Visual literacy, the ability to interpret and create external representations (ERs), is essential to success in biochemistry. Studies have been conducted that describe students' abilities to use and interpret specific types of ERs. However, a framework for describing ERs derived through a naturalistic inquiry of biochemistry classrooms has not…

The purpose of this study was to explore to what extent 87 grade 5 (10-12-year-old) children, supported by instruction about scientific models, could engage in thinking beyond a naive realist level about a globe. A qualitative framework allowed analysis of children's responses to worksheet questions in which they identified analog-target…

TWO DIFFERENT USES OF VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS FOR SCIENCE INSTRUCTION WERE INVESTIGATED. THE FIRST STUDY EXAMINED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT USE OF PICTORIAL INSTRUCTION WOULD PRODUCE HIGHER CORRELATION BETWEEN RESULTS OF VISUAL APTITUDE TESTS AND LEARNING TESTS, AND THAT VERBAL INSTRUCTION WOULD PRODUCE HIGHER CORRELATION BETWEEN RESULTS OF VERBAL…

THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF EIGHT TYPES OF VISUAL ILLUSTRATION OF THE HUMAN HEART WAS TESTED IN NINTH THROUGH TWELFTH GRADE CLASSES. THE EIGHT TYPES--ABSTRACT LINE DRAWINGS, DETAILED SHADED DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS OF HEART MODELS, AND REALISTIC MODELS, EACH IN BLACK AND WHITE AND IN COLOR--AND A CONTROL PRESENTATION WITH NO ILLUSTRATIONS WERE…

Sixty hearing-impaired students, aged 12-22, studied one of four instructional formats describing basic science concepts. Comprehension gains were measured using a pretest-posttest procedure. Formats which featured highly pictorial content and simplified English produced significantly higher mean gain scores than formats with less pictorial…