The best way for May 2024 graduate Allison Terry to concentrate in chemistry class, she said, was to draw pictures of stars and plants in her notebook. Her chemistry professor, it turns out, did not agree.
“A lot of my professors have told me to stop and not to and that, like, it’s not good to, but I like to do it. It doesn’t distract me,” said Terry, who transferred to University of Maryland, Baltimore County this semester. “It helps me focus, if anything, more because I can, like, doodle and listen to what they’re saying.”
In fact, a number of studies have shown that doodling is good for students.
According to Plymouth University psychology professor Jackie Andrade, doodlers recalled 29% more of the spoken material they listened to than those who did not doodle.
And a study published by Harvard University found that students who doodle remember more, feel less stressed and are better able to focus.
May graduate Jenna Schneck, who transferred to a four-year school, agreed that doodling helps her focus.
“I think it’s a way to help with focus and boredom,” Schneck said. “I feel like it helps me remember things in class more when I’m actively writing something or drawing something.”
Schneck said she likes to doodle flowers and eyes “and whatever really comes to mind … like something super quick, like, random patterns. … But if I’m bored, it’s, like, actual drawings.”
AACC psychology professor Rachelle Tannenbaum agreed that doodling can help students focus.
“If your brain has kind of a higher need for stimulation, and the class, or whatever it is, isn’t providing enough of that, then the doodling can provide just enough extra stimulation to keep them at that optimal level and keep them from daydreaming,” Tannenbaum said.
Still, professors are prone to accusing doodlers of not paying attention, Tannenbaum added.
“So certainly, a lot of people have a common perception [that] if they doodle, oh, they’re not paying attention,” Tannenbaum said. “And we know that for some students, that is absolutely true. … But the key is remembering that that doesn’t mean that everybody who doodles is not paying attention.”
Some students save their doodles.
Terry said she saves her doodles “if it’s, like, ‘Oh, I’m proud of this, like, I spent 30 minutes in class just doodling [this].’ If I really liked how it turned out, I keep it. … If I really like a doodle, like taking a picture of it or like cutting it out, put it somewhere like that.”
Still, not every student is a doodler.
“I don’t really doodle in class at all, honestly,” fourth-year nursing student Abigail Cooper said. “Most of the classes that I’m taking I honestly find interesting. So I’d rather pay attention than doodle. … I feel like if I don’t pay attention … I’m probably not going to do as well.”