Exploring Sketching as a Window on Student Understanding

• In Event: Literacy, Reading, and New Media

Abstract

Sketching was used in an pilot study to understand what students learn when they read science texts. Higher and lower ability students were asked to read science texts that contained complex diagrams. Students used sketching software to copy diagrams from the texts. Sketching was reliably associated with student learning. Sketches revealed aspects of student learning that were similar to those uncovered using text-based assessments. Results also suggest that sketching can reveal unique aspects of student learning not shown in text-based assessments and further investigation should be done.

Authors

• Jooyoung Jang, University of California - Los Angeles

• Benny Cooper, University of California - Los Angeles

• Louis M. Gomez, University of California - Los Angeles