Visualizing the elements

I chose to create an infographic as a visual learning tool to help teach some of the basic ideas of chemical elements. The topic of elements is not a simple concept for all students to grasp. Telling a student that all matter is created by basic elements is an abstract idea for students. This can cause confusion by what an “element” is.  An example of a possible misconception would be for a student to think- well, my desk is made of wood therefore wood is an element. By utilizing simple pictures of atomic structure and showing that each element is made up of its own atoms, the students will begin to understand that atoms are not visible.   

I put a lot of thought into how I wanted the infographic to appear. I decided to use brighter colors and a “comic” or “graphic” feel to appeal to my young student audience. I used bright colors to attract attention to the alphabetic text on the page so the eye wouldn’t only scan the images. Graphic novels are currently very popular with students. Considering most of my students will be familiar with this style, I thought they could relate and connect my infographic with graphic texts they may have previously encountered.  I selected the website Piktochart.com based on some of the examples from other previous MACSTEP students. I took great care in selecting my images. It was important to me that the images tie in closely with the content yet be simple enough for my students to understand. I did deepen my understanding of the history of atomic structure through my creation of my infographic. In my chemistry classes, I memorized some of the historical scientists’ names and contributions. However, by paraphrasing what these researchers accomplished into comic form, it deepened my understanding and recall.  

I feel that any of the genres of visualizing material as a prereading activity or lesson will help our students form a basis for learning. They will relate to the technology and enjoy the lesson. I think looking at my infographic is an enjoyable activity for students with some learning thrown in. They also will be able to use the images in the infographic as a basis for a picture to text connection in their brain. When reading a more challenging text, they will access that picture and it will help them form a deeper understanding of the text. I enjoyed learning how to create my infographic. I will definitely utilize this tool during my teaching. I also would love to utilize video for certain demonstrations and video story problems. I think both are great tools to engage students. Again, it gives students that picture to text connection.

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