THE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT-CREATED INTERACTIVE DOODLE NOTES AS AN EFFECTIVE TEACHING STRATEGY IN INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY COURSES

This research examines the effectiveness of interactive doodle notes - concept maps of new science material simplified into pictures, diagrams, webs, outlines, and important vocabulary, to assess their learning impact in college introductory geoscience courses. Doodle notes can effectively illustrate complex systems. In the 2020 spring and fall semesters, the instructor modeled doodle notes for quality and clarity in introductory college geology classes, and then students were asked to produce their own using their classroom notes, Powerpoints, textbook, discussions, and assignments. 108 Students designed interactive doodle notes that condensed new material into meaningful representations of their own learning. Preliminary analysis indicates that doodle notes helped students demonstrate their own conceptual understanding about new material. Additionally, student-generated interactive doodle notes actively engaged students in their own learning and allowed them to connect new information with pre-existing schemas in a fun and organized way. Additional research is needed to document whether doodle notes effectively increase student engagement in the active learning process, and result in higher student achievement in introductory geoscience courses.