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Visual Representation

What is visual representation.

Visual Representation refers to the principles by which markings on a surface are made and interpreted. Designers use representations like typography and illustrations to communicate information, emotions and concepts. Color, imagery, typography and layout are crucial in this communication.

Alan Blackwell, cognition scientist and professor, gives a brief introduction to visual representation:

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We can see visual representation throughout human history, from cave drawings to data visualization :

Art uses visual representation to express emotions and abstract ideas.

Financial forecasting graphs condense data and research into a more straightforward format.

Icons on user interfaces (UI) represent different actions users can take.

The color of a notification indicates its nature and meaning.

Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" uses visuals to evoke deep emotions, representing an abstract, dreamy night sky. It exemplifies how art can communicate complex feelings and ideas.

© Public domain

Importance of Visual Representation in Design

Designers use visual representation for internal and external use throughout the design process . For example:

Storyboards are illustrations that outline users’ actions and where they perform them.

Sitemaps are diagrams that show the hierarchy and navigation structure of a website.

Wireframes are sketches that bring together elements of a user interface's structure.

Usability reports use graphs and charts to communicate data gathered from usability testing.

User interfaces visually represent information contained in applications and computerized devices.

This usability report is straightforward to understand. Yet, the data behind the visualizations could come from thousands of answered surveys.

© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0

Visual representation simplifies complex ideas and data and makes them easy to understand. Without these visual aids, designers would struggle to communicate their ideas, findings and products . For example, it would be easier to create a mockup of an e-commerce website interface than to describe it with words.

Visual representation simplifies the communication of designs. Without mockups, it would be difficult for developers to reproduce designs using words alone.

Types of Visual Representation

Below are some of the most common forms of visual representation designers use.

Text and Typography

Text represents language and ideas through written characters and symbols. Readers visually perceive and interpret these characters. Typography turns text into a visual form, influencing its perception and interpretation.

We have developed the conventions of typography over centuries , for example, in documents, newspapers and magazines. These conventions include:

Text arranged on a grid brings clarity and structure. Gridded text makes complex information easier to navigate and understand. Tables, columns and other formats help organize content logically and enhance readability.

Contrasting text sizes create a visual hierarchy and draw attention to critical areas. For example, headings use larger text while body copy uses smaller text. This contrast helps readers distinguish between primary and secondary information.

Adequate spacing and paragraphing improve the readability and appearance of the text. These conventions prevent the content from appearing cluttered. Spacing and paragraphing make it easier for the eye to follow and for the brain to process the information.

Balanced image-to-text ratios create engaging layouts. Images break the monotony of text, provide visual relief and illustrate or emphasize points made in the text. A well-planned ratio ensures neither text nor images overwhelm each other. Effective ratios make designs more effective and appealing.

Designers use these conventions because people are familiar with them and better understand text presented in this manner.

This table of funerals from the plague in London in 1665 uses typographic conventions still used today. For example, the author arranged the information in a table and used contrasting text styling to highlight information in the header.

Illustrations and Drawings

Designers use illustrations and drawings independently or alongside text. An example of illustration used to communicate information is the assembly instructions created by furniture retailer IKEA. If IKEA used text instead of illustrations in their instructions, people would find it harder to assemble the furniture.

IKEA assembly instructions use illustrations to inform customers how to build their furniture. The only text used is numeric to denote step and part numbers. IKEA communicates this information visually to: 1. Enable simple communication, 2. Ensure their instructions are easy to follow, regardless of the customer’s language.

© IKEA, Fair use

Illustrations and drawings can often convey the core message of a visual representation more effectively than a photograph. They focus on the core message , while a photograph might distract a viewer with additional details (such as who this person is, where they are from, etc.)

For example, in IKEA’s case, photographing a person building a piece of furniture might be complicated. Further, photographs may not be easy to understand in a black-and-white print, leading to higher printing costs. To be useful, the pictures would also need to be larger and would occupy more space on a printed manual, further adding to the costs.

But imagine a girl winking—this is something we can easily photograph. 

Ivan Sutherland, creator of the first graphical user interface, used his computer program Sketchpad to draw a winking girl. While not realistic, Sutherland's representation effectively portrays a winking girl. The drawing's abstract, generic elements contrast with the distinct winking eye. The graphical conventions of lines and shapes represent the eyes and mouth. The simplicity of the drawing does not draw attention away from the winking.

A photo might distract from the focused message compared to Sutherland's representation. In the photo, the other aspects of the image (i.e., the particular person) distract the viewer from this message.

© Ivan Sutherland, CC BY-SA 3.0 and Amina Filkins, Pexels License

Information and Data Visualization

Designers and other stakeholders use data and information visualization across many industries.

Data visualization uses charts and graphs to show raw data in a graphic form. Information visualization goes further, including more context and complex data sets. Information visualization often uses interactive elements to share a deeper understanding.

For example, most computerized devices have a battery level indicator. This is a type of data visualization. IV takes this further by allowing you to click on the battery indicator for further insights. These insights may include the apps that use the most battery and the last time you charged your device.

macOS displays a battery icon in the menu bar that visualizes your device’s battery level. This is an example of data visualization. Meanwhile, macOS’s settings tell you battery level over time, screen-on-usage and when you last charged your device. These insights are actionable; users may notice their battery drains at a specific time. This is an example of information visualization.

© Low Battery by Jemis Mali, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, and Apple, Fair use

Information visualization is not exclusive to numeric data. It encompasses representations like diagrams and maps. For example, Google Maps collates various types of data and information into one interface:

Data Representation: Google Maps transforms complex geographical data into an easily understandable and navigable visual map.

Interactivity: Users can interactively customize views that show traffic, satellite imagery and more in real-time.

Layered Information: Google Maps layers multiple data types (e.g., traffic, weather) over geographical maps for comprehensive visualization.

User-Centered Design : The interface is intuitive and user-friendly, with symbols and colors for straightforward data interpretation.

The volume of data contained in one screenshot of Google Maps is massive. However, this information is presented clearly to the user. Google Maps highlights different terrains with colors and local places and businesses with icons and colors. The panel on the left lists the selected location’s profile, which includes an image, rating and contact information.

© Google, Fair use

Symbolic Correspondence

Symbolic correspondence uses universally recognized symbols and signs to convey specific meanings . This method employs widely recognized visual cues for immediate understanding. Symbolic correspondence removes the need for textual explanation.

For instance, a magnifying glass icon in UI design signifies the search function. Similarly, in environmental design, symbols for restrooms, parking and amenities guide visitors effectively.

The Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF) website uses the universal magnifying glass symbol to signify the search function. Similarly, the play icon draws attention to a link to watch a video.

How Designers Create Visual Representations

Visual language.

Designers use elements like color , shape and texture to create a communicative visual experience. Designers use these 8 principles:

Size – Larger elements tend to capture users' attention readily.

Color – Users are typically drawn to bright colors over muted shades.

Contrast – Colors with stark contrasts catch the eye more effectively.

Alignment – Unaligned elements are more noticeable than those aligned ones.

Repetition – Similar styles repeated imply a relationship in content.

Proximity – Elements placed near each other appear to be connected.

Whitespace – Elements surrounded by ample space attract the eye.

Texture and Style – Users often notice richer textures before flat designs.

The 8 visual design principles.

In web design , visual hierarchy uses color and repetition to direct the user's attention. Color choice is crucial as it creates contrast between different elements. Repetition helps to organize the design—it uses recurring elements to establish consistency and familiarity.

In this video, Alan Dix, Professor and Expert in Human-Computer Interaction, explains how visual alignment affects how we read and absorb information:

Correspondence Techniques

Designers use correspondence techniques to align visual elements with their conceptual meanings. These techniques include color coding, spatial arrangement and specific imagery. In information visualization, different colors can represent various data sets. This correspondence aids users in quickly identifying trends and relationships .

Color coding enables the stakeholder to see the relationship and trend between the two pie charts easily.

In user interface design, correspondence techniques link elements with meaning. An example is color-coding notifications to state their nature. For instance, red for warnings and green for confirmation. These techniques are informative and intuitive and enhance the user experience.

The IxDF website uses blue for call-to-actions (CTAs) and red for warnings. These colors inform the user of the nature of the action of buttons and other interactive elements.

Perception and Interpretation

If visual language is how designers create representations, then visual perception and interpretation are how users receive those representations. Consider a painting—the viewer’s eyes take in colors, shapes and lines, and the brain perceives these visual elements as a painting.

In this video, Alan Dix explains how the interplay of sensation, perception and culture is crucial to understanding visual experiences in design:

Copyright holder: Michael Murphy _ Appearance time: 07:19 - 07:37 _ Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C67JuZnBBDc

Visual perception principles are essential for creating compelling, engaging visual representations. For example, Gestalt principles explain how we perceive visual information. These rules describe how we group similar items, spot patterns and simplify complex images. Designers apply Gestalt principles to arrange content on websites and other interfaces. This application creates visually appealing and easily understood designs.

In this video, design expert and teacher Mia Cinelli discusses the significance of Gestalt principles in visual design . She introduces fundamental principles, like figure/ground relationships, similarity and proximity.

Interpretation

Everyone's experiences, culture and physical abilities dictate how they interpret visual representations. For this reason, designers carefully consider how users interpret their visual representations. They employ user research and testing to ensure their designs are attractive and functional.

Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa", is one of the most famous paintings in the world. The piece is renowned for its subject's enigmatic expression. Some interpret her smile as content and serene, while others see it as sad or mischievous. Not everyone interprets this visual representation in the same way.

