04/05/2026
Many of us may be familiar with collage art from school. We know it as an art technique taught in the creative arts class, but there is more that can be done with collage beyond the art class. Collage can be used as a visual learning tool that can support learning of other subjects, especially complex and abstract topics taught in school.
As our classrooms move towards being more learner-centered and activity-based, introducing collage art as a hands-on visual learning tool will improve learning outcomes.
To explain how this works, think of learning like building a giant puzzle. Most of the time in school, we are given the pieces (facts and dates) and told exactly where they go. Collage-based learning is different—it’s like getting to design the puzzle yourself using fragments of the world around you.
Collage makes the brain work better. Sometimes you have a great idea or a feeling about a topic, but you just can't find the right words for it. In research, this is called tacit knowledge. When you look through magazines or photos and find an image that "clicks" with your idea, you are bringing that hidden thought into the real world. Seeing the image helps you explain what you’re thinking to your teacher and yourself. It’s like a workout for the brain. When learners make a collage, their brain isn't just cutting and pasting. It is performing the following high-level tasks:
1. They have to decide which images fit the topic and which don't.
2. Learners have to take separate, unrelated pieces and combine them to create one big, new idea.
3. Learners have to plan the layout, manage the space on the paper, and decide which layers go on top.
4. It helps learners to remember what they are taught in class. The brain is much better at remembering pictures and stories than it is at remembering lists of text.
Finally, because they physically touch the materials, cut them out, and decide where they go, they are able to retain what is learned and when it’s time for an exam, they remember the visuals and then the sentence that goes with it.
