Non-Artistic Applications of Doodle Art for Developing Literacy and Motor Skills

As a pedagogical initiative for cross-curricular learning, the Central board of secondary education (CBSE) has been prompting the methodology of Art Integrated Learning (AIL) [1] which it claims to be a component of experiential learning. 

The CBSE states, “Art Integrated Learning (AIL) is a teaching-learning model which is based on learning 'through the arts' and 'with the arts': it is a process where art becomes the medium of teaching-learning, a key to understanding concepts within any subject of the curriculum.”

Taking cues from the initiatives and work of Kishore at Disha in Jaipur, a experiment was done with girls of a bridge school girls in Niwai block of Rajasthan, wherein after a training of teachers, the doodling was covered into art after balancing it through almost equal segment and decorating the segment by repetitive writing of alphabet with ‘aa’ vowel sound symbol in Hindi (see inset picture)

A perceptive enhancement in coordination skills, attentiveness and improvement in handwriting was reported by the teachers in the monthly review and planning workshop after a month.

As a part of the thrust on experiential learning, art-integrated education will be embedded in classroom transactions not only for creating joyful classrooms, but also for imbibing the Indian ethos through integration of Indian art and culture in the teaching and learning process at every level

In Summary

Kishore (2026) highlights how an unconscious, unstructured, informal drawing acts when decorated with intention curricular elements works as a critical tool for building fine motor skills and foundational literacy in early childhood. It is held that doodling strengthens hand-eye coordination and finger dexterity while acting as a stress-free,, judgement-free method for emotional regulation and improved focus. Thus, doodling acts as a critical developmental tool that enhances fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and early literacy by encouraging the transition from simple scribbles to intentional mark-making to make it a powerful, engaging pedagogical strategy both for cognitive and non-cognitive gains.

Reference

Kishore, L. (2026, July 10). Non-Artistic Applications of Doole Art for Developing Literacy and Motor Skills, lalit culp,,https://lalitculp.wixsite.com/website/post/non-artistic-applications-of-doodle-art-for-developing-literacy-and-motor-skills