Color is an excellent example of how one person, compared to another, may interpret a visual element. Take the color red:

In Chinese culture, red symbolizes luck, while in some parts of Africa, it can mean death or illness.

A personal experience may mean a user has a negative or positive connotation with red.

People with protanopia and deuteranopia color blindness cannot distinguish between red and green.

In this video, Joann and Arielle Eckstut, leading color consultants and authors, explain how many factors influence how we perceive and interpret color:

Learn More about Visual Representation

Read Alan Blackwell’s chapter on visual representation from The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction.

Learn about the F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content from Jakob Nielsen.

Read Smashing Magazine’s article, Visual Design Language: The Building Blocks Of Design .

Take the IxDF’s course, Perception and Memory in HCI and UX .

Questions related to Visual Representation

Some highly cited research on visual representation and related topics includes:

Roland, P. E., & Gulyás, B. (1994). Visual imagery and visual representation. Trends in Neurosciences, 17(7), 281-287. Roland and Gulyás' study explores how the brain creates visual imagination. They look at whether imagining things like objects and scenes uses the same parts of the brain as seeing them does. Their research shows the brain uses certain areas specifically for imagination. These areas are different from the areas used for seeing. This research is essential for understanding how our brain works with vision.

Lurie, N. H., & Mason, C. H. (2007). Visual Representation: Implications for Decision Making. Journal of Marketing, 71(1), 160-177.

This article looks at how visualization tools help in understanding complicated marketing data. It discusses how these tools affect decision-making in marketing. The article gives a detailed method to assess the impact of visuals on the study and combination of vast quantities of marketing data. It explores the benefits and possible biases visuals can bring to marketing choices. These factors make the article an essential resource for researchers and marketing experts. The article suggests using visual tools and detailed analysis together for the best results.

Lohse, G. L., Biolsi, K., Walker, N., & Rueter, H. H. (1994, December). A classification of visual representations. Communications of the ACM, 37(12), 36+.

This publication looks at how visuals help communicate and make information easier to understand. It divides these visuals into six types: graphs, tables, maps, diagrams, networks and icons. The article also looks at different ways these visuals share information effectively.

​​If you’d like to cite content from the IxDF website , click the ‘cite this article’ button near the top of your screen.

Some recommended books on visual representation and related topics include:

Chaplin, E. (1994). Sociology and Visual Representation (1st ed.) . Routledge.

Chaplin's book describes how visual art analysis has changed from ancient times to today. It shows how photography, post-modernism and feminism have changed how we see art. The book combines words and images in its analysis and looks into real-life social sciences studies.

Mitchell, W. J. T. (1994). Picture Theory. The University of Chicago Press.

Mitchell's book explores the important role and meaning of pictures in the late twentieth century. It discusses the change from focusing on language to focusing on images in cultural studies. The book deeply examines the interaction between images and text in different cultural forms like literature, art and media. This detailed study of how we see and read visual representations has become an essential reference for scholars and professionals.

Koffka, K. (1935). Principles of Gestalt Psychology. Harcourt, Brace & World.

"Principles of Gestalt Psychology" by Koffka, released in 1935, is a critical book in its field. It's known as a foundational work in Gestalt psychology, laying out the basic ideas of the theory and how they apply to how we see and think. Koffka's thorough study of Gestalt psychology's principles has profoundly influenced how we understand human perception. This book has been a significant reference in later research and writings.

A visual representation, like an infographic or chart, uses visual elements to show information or data. These types of visuals make complicated information easier to understand and more user-friendly.

Designers harness visual representations in design and communication. Infographics and charts, for instance, distill data for easier audience comprehension and retention.

For an introduction to designing basic information visualizations, take our course, Information Visualization .

Text is a crucial design and communication element, transforming language visually. Designers use font style, size, color and layout to convey emotions and messages effectively.

Designers utilize text for both literal communication and aesthetic enhancement. Their typography choices significantly impact design aesthetics, user experience and readability.

Designers should always consider text's visual impact in their designs. This consideration includes font choice, placement, color and interaction with other design elements.

In this video, design expert and teacher Mia Cinelli teaches how Gestalt principles apply to typography:

Designers use visual elements in projects to convey information, ideas, and messages. Designers use images, colors, shapes and typography for impactful designs.

In UI/UX design, visual representation is vital. Icons, buttons and colors provide contrast for intuitive, user-friendly website and app interfaces.

Graphic design leverages visual representation to create attention-grabbing marketing materials. Careful color, imagery and layout choices create an emotional connection.

Product design relies on visual representation for prototyping and idea presentation. Designers and stakeholders use visual representations to envision functional, aesthetically pleasing products.

Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. This fact highlights the crucial role of visual representation in design.

Our course, Visual Design: The Ultimate Guide , teaches you how to use visual design elements and principles in your work effectively.

Visual representation, crucial in UX, facilitates interaction, comprehension and emotion. It combines elements like images and typography for better interfaces.

Effective visuals guide users, highlight features and improve navigation. Icons and color schemes communicate functions and set interaction tones.

UX design research shows visual elements significantly impact emotions. 90% of brain-transmitted information is visual.

To create functional, accessible visuals, designers use color contrast and consistent iconography. These elements improve readability and inclusivity.

An excellent example of visual representation in UX is Apple's iOS interface. iOS combines a clean, minimalist design with intuitive navigation. As a result, the operating system is both visually appealing and user-friendly.

Michal Malewicz, Creative Director and CEO at Hype4, explains why visual skills are important in design:

Learn more about UI design from Michal in our Master Class, Beyond Interfaces: The UI Design Skills You Need to Know .

The fundamental principles of effective visual representation are:

Clarity : Designers convey messages clearly, avoiding clutter.

Simplicity : Embrace simple designs for ease and recall.

Emphasis : Designers highlight key elements distinctively.

Balance : Balance ensures design stability and structure.

Alignment : Designers enhance coherence through alignment.

Contrast : Use contrast for dynamic, distinct designs.

Repetition : Repeating elements unify and guide designs.

Designers practice these principles in their projects. They also analyze successful designs and seek feedback to improve their skills.

Read our topic description of Gestalt principles to learn more about creating effective visual designs. The Gestalt principles explain how humans group elements, recognize patterns and simplify object perception.

Color theory is vital in design, helping designers craft visually appealing and compelling works. Designers understand color interactions, psychological impacts and symbolism. These elements help designers enhance communication and guide attention.

Designers use complementary , analogous and triadic colors for contrast, harmony and balance. Understanding color temperature also plays a crucial role in design perception.

Color symbolism is crucial, as different colors can represent specific emotions and messages. For instance, blue can symbolize trust and calmness, while red can indicate energy and urgency.

Cultural variations significantly influence color perception and symbolism. Designers consider these differences to ensure their designs resonate with diverse audiences.

For actionable insights, designers should:

Experiment with color schemes for effective messaging. 

Assess colors' psychological impact on the audience. 

Use color contrast to highlight critical elements. 

Ensure color choices are accessible to all.

In this video, Joann and Arielle Eckstut, leading color consultants and authors, give their six tips for choosing color:

Learn more about color from Joann and Arielle in our Master Class, How To Use Color Theory To Enhance Your Designs .

Typography and font choice are crucial in design, impacting readability and mood. Designers utilize them for effective communication and expression.

Designers' perception of information varies with font type. Serif fonts can imply formality, while sans-serifs can give a more modern look.

Typography choices by designers influence readability and user experience. Well-spaced, distinct fonts enhance readability, whereas decorative fonts may hinder it.

Designers use typography to evoke emotions and set a design's tone. Choices in font size, style and color affect the emotional impact and message clarity.

Designers use typography to direct attention, create hierarchy and establish rhythm. These benefits help with brand recognition and consistency across mediums.

Read our article to learn how web fonts are critical to the online user experience .

Designers create a balance between simplicity and complexity in their work. They focus on the main messages and highlight important parts. Designers use the principles of visual hierarchy, like size, color and spacing. They also use empty space to make their designs clear and understandable.

The Gestalt law of Prägnanz suggests people naturally simplify complex images. This principle aids in making even intricate information accessible and engaging.

Through iteration and feedback, designers refine visuals. They remove extraneous elements and highlight vital information. Testing with the target audience ensures the design resonates and is comprehensible.

Michal Malewicz explains how to master hierarchy in UI design using the Gestalt rule of proximity:

Literature on Visual Representation

Here’s the entire UX literature on Visual Representation by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about Visual Representation

Take a deep dive into Visual Representation with our course Perception and Memory in HCI and UX .

How does all of this fit with interaction design and user experience? The simple answer is that most of our understanding of human experience comes from our own experiences and just being ourselves. That might extend to people like us, but it gives us no real grasp of the whole range of human experience and abilities. By considering more closely how humans perceive and interact with our world, we can gain real insights into what designs will work for a broader audience: those younger or older than us, more or less capable, more or less skilled and so on.

“You can design for all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot design for all the people all the time.“ – William Hudson (with apologies to Abraham Lincoln)

While “design for all of the people all of the time” is an impossible goal, understanding how the human machine operates is essential to getting ever closer. And of course, building solutions for people with a wide range of abilities, including those with accessibility issues, involves knowing how and why some human faculties fail. As our course tutor, Professor Alan Dix, points out, this is not only a moral duty but, in most countries, also a legal obligation.

Portfolio Project

In the “ Build Your Portfolio: Perception and Memory Project ”, you’ll find a series of practical exercises that will give you first-hand experience in applying what we’ll cover. If you want to complete these optional exercises, you’ll create a series of case studies for your portfolio which you can show your future employer or freelance customers.

