Step 3: Leveraging Graphic Organizers as Optional Scaffolding

Like lecture notes, graphic organizers can provide important scaffolding as they guide students in making their thinking visible. Gretchen Brion-Meisels uses graphic organizers both for small-group discussions and in whole class share-outs. These organizers help students “who need more structure” keep track of their learning and “hold onto” key ideas they generate in class. In small groups, Brion-Meisels makes these graphic organizers optional, letting students decide how much they need to use them in order to have generative discussions. She also collects these graphic organizers after class, summarizes the key ideas, and then shares those ideas back with all students, providing another way for students to learn from each other.

Profiled: Gretchen Brion-Meisels, Lecturer on Education, teaches "Partnering with Youth in Educational Research and Practice" to 23 students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Takeaway Tips

Consider how you might help students learn from one another’s notes, not just their own. In Brion-Meisels’ classroom, the collective learning of the class is also recorded on the whiteboards and presented to all students in after-class summaries. 

Consider how graphic organizers could be helpful or not for the learners in your classroom, including when to use them and when to have them as an optional support.. 

Consider also how your graphic organizers might transfer to different forms of media, including whiteboards, Google Docs, or online discussion boards. Taking graphic organizers off the printed page can help students use them to make connections and build on each other’s ideas. 

Related Resources

The Iris Center at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College explains the research showing how graphic organizers support student learning and offers examples of graphic organizers that serve different purposes. 

The College of William and Mary has created a detailed Considerations Packet called “Graphic Organizers: Guiding Principles and Effective Practices,” which contains a wealth of tips and examples.

This Mt San Antonio College resource discusses how graphic organizers can be a valuable UDL tool. 

Reflection Questions

What materials do you provide students to help them make their thinking visible during class? What other materials might you create? 

How can you provide choice to your students so they can use these materials to best serve their learning?

Helping students create a record of their learning—through graphic organizers or whiteboard notes—can help you build an inclusive classroom where all students learn. In the next video, we’ll examine another way to help students retain their learning beyond a single class. 

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