Don't discourage children from doodling in class

March 3, 6:12 AMNY Education ExaminerLorri Giovinco-Harte

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Have you ever opened a child's notebook and found scribbles and doodlings in the margins or on the page?  Chances are, you might have thought that this was not a very good sign and that it indicated a lack of concentration or focus.

Traditionally, adults have tended to think  that children who doodle while listening to information are not paying attention; yet research is showing that the opposite, is in fact, true.

Researchers in Great Britain have found that doodling is an important tool to help retain information.  When studying individuals who listened to a recorded message which included factual pieces of information such as names and places, researchers found that those who doodled while listening, remembered 29 percent more than those who did not.

Professor Jackie Andrade, of the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth explains that doodling may be a tactic that human beings use to keep focused and avoid daydreaming.

It would seem therefore, that contrary to popular belief, the child who is doodling in class is not tuning out.  He or she is actually trying hard to tune in. 

Read more at Health Day.