Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education ISSN: 1759-667X Special Issue 25: ALDinHE Conference Proceedings and Reflections October 2022 Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note taking Dawne Irving-Bell Edge Hill University, UK Peter Hartley Edge Hill University, UK Presentation abstract Despite its importance, student note taking is under-researched and under-theorised. Many studies are outdated, analysing pre-digital behaviour. Hence, we question whether earlier findings still apply (as does van der Meer, 2012). Although we find some innovations useful, such as collaborative note taking (Orndorff, 2015), much recent research is also problematic. For example, consider widely reported claims that students taking longhand notes perform better than students using laptops (Mueller and Oppenheimer, 2014). Recent studies suggest more complex relationships (Luo et al., 2018) but typically adopt short-term experimental approaches. As a result, current advice and guidance for university students tends to be limited, often listing different techniques with relatively little commentary/analysis. This session enabled participants to review progress on this ALDinHE supported project, inviting discussion on issues/development regarding our three main aims to: 1) Investigate current students’ note taking practices/preferences and develop transferable models to inform guidance and further research. 2) Pilot structured interventions, introducing different methods. 3) Produce/disseminate tools/approaches for longer-term investigation and application/adaptation by colleagues elsewhere. Our practical explorations with students have focused on two methods (sketchnoting & concept mapping), offering key differences in approach. While both offer visual representations, concept mapping (see Figure 1) uses quite ‘strict’ conceptual links/rules, Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 2 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 whereas sketchnoting (see Figure 2) offers a more ‘free-flowing’ and personal approach. Both methods are paper and/or computer based. Most importantly, both are supported by research, demonstrating their contribution to learning and understanding (for example, Fernandes et al, 2018; Kinchin et al, 2019). During the presentation, we shared the outcomes of our research to date via a practical workshop informed by our theoretical explorations and discussed their implications. Figure 1. A Concept Map (CC-BY Hartley, 2022). This map was produced in Cmap which is freeware supported by the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (available as a download at https://www.ihmc.us/cmaptools/). The map aims to answer the question at the top left of the map which always crops up in our workshops. It includes a few weblinks which work directly if you have the map in its original format. Maps can be exported in a range of formats, such as JPEG and PDF. One of the questions we hope to resolve as our project develops is why and how individuals decide on particular tools. https://www.ihmc.us/cmaptools/ Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 3 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 Figure 2. A Sketchnote (CC-BY Irving-Bell et al., 2021). This sketchnote was produced using Procreate®, a two-time Apple Design Award winning digital creative application made for iPad (available as a download within AppStore). Sketchnotes may also be produced using similar Apps (for example, Paper 53) on other mobile and tablet style devices and exported in multiple formats (such as PDF and JPEG), and of course, by hand, using paper and pens. Community response These community reflections were contributed by 12 members of the community. These reflections have been presented thematically (and split up where necessary to facilitate this). All indented content represents original, unedited content from the community. Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 4 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 1) A visual overview Figure 3. Visual thinking (and note making) by Jacqui Bartram, University of Hull. 2) General feedback and reflections There were many positive comments on the presentation and the approach to note taking. These are presented here to represent how well this work was received at the conference: Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 5 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 A nice, quick overview of two types of note taking Was very interesting and gave me food for thought Thank you for the presentation! Alongside these general comments, contributors went into more detail to support Irving- Bell and Hartley’s work. One contribution notably supported sketchnoting as a positive approach to support memory and comprehension: Sketchnoting combines text AND visuals which is based on the dual coding theory. It is generally shown to have a greater impact on what the note takers (and audience) remember, comprehend and/or share. Very good for revision as well. This links to Clark and Paivio’s (1991) work on dual coding, which argues that learning can be expanded through verbal associations and imagery. The positivity was furthered in another reflection, focusing on how the presenters had helped broaden their understanding of visual note taking approaches: Starting with building one’s visual vocabulary helps to get people hooked! Thanks for the presentation. Will get in touch. There is also an offer to get in touch, suggesting there will be ongoing dialogue on this topic. 2) Terminology Multiple reflections focused on the terminology and phrasing associated with note taking, sketchnotes and concept maps. One of these comments nicely summed up the discussion at the conference session: There was some conversation in the chat about the friendliness of phrasing i.e., sketchnoting may sound quite daunting to students. Is this another barrier to add to the ones mentioned in the session? I think Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 6 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 students might find ‘concept mapping’ quite a scary prospect too. Could we start to use different language to make these fantastic ideas more appealing? This presents an interesting question, suggesting that the terminology can be off-putting to students. One potential solution was raised in another reflection: This presentation certainly reignited my drive to consider how to teach such a valuable area. Interestingly, ‘note taking’ along with ‘reading’ have often been problematic terms to use with my students. I have frequently resorted to hiding them underneath different guises and titles with the aim to ‘tempt’ students in! Students frequently separate the concept of research/note taking from the act of writing when the two are clearly entwined. I go forth with renewed rigour for this often-overlooked skill. This suggests that covering note taking by stealth may be one solution to the terminology barrier. 