Graphic Organizers

A graphic organizer (GO) is a visual learning tool that helps students organize their thoughts, either alone or in a group. A graphic organizer visually chunks a task into manageable segments or steps, guiding a student to think-through each step in the process. In terms of artifacts, GOs make visible the invisible thinking processes a student uses at various points in a career exploration.

Completed graphic organizers become evidence, artifacts, of student learning as they are engaged in their various tasks. These artifacts represent the learning processes students engage in.

When do I use a graphic organizer?
A graphic organizer can be used at any time during the learning process. Traditionally, teachers use graphic organizers at the beginning of a task to help students begin their learning. However, a graphic organizer can be used to support a student at any point in her or his learning process. Unlike other learning tools, graphic organizers are versatile and provide opportunities for endless applications across various contexts.

When is it NOT advised to use a graphic organizer?
A graphic organizer can be a great source of frustration for a student who does not need one. For instance, if a student prefers to free-write as a way of organizing her or his thoughts, a graphic organizer might hinder her or his process. Also, a student who has always used some type of graphic organizer in previous learning situations, may at some point, depending of the task, no longer require its use—this is the goal—that the learning process targeted by the GO is internalized by the student.

POP Graphic Organizers	Explo Graphic Organizers	EN Graphic Organizers

Graphic Organizers and Differentiation
Guided	Open-Ended
A GO that guides a student closely to set out the steps of a career exploration process in a detailed way, indicating the steps to take, a list if things to do per step and then a due date.	A GO that guides students to plan out a project breaking down the process into 5 steps. Some use it for weekly planning others for the entire project. However, what you put into the five boxes is not specified, it is up to the student to consider these elements—o pen-ended.

Back to:

Career Development home page
Updated: August 14, 2012, 10:18 AM