Intelligence, but there are a number of resources that explore bringing more Visual-Spatial intelligence into the classroom. In an article in America Tomorrow, the writer suggests that:

 

"Visual-Spatial technology tools (like computers, graphics software, camcorders) are not essential for the learning process, but "they do offer exciting and motivating ways to engage the learner through exercising Visual-Spatial intelligence and make any subject more accessible to a variety of students. They will surely be of major value to students with physical disabilities or other special needs. They will, in fact, move what might otherwise, for many, remain meaningless abstractions into understandable, visible reality."

 

This colloquium will offer specific suggestions on how to actually modify lessons plans to meet Visual-Spatial learner's needs and at the same time help other students to use mental images to help them remember and recall information.

 

Introspective students can be misunderstood. I believe that imagination should be nurtured and fostered into its full potential. Mind wandering can be good. I do it all the time, but I have been conditioned to feel that it is bad when I am required to answer a question immediately in class and I am not ready.

 

Do you have visual/spatial intelligence? Are you able to perceive visual/spatial information and create effective mental pictures? If you like to doodle, you are exhibiting this intelligence. The following are some strategies that will help a visual-spatial student to learn:

• Use the visuals in your learning situation-images, shapes, designs, colors-to help you remember. Coloring text can elicit an emotional response and actually help a person to recall information.
• Create a mental picture of what you're being told.
• Use highlighters to mark important text.
• When taking notes of what you hear and read, use images as well as words.
• Use Mind-Mapping as a way of learning and remembering.
• Use visual/spatial topics in your studies. For example, if you're studying a different culture, write an essay exploring their art and paintings.

Do we help students to use these strategies, or do we assume they will figure it out on their own?

 

 

Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence. What is "Brain Gym?"

 

I already mentioned that there were three main intelligences that the brain needs to retain information (visual, kinesthetic and auditory). One technique that is very simple and takes a relatively small amount of time is Brain Gym. I first came across Brain Gym® in my Art methods class. We had a guest speaker named Fritz Bell from Creative Classrooms in Raymond. He showed us that Brain Gym was a quick and effective way of changing the physical and mental state of students in a class. It involved us doing physical and mental activity that supposedly connected our left and right brain. I was fascinated.

 

During my research, I found a website that described Brain Gym® as:

"... a trademarked program of 26 targeted physical activities that improve learning abilities. Built upon more than 80 years of research, Brain Gym® was originally developed to enable children and adults to overcome so-called "learning disabilities." Today Brain Gym® is used widely by children, adults, and seniors to bring about rapid and often dramatic improvements in concentration, memory, reading skills, writing, organization, athletic skills, well being ..."

 

Dr. Hannaford stated in her book "Smart Moves" that:

"Our bodies are very much a part of all our learning, and learning is not an isolated "brain" function. Every nerve and cell is a network contributing to our intelligence and our learning capability. Many educators have found this work quite helpful in improving overall concentration in class."

 

After taking a Multiple Intelligence test myself last year, I was surprised as an artist to find out that my dominant Intelligence was Bodily-Kinesthetic, instead of Visual-Spatial. But the more I thought about it, this seemed to make perfect sense. My interests and process of learning usually includes movement - whether it was drawing or playing sports. I found this information very helpful going forward as a graduate student and wished that I had learned it sooner. I knew that I wanted to test my students at one point so that it could someday help them. I finally had this chance when I taught my book unit and tried to give all the students an opportunity to move around as often as they wished.

 

Do you have bodily/kinesthetic intelligence? Do you seem to create products or solve problems easier when your body is moving? If you enjoy sports and dance, you are exhibiting this intelligence.

The following are some strategies that will help a Bodily-Kinesthetic student to learn:

 

• Seek out ways to learn through hands-on experience.
• Act out the meanings of what you learn.
• Connect body movements, gestures, and facial expressions with different kinds of information.
• Use games, mime, and simulations to better understand and aid spatial memory. For example if students see the teacher acting out a definition of a word, a student with this intelligence might remember the definition better than if the student had read it.
• Learn about biofeedback methods to better understand how you learn. Use your bodily/kinesthetic intelligence in your studies. For example, if you're learning mathematics, use different parts of your body as measuring tools.

 

Do we give students the option to act out their answer to a question in class? Do we make them sit for long periods of time and tell them to stop moving when they are restless?

 

 

Auditory or Interpersonal Intelligence.

 

Reality is that much of the success of a student will be determined in the work world when they have to solve problems with people they work with. In order for students to become life-long learners, they get experience by working with other students in class and learn how to be flexible to compromise or modify their ideas in order to solve a group problem. I feel that this intelligence is one that has been emphasized in schools during recent years. In summary, the Interpersonal Intelligence is defined as, "the ability to understand other people, to notice their goals, motivations, intentions, and to work effectively with them."

 

I included this Intelligence in my research as a way to compare the data with Visual-Spatial and Bodily-Kinesthetic methods of teaching. I divided my 7^th grade students into 3 groups and had them each create an artistic book concept. Each student was assigned a specific role in production. Their grade was determined by both peer evaluation and self-assessment of the presentation's success. An art teacher once told me, "Messy planning makes for tidy teaching." This art book project demonstrated this concept. It was interesting to see which students enjoyed working in a group and the results of a survey I gave them will be presented at the colloquium.

 

It took quite awhile to come up with "the hook." How could I possibly get each group to work independently, when normally during class they are asking me a zillion questions? But after careful planning of how I would present the initial information, when it came to teaching the lesson - I could have taken the day off.  

 

What we commonly do now - Verbal Linguistic and Logical-Mathematical 

Does this sound familiar? When we learn, we often:

• Read material before going to lectures.
• Take notes of what you hear
• Describe what you've learned to others.
• Listen to what others have learned
• Write out the steps/instructions to a procedure or experiment.
• Take down notes in outline form.
• Rank different items of information in order of their importance.
• Organize information into different categories to aid memory.
• Use your logic to predict outcomes based on your knowledge of the past.

In this paper I have presented some questions. Some you may connect with, others might not hit so close to home. The important thing is to keep asking the questions. I haven't found an answer yet that meets every student's needs, but the evidence I have gathered during my research about Brain-Based Learning and Multiple Intelligences I feel points teaching practice in a direction of trying to incorporate all of the different learning styles. I know that this is no easy task when you have inclusive classrooms with students of all different levels of development and not enough time to teach the material you are required to teach during that time. But we need to ask these questions and learn from each other. We can't ask our students to do it unless we do it ourselves. I am truly looking forward to hearing all the different perspectives about the positives and negatives of using Visual-Spatial and Bodily-Kinesthetic teaching methods in the classroom. Even if we don't walk away with an answer, we will still be on our way to learning how to be better teachers.