3) Language Another aspect of language that was discussed related to students with English as a second language. For such international students, there was further reflections on how concept mapping and sketchnotes may or may not help: To some international students who may be struggling with the English language, the visualisation could also come in handy for them to quickly jot down important ideas whilst listening to a lecture or skimming a book. However, I am concerned how many details could be left out, which may be essential for students to do their assignments. This line of thinking was furthered by another contributor who asked some more specific questions about supporting international students: … following [the above] ideas, for those international students who may struggle with the English language, they may try to note down every word Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 7 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 so as to present an accurate and precise description/argument in their exams/assignments. In this case, how may you help these students figure out the purpose of note taking? For example, exams might need professional and accurate vocab, while notes for understanding do not? This suggests further avenues of research are still to be explored in the support of international student note taking. 4) Questions and recommendations for the author This session provided the opportunity for delegates to reflect on their own practice and experience, though it also raised follow-up questions that may be useful for Learning Developers to address: Which students would benefit from sketchnoting/concept mapping? Which purpose of note taking would they be most suitable for? There were also some substantial reflections based around questions and recommendations: Based on the examples shown in the presentation as well as my experience of using mind-mapping tools to take notes, I am pondering upon the role of sketchnoting or/and concept map noting in students’ study. Are they utilised to replace traditional text-based note taking, or to complement it? A sketchnote, or concept map seems very useful to capture what is in a lecture or in a piece of writing and provide one with an opportunity to digest or synthesise information in-situ. […] I also have a question about how to make a good sketchnote or concept map note. Could you provide some online resources about this? I know some researchers who are very systematic about their digital note taking (in all areas of life, not just work!) and can quickly find ideas or information they recorded years ago. Supporting skills development in naming, filing, and storing notes could be an interesting follow on. I will be thinking about this for our resources too. Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 8 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 I have some questions about transferring ideas into notes and the retainment of information in a graphic form. I wonder if there were any resources or training you could recommend for students majoring in humanities and social sciences. I singled out these groups of students, as the knowledge they learn could be philosophical and might need the effort to transfer into graphics. And in this case, would visual note taking be more effective than the traditional text-based ones? Besides, speaking from a student’s perspective, are there any effective note-taking methods you recommend to students when understanding the knowledge itself turns out to be a difficult task and when lecturers are not able to be re-listened to? I found myself overwhelmed with cognitive tasks in that situation, and my instant reaction turned out to be noting down every word the lecturer said, which may not be a clever way of retaining information […] and how would you construct a conversation to students who are high achievers, that visual note taking is a good way to go, and they do not need to note down everything in the lecture or in the textbook? This presentation has made me revisit key questions – what is the student doing when being presented with new information? How are they processing that information? When will they come back to their notes? As an extension, it could be interesting to explore how students are categorising and documenting their notes over time so they can hopefully revisit them later and make further connections in their learning. Perhaps the physicality of one sketchbook per subject may help students develop a good structure to locate and revisit notes. This could be one advantage of physical doodles. Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 9 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 5) Note taking scholarship and the Great Global Note taking Survey Figure 4. The Great Global Note Taking Survey (Slide 31 of the presentation). Despite being viewed as an essential skill, Van der Meer (2012) argues that note taking is an area that is both under-theorised and under-researched. As part of their session, Irving- Bell and Hartley introduced The Great Global Note Taking Survey, which they have launched alongside Baff, Beckingham, Faulkner, Hallam, Swanton, and Wooff (Baff et al., 2022, see Figure 4). The survey aims to address the lack of scholarship on notetaking and was well received by delegates …interesting to hear about the current state of note taking support across the institutions, thank you. I have not had much to do with note taking as a skill since before lockdown, so it was useful to get a digital update! It will be interesting to follow The Great Global Note Taking Survey. The presenters received many positive comments regarding their approach and The Great Global Note Taking Survey. It is fair to say there will be much interest from the Learning Development community regarding the outcome of this survey. The conversation reflected that there is also a need for a broader scholarship on note taking within Learning Development. One delegate shared that