Who benefits from using Graphic Organizers?

• Students who are helped by seeing relationships between information.
• Students who are non-linear thinkers or would get a better picture from a graphic than from words.
• Students who can take the graphic representation and use it to generate narrative or expository writing.

So, why not just use pencil and paper? Because using a computer allows students to:

• have text read aloud
• change the size, color, and font to improve readability
• cut and paste or otherwise manipulate information
• combine images (from image libraries) with text to increase comprehension or demonstrate understanding

 What does research say?

• Direct teaching of the thinking strategies involved in graphic organizers leads students to use them independently. (Skruggs, 1985)
• Use of graphic organizers in pre-reading helps students relate new information to their existing knowledge. (Novak & Gowin, 1984)
  

• Graphic Organizers: A Review of Scientifically Based Research, prepared by the Institute for the Advancement of Research in Education (IARE) at AEL reviews twenty-nine scientifically based research studies, providing evidence in support of the instructional effectiveness of the use of graphic organizers.

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