EEND-677 Discussion - Incorporating Graphic Design

·         Why might incorporating graphic design into your classroom be valuable?

Graphic design is valuable because it provides students with a visual of the information that is being taught.  Visuals like graphic design grabs a reader’s attention and helps with comprehending what is being presented.  Using graphic design is a technique that businesses use to grab our attention why not use that strategy in the classroom. Students will have a focal point while learning a concept and a reference if they need to go back to it.

·         Thinking about how our students absorb information, how might we better support the learners in our classrooms? 

All students have different learning preferences and their learning is enhanced if it is taught through different learning modalities.  Like the saying goes, kids are like sponges they absorb everything, but I think they will absorb it much faster if it is seen, heard and touched. The infographic of The Power of Visual Communication, states that people are able to recall 80% of what is seen.  If you think about the more senses that students use when interacting with new content, the more they retain in their long-term memory. 

·         Envision an activity, unit or event that is approaching how might you incorporate some of the design principles?

 I teach prekindergarten and I use lots of visuals in my instruction because I know that children in early childhood need to develop a concrete understanding of a concept to be able to move on to the abstract.  If I want them to understand what a triangle is, I need to show them a picture or better yet a model of a triangle.  I can tell them what defines a triangle a hundred times but that will not mean that they understand it. Once they have seen it and felt it they will begin to understand what it is.  The more visual designs that I incorporate into my unit on 2D shapes the better they will understand my instruction.