Engaging Students in the Classroom: ‘How Can I Know What I Think Until I See What I Draw?’

Abstract

Recognising that the world into which students emerge upon graduation is characterised by constant change, we embrace a critical pedagogy that can be implemented in the classroom through the use of freehand drawing. Freehand drawing is a technique that can stimulate a critical stance, as visual representations allow us to comprehend the world differently, while permitting us see how others understand the world. First year students, in their first lecture, were asked to draw their interpretations of Irish politics and to explain in writing what they had drawn. The students were then placed in groups and asked to note what they saw in each other's drawings, allowing for the identification of general patterns and themes. In this context, freehand drawing facilitates our ability to: 'see' how we understand a topic and that there are multiple ways of understanding; test theories, orthodoxies and accepted truths; scrutinise tacit assumptions; and ponder other possibilities. In employing freehand drawing in this manner, our aim is to create a learning environment where students develop their capacity for critical self-reflection.

Using drawings to understand perceptions of civic engagement across disciplines: ‘Seeing is understanding’

“…The class agreed that it was important to have a single, common goal depicted in the drawing. This drawing is indicative of the self-awareness and open-mindedness that characterises critical thinking associated with images (Cordell, 2016;Donnelly and Hogan, 2013). Our description - Figure 5 shows a chain of people holding hands while standing atop the world and fits with the storytelling approach proposed by Hall (2008).…”

Understanding corruption through freehand drawings: a case study of undergraduate business students’ visual learning in the classroom

“…Freehand drawing is widely recognised as an effective and efficient way of recording and communicating a flow of ideas (Richards, 2013). It is also seen as an effective 'visual elicitation technique' which allows students to explore multiple ways of understanding and challenging 'taken-for-granted' assumptions (Donnelly and Hogan, 2013;Feeney et al, 2015). The pedagogical benefits of a freehand drawing activity include enabling students to draw their own interpretations of a particular phenomenon as well as facilitating students' knowledge construction and visual critical thinking (Feeney & Hogan, 2017).…”

Photovoice and Photo-Elicitation in Management Education

“…Photos, images, or drawings can serve as basic discussion prompts or springboards for open-space explorations (Chio & Fandt, 2007; Donnelly & Hogan, 2013; Madden & Smith, 2015; Han & Liang, 2015). Broadly speaking, these visuals can be placed into the category of “participatory visual arts” (Luttrell, 2010) or “participatory photography” (Singhal & Devi, 2003).…”