Using Drawing and Storytelling to Teach Chemistry: Dual Coding in Action
By Julian Dance —
Tags: Cognitive Science, How Students Learn, Dual Coding, Learning & Memory, Learning Science
A simple hand-drawn comic about Argon and Lithium turned a chemistry tutoring session into an engaging learning experience. This article explores how drawing, storytelling, and dual coding theory can help students better understand and retain complex concepts.
Article by Julian Dance, Head of Big Ideas at SideCog Following on from our previous article, The Drawing Effect in Learning: How Sketching and Feedback Improves Memory and Understanding , I recently had one of those tutoring moments that perfectly captured why drawing can be such a powerful learning tool. During a 1:1 chemistry tutoring session, we explored noble gases, electron shells, and chemical reactions through a simple hand-drawn comic about Argon. Instead of passively reading notes or memorising equations, the student transformed the concepts into characters and a story. Argon became