they were also conducting research in the same field, focusing on: https://figshare.edgehill.ac.uk/authors/Debbie_Baff/9087277 Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 10 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 … the impact of students' copying and pasting into their notes versus noting key concepts and the importance of engagement (deeper processing of the information) with the text was reflected in both the use of sketchnoting and concept mapping. This was noted by the presenters, who responded with: Thank you for the comments and positive feedback! - and for sharing how you are working with your students – we would be interested to speak to you – so if you revisit this page and would like to – please get in touch!!! There is certainly much discussion around note taking, and you can reach out to the conference presenters by contacting the corresponding author. Authors’ reflections Thank you to everyone who joined us and supported us in our presentation, and to those who have reached out since to share their practice, ideas, thoughts, and reflections. The Great Global Note taking Survey and the National Teaching Repository Joined by a number of interested colleagues we are seeking to discover more about visual note taking practices and have created a short survey. If you would like to participate, we would love to hear your thoughts. Here is a link to The Great Global Note taking Survey: https://doi.org/10.25416/NTR.20036534. https://doi.org/10.25416/NTR.20036534 Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 11 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 We hope to use the data from the survey to inform our thinking, and to help us to shape a series of resources for use across the sector. Once in place we will be sharing all resources via The National Teaching Repository (visit us on Twitter: @NTRepository), which is an Open Educational Resource (OER) hosted on a secure platform via Edge Hill University and Figshare. There are already a few resources in place so if you wanted to have a look please visit https://figshare.edgehill.ac.uk/The_National_Teaching_Repository. We would also welcome your contributions, so if you would like to share your research and resources please visit https://figshare.edgehill.ac.uk/submit and select The National Teaching Repository or the NTR – Visual Thinking folder. Work uploaded secures a DOI and citation, so you can track engagement with your work via Altmetric data. You set the level of CC Licence permission you prefer, and your work remains your intellectual property. If you would like more information, help, or have ideas to share please do not hesitate to get in touch! Community Feedback: It was good to hear from delegates how they are using note taking, both in use of ‘software’ packages and approach. Also, the mini discourse on ‘graphic recording’ (the professional recording of conferences) was interesting and highlighted that this activity can add to the intimidation of those taking notes due to the aspiration to create those ‘perfect pages’ – which detracts from the purpose of note taking which is to aid your own recall and improve your own learning. Presenter reflections: Firstly, we would like to thank the delegates not only for attending our workshop, but for taking the time after the session to share with us their invaluable insights. These have really given us ‘food for thought’ and combined with very early data from the Global Note Taking Survey, we have refined our thinking and the data is helping us to re-shape our research planning going forward. Based on the comments and questions from our wonderful delegates - it is clear that note taking - in whatever form (pen and paper, tablet or mobile device, handwritten or computer https://figshare.edgehill.ac.uk/The_National_Teaching_Repository https://figshare.edgehill.ac.uk/submit Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 12 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 generated, visual note taking, sketchnoting, mind and concept mapping) is of benefit to learners to aid cognitive recall. Delegate feedback indicates that colleagues would like to know more and find out about the ‘best’ ways they can use visual note taking both for themselves and to support their learners. Therefore, it is clear that more help, information and support around the ‘how’ of visual note taking would be of real value and benefit. Working with our colleagues Debbie Baff, Sue Beckingham, Suzanne Faulkner, Sarah Hallam, Katrina Swanton, and David Wooff in our next phase of work, in addition to continuing our research, we are looking at the feasibility of hosting a handful of practical (probably online) workshops. Plus, as we develop resources, we will be sharing our research-informed resources via The National Teaching Repository OER platform. So please visit the repository, contribute if you feel able to do so, or to get involved and join us please get in touch. Acknowledgements Thanks are extended to all members of the community that have engaged with the conference or these proceedings in some way. Thank you to the following community members for their contributions to this particular paper: A-K Reck, (University of Portsmouth), Qi Luo (University College London), Robert Ping-Nan Chang (University of the Arts London). Special thanks to Jacqui Bartram (University of Hull) for her visual reflection on this session. References Baff, D., Beckingham, S., Faulkner, S., Hallam, S., Hartley, P., Irving-Bell, D., Swanton, K. and Wooff, D. (2022) The Great Global Notetaking Survey. National Teaching Repository. https://doi.org/10.25416/NTR.20036534. Clark, J. M. and Paivio, A. (1991) ‘Dual coding theory and education’, Educational Psychology Review, 3, pp.149–210 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01320076. https://doi.org/10.25416/NTR.20036534 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01320076 Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 13 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 Fernandes, M. A., Wammes, J. D. and Meade, M. E. (2018) ‘The surprisingly powerful influence of drawing on memory’, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(5), pp.302-308. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418755385. Hartley, P. (2022). Concept mapping using Cmap. National Teaching Repository. Poster. https://doi.org/10.25416/NTR.21379242. Irving-Bell, D., Cuthbert, K., Tasler, N. and Stinson, L. (2021). Scholarship and Impact. National Teaching Repository https://doi.org/10.25416/edgehill.16602089. Kinchin, I. M., Möllits, A. and Reiska, P. (2019) ‘Uncovering types of knowledge in concept maps’, Education Sciences, 9(2), p.131. