When we interact with notes in my class, I like to make them colorful and interesting. I think part of it is because a large part of my memory is very visual. I see pictures when I recall information. I have also been trying to do more art in the past year. The most recent thing I have been studying is art journaling and lettering. Somehow, art ends up in science. (On a side note, I am a firm believer in adding the “A” for art into STEM education.)
Last year, we made basic concept maps of our freshwater notes. This year, I decided to try “art notes” – a more artful representation than a basic concept map. As we were creating these in class, everyone seemed to be enjoying it. I know I though it was fun. At the end of class, we all exclaimed we would much rather study our art notes instead of the regular notes. I also think this is a great strategy students could use while studying.
(Also, we worked on these after we had already discovered the information through labs and other hands on activities. I used this as more of a review activity than an introductory activity.)