Center for Excellence in Teaching
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Open in new tab Interested in using sketching activities in your course?
Here are some tips for implementation:
- Explain the purpose and process of making a sketch. Make a point to students that the artfulness of the sketch is not the main focus, rather it is the information contained in the sketch that is important.
- Provide them with a model and identify the key elements of a successful sketch.
- Ask students to complete their sketches individually or in small groups.
- Ask students to either reflect on their individual sketches, switch sketches with a peer and review, or discuss as a class.
- Lead a class debrief or provide group or individual feedback to tie the activity back to course content and your objectives for the activity.
- After the activity, students may submit their sketches or keep them as a study guide. Sketches could also be posted in the classroom or shared with the class virtually on a discussion board for follow-up activities.
More resources for active learning and sketching activities:
- CET’s Active Learning Facilitation Process Resource
- Hoskins, S. G., Lopatto, D., & Stevens, L. M. (2011). The C.R.E.A.T.E. Approach to Primary Literature Shifts Undergraduates’ Self-Assessed Ability to Read and Analyze Journal Articles, Attitudes about Science, and Epistemological Beliefs. CBE Life Sciences Education, 10(4), 368–378.
- From STEM to STEAM: 9 Specific Strategies for Adding the Art (Blog post)
What does the research say?
Edlund, A. F., & Balgopal, M. M. (2021). Drawing-to-Learn: Active and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for Biology. Frontiers in Communication, 6.
Helen J. DeWaard, Giulia Forsythe, & Deborah Baff. (2024). Graphically Speaking: Expanding Landscapes of Scholarly Writing Using Sketchnotes. Brock Education, 33(1).
Nesbit JC, Adesope OO. Learning with Concept and Knowledge Maps: A Meta-Analysis. Review of educational research. 2006;76(3):413-448.
Wu, S. P. W., Van Veen, B., & Rau, M. A. (2020). How drawing prompts can increase cognitive engagement in an active learning engineering course. Journal of Engineering Education (Washington, D.C.), 109(4), 723–742.