Alison Markley's Blog

Whether it is at school, a story about the weekend, or another experience, students frequently tell parents or others that they cannot explain the experience, that you just had to be there. Maybe students really cannot find the words to explain the experience, or maybe they have found that they can get away with not having to say much more about it with those answers; however, there is a way to get an answer about what actually happened, or what students actually learned at school, the answer is with learning illustrated.

Learning illustrated is another form of reflection that teachers or parents can use to see what students are learning. Arthur Ellis (2001 p. 92) explains that “many young children know how to tie their shoes, a difficult skill, but could not write a paragraph explaining how they do it.” Students often are able to say that they learned something at school, but words are not the most effective mode of relaying that learning to someone else. “In fact, there is often little relationship between mastery of a skill and the ability to explain it” (Ellis, 2001, p. 92). Students may be able to complete a difficult math problem, but explaining can be a more challenging task. Learning illustrated overcomes this challenge because students can use “sketches, drawings, maps, flow charts, diagrams, graphs, or any other iconic means” to show what they have learned, instead of traditional paragraphs and sentences (Ellis, 2001, p. 92). Learning illustrated is obviously a great choice for younger students; however, older students can benefit as well because they must think actually think about what happened in class and what they really did learn.

Ellis, A.K. (2001). Teaching, learning, & assessment together: The reflective classroom. New York: Eye on Education.