This in-depth, video-based course is created with the amazing Alan Dix , the co-author of the internationally best-selling textbook  Human-Computer Interaction and a superstar in the field of Human-Computer Interaction . Alan is currently a professor and Director of the Computational Foundry at Swansea University.

Gain an Industry-Recognized UX Course Certificate

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What is visual representation?

In the vast landscape of communication, where words alone may fall short, visual representation emerges as a powerful ally. In a world inundated with information, the ability to convey complex ideas, emotions, and data through visual means is becoming increasingly crucial. But what exactly is visual representation, and why does it hold such sway in our understanding?

Defining Visual Representation:

Visual representation is the act of conveying information, ideas, or concepts through visual elements such as images, charts, graphs, maps, and other graphical forms. It’s a means of translating the abstract into the tangible, providing a visual language that transcends the limitations of words alone.

The Power of Images:

The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” encapsulates the essence of visual representation. Images have an unparalleled ability to evoke emotions, tell stories, and communicate complex ideas in an instant. Whether it’s a photograph capturing a poignant moment or an infographic distilling intricate data, images possess a unique capacity to resonate with and engage the viewer on a visceral level.

Facilitating Understanding:

One of the primary functions of visual representation is to enhance understanding. Humans are inherently visual creatures, and we often process and retain visual information more effectively than text. Complex concepts that might be challenging to grasp through written explanations can be simplified and clarified through visual aids. This is particularly valuable in fields such as science, where intricate processes and structures can be elucidated through diagrams and illustrations.

Visual representation also plays a crucial role in education. In classrooms around the world, teachers leverage visual aids to facilitate learning, making lessons more engaging and accessible. From simple charts that break down historical timelines to interactive simulations that bring scientific principles to life, visual representation is a cornerstone of effective pedagogy.

Data Visualization:

In an era dominated by big data, the importance of data visualization cannot be overstated. Raw numbers and statistics can be overwhelming and abstract, but when presented visually, they transform into meaningful insights. Graphs, charts, and maps are powerful tools for conveying trends, patterns, and correlations, enabling decision-makers to glean actionable intelligence from vast datasets.

Consider the impact of a well-crafted infographic that distills complex research findings into a visually digestible format. Data visualization not only simplifies information but also allows for more informed decision-making in fields ranging from business and healthcare to social sciences and environmental studies.

Cultural and Artistic Expression:

Visual representation extends beyond the realm of information and education; it is also a potent form of cultural and artistic expression. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other visual arts serve as mediums through which individuals can convey their emotions, perspectives, and cultural narratives. Artistic visual representation has the power to transcend language barriers, fostering a shared human experience that resonates universally.

Conclusion:

In a world inundated with information, visual representation stands as a beacon of clarity and understanding. Whether it’s simplifying complex concepts, conveying data-driven insights, or expressing the depth of human emotion, visual elements enrich our communication in ways that words alone cannot. As we navigate an increasingly visual society, recognizing and harnessing the power of visual representation is not just a skill but a necessity for effective communication and comprehension. So, let us embrace the visual language that surrounds us, unlocking a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the world.

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Visual representation.

The study and conceptualization of visual representation were primarily associated with art and art history prior to the twentieth century, and drew on the analytical tools of iconology with a focus on the artist’s intention and perception. With the advent of  semiotics, followed by other theories of the visual, the twentieth century marked a broadening in conceptions of visual representation from the realm of art to the realm of the everyday. Studies of visual representation have expanded to include the images that surround people every-day. This includes studies of images in film (Metz 1990), the use of photography (Sontag 1979), advertising (Goffman 1979), scientific imagery (Latour & Woolgar 1986), learning and development (Kress 1996), and the representation of social identities (Hall 1997). This expansion of the domain of the visual has influenced how visual representation is theorized and approached, including a shift in focus from the image to contexts of production and viewers. Today a range of theories is applied to understanding the visual, including theories drawn from anthropology, art history, cognitive psychology, cultural studies, linguistics, psychoanalytical theories, and sociology.

Studies of visual representation have shown that the visual is central to the cultural construction of social life. People’s everyday experience of the world, socially, physically, and psychologically, and their production of meaning are mediated by the visual. Visual representation is not only a matter of how people experience the world; it is also crucial in how the world itself is constructed. The twenty-first century is marked by a plethora of imaging and visual technologies, and in contemporary western society everyday life is saturated with the images that these technologies make available. Studies of late twentieth century culture have noted a turn to the visual (Mitchell 1995; Mirzoeff 1999) in which the modern world has become a visual phenomenon; a world that conflates looking, seeing, and knowing (Jenks 1995) to become a “vision machine” created through new visualizing technologies in which people are all caught (Virilio 1994).

Visual representation is a complex concept that connects with fundamental questions of “reality,” ideology and power, agency, as well as signification and the procedures and potentials for interpreting meaning. There is, however, a general agreement that the meaning of an image is “made” at three sites: (1) the site of the image, (2) the site of production, and (3) the viewer interaction. The meaning of visual representation is realized in the interplay across these three sites or factors.

The concept of visual codes and conventions (socially agreed ways of doing something) is often employed in the analysis of visual representations. Semiotics proposes that there is a wide range of visual, pictorial, material, and symbolic signs that are conventional in the way that they simplify, and yet bear some kind of resemblance to, an object or quality in the “real” world that they signify. This includes abstract signs that become associated through agreement into convention with the object or quality represented. These conventions are extended to a semiotic “code” to form an extended system of semiotic signs. Social semiotics uses the concept of “semiotic resource” rather than code. This serves to foreground the work of the sign-maker in interpreting and assembling semiotic resources.

What is depicted in an image and how it is represented are an obvious starting point for understanding the process of visual representation. Visual codes can, for example, be designed to realize visual narratives or conceptual categories, each of which serves to connect or disconnect depicted elements in different ways. That is, the way these relationships are represented marks (and establishes) what belongs and does not belong together, who acts on what, and so on. These represented relations are realized through a range of codes, including the representation of depicted elements, compositional arrangements, and analytical structures. Visual representations also work by using and representing many of the visual codes that are employed in lived rather than textual forms of communication. In this way visual representations can carry all the sign systems and codes (dress, style, body language, and so on) that can “make” the lived world meaningful. For instance, Goffman’s Gender advertisements (1979) offers a classic exemplar of how depicted elements, compositional structures, posture, and gaze contribute to the production and regulation of gendered identifies.

In addition to their “content,” visual representations position the viewer to look in particular ways. In this way an image can be understood as “telling” viewers who they are and where they are. In doing so the image realizes the ideological design of the viewer’s relationship with the depicted object, person, or event. The viewer can refuse to adopt the viewing position offered by an image, but nonetheless it is present.

In order to get at the meaning of an image, the ways in which the meanings and uses of images are regulated by institutions of production, distribution, and consumption need to be considered. The economics, motives, and intentions of those who produce and disseminate visual representations are aspects of the site of production. That is, visual representations need to be understood in context because these social factors and experiences are not separate from the signifying systems of the visual; they do not exist in an abstract realm – they actually structure it.

The production of an image is therefore integral to its use and meaning. Technologies of production, in particular new technologies, are key to the question of the relationship between visual representation and “reality.” Technologies have changed what it is possible to see and how these entities are seen, through the magnification of detail, slow motion, capturing images that escape “natural” vision, and the changing context of viewing.

Viewer And Gaze

The viewer, looking, and subjectivity are key themes in theorizing and understanding visual representation. Understanding the agency of the viewer demands a shift of analytical emphasis away from the image or text to the social identities and experiences of the viewer. This necessarily connects with the context of viewing as part of the production of meaning. From this perspective, meaning is understood as constituted in the articulation between the viewer and the viewed, between the power of the image to signify and the viewer’s capacity to interpret meaning. Visual representations work (mean) by producing effects each time they are looked at. However, the image also depends for its effects on a certain way of seeing.

Asking who the viewer is raises the question of the alignment and identification of their points of view and perspective with those of the maker of the image. In other words, both the maker and the reader of a visual representation are involved in the process of making sense ( designing meaning ). Seeing the viewer as agentive means that the power of a visual sign remains a potential until the viewer engages with it. The parameters within which interpretations are made are shaped by the viewer’s social position and subjective capacity in conjunction with the conventions and codes of a visual representation.

The mediating effect of contexts of viewing is especially relevant for visual representation in the twenty-first century, when images are mobile across different media and contexts. For example, reading a magazine at home, driving by a billboard on the road, and watching an advert at home on television or with friends in the cinema all call forth different practices of viewing. The context of viewing contributes to realizing different practices of looking and interpreting.

In summary, visual representation can be understood as a cycle of production , circulation, and consumption, a cycle in which visual representations become a site of struggle over what something means.

Visual Representation And Signification

Signification and how to theorize the relationship between referent, signifier, and signified are central to the way visual representation is conceptualized. Current theories of perception, structuralism, poststructuralism, and postmodernism theorize their relationship in different ways. This influences how the power of visual representation is understood to shape people’s experience of the world, what the world is, and what it can be.

Models of perception are concerned with image-making as an internal psychological process, that is, with the perceptions and sensations in the mind of the image-maker and the viewer. Here the goal is the perfect reproduction of reality. This places reality as external to representation, in which the referent “exists” and the signifier reflects it.

From this perspective an image is a transparent window through which the viewer can connect directly (via the signifier) to an original object or presence (the referent). This presents a notion of the image as autonomous and as containing within itself an inherent meaning. This conception of visual signification and image-making as cognition, perception, and a kind of optical truth severs the connection between image and society and fails to account for the relationship between image and power.

