Tools for visual thinking: What does the research tell us

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Tools for visual thinking What does the research
tell us?
Academic Developers Conference 2001

• Catherine McLoughlin
• Krzysztof Krakowski
• The University of New England

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Aim

• to review the concepts of visual literacy and
  visual thinking
• to suggest a role for the learner in accessing,
  applying and using different forms of
  representation
• to look at ways in which technologies can enhance
  cognition, by fostering visual thinking

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Visual talent and verbal difficulty

• verbally related problems often coexist with
  special visual and spatial talent
• neurological development - displacement
• Einstein Lewis Carroll Leonardo da Vinci W.B.
  Yeats

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Visual representations

• differ from text-based information
• consist of spatial, non-arbitrary and continuous
  images
• can represent temporary and causal relations
  between states
• can capture characteristics of complex events and
  concepts

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visual literacy- visual thinking

• VL is eclectic in origin
• visual competencies- normal human learning
  enables discrimination and interpretation of
  visible actions, words and symbols

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Visual literacy

• visual literacy can be defined as a group of
  skills which enable an individual to understand
  and use visuals for intentionally communicating
  with others (Debes, 1972).

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Several theories

• Howard Gardner (1993) Theory of multiple
  intelligencesOnly if we expand and reformulate
  our view of what counts as human intellect will
  be be able to devise more appropriate ways of
  assessing it and more effective ways of educating
  it. (p. 4).

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Multiple intelligences

• linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical,
  spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, personal
• spatial (visual intelligence) is a unique form of
  intellect, of equal importance to linguistic
  intelligence
• spatial and visual intelligence are the principal
  sources of problem solving

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World watcher project

• http//www.worldwatcher.nwu.edu/software.htm

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Chemical visualisation tools

• Understanding chemical bonding
• See complex atomic interactions
• View rotate and measure molecules
• Modify and construct new moleculesCHIME/RASMOL

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Cognitive pluralism

• critical role of signs and symbols in action and
  reflection
• thought and cognition are mediated by cognitive
  tools
• use of multiple cognitive resources facilitates
  problem solving

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Multiple intelligences or cognitive pluralism?

• some common ground thinking does not consist
  only of propositions
• language is regarded as only one part of the
  human representational system
• humans play an active role in using and
  transforming cultural tools and signs

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Implications for practice

• all knowledge is constructed all learning is a
  process of construction
• many world views can be constructed, so there
  will be multiple perspectives
• knowledge is context dependent
• learning is mediated by tools and signs
• learning is an inherently social

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visual literacy

• pluralistic theoretical basis of the term
• can mean different things depending on ones
  viewpoint
• Visual literacy- the ability to both understand
  and make visual statements- we become sensitised
  to the world around us, the relationships and
  systems of which we are a part

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multimedia technology instructional advantages

• more visual cues colour, icons, animation
• reduces cognitive load so that higher order
  processes can be supported
• can characterise different aspects of knowledge
  and make it more explorable
• students can construct mental models

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Visual literacy operationalised

• VL can be operationalised in terms of visual
  learning, thinking and communication
• visual thinking manipulation of mental imagery
• visual learning learning from visuals
• visual communication using visual symbols to
  convey meaning

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Visualisation
Learning ?
Thinking?

Communication?
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Continuum of visual literacy
visual thinking
visual learning
visual communication
manipulating
construction of knowledge
using pictorial and visual
respresenting
forms for transaction and
through interaction
dialogue
with visual phenomena
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Visualisation in learning

• prestige of non-verbal approaches have eclipsed
  earlier methods of learning by apprenticeship
• visual-spatial approaches to learning are rare
• conventional education systems are weighted
  towards verbal and numerical approaches to
  acquiring information

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New visualisation tools ?

• highly visual learning environments
• greater emphasis on visual representation and
  analysis
• more emphasis on intuitive, interactive learning
• computers and people working together partners
  in cognition
• multiple approaches - multiple solutions

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Impact of technology on visualisation

• how do we visualise information for transmission
  to others?
• visualisation, because of the computer is
  emerging as a distinctive new discipline
• capacity of technology to show dynamic, visual
  representations and to represent temporal and
  causal relationships between states

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Lets go to UNE...

• http//online.une.edu.au
• http//www.covis.nwu.edu/

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Supporting visual thinking and learning

• represent concepts in a visible and changing way
• enable the learner to organise, integrate and
  interconnect new concepts with previous knowledge
• support multiple representational forms such as
  graphs, timelines/diagrams
• generate new interpretations through semantic
  mapping

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QA