Cognitive organisers

Online resources: (Copy and paste into your browser bar)

http://www.slideshare.net/changeorder/better-ideas-faster-how-to-brainstorm-more-effectively

http://www.sac.sa.edu.au/Library/Library/Topics/thinking_skills/thinking.html

http://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/graphic_organizers

http://www.studyvibe.com.au/Toolbox/Trusty-templates.aspx

http://www.graphic.org/

http://www.thinkingmaps.com/examples.php

http://www.slideshare.net/rycoleman/an-introduction-to-visual-thinking

What is the definition of a cognitive organiser?

Definition

A graphic organizer is a visual and graphic display that depicts the relationships between facts, terms, and or ideas within a task.

Graphic organizers are also sometimes referred to as knowledge maps, concept maps, story maps, cognitive organizers, advance organizers, or concept diagrams.

They are helpful because 80 percent of people’s brains are dedicated to processing visual information and yet many information transfer experience is heavily verbal, textual and linear – speaking, reading words and numbers.

We can greatly improve people’s thinking process if we make it easy for them to use all their senses and both the right and left sides of their brains.

Benefits of using cognitive organisers or thinking tools are:

• Templates provide an explicit structure for thinking and working in team situation or when more than one person has to work together.

• The group is more analytical because all of the data is available all the time, rather than slides whizzing by.

• Multiple perspectives can be displayed and linked.

• The complexity of the problem or vision is illuminated rather than ignored.

• Colourful templates are memorable. The brain retains the images for long periods of time.

• Group members participate because visual medium stimulates the imagination and holds their attention.

• Groups can work faster if a task has been structured in advance and displayed in template form.

Task:

Collaborate with class mates and discuss and select one or two elements of your project that may benefit from being developed into a graphical format.