Structuralism

In the twentieth century semiotics began to interrogate the elements and structures of systems of representation, language, and the visual. Traditional semiotics (e.g., Saussure 1986) views meaning as consisting of two parts: the signifier and the signified. On the one hand, the signifier denotes a sign’s literal meaning: that is, who or what is depicted. On the other hand, the signified connotes a sign’s associated meanings: that is, the cultural ideas and values associated with the objects depicted. Structuralism asserts that although we depend on the relationship between these two parts to produce meaning, it is an arbitrary relationship established through cultural convention. This presents language and other systems of meaning as self-contained structures, a system of arbitrary and differential signs that do not name or reflect thoughts or concepts that pre-exist it, but rather actively construct them.

Structuralism attempts to understand the social and cultural forces that motivate representation, rather than accepting representation as given or natural. This brings the relationship between referent, signifier, and signified into a social relationship. Viewing is repositioned as a social process that involves the unfolding of meaning through the “activation” of visual codes of recognition, codes learnt through the viewer’s interaction in the social cultural world, rather than an individual physiological and cognitive process.

Locating visual representation in the social domain in this way opens up the necessity of thinking of visual representation as discursive work, work that produces society. This reconnects images with the social and in doing so locates image in relation to power. However, structuralism has been criticized for being ahistorical and for being deterministic in the way that it privileges structure over individual human agency. In this way it is inadequate in theorizing the potential of human agency to resist, challenge, and change systems of representation. Peirce (1991) brought human agency into semiosis by his assertion that sign-making involves the cooperation of a sign, its object, and its interpretant. In other words, for Pierce signs cannot exist independently of a subject to interpret them. This shifts attention from the idea of meaning as embedded in text to a concern for the interactive process of meaning-making .

Poststructuralism

Poststructuralism developed in the 1960s as a critical response to the assumptions of structuralism. Poststructuralism rejects the structuralist notion that there is a consistent structure to a text and argues instead that these structures and systems that underlie a text are themselves a cultural product. Poststructuralism argues that the systems of knowledge that produce it, as well as the text itself, need to be analyzed in order to understand the meaning of a text. In other words, poststructuralism can be seen as the study of the production of knowledge (Worth 1981).

Poststructuralism argues that the author is not the primary source of the meaning of a text (Barthes 1977) and that there is a multiplicity of meanings to any text. Decentering the authority of the author in this way serves to open up the meaning of a text to the work of the reader and other sources for meaning, such as cultural norms and historical context. Placing the reader at the center of meaning-making in this way asserts that no text has one meaning, purpose, or existence. In addition to demanding a rethinking of texts and representations, poststructuralism also destabilizes the notion of the “self.” From this perspective the concept of the self as a single and coherent entity is a fictional construct.

Social semiotics rejects the concept of code as too rigid and static and instead uses the concept of semiotic resource (Hodge & Kress 1988). A focus on semiotic resources serves to recognize the social, historical, and cultural character of visual codes and the ideological work of signs. From a poststructuralist perspective the act of reading a sign is repositioned as the act of sign-making, of giving meaning to a signified. That is, the reader is the signmaker and signs are constantly remade and transformed through people’s engagement with them. In this way, the denotative (the signified) can be seen as always connotative, no matter how literal its relationship to the “real” world.

The relationship of the referent with the signifier and signified is significantly “loosened” in poststructuralism- and the term “signifier” is preferred to “sign” to indicate that no single meaning is secured to a word, and that the possibility of a full and secure meaning is always deferred (Derrida 1978). In other words, meaning is never as fully “fixed” as structuralism appears to suggest. This attempts to move away from the linking of representation with the idea of reconstituting the missing “presence,” the original source “content” of the empirical form of a representation.

Postmodernism

Postmodernism argues that the economic and social conditions of late capitalism, in particular globalization and new technologies, have led to a decentralized, fragmented, and media-dominated society saturated with images. Postmodernism rejects the idea of “representation” in favor of “ simulation ” to emphasize the constructed character of signs. Simulations are understood as simulacra of the “real” that presuppose and precede the “real.” These hyperreal symbols and signs do not have an original, stable referent or a source of meaning. In this way postmoderism breaks the relationship between seeing and knowing. Baudrillard (1983) argues that society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that what people understand as “reality” is actually a simulation of reality. From this perspective, images are to be fundamentally mistrusted because they claim to signal a referent that they have become detached or severed from.

Postmodernism is a contested term. Whether or not it is a distinct historical period or an extension of modernism remains a matter of debate. There is agreement, however, that the conditions of late capitalism have realized some of the aspects encompassed in postmodernist theory, such as the breakdown of traditional structures (e.g., genre and other stylistic forms) and classificatory categories. This conceptualization of visual representation refutes the possibility of representation as a mimetic reflection of “reality.”

Visual Representation, Identity, And Postcolonialism

The visual produces as well as represents culture, constituting (and constituted by) its relations of power and difference, so that cultures of everyday life are entwined with practices of representation. The continuous circulation and repetition of images presented as the norm or reality in visual media actively define social and cultural norms as fixed and natural. In the ways that people are depicted, vision is complicit with power and discipline through surveillance. Understanding visual representation as embodying and constituting ideologies (the system of thoughts and beliefs that determine the subjects action and behavior) shows how ways of investing meaning in the world are realized in visual representations.

The theorization and study of identities is one example of a significant area that has shown the potential of visual representation in understanding social and cultural phenomena (e.g., Hall 1997). Work has shown how racial, gendered, and other identities are visually represented, recycled, and contested. Visual discourses work to govern and empower particular understandings of a subject through their representation. Building on the work of Foucault (1977), identity theorists have examined visual representation as a part of the regulatory force of culture (sets of practices, cultural norms, meanings, and values) as they apply to the production of identities.

The cultural practices of looking and seeing are (like other social practices) organized around the founding principles of the articulation of difference . Looking at how representations attempt to fix difference offers a way of conceptualizing the complex relationship of power and representation. The practices of representation can be employed, for instance, to mark gender and racial difference. The “visible” signifiers of race and gender on the body can be called on to make these differences seem real and therefore true. The differences we can “see” appear to ground their “truth” beyond the social and historical construction of race and gender into nature and therefore to be unchangeable. The question of how the “other” is produced and reproduced through visual representation is central to postcolonial theories. The idea that discipline and control can be achieved through relations of looking and the knowledge and power that vision allows over what is seen is central to Foucault’s work and postcolonial theories.

Visual representations are, then, a discursive means by which a dominant group works to establish and maintain hegemonic power within a culture in which meaning is constantly reproduced and remade as signs are articulated and rearticulated. Images are thus a site of struggle for meaning , a site of power, and constitutive of society. Cultural production therefore has real political and ideological effects. As a result, visual representation has also been taken up as a potential tool for resistance and the remaking – reimaging – of society.

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• Open access
• Published: 19 July 2015

The role of visual representations in scientific practices: from conceptual understanding and knowledge generation to ‘seeing’ how science works

• Maria Evagorou 1 ,
• Sibel Erduran 2 &
• Terhi Mäntylä 3  

International Journal of STEM Education volume  2 , Article number:  11 ( 2015 ) Cite this article

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The use of visual representations (i.e., photographs, diagrams, models) has been part of science, and their use makes it possible for scientists to interact with and represent complex phenomena, not observable in other ways. Despite a wealth of research in science education on visual representations, the emphasis of such research has mainly been on the conceptual understanding when using visual representations and less on visual representations as epistemic objects. In this paper, we argue that by positioning visual representations as epistemic objects of scientific practices, science education can bring a renewed focus on how visualization contributes to knowledge formation in science from the learners’ perspective.

This is a theoretical paper, and in order to argue about the role of visualization, we first present a case study, that of the discovery of the structure of DNA that highlights the epistemic components of visual information in science. The second case study focuses on Faraday’s use of the lines of magnetic force. Faraday is known of his exploratory, creative, and yet systemic way of experimenting, and the visual reasoning leading to theoretical development was an inherent part of the experimentation. Third, we trace a contemporary account from science focusing on the experimental practices and how reproducibility of experimental procedures can be reinforced through video data.

Conclusions

Our conclusions suggest that in teaching science, the emphasis in visualization should shift from cognitive understanding—using the products of science to understand the content—to engaging in the processes of visualization. Furthermore, we suggest that is it essential to design curriculum materials and learning environments that create a social and epistemic context and invite students to engage in the practice of visualization as evidence, reasoning, experimental procedure, or a means of communication and reflect on these practices. Implications for teacher education include the need for teacher professional development programs to problematize the use of visual representations as epistemic objects that are part of scientific practices.

During the last decades, research and reform documents in science education across the world have been calling for an emphasis not only on the content but also on the processes of science (Bybee 2014 ; Eurydice 2012 ; Duschl and Bybee 2014 ; Osborne 2014 ; Schwartz et al. 2012 ), in order to make science accessible to the students and enable them to understand the epistemic foundation of science. Scientific practices, part of the process of science, are the cognitive and discursive activities that are targeted in science education to develop epistemic understanding and appreciation of the nature of science (Duschl et al. 2008 ) and have been the emphasis of recent reform documents in science education across the world (Achieve 2013 ; Eurydice 2012 ). With the term scientific practices, we refer to the processes that take place during scientific discoveries and include among others: asking questions, developing and using models, engaging in arguments, and constructing and communicating explanations (National Research Council 2012 ). The emphasis on scientific practices aims to move the teaching of science from knowledge to the understanding of the processes and the epistemic aspects of science. Additionally, by placing an emphasis on engaging students in scientific practices, we aim to help students acquire scientific knowledge in meaningful contexts that resemble the reality of scientific discoveries.

