Stephen L. Sepinuck, Gonzaga University School of Law INVOLVING STUDENTS IN CREATING GRAPHICS Displaying a graphic (e.g., a matrix, flow chart, Venn diagram, time line, or illustration) on the board or overhead projector or distributing a printed copy can be valuable service to the visual learner. Graphics can summarize a significant amount of information and their use in this manner can supplement or even supplant some class discussion. However, both of these uses typically assist in fairly low levels of learning (using Bloom’s taxonomy): Knowledge & Comprehension. There are better options. I propose to give a presentation - and demonstration - on the value of involving students in the creation of graphics. My presentation will consist partly of examples displayed on an overhead projector of graphic assignments I have used to make students active learners. It will also include one or two brief projects for the audience that I hope will bring home to them the value of my approach. Some of my specific suggestions will include the following: 1. Hand out a blank chart or matrix and ask students to complete it before class. For example, I do this in Sales when teaching the Parol Evidence Rule. Once students make an effort to complete the information boxes in the matrix, the teacher can lead a class discussion of the rule to make sure that they all understand it. Having them work on the graphic first, however, makes class go more quickly and gives students a greater sense of connection to the graphic. Levels of Learning: Comprehension & Application. 2. Use class discussion to chart out the proper analysis. For example, I designed a series of problems that required students to analyze and apply UCC § 2-207. As we went over the problems in class, I used the students’ answers to produce on the board a flowchart of § 2-207 analysis. This approach did several things simultaneously: (i) it made the students more invested in the chart because they had helped to produce it; (ii) it gave them an idea of how to produce such a chart on their own; and (iii) it provided reciprocal reinforcement in that the chart reinforced their analysis and answers to the problems while at the same time their analysis reinforced the validity of the chart. Levels of Learning: Application & Synthesis. 3. Ask students to create a graphic entirely on their own (though perhaps within certain design parameters). For instance, I have occasionally assigned students the task of flowcharting how a particular doctrine or statute operates. Perhaps my most successful graphic assignment was to require students to create a graphic that depicts how the contract-policing doctrines (e.g., fraud, duress, unconscionability, misrepresentation, capacity & mistake) relate to one another. Such assignments prompt students to create a way of organizing or depicting the information, and therefore facilitates learning at the highest levels: Synthesis & Evaluation. What’s more, such a project can actually save class time by relegating the class discussion to the fine points of the doctrine or statute and to clearing up misconceptions. Such assignments are flexible. They can be ungraded, graded, or extra-credit. They can require individual work or collaboration, depending on the teacher’s other pedagogical objectives. They also illustrate how some students think about the course material in a completely different way than the teacher does, which can prompt the teacher: (i) to be more sensitive to their learning styles; (ii) to catch and correct any misunderstandings the students may have; and (iii) perhaps think about the material differently. Perhaps most important, even if some students’ graphics work do not reflect significant understanding, the students themselves often exhibit great interest in and excitement about these projects and their work often reveals far more creativity than I could muster. Such excitement and creativity are essential to any learning environment, and worthy of tapping.