Drawing “Octo-Pines”: Ice-Breaker Active-Learning Activities to Introduce Drawing-to-Learn in Biology

Drawing has been advocated as a technique to develop visual literacy and observational skills in biology students. To increase student motivation and confidence to draw in our course, we developed an introductory active-learning lesson with a series of icebreaker activities that promote student creativity and discussion. These activities include a clicker question, group discussions, drawing activities, and a worksheet. During the lesson, student responses generated more than 18 categories of how visuals can be used as a professional practice and as a learning tool in biology, with 14 of these categories overlapping. Students demonstrated interest in using a variety of drawings and visuals to represent various scientific scenarios. In a survey completed after the lesson, students reported that this activity increased their understanding of how drawings are used in the profession of biology and as a learning technique. Students also indicated that while they experienced some discomfort with the exercises, they enjoyed the drawing activities and found them useful. The examples in this lesson can be adapted to fit courses that emphasize drawing, observation, or visual literacy. Primary Image: “Octo-pine.” To increase student motivation to draw in zoology, the last activity in this lesson asks to students to draw an invertebrate-food combination (e.g., “octopine” = octopus + pineapple; “BEErito” = bee + burrito).