Despite a wealth of research in science education on visual representations, the emphasis of such research has mainly been on the conceptual understanding when using visual representations and less on visual representations as epistemic objects. In this paper, we argue that by positioning visual representations as epistemic objects, science education can bring a renewed focus on how visualization contributes to knowledge formation in science from the learners’ perspective. Specifically, the use of visual representations (i.e., photographs, diagrams, tables, charts) has been part of science and over the years has evolved with the new technologies (i.e., from drawings to advanced digital images and three dimensional models). Visualization makes it possible for scientists to interact with complex phenomena (Richards 2003 ), and they might convey important evidence not observable in other ways. Visual representations as a tool to support cognitive understanding in science have been studied extensively (i.e., Gilbert 2010 ; Wu and Shah 2004 ). Studies in science education have explored the use of images in science textbooks (i.e., Dimopoulos et al. 2003 ; Bungum 2008 ), students’ representations or models when doing science (i.e., Gilbert et al. 2008 ; Dori et al. 2003 ; Lehrer and Schauble 2012 ; Schwarz et al. 2009 ), and students’ images of science and scientists (i.e., Chambers 1983 ). Therefore, studies in the field of science education have been using the term visualization as “the formation of an internal representation from an external representation” (Gilbert et al. 2008 , p. 4) or as a tool for conceptual understanding for students.

In this paper, we do not refer to visualization as mental image, model, or presentation only (Gilbert et al. 2008 ; Philips et al. 2010 ) but instead focus on visual representations or visualization as epistemic objects. Specifically, we refer to visualization as a process for knowledge production and growth in science. In this respect, modeling is an aspect of visualization, but what we are focusing on with visualization is not on the use of model as a tool for cognitive understanding (Gilbert 2010 ; Wu and Shah 2004 ) but the on the process of modeling as a scientific practice which includes the construction and use of models, the use of other representations, the communication in the groups with the use of the visual representation, and the appreciation of the difficulties that the science phase in this process. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present through the history of science how visualization can be considered not only as a cognitive tool in science education but also as an epistemic object that can potentially support students to understand aspects of the nature of science.

Scientific practices and science education

According to the New Generation Science Standards (Achieve 2013 ), scientific practices refer to: asking questions and defining problems; developing and using models; planning and carrying out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data; using mathematical and computational thinking; constructing explanations and designing solutions; engaging in argument from evidence; and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. A significant aspect of scientific practices is that science learning is more than just about learning facts, concepts, theories, and laws. A fuller appreciation of science necessitates the understanding of the science relative to its epistemological grounding and the process that are involved in the production of knowledge (Hogan and Maglienti 2001 ; Wickman 2004 ).

The New Generation Science Standards is, among other changes, shifting away from science inquiry and towards the inclusion of scientific practices (Duschl and Bybee 2014 ; Osborne 2014 ). By comparing the abilities to do scientific inquiry (National Research Council 2000 ) with the set of scientific practices, it is evident that the latter is about engaging in the processes of doing science and experiencing in that way science in a more authentic way. Engaging in scientific practices according to Osborne ( 2014 ) “presents a more authentic picture of the endeavor that is science” (p.183) and also helps the students to develop a deeper understanding of the epistemic aspects of science. Furthermore, as Bybee ( 2014 ) argues, by engaging students in scientific practices, we involve them in an understanding of the nature of science and an understanding on the nature of scientific knowledge.

Science as a practice and scientific practices as a term emerged by the philosopher of science, Kuhn (Osborne 2014 ), refers to the processes in which the scientists engage during knowledge production and communication. The work that is followed by historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science (Latour 2011 ; Longino 2002 ; Nersessian 2008 ) revealed the scientific practices in which the scientists engage in and include among others theory development and specific ways of talking, modeling, and communicating the outcomes of science.

Visualization as an epistemic object

Schematic, pictorial symbols in the design of scientific instruments and analysis of the perceptual and functional information that is being stored in those images have been areas of investigation in philosophy of scientific experimentation (Gooding et al. 1993 ). The nature of visual perception, the relationship between thought and vision, and the role of reproducibility as a norm for experimental research form a central aspect of this domain of research in philosophy of science. For instance, Rothbart ( 1997 ) has argued that visualizations are commonplace in the theoretical sciences even if every scientific theory may not be defined by visualized models.

Visual representations (i.e., photographs, diagrams, tables, charts, models) have been used in science over the years to enable scientists to interact with complex phenomena (Richards 2003 ) and might convey important evidence not observable in other ways (Barber et al. 2006 ). Some authors (e.g., Ruivenkamp and Rip 2010 ) have argued that visualization is as a core activity of some scientific communities of practice (e.g., nanotechnology) while others (e.g., Lynch and Edgerton 1988 ) have differentiated the role of particular visualization techniques (e.g., of digital image processing in astronomy). Visualization in science includes the complex process through which scientists develop or produce imagery, schemes, and graphical representation, and therefore, what is of importance in this process is not only the result but also the methodology employed by the scientists, namely, how this result was produced. Visual representations in science may refer to objects that are believed to have some kind of material or physical existence but equally might refer to purely mental, conceptual, and abstract constructs (Pauwels 2006 ). More specifically, visual representations can be found for: (a) phenomena that are not observable with the eye (i.e., microscopic or macroscopic); (b) phenomena that do not exist as visual representations but can be translated as such (i.e., sound); and (c) in experimental settings to provide visual data representations (i.e., graphs presenting velocity of moving objects). Additionally, since science is not only about replicating reality but also about making it more understandable to people (either to the public or other scientists), visual representations are not only about reproducing the nature but also about: (a) functioning in helping solving a problem, (b) filling gaps in our knowledge, and (c) facilitating knowledge building or transfer (Lynch 2006 ).

Using or developing visual representations in the scientific practice can range from a straightforward to a complicated situation. More specifically, scientists can observe a phenomenon (i.e., mitosis) and represent it visually using a picture or diagram, which is quite straightforward. But they can also use a variety of complicated techniques (i.e., crystallography in the case of DNA studies) that are either available or need to be developed or refined in order to acquire the visual information that can be used in the process of theory development (i.e., Latour and Woolgar 1979 ). Furthermore, some visual representations need decoding, and the scientists need to learn how to read these images (i.e., radiologists); therefore, using visual representations in the process of science requires learning a new language that is specific to the medium/methods that is used (i.e., understanding an X-ray picture is different from understanding an MRI scan) and then communicating that language to other scientists and the public.

There are much intent and purposes of visual representations in scientific practices, as for example to make a diagnosis, compare, describe, and preserve for future study, verify and explore new territory, generate new data (Pauwels 2006 ), or present new methodologies. According to Latour and Woolgar ( 1979 ) and Knorr Cetina ( 1999 ), visual representations can be used either as primary data (i.e., image from a microscope). or can be used to help in concept development (i.e., models of DNA used by Watson and Crick), to uncover relationships and to make the abstract more concrete (graphs of sound waves). Therefore, visual representations and visual practices, in all forms, are an important aspect of the scientific practices in developing, clarifying, and transmitting scientific knowledge (Pauwels 2006 ).

Methods and Results: Merging Visualization and scientific practices in science

In this paper, we present three case studies that embody the working practices of scientists in an effort to present visualization as a scientific practice and present our argument about how visualization is a complex process that could include among others modeling and use of representation but is not only limited to that. The first case study explores the role of visualization in the construction of knowledge about the structure of DNA, using visuals as evidence. The second case study focuses on Faraday’s use of the lines of magnetic force and the visual reasoning leading to the theoretical development that was an inherent part of the experimentation. The third case study focuses on the current practices of scientists in the context of a peer-reviewed journal called the Journal of Visualized Experiments where the methodology is communicated through videotaped procedures. The three case studies represent the research interests of the three authors of this paper and were chosen to present how visualization as a practice can be involved in all stages of doing science, from hypothesizing and evaluating evidence (case study 1) to experimenting and reasoning (case study 2) to communicating the findings and methodology with the research community (case study 3), and represent in this way the three functions of visualization as presented by Lynch ( 2006 ). Furthermore, the last case study showcases how the development of visualization technologies has contributed to the communication of findings and methodologies in science and present in that way an aspect of current scientific practices. In all three cases, our approach is guided by the observation that the visual information is an integral part of scientific practices at the least and furthermore that they are particularly central in the scientific practices of science.

Case study 1: use visual representations as evidence in the discovery of DNA

The focus of the first case study is the discovery of the structure of DNA. The DNA was first isolated in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher, and by the late 1940s, it was known that it contained phosphate, sugar, and four nitrogen-containing chemical bases. However, no one had figured the structure of the DNA until Watson and Crick presented their model of DNA in 1953. Other than the social aspects of the discovery of the DNA, another important aspect was the role of visual evidence that led to knowledge development in the area. More specifically, by studying the personal accounts of Watson ( 1968 ) and Crick ( 1988 ) about the discovery of the structure of the DNA, the following main ideas regarding the role of visual representations in the production of knowledge can be identified: (a) The use of visual representations was an important part of knowledge growth and was often dependent upon the discovery of new technologies (i.e., better microscopes or better techniques in crystallography that would provide better visual representations as evidence of the helical structure of the DNA); and (b) Models (three-dimensional) were used as a way to represent the visual images (X-ray images) and connect them to the evidence provided by other sources to see whether the theory can be supported. Therefore, the model of DNA was built based on the combination of visual evidence and experimental data.

