Visual representations of data are widely used for communication and understanding, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, despite their importance, many people have difficulty understanding data-based visualizations. This work presents a series of three studies that examine how understanding time-based…

This article introduces an innovative teaching and learning tool called "Edelman Gamblegrams" that aims to help medical learners better understand disorders related to water/plasma tonicity homeostasis, i.e., hyponatremia and hypernatremia. Gamblegrams, named after physician James L. Gamble, are bar diagrams displaying the relative…

The central focus of my dissertation concerns the issue of representation. The issue of representation is important for science education research for two reasons: (1) the use of external representation in science teaching and learning, particularly in chemistry education, is ubiquitous as microscopic entities are not directly visible, and (2) the…

The central focus of my dissertation concerns the issue of representation. The issue of representation is important for science education research for two reasons: (1) the use of external representation in science teaching and learning, particularly in chemistry education, is ubiquitous as microscopic entities are not directly visible, and (2) the…

This paper describes a way to simulate and visualise 3D representations of the resultant electric field vector propagation for plane, circular and elliptically polarised waves. These polarisation states are obtained by the superposition of two coherent linearly polarised waves oscillating in two mutually perpendicular directions. The required data…

Visual representations of information are prevalent in many academic domains, and students must learn how to interpret and use these visual representations. How do students acquire this representational competence? Past work has focused on the role of explicit instruction. In this work, we consider another route for acquiring representational…

Visualizations are commonly used in educational materials, however not all visualizations are equally effective at promoting learning. Prior research has supported the idea that both perceptually rich and bland visualizations are beneficial for learning and generalization. We investigated whether the perceptual richness of a life cycle diagram…

Recently, the physics education community has taken a keen interest in modernising physics education. However, while topics in modern physics have great potential to engage students, these topics are abstract and hard-to-visualise. Therefore, many students hold mistaken pictures and misconceptions, which can impede learning. In this article, we…

Background: Photomicrographs are major biological representations which help students understand more about the structures of cells and tissues. Owing to their abstract nature, students often rely on representations in textbooks to develop their understanding of photomicrographs. Purpose: This study investigated how students with low, medium and…

A well-developed mental model is crucial for effectively studying physiology core concepts. However, mental models can be difficult for students to represent and for instructors to evaluate and correct. Systems modeling as a visualization cognitive tool may facilitate mental model development. On the other hand, evidence of mental model…

Activities that engage high school students in visualizing chemical phenomena can help them develop representational competence to think about and communicate their understanding of these phenomena. This paper presents a collaborative learning activity that can engage precollege students in designing a poster that describes four different types of…

Student-generated drawings are known to be effective in building and revealing students' conceptions of chemistry. Some chemistry concepts, moreover, include changes and processes that cannot be merely represented by static drawings. Computer-based animations are needed to represent the dynamics. In this study, 25 chemistry student teachers, who…

Molecular symmetry and orbitals are two important chemical concepts which can be difficult for students to visualize in three dimensions; as such, instructors have traditionally adopted a variety of approaches to teach them including the use of physical models and digital renderings/resources. This paper describes a new mobile device application…

This article introduces the use of "VPython" (the "Python" programming language plus a 3D graphics module called "Visual") as a potentially valuable tool in teaching aspects of secondary school chemistry, which also provides an opportunity for students to gain some experience with manipulating and/or writing computer…

Scientific modeling (SM) is a core practice of science and an important component of scientific literacy. Supporting students in developing the competence to construct, use, evaluate, and revise models is hence of particular relevance. While research has shown that spatial visualization (SV), a core component of spatial ability, is correlated with…