Brittany Haynes
Brandon Thompson
Dr. D’Alba
MEDT 7490
July 8, 2015
Assignment 5: Visual Literacy Research (Visual Literacy in Science)
Article 1
Title: Science Visual Literacy: Learners’ Perceptions and Knowledge of Diagrams
Author(s): Erin M. McTigue, Amanda C. Flowers
This article takes a look at visual literacy in science and how primary and middle education
students in grades 2-8 interpret diagrams in visual texts by using one on one interviews and a
sorting activity. This article is interesting because it actually used students as the basis for their
research and took their point of views in order to form an opinion. It discusses the confusion and
perception of how the highly visual texts are used in the science classroom and what students are
gaining or not gaining from them. Through the different conversations, Erin and Amanda were
able to identify misconceptions that the students had. The authors took a look at why students
who are able to excel in reading comprehension struggle when looking at visual diagrams and
may not comprehend them as well. The also looked at the importance of visual literacy through
diagrams in the science classroom accompanied with how reading these science graphics can
improve reading comprehension. Their overall purpose of the study was to “understand which
aspects of diagrams were clear (or confusing) for younger students and to inquire how students
currently value graphical information in science texts.” (McTigue & Flowers, 2011)
Summary of the review of literature
One of the studies that the article mentions that I found interesting was a previous study done by
McTigue & Yeh. They found that when looking at graphics in texts from grades 4-8, 80% of the
graphics contain essential information. This was good to know because often as teachers, we
downplay graphics or feel that they are secondary to the words in the text. There were also
studies mentioned that found that science graphics are not always beneficial to all students. Some
found that the science graphics have a negative effect for lower learners and that the graphics
appealed more to the higher learners. As always there were studies that found the opposite to be
true and they found that students reading comprehension improves with the support of graphics.
After reading, I feel that you have to know your students’ learning levels in order to truly affect
their learning through graphical representations.
Analysis of methodology
For this article, the authors conducted a small content analysis study where they use a small
sample size of second through eighth graders to gather data. They took four different diagrams of
the water cycle from various grade level science texts to use in their study. They conducted a
two part procedure using interviews with these students and having them sort diagrams of the
cycles by difficulty/grade level, attractiveness, and utility for learning the water cycle. The study
was conducted in a rural, working-class school district in the southwestern United States using a
group of 30 participants that were heterogeneously chosen with students on all learning levels. In
order to collect their data, the researchers had a rating scale for each of the categories in place
and students scored each diagram in each category from 1-4. 1 being the best and 4 being the
worst for each category.
Summary of results
After having all 30 students interviewed and the data collected from the sorting activity, the
researchers compiled bar graphs to show how each cycle diagram from each grade level text
ranked in the three categories. Based on the data, they found that the students ranked the diagram
from grade 2 text and the diagram from grade 8 text as the least difficult and the grade 4 and
grade 6 texts were ranked as the most difficult. The attractiveness category had similar ratings
however, the grade 8 and the grade 4 text were ranked as least attractive and the grade 2 and 6
diagrams were rated as most attractive. For the final category of utility of diagrams, students
found the grades 4 and 6 diagrams to be most useful and the grades 2 and 8 to be the least useful.
The researchers used their interview process to gain more in depth knowledge about why
students ranked the diagrams the way they did and to see the extensiveness of their vocabulary.
Your opinion about the research
Based on the way that the research was conducted and written up there are a few things that I
would change. I think that the researchers should have provided more data or information from
the interviews that they conducted. They did a good job in reporting the quantitative data but I
did not find any qualitative data from the interviews although it is mentioned, it is just not
presented in the organized fashion that I would expect from a research study. I feel that what
could be improved is sample sizes. Instead of using only 19 middle school students from grades
6-8, they could have used 10 students from each of the middle grade levels giving them a total
sample size of 50 students instead of 30. A larger sample size could have given them a more
realistic idea of how all students in these grades view the diagrams. Lastly, I feel that they could
have improved on how the data was reported. Since they had students on various developmental
and learning levels, they could have broken down the data further to show how the different
learning levels viewed the diagrams in each category.
What did you learn from the study?
After reading this study, I have learned that just because texts are assigned to specific grade
levels, it does not meant that they correspond in difficulty when it comes to interpreting the
diagrams. As a science teacher, I will now look into gathering visual tools and diagrams from
texts of all grade levels no matter how easy or hard I think they are. Using a variety of diagrams
and comparing them before displaying them can help me with differentiation and effectiveness
of teaching.
References
McTigue, E. M., & Flowers, A. C. (2011). Science Visual Literacy: Learners' Perceptions and
Knowledge of Diagrams. The Reading Teacher, 64(8), 578-589.