An example showcasing the importance of visual representations in the process of knowledge production in this case is provided by Watson, in his book The Double Helix (1968):

…since the middle of the summer Rosy [Rosalind Franklin] had had evidence for a new three-dimensional form of DNA. It occurred when the DNA 2molecules were surrounded by a large amount of water. When I asked what the pattern was like, Maurice went into the adjacent room to pick up a print of the new form they called the “B” structure. The instant I saw the picture, my mouth fell open and my pulse began to race. The pattern was unbelievably simpler than those previously obtained (A form). Moreover, the black cross of reflections which dominated the picture could arise only from a helical structure. With the A form the argument for the helix was never straightforward, and considerable ambiguity existed as to exactly which type of helical symmetry was present. With the B form however, mere inspection of its X-ray picture gave several of the vital helical parameters. (p. 167-169)

As suggested by Watson’s personal account of the discovery of the DNA, the photo taken by Rosalind Franklin (Fig.  1 ) convinced him that the DNA molecule must consist of two chains arranged in a paired helix, which resembles a spiral staircase or ladder, and on March 7, 1953, Watson and Crick finished and presented their model of the structure of DNA (Watson and Berry 2004 ; Watson 1968 ) which was based on the visual information provided by the X-ray image and their knowledge of chemistry.

X-ray chrystallography of DNA

In analyzing the visualization practice in this case study, we observe the following instances that highlight how the visual information played a role:

Asking questions and defining problems: The real world in the model of science can at some points only be observed through visual representations or representations, i.e., if we are using DNA as an example, the structure of DNA was only observable through the crystallography images produced by Rosalind Franklin in the laboratory. There was no other way to observe the structure of DNA, therefore the real world.

Analyzing and interpreting data: The images that resulted from crystallography as well as their interpretations served as the data for the scientists studying the structure of DNA.

Experimenting: The data in the form of visual information were used to predict the possible structure of the DNA.

Modeling: Based on the prediction, an actual three-dimensional model was prepared by Watson and Crick. The first model did not fit with the real world (refuted by Rosalind Franklin and her research group from King’s College) and Watson and Crick had to go through the same process again to find better visual evidence (better crystallography images) and create an improved visual model.

Example excerpts from Watson’s biography provide further evidence for how visualization practices were applied in the context of the discovery of DNA (Table  1 ).

In summary, by examining the history of the discovery of DNA, we showcased how visual data is used as scientific evidence in science, identifying in that way an aspect of the nature of science that is still unexplored in the history of science and an aspect that has been ignored in the teaching of science. Visual representations are used in many ways: as images, as models, as evidence to support or rebut a model, and as interpretations of reality.

Case study 2: applying visual reasoning in knowledge production, the example of the lines of magnetic force

The focus of this case study is on Faraday’s use of the lines of magnetic force. Faraday is known of his exploratory, creative, and yet systemic way of experimenting, and the visual reasoning leading to theoretical development was an inherent part of this experimentation (Gooding 2006 ). Faraday’s articles or notebooks do not include mathematical formulations; instead, they include images and illustrations from experimental devices and setups to the recapping of his theoretical ideas (Nersessian 2008 ). According to Gooding ( 2006 ), “Faraday’s visual method was designed not to copy apparent features of the world, but to analyse and replicate them” (2006, p. 46).

The lines of force played a central role in Faraday’s research on electricity and magnetism and in the development of his “field theory” (Faraday 1852a ; Nersessian 1984 ). Before Faraday, the experiments with iron filings around magnets were known and the term “magnetic curves” was used for the iron filing patterns and also for the geometrical constructs derived from the mathematical theory of magnetism (Gooding et al. 1993 ). However, Faraday used the lines of force for explaining his experimental observations and in constructing the theory of forces in magnetism and electricity. Examples of Faraday’s different illustrations of lines of magnetic force are given in Fig.  2 . Faraday gave the following experiment-based definition for the lines of magnetic forces:

a Iron filing pattern in case of bar magnet drawn by Faraday (Faraday 1852b , Plate IX, p. 158, Fig. 1), b Faraday’s drawing of lines of magnetic force in case of cylinder magnet, where the experimental procedure, knife blade showing the direction of lines, is combined into drawing (Faraday, 1855, vol. 1, plate 1)

A line of magnetic force may be defined as that line which is described by a very small magnetic needle, when it is so moved in either direction correspondent to its length, that the needle is constantly a tangent to the line of motion; or it is that line along which, if a transverse wire be moved in either direction, there is no tendency to the formation of any current in the wire, whilst if moved in any other direction there is such a tendency; or it is that line which coincides with the direction of the magnecrystallic axis of a crystal of bismuth, which is carried in either direction along it. The direction of these lines about and amongst magnets and electric currents, is easily represented and understood, in a general manner, by the ordinary use of iron filings. (Faraday 1852a , p. 25 (3071))

The definition describes the connection between the experiments and the visual representation of the results. Initially, the lines of force were just geometric representations, but later, Faraday treated them as physical objects (Nersessian 1984 ; Pocovi and Finlay 2002 ):

I have sometimes used the term lines of force so vaguely, as to leave the reader doubtful whether I intended it as a merely representative idea of the forces, or as the description of the path along which the power was continuously exerted. … wherever the expression line of force is taken simply to represent the disposition of forces, it shall have the fullness of that meaning; but that wherever it may seem to represent the idea of the physical mode of transmission of the force, it expresses in that respect the opinion to which I incline at present. The opinion may be erroneous, and yet all that relates or refers to the disposition of the force will remain the same. (Faraday, 1852a , p. 55-56 (3075))

He also felt that the lines of force had greater explanatory power than the dominant theory of action-at-a-distance:

Now it appears to me that these lines may be employed with great advantage to represent nature, condition, direction and comparative amount of the magnetic forces; and that in many cases they have, to the physical reasoned at least, a superiority over that method which represents the forces as concentrated in centres of action… (Faraday, 1852a , p. 26 (3074))

For giving some insight to Faraday’s visual reasoning as an epistemic practice, the following examples of Faraday’s studies of the lines of magnetic force (Faraday 1852a , 1852b ) are presented:

(a) Asking questions and defining problems: The iron filing patterns formed the empirical basis for the visual model: 2D visualization of lines of magnetic force as presented in Fig.  2 . According to Faraday, these iron filing patterns were suitable for illustrating the direction and form of the magnetic lines of force (emphasis added):

It must be well understood that these forms give no indication by their appearance of the relative strength of the magnetic force at different places, inasmuch as the appearance of the lines depends greatly upon the quantity of filings and the amount of tapping; but the direction and forms of these lines are well given, and these indicate, in a considerable degree, the direction in which the forces increase and diminish . (Faraday 1852b , p.158 (3237))

Despite being static and two dimensional on paper, the lines of magnetic force were dynamical (Nersessian 1992 , 2008 ) and three dimensional for Faraday (see Fig.  2 b). For instance, Faraday described the lines of force “expanding”, “bending,” and “being cut” (Nersessian 1992 ). In Fig.  2 b, Faraday has summarized his experiment (bar magnet and knife blade) and its results (lines of force) in one picture.

(b) Analyzing and interpreting data: The model was so powerful for Faraday that he ended up thinking them as physical objects (e.g., Nersessian 1984 ), i.e., making interpretations of the way forces act. Of course, he made a lot of experiments for showing the physical existence of the lines of force, but he did not succeed in it (Nersessian 1984 ). The following quote illuminates Faraday’s use of the lines of force in different situations:

The study of these lines has, at different times, been greatly influential in leading me to various results, which I think prove their utility as well as fertility. Thus, the law of magneto-electric induction; the earth’s inductive action; the relation of magnetism and light; diamagnetic action and its law, and magnetocrystallic action, are the cases of this kind… (Faraday 1852a , p. 55 (3174))

(c) Experimenting: In Faraday's case, he used a lot of exploratory experiments; in case of lines of magnetic force, he used, e.g., iron filings, magnetic needles, or current carrying wires (see the quote above). The magnetic field is not directly observable and the representation of lines of force was a visual model, which includes the direction, form, and magnitude of field.

(d) Modeling: There is no denying that the lines of magnetic force are visual by nature. Faraday’s views of lines of force developed gradually during the years, and he applied and developed them in different contexts such as electromagnetic, electrostatic, and magnetic induction (Nersessian 1984 ). An example of Faraday’s explanation of the effect of the wire b’s position to experiment is given in Fig.  3 . In Fig.  3 , few magnetic lines of force are drawn, and in the quote below, Faraday is explaining the effect using these magnetic lines of force (emphasis added):

Picture of an experiment with different arrangements of wires ( a , b’ , b” ), magnet, and galvanometer. Note the lines of force drawn around the magnet. (Faraday 1852a , p. 34)

It will be evident by inspection of Fig. 3 , that, however the wires are carried away, the general result will, according to the assumed principles of action, be the same; for if a be the axial wire, and b’, b”, b”’ the equatorial wire, represented in three different positions, whatever magnetic lines of force pass across the latter wire in one position, will also pass it in the other, or in any other position which can be given to it. The distance of the wire at the place of intersection with the lines of force, has been shown, by the experiments (3093.), to be unimportant. (Faraday 1852a , p. 34 (3099))

In summary, by examining the history of Faraday’s use of lines of force, we showed how visual imagery and reasoning played an important part in Faraday’s construction and representation of his “field theory”. As Gooding has stated, “many of Faraday’s sketches are far more that depictions of observation, they are tools for reasoning with and about phenomena” (2006, p. 59).

