Picture Text: A Mnemonic Device to Assist Student Retention of Information

Picture Text: A Mnemonic Device to Assist Student Retention of Information

This presentation will explore how one professor incorporated picture text into classroom lectures and discussions.  Picture text was used as a mnemonic device to assist a student’s retention of information and one’s memory in recalling a concept or theory.  The picture text was not a firm written text consisting of a set number of symbols that correspond to particular words or phrases.  Rather, each design was a student’s personal creation.  Each student was encouraged to draw symbols, lines and/or shapes that would help him him/her remember a concept or theory discussed in class.  

Materials included in the OER presentation are listed below:

1.     A brief literature review on picture text and picture writing;
2.     Step-by-step instructions on how to integrate picture text into classroom lectures and discussions;
3.     Examples of picture text, designed by students in the course;
4.     A summary of students’ perceptions about picture text as a mnemonic device to assist in their retention of information.