Article 2:
Title: Using Infographics in the Science Classroom: The investigations in which students present
their results in infographics
Author: Rosemary Davidson
In this article, Davidson looks at how students present their scientific findings through
infographics. She discusses the effectiveness in having students carry out and present their
findings using infographics and gives advice using her findings on how other teachers can use
infographics in their classrooms. She discussed the advantages of having students use
infographics versus doing their projects another way and how much more engaged they are when
using infographics. Since beginning to use infographics, Davidson has turned most of her content
curriculum around to incorporate the use of infographics which she feels helps her students.
Summary of the review of literature
In this article, Davidson mentions a study done by Baker in 2010 which found that students who
develop infographics or media-literacy increase their critical thinking skills, hand-on learning,
and cooperative learning. This finding supports the use of media literacy in the classroom and
how it aides students in their learning. After doing the research and reading about the use of
media literacy in the classroom, it is best that teachers begin to incorporate more of it into their
classroom for effective learning.
Analysis of methodology
In this article, Davidson looks at three projects that her students created in her environmental
chemistry class. She has three topics for the projects: recycling, water pollution, and air quality.
In order to fairly score, she uses a scale of present, missing, or needs improvement for each
feature that should be found on the final infographic for each topic. Each item on this rubric is
worth 0, 1, or 2 points depending on whether it is present, needs improvement or is missing. Her
study was more of an exploratory study and she collected data by using the rubrics to score each
final project.
Summary of results
Based on the information discussed, Davidson did not give quantitative data on how her students
performed but she gave qualitative data on how they responded to using the infographics. She
found that her students were much more intrigued and engaged when using the infographics and
the final products were created much faster than what it would take for a traditional poster.
Your opinion about the research (what was done right, what can be improved)
After reading this article, I feel that Davidson could have presented more data to back up her
claims for using infographics in the science classroom. She presented very little data both
quantitatively and qualitatively on the effects of infographic use in her classroom. I feel that the
lack of data could have definitely been improved in order for this to truly be considered research.
As far as improvements go, I feel that the data presentation and the sample size of students could
be expanded outside of her classroom into other science classrooms to get a better view of how
infographics affect learning. I do like that Davidson showed how she scored the projects and
showed us samples of what the infographics looked like upon their completion.
What did you learn from the study?
I learned how valuable infographics are in the science classroom. Over this course, I have
learned that visual literacy plays a much bigger part in students learning than what I used to
think. This article further proves to me the effectiveness and makes me want to incorporate more
infographics in my teaching. I also learned that a rubric for these assessments do not necessarily
have to be super detailed but can have guidelines of what should be shown. The details will be
shown through the research and supporting documents that students turn in. I like that students
are able to reach both learning and literacy goals using the infographics which makes them that
much more appealing to me.
References
Davidson, R. (2014, March). Using VIsual Literacy in the Science Classroom. The Science
Teacher, 34-39.
Article 3
Title: Using Visual Literacy to Teach Science Academic Language: Experiences from Three
Preservice Teachers
Author(s): Charlease Kelly-Jackson & Stacy Delacruz
Summary of the review of literature
The reading discusses the issues that face educators and ELL students. These students deal with
having to compete in an educational system where the language of the text and resources is just
as foreign as the English language. The text states that twenty percent of US students come from
a home where English is not the primary language spoken and this number is steadily growing.
One of the main content areas that ELL students struggle with is science because it is designed
based on western values, thoughts and traditions.
Analysis of methodology
Students where broken up into cohorts and given an option on what course of research to pursue.
The group the reading focuses on is the ELL group. This group is made up of white female
senior education majors with no prior education experience between the ages of 22 and 44. Each
member of the cohort was assigned a title one school where students spoke English and Spanish,
80% or more students were ELL, and 80% or more received free or reduced lunch. During the
time at the school the student teacher implemented a program were Photovoice was used to
demonstrate the importance of science in rural and urban settings and how science academic
language is incorporated in students’ daily lives. With Photovoice science related images could
be captured and shared to identify science concepts in daily life.
Summary of results
Results found that students where better able to understand scientific language as they worked.
Students were able to identify content specific vocabulary and images. They learned how to
identify real life examples of scientific processes and where able to explain and justify their
findings. For elementary school students using visual literacy and technology was important
however difficult. For some there were issues using the technology because of the age of the
students yet overall the value of the project was worth it.
Your opinion about the research
In my opinion the research was sound. Three teachers go into very similar teaching environment
with no experience and are able to teach students to understand science better by using images. I
think it is important that these teachers are showing their students how to relate science to
everyday life. This is important because it create value for the content and becomes more
meaningful and engaging for students. It will also allow them to make deeper connections with
the content as they continue their education.
What did you learn from the study?
I learned about a photo blog site called Photovoice which was used to share the images they
found. I was also able to gain some ideas for lessons in my Biology class for next year. One is to
have my students create a Photovoice and add a new real world image and an explanation to why
it relates to the science during every new chapter.