Case study 3: visualizing scientific methods, the case of a journal

The focus of the third case study is the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) , a peer-reviewed publication indexed in PubMed. The journal devoted to the publication of biological, medical, chemical, and physical research in a video format. The journal describes its history as follows:

JoVE was established as a new tool in life science publication and communication, with participation of scientists from leading research institutions. JoVE takes advantage of video technology to capture and transmit the multiple facets and intricacies of life science research. Visualization greatly facilitates the understanding and efficient reproduction of both basic and complex experimental techniques, thereby addressing two of the biggest challenges faced by today's life science research community: i) low transparency and poor reproducibility of biological experiments and ii) time and labor-intensive nature of learning new experimental techniques. ( http://www.jove.com/ )

By examining the journal content, we generate a set of categories that can be considered as indicators of relevance and significance in terms of epistemic practices of science that have relevance for science education. For example, the quote above illustrates how scientists view some norms of scientific practice including the norms of “transparency” and “reproducibility” of experimental methods and results, and how the visual format of the journal facilitates the implementation of these norms. “Reproducibility” can be considered as an epistemic criterion that sits at the heart of what counts as an experimental procedure in science:

Investigating what should be reproducible and by whom leads to different types of experimental reproducibility, which can be observed to play different roles in experimental practice. A successful application of the strategy of reproducing an experiment is an achievement that may depend on certain isiosyncratic aspects of a local situation. Yet a purely local experiment that cannot be carried out by other experimenters and in other experimental contexts will, in the end be unproductive in science. (Sarkar and Pfeifer 2006 , p.270)

We now turn to an article on “Elevated Plus Maze for Mice” that is available for free on the journal website ( http://www.jove.com/video/1088/elevated-plus-maze-for-mice ). The purpose of this experiment was to investigate anxiety levels in mice through behavioral analysis. The journal article consists of a 9-min video accompanied by text. The video illustrates the handling of the mice in soundproof location with less light, worksheets with characteristics of mice, computer software, apparatus, resources, setting up the computer software, and the video recording of mouse behavior on the computer. The authors describe the apparatus that is used in the experiment and state how procedural differences exist between research groups that lead to difficulties in the interpretation of results:

The apparatus consists of open arms and closed arms, crossed in the middle perpendicularly to each other, and a center area. Mice are given access to all of the arms and are allowed to move freely between them. The number of entries into the open arms and the time spent in the open arms are used as indices of open space-induced anxiety in mice. Unfortunately, the procedural differences that exist between laboratories make it difficult to duplicate and compare results among laboratories.

The authors’ emphasis on the particularity of procedural context echoes in the observations of some philosophers of science:

It is not just the knowledge of experimental objects and phenomena but also their actual existence and occurrence that prove to be dependent on specific, productive interventions by the experimenters” (Sarkar and Pfeifer 2006 , pp. 270-271)

The inclusion of a video of the experimental procedure specifies what the apparatus looks like (Fig.  4 ) and how the behavior of the mice is captured through video recording that feeds into a computer (Fig.  5 ). Subsequently, a computer software which captures different variables such as the distance traveled, the number of entries, and the time spent on each arm of the apparatus. Here, there is visual information at different levels of representation ranging from reconfiguration of raw video data to representations that analyze the data around the variables in question (Fig.  6 ). The practice of levels of visual representations is not particular to the biological sciences. For instance, they are commonplace in nanotechnological practices:

Visual illustration of apparatus

Video processing of experimental set-up

Computer software for video input and variable recording

In the visualization processes, instruments are needed that can register the nanoscale and provide raw data, which needs to be transformed into images. Some Imaging Techniques have software incorporated already where this transformation automatically takes place, providing raw images. Raw data must be translated through the use of Graphic Software and software is also used for the further manipulation of images to highlight what is of interest to capture the (inferred) phenomena -- and to capture the reader. There are two levels of choice: Scientists have to choose which imaging technique and embedded software to use for the job at hand, and they will then have to follow the structure of the software. Within such software, there are explicit choices for the scientists, e.g. about colour coding, and ways of sharpening images. (Ruivenkamp and Rip 2010 , pp.14–15)

On the text that accompanies the video, the authors highlight the role of visualization in their experiment:

Visualization of the protocol will promote better understanding of the details of the entire experimental procedure, allowing for standardization of the protocols used in different laboratories and comparisons of the behavioral phenotypes of various strains of mutant mice assessed using this test.

The software that takes the video data and transforms it into various representations allows the researchers to collect data on mouse behavior more reliably. For instance, the distance traveled across the arms of the apparatus or the time spent on each arm would have been difficult to observe and record precisely. A further aspect to note is how the visualization of the experiment facilitates control of bias. The authors illustrate how the olfactory bias between experimental procedures carried on mice in sequence is avoided by cleaning the equipment.

Our discussion highlights the role of visualization in science, particularly with respect to presenting visualization as part of the scientific practices. We have used case studies from the history of science highlighting a scientist’s account of how visualization played a role in the discovery of DNA and the magnetic field and from a contemporary illustration of a science journal’s practices in incorporating visualization as a way to communicate new findings and methodologies. Our implicit aim in drawing from these case studies was the need to align science education with scientific practices, particularly in terms of how visual representations, stable or dynamic, can engage students in the processes of science and not only to be used as tools for cognitive development in science. Our approach was guided by the notion of “knowledge-as-practice” as advanced by Knorr Cetina ( 1999 ) who studied scientists and characterized their knowledge as practice, a characterization which shifts focus away from ideas inside scientists’ minds to practices that are cultural and deeply contextualized within fields of science. She suggests that people working together can be examined as epistemic cultures whose collective knowledge exists as practice.

It is important to stress, however, that visual representations are not used in isolation, but are supported by other types of evidence as well, or other theories (i.e., in order to understand the helical form of DNA, or the structure, chemistry knowledge was needed). More importantly, this finding can also have implications when teaching science as argument (e.g., Erduran and Jimenez-Aleixandre 2008 ), since the verbal evidence used in the science classroom to maintain an argument could be supported by visual evidence (either a model, representation, image, graph, etc.). For example, in a group of students discussing the outcomes of an introduced species in an ecosystem, pictures of the species and the ecosystem over time, and videos showing the changes in the ecosystem, and the special characteristics of the different species could serve as visual evidence to help the students support their arguments (Evagorou et al. 2012 ). Therefore, an important implication for the teaching of science is the use of visual representations as evidence in the science curriculum as part of knowledge production. Even though studies in the area of science education have focused on the use of models and modeling as a way to support students in the learning of science (Dori et al. 2003 ; Lehrer and Schauble 2012 ; Mendonça and Justi 2013 ; Papaevripidou et al. 2007 ) or on the use of images (i.e., Korfiatis et al. 2003 ), with the term using visuals as evidence, we refer to the collection of all forms of visuals and the processes involved.

Another aspect that was identified through the case studies is that of the visual reasoning (an integral part of Faraday’s investigations). Both the verbalization and visualization were part of the process of generating new knowledge (Gooding 2006 ). Even today, most of the textbooks use the lines of force (or just field lines) as a geometrical representation of field, and the number of field lines is connected to the quantity of flux. Often, the textbooks use the same kind of visual imagery than in what is used by scientists. However, when using images, only certain aspects or features of the phenomena or data are captured or highlighted, and often in tacit ways. Especially in textbooks, the process of producing the image is not presented and instead only the product—image—is left. This could easily lead to an idea of images (i.e., photos, graphs, visual model) being just representations of knowledge and, in the worse case, misinterpreted representations of knowledge as the results of Pocovi and Finlay ( 2002 ) in case of electric field lines show. In order to avoid this, the teachers should be able to explain how the images are produced (what features of phenomena or data the images captures, on what ground the features are chosen to that image, and what features are omitted); in this way, the role of visualization in knowledge production can be made “visible” to students by engaging them in the process of visualization.

The implication of these norms for science teaching and learning is numerous. The classroom contexts can model the generation, sharing and evaluation of evidence, and experimental procedures carried out by students, thereby promoting not only some contemporary cultural norms in scientific practice but also enabling the learning of criteria, standards, and heuristics that scientists use in making decisions on scientific methods. As we have demonstrated with the three case studies, visual representations are part of the process of knowledge growth and communication in science, as demonstrated with two examples from the history of science and an example from current scientific practices. Additionally, visual information, especially with the use of technology is a part of students’ everyday lives. Therefore, we suggest making use of students’ knowledge and technological skills (i.e., how to produce their own videos showing their experimental method or how to identify or provide appropriate visual evidence for a given topic), in order to teach them the aspects of the nature of science that are often neglected both in the history of science and the design of curriculum. Specifically, what we suggest in this paper is that students should actively engage in visualization processes in order to appreciate the diverse nature of doing science and engage in authentic scientific practices.

However, as a word of caution, we need to distinguish the products and processes involved in visualization practices in science:

If one considers scientific representations and the ways in which they can foster or thwart our understanding, it is clear that a mere object approach, which would devote all attention to the representation as a free-standing product of scientific labor, is inadequate. What is needed is a process approach: each visual representation should be linked with its context of production (Pauwels 2006 , p.21).

The aforementioned suggests that the emphasis in visualization should shift from cognitive understanding—using the products of science to understand the content—to engaging in the processes of visualization. Therefore, an implication for the teaching of science includes designing curriculum materials and learning environments that create a social and epistemic context and invite students to engage in the practice of visualization as evidence, reasoning, experimental procedure, or a means of communication (as presented in the three case studies) and reflect on these practices (Ryu et al. 2015 ).

