Scientific knowledge is not communicated through the verbal mode only but through the integrated use of tabular, graphical and verbal forms, a fact that has positioned visual understanding as a major element of literacy demands to acquire advanced knowledge. In spite of this, empirical studies on how scientists develop meaning out of visual data…

Visual representations are a familiar element of daily life and particularly beneficial as illustrations in science textbooks. In this case, learners draw on human dimensions such as cognitive style (CS) and prior knowledge (PK) when engaging in visual thinking. This study aimed to compare and explore the relationships among the format aspect…

This article describes a visual language comprised of abstract shapes that has been shown to be effective in communicating prior knowledge between and within members of a small team or group. The visual language includes a set of geometric shapes and rules that guide the construction of the abstract diagrams that are the external representation of…