References
Kelly-Jackson, C., & Delacruz, S. (2014). Using Visual Literacy to Teach Science Academic
Language: Experiences from Three Preservice Teachers. Action in Teacher Education, 36(3),
192-210. doi:10.1080/01626620.2014.917364
Article 4
Title: Picture Perfect: Using Quality Graphics to Support English Language Learners in Science
Classes
Author(s): Katherine Wright, Zohreh Eslami, Erin McTigue, Dudley Reynolds
Summary of the review of literature
The reading discusses the emphasis that the Common Core and NGSS (Next Generation Science
Standards) put puts on the use of visuals in the classroom. However the issue is choosing the
right one. When dealing with ELL students it is easy to assume that although they may not be
able to read English they should understand what a picture means but that’s not always true.
Although mastering the language is important good graphic can provide understand by allowing
students to infer meaning. Understanding the value of a quality images is imoportant to the
success of ELL students five questions were developed to guide educators in identifying the best
images to aid in learning.
Analysis of methodology
In the text five questions where developed to aid in selecting an appropriate images to
accompany the lesson for ELL learners. First, Does the graphic model a system? These images
provide a models or diagrams to support the text. Second, Is the graphic near relevant text?
Placing the text near the graphic allows the students to better understand the text and breakdown
the graphic using the text. Third, Does the text reference the graphic? Providing a point of
reference allows the viewer to identify the proper image or section of the images to review.
Fourth, Does the graphic have descriptive captions? These allow the learner to identify the
visual and link with the text. This allows the leaners interpretation to be less ambiguous. Finally,
Does the graphic or its caption contribute to content knowledge or confuse the reader? When
choosing a graphic image with unnecessary words or pictures should be eliminated because they
adversely affect the leaners cognitive load.
Summary of results
The results were that allowing the use of images that possess information that is not essential to
achieving the over meaning of the content is harmful for ELL learners. Educators should be
mindful of this information in text books and other resources. If this information is present time
should be taken to edit the information out or discuss the information as a class to prevent
confusion.
Your opinion about the research
In my opinion the research was sound. I can reflect back to times that I put images up that where
not the best quality. I would add pictures to powerpoints that reminded me of the lesson but
technically had little or nothing to do with it. The text has described how that was an
inappropriate practice and oh it can affect my ELL students
What did you learn from the study?
From this study I have learned how to choose the best graphics to accompany my lessons. I made
me aware of the visual needs of ELL learners and how essential graphics are to their
development. Finally I learned to eliminate the none essential text and graphic that come along
with resources such as text books by creating your own caption for the images or summarizing
the text for yourself.
References
Kelly-Jackson, C., & Delacruz, S. (2014). Using Visual Literacy to Teach Science Academic
Language: Experiences from Three Preservice Teachers. Action in Teacher Education,
36(3), 192-210. doi:10.1080/01626620.2014.917364
Article 5
Title: Teaching Science Through Pictorial Models During Read-Alouds
Author(s): Alandeom W. Oliveira, Seema Rivera, Rory Glass, Michael Mastroianni , Francine
Wizner & Vincent Amodeo
Summary of the review of literature
This reading focuses on young learner and promotes read louds of graphic novels as an important
way to increase knowledge in young people. The evidence provided that using the pictorial
model during read alouds of science books increases student achievement and motivation.
Analysis of methodology
Three teachers volunteered from a group of ten that preform read alouds regularly in class. The
teachers taught different populations of students and had been teacher for different amounts of
years. All of the teachers participated in surveys, interviews, and video-recorded observations to
serve as data for the assessment. As the teacher conducted the read alouds they ranged from 1760 minutes in length and where different genres both fiction and non-fiction. At the end all data
was evaluated and compared.
Summary of results
As a result of the study the researchers stand by the fact that read-alouds can have positive
impact on student development in science content. However there were limitations to the study
due to the fact that the students were never tested to see if their where any gains from
participating in a read-aloud. Moreover the techniques used during the read aloud such as
referring to the pictures as actual objects by touching and felling them are strategies that they are
confident will play a positive role in the development of science learners
Your opinion about the research
I think that the data from the research is not very good because it is based solely off observation
and people opinion. The students should have been given a survey of pretest then a post test to
measure how effective the read alouds were. Or if the teacher backgrounds and the book genre
and length were more closely related there could have been a control and experimental group
that tested using read-alouds and compared student achievement between the two groups.
What did you learn from the study?
Although I do not agree with how real the data is I do agree with the idea that reading aloud to
young students will enhance their interest and motivation in science. Over the years I have
noticed from teaching in different environments that students are heavily influenced by the
language around them socially, artistically in music and movies, at home and at school. I learned
that it is important to expose learner more frequently to the information that you want them to
learn both visually and auditory.
References
Teaching Science Through Pictorial Models During Read-Alouds Journal of Science Teacher
Education, (2012), Page 1 Alandeom W. Oliveira, Seema Rivera, Rory Glass, Michael
Mastroianni, Francine Wizner, Vincent Amodeo