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2227- 7102/9/2/131 (Accessed: 25 July 2019). Luo, L., Kiewra, K. A., Flanigan, A. E. and Peteranetz, M. S. (2018) ‘Laptop versus longhand note taking: effects on lecture notes and achievement’, Instructional Science. 46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-018-9458-010.1007/s11251-018-9458- 0. Mueller, P. A. and Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014) ‘The pen is mightier than the keyboard: advantages of longhand over laptop notetaking’, Psychological Science, 25(6), pp. 1159-1168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614524581. Orndorff, H. N. (2015) ‘Collaborative note-taking: the impact of cloud computing on classroom performance’, International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 27(3), pp.340-35. Available at https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1093744 (Accessed: 20 October 2022). Van der Meer, J. (2012) ‘Students’ note-taking challenges in the twenty-first century: considerations for teachers and academic staff developers’, Teaching in Higher Education, 17(1), pp.13-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2011.590974. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418755385 https://doi.org/10.25416/NTR.21379242 https://doi.org/10.25416/edgehill.16602089 https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/9/2/131 https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/9/2/131 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-018-9458-010.1007/s11251-018-9458-0 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-018-9458-010.1007/s11251-018-9458-0 https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614524581 https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1093744 https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2011.590974 Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 14 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 Further reading Andrade, J. (2009) ‘What does doodling do?’ Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24, pp. 100-106. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1561. Boggs, J. B., Cohen, J. L. and Merchant, G. C. (2017). ‘The effects of doodling on recall ability’, Psychological Thought, 10, pp.206-216. Available from: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1165&context=edpsyc h_fac_articles (Accessed: 21 October 2022). Kinchin, I.M. (2014) ‘Concept mapping as a learning tool in higher education: A critical analysis of recent reviews’. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 62(1) pp.39 - 49. https://doi.org/10.1080/07377363.2014.872011. Kinchin, I.M. (2016) Visualising powerful knowledge to develop the expert student: A knowledge structures perspective on teaching and learning at university. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-627-9_2. Meade, M. E., Wammes, J. D., and Fernandes, M. A. (2019). ‘Comparing the influence of doodling, drawing, and writing at encoding on memory’, Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology = Revue Canadienne De Psychologie Experimentale, 73(1), pp.28-36. https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000170. Novak, J.D. (2009) Learning, creating and using knowledge: concept maps as facilitative tools in schools and corporations. 2nd edn. London: Routledge. Rohde, M. (2012) The Sketchnote handbook. San Francisco, CA: Peachpit Press. Wammes, J. D., Meade, M. E. and Fernandes, M. A. (2018) ‘Creating a recollection-based memory through drawing’, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 44, pp.734-751. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000445. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1561 https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1165&context=edpsych_fac_articles https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1165&context=edpsych_fac_articles https://doi.org/10.1080/07377363.2014.872011 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-627-9_2 https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000170 https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000445 Irving-Bell and Hartley Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note-taking 15 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 Author Details Dawne Irving-Bell, Ph.D. is a Reader in Teaching and Learning. She is a National Teaching Fellow (NTF), Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), holds a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) and received a National Award from her subject association in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Teacher Education. With a passion for visual-thinking and technology education, Dawne established ‘The National Teaching Repository’, an Open Education Resource with proven reach and impact across the global Higher Education community. Peter Hartley is a Higher Education Consultant, National Teaching Fellow and Visiting Professor at Edge Hill University, following previous roles as Professor of Education Development at Bradford and Professor of Communication at Sheffield Hallam. His ongoing consultancy includes mentoring NTF/CATE applicants, institutional strategies for learning technology/spaces and assessment (see the PASS project at https://www.bradford.ac.uk/pass/) Now involved in the new SEDA/Jisc Student Partnership Impact Award, he co-authored the second edition of Success in Groupwork, with Mark Dawson and Sue Beckingham (https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/success-in-groupwork- 9781350933491/). https://www.bradford.ac.uk/pass/ https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/success-in-groupwork-9781350933491/ https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/success-in-groupwork-9781350933491/ Visual thinking: exploring current practices and perspectives re student note taking Presentation abstract Community response 1) A visual overview 2) General feedback and reflections 2) Terminology 3) Language 4) Questions and recommendations for the author 5) Note taking scholarship and the Great Global Note taking Survey Authors’ reflections The Great Global Note taking Survey and the National Teaching Repository Community Feedback: Presenter reflections: Acknowledgements References Further reading Author Details