by P. Payne

Created on: October 12, 2010   Last Updated: October 13, 2010

Graphic organizers are a visual communication tool that shows the relationship between facts or ideas. Sometimes referred to as a map, graphic organizers help to put ideas and information in a visual form.

Whether graphic organizers are used to brainstorm ideas or share information, they can be used by individuals or in a group setting. They are useful in all phases of learning, from brainstorming ideas to presenting information to others. Because they give a picture of information, graphic organizers help teachers to teach and students to learn.

Not everyone learns the same way, but research shows visual aids such as graphic organizers can clarify information and increase understanding for students and others. Combined with verbal instruction, graphic organizers can be a powerful tool to help increase student understanding and retention of information.

Also called concept maps, story maps, and mind maps, visual symbols are used to express ideas and concepts that can reveal patterns and relationships and generate additional ideas. Graphic organizers have become an integral tool for teaching in reading, language arts, math, science and social studies. Graphic organizers also are very helpful to map out ideas and topics for writing assignments.

Curriculum in our nation’s schools is generally based on research that supports various learning techniques used by teachers. According to information on the Inspiration Software website, a research study conducted by the Institute for the Advancement of Research in Education (IARE) identified 29 studies that support the effectiveness and use of visual learning techniques such as graphic organizers.  The studies showed that the use of visual aids increases performance in the areas of reading comprehension and retention. They also showed students improve thinking and learning skills, including organizing material and communicating ideas, recognizing patterns and relationships and in categorizing material.

Graphic organizers help students of all ages to focus on the task and use information already in their knowledge base, integrating it with new concepts. Research shows graphic organizers are especially helpful to special needs students, since information can be broken down into manageable sections for them to work on. The use of diagrams to show great amounts of information makes understanding easier.

Instructional Strategies Online provides information about the use of graphic organizers, citing  Jay McTighe’s book, Graphic Organizers: Collaborative Links to Better Thinking. It indicates graphic organizers can be used before instruction to structure new material. Input about students’ prior knowledge is gathered by making a graphic organizer on the blackboard. During instruction, students create graphic organizers, keeping them actively involved in the learning process, assimilating and expressing information according to individual learning styles. Following instruction, graphic organizers can be used to summarize and interpret information.

A variety of graphic organizers can be found on the Internet, some tailored to specific subjects and others for general use. Teacher tap and other websites provide suggestions for using graphic organizers, research information and printable organizers. Some sites offer graphic organizer generators, and others have templates to download. Using these tools will help clarify thinking, enable students to see relationships between concepts, and develop other skills critical to learning.

http://www.inspiration.com/Educators/Research

http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/graphicorga nizers/index.html

http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic73.htm

Learn more about this author, P. Payne.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.