Using Graphics: Explaining the Elephant Theory & Learning Theories

This week, I was conducting another faculty development/training workshop, and I was trying to explain several theories that inform educational practices (learning theories). These theories included Cognitivism, Behaviorism, Constructivism, Social Learning Theory etc. After I gave a synopsis of each theory, I was trying to make the point that each of these theories are needed/ should inform their instructional practices. To do this, I wanted to use something that they may be able to relate to - The Elephant Theory!

The Elephant Theory was not something I had known before, so it was a risk trying to use it in the workshop in the first place (I was so nervous). But this graphic was a huge help in helping me explain/summarize the theory without going into much detail.

The Elephant Theory states that the blind men were all touching/focusing on different parts of the elephant (eg the tail) and concluded that the elephant felt like unrelated things (eg a wall) based on what they felt with their hands. But the point I was making is that each component of the elephant that they felt (despite their perceptions) made up/accounted for the entire elephant - similar to the way educational/learning theories work.

I used the aforementioned image with the video below to provide some clarity. The video had additional images with text and voice. It is important to note that I designed the sequence of the graphics in such a way that the video illustrated the elephant theory/poem, and the image was used to illustrate the point I was trying to make regarding the parts of the elephant and learning theories.

By the end of both graphics, they totally understood what I was trying to do as they subsequently explained it back to me. The moral here is that sometimes graphics can be more effective when they are layered with different modes/types (e.g. a still image with a video as opposed to a video alone). #graphics #MessageDesign