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; graphic organizers 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 and Spring semester of 2021, 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, instructor Powerpoints, textbook, discussions, and assignments. A total of 23 sections of a college introductory Earth science course were used in the study; Control group G included 12 sections of the course, Control group R included 8 sections, and the Experimental group covered 3 sections of the course. 155 total students in the Experimental group from three different semesters designed interactive doodle notes that condensed new material into meaningful representations of their own learning. Data 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. This study proposes to investigate and analyze whether doodle notes effectively increase student engagement in the active learning process resulting in higher student achievement in introductory geoscience courses.