These research articles selected and reviewed by the contributors of the Graphic Organizer Blog represents both a broad and a holistic overview of this particular segment of cognition research. With the aim to give the readers sufficient information and insight into the world of graphic organizers (GOs), we chose articles that examined the use of GOs in both hard and social science settings. As the titles of the articles are good indicator of the setting were the studies were performed, a decision was made to omit specific references hereafter.
We decided to highlight research that not only measured the effects of various types of GOs but also performed comparative analysis with other instructional methods currently in use in a typical classroom.
We also included research that either aimed to replicate or to confirm previous studies on GOs, something that is, in our opinion, not done with enough frequency in educational research.
Finally, we felt strongly about the need to show the versatility and diversity GOs can provide in terms of statement generation, mediated learning, and scaffolding for experts and learners alike in any instructional settings.
In our opinion, GOs offer enormous possibilities to improve human learning throughout the life stages by influencing instruction. We invite the reader to read additional articles from our bibliography to witness the amazing range of fields such as special education, science classrooms, medical schools, cancer patient advocacy and foreign language training where GO has been making a difference.