Finally, a question that arises from including visualization in science education, as well as from including scientific practices in science education is whether teachers themselves are prepared to include them as part of their teaching (Bybee 2014 ). Teacher preparation programs and teacher education have been critiqued, studied, and rethought since the time they emerged (Cochran-Smith 2004 ). Despite the years of history in teacher training and teacher education, the debate about initial teacher training and its content still pertains in our community and in policy circles (Cochran-Smith 2004 ; Conway et al. 2009 ). In the last decades, the debate has shifted from a behavioral view of learning and teaching to a learning problem—focusing on that way not only on teachers’ knowledge, skills, and beliefs but also on making the connection of the aforementioned with how and if pupils learn (Cochran-Smith 2004 ). The Science Education in Europe report recommended that “Good quality teachers, with up-to-date knowledge and skills, are the foundation of any system of formal science education” (Osborne and Dillon 2008 , p.9).

However, questions such as what should be the emphasis on pre-service and in-service science teacher training, especially with the new emphasis on scientific practices, still remain unanswered. As Bybee ( 2014 ) argues, starting from the new emphasis on scientific practices in the NGSS, we should consider teacher preparation programs “that would provide undergraduates opportunities to learn the science content and practices in contexts that would be aligned with their future work as teachers” (p.218). Therefore, engaging pre- and in-service teachers in visualization as a scientific practice should be one of the purposes of teacher preparation programs.

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Evagorou, M., Erduran, S. & Mäntylä, T. The role of visual representations in scientific practices: from conceptual understanding and knowledge generation to ‘seeing’ how science works. IJ STEM Ed 2 , 11 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-015-0024-x

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Painting Pictures with Data: The Power of Visual Representations

Picture this. A chaotic world of abstract concepts and complex data, like a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle. Each piece, a different variable, a unique detail.

Alone, they’re baffling, nearly indecipherable.

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American data pioneer Edward Tufte , a notable figure in the graphics press, believed that the art of seeing is not limited to the physical objects around us. He stated, “The commonality between science and art is in trying to see profoundly – to develop strategies of seeing and showing.”

It’s in this context that we delve into the world of data visualization. This is a process where you create visual representations that foster understanding and enhance decision making.

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Think of visuals, a smorgasbord of graphical representation, images, pictures, and drawings. Now blend these with ideas, abstract concepts, and data.

You get visual representations . A powerful, potent blend of communication and learning.

As a more formal definition, visual representation is the use of images to represent different types of data and ideas.

They’re more than simply a picture. Visual representations organize information visually , creating a deeper understanding and fostering conceptual understanding. These can be concrete objects or abstract symbols or forms, each telling a unique story. And they can be used to improve understanding everywhere, from a job site to an online article. University professors can even use them to improve their teaching.

But this only scratches the surface of what can be created via visual representation.

Types of Visual Representation for Improving Conceptual Understanding

Graphs, spider diagrams, cluster diagrams – the list is endless!

Each type of visual representation has its specific uses. A mind map template can help you create a detailed illustration of your thought process. It illustrates your ideas or data in an engaging way and reveals how they connect.

Here are a handful of different types of data visualization tools that you can begin using right now.

1. Spider Diagrams

Spider diagrams , or mind maps, are the master web-weavers of visual representation.

They originate from a central concept and extend outwards like a spider’s web. Different ideas or concepts branch out from the center area, providing a holistic view of the topic.

This form of representation is brilliant for showcasing relationships between concepts, fostering a deeper understanding of the subject at hand.

2. Cluster Diagrams

As champions of grouping and classifying information, cluster diagrams are your go-to tools for usability testing or decision making. They help you group similar ideas together, making it easier to digest and understand information.

They’re great for exploring product features, brainstorming solutions, or sorting out ideas.

3. Pie Charts

Pie charts are the quintessential representatives of quantitative information.

They are a type of visual diagrams that transform complex data and word problems into simple symbols. Each slice of the pie is a story, a visual display of the part-to-whole relationship.

Whether you’re presenting survey results, market share data, or budget allocation, a pie chart offers a straightforward, easily digestible visual representation.

4. Bar Charts

If you’re dealing with comparative data or need a visual for data analysis, bar charts or graphs come to the rescue.

Bar graphs represent different variables or categories against a quantity, making them perfect for representing quantitative information. The vertical or horizontal bars bring the data to life, translating numbers into visual elements that provide context and insights at a glance.

Visual Representations Benefits

1. deeper understanding via visual perception.

Visual representations aren’t just a feast for the eyes; they’re food for thought. They offer a quick way to dig down into more detail when examining an issue.

They mold abstract concepts into concrete objects, breathing life into the raw, quantitative information. As you glimpse into the world of data through these visualization techniques , your perception deepens.

You no longer just see the data; you comprehend it, you understand its story. Complex data sheds its mystifying cloak, revealing itself in a visual format that your mind grasps instantly. It’s like going from a two dimensional to a three dimensional picture of the world.

2. Enhanced Decision Making

Navigating through different variables and relationships can feel like walking through a labyrinth. But visualize these with a spider diagram or cluster diagram, and the path becomes clear. Visual representation is one of the most efficient decision making techniques .

Visual representations illuminate the links and connections, presenting a fuller picture. It’s like having a compass in your decision-making journey, guiding you toward the correct answer.

3. Professional Development

Whether you’re presenting research findings, sharing theoretical frameworks, or revealing historical examples, visual representations are your ace. They equip you with a new language, empowering you to convey your message compellingly.

From the conference room to the university lecture hall, they enhance your communication and teaching skills, propelling your professional development. Try to create a research mind map and compare it to a plain text document full of research documentation and see the difference.

4. Bridging the Gap in Data Analysis

What is data visualization if not the mediator between data analysis and understanding? It’s more than an actual process; it’s a bridge.

It takes you from the shores of raw, complex data to the lands of comprehension and insights. With visualization techniques, such as the use of simple symbols or detailed illustrations, you can navigate through this bridge effortlessly.

5. Enriching Learning Environments

Imagine a teaching setting where concepts are not just told but shown. Where students don’t just listen to word problems but see them represented in charts and graphs. This is what visual representations bring to learning environments.

They transform traditional methods into interactive learning experiences, enabling students to grasp complex ideas and understand relationships more clearly. The result? An enriched learning experience that fosters conceptual understanding.

6. Making Abstract Concepts Understandable

In a world brimming with abstract concepts, visual representations are our saving grace. They serve as translators, decoding these concepts into a language we can understand.

Let’s say you’re trying to grasp a theoretical framework. Reading about it might leave you puzzled. But see it laid out in a spider diagram or a concept map, and the fog lifts. With its different variables clearly represented, the concept becomes tangible.

Visual representations simplify the complex, convert the abstract into concrete, making the inscrutable suddenly crystal clear. It’s the power of transforming word problems into visual displays, a method that doesn’t just provide the correct answer. It also offers a deeper understanding.

How to Make a Cluster Diagram?

Ready to get creative? Let’s make a cluster diagram.

First, choose your central idea or problem. This goes in the center area of your diagram. Next, think about related topics or subtopics. Draw lines from the central idea to these topics. Each line represents a relationship.

While you can create a picture like this by drawing, there’s a better way.

Mindomo is a mind mapping tool that will enable you to create visuals that represent data quickly and easily. It provides a wide range of templates to kick-start your diagramming process. And since it’s an online site, you can access it from anywhere.

With a mind map template, creating a cluster diagram becomes an effortless process. This is especially the case since you can edit its style, colors, and more to your heart’s content. And when you’re done, sharing is as simple as clicking a button.

A Few Final Words About Information Visualization

To wrap it up, visual representations are not just about presenting data or information. They are about creating a shared understanding, facilitating learning, and promoting effective communication. Whether it’s about defining a complex process or representing an abstract concept, visual representations have it all covered. And with tools like Mindomo , creating these visuals is as easy as pie.

In the end, visual representation isn’t just about viewing data, it’s about seeing, understanding, and interacting with it. It’s about immersing yourself in the world of abstract concepts, transforming them into tangible visual elements. It’s about seeing relationships between ideas in full color. It’s a whole new language that opens doors to a world of possibilities.

The correct answer to ‘what is data visualization?’ is simple. It’s the future of learning, teaching, and decision-making.

Keep it smart, simple, and creative! The Mindomo Team

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Initial Thoughts

Perspectives & resources, what is high-quality mathematics instruction and why is it important.

• Page 1: The Importance of High-Quality Mathematics Instruction
• Page 2: A Standards-Based Mathematics Curriculum
• Page 3: Evidence-Based Mathematics Practices

What evidence-based mathematics practices can teachers employ?

• Page 4: Explicit, Systematic Instruction

Page 5: Visual Representations

• Page 6: Schema Instruction
• Page 7: Metacognitive Strategies
• Page 8: Effective Classroom Practices
• Page 9: References & Additional Resources
• Page 10: Credits

Research Shows

• Students who use accurate visual representations are six times more likely to correctly solve mathematics problems than are students who do not use them. However, students who use inaccurate visual representations are less likely to correctly solve mathematics problems than those who do not use visual representations at all. (Boonen, van Wesel, Jolles, & van der Schoot, 2014)
• Students with a learning disability (LD) often do not create accurate visual representations or use them strategically to solve problems. Teaching students to systematically use a visual representation to solve word problems has led to substantial improvements in math achievement for students with learning disabilities. (van Garderen, Scheuermann, & Jackson, 2012; van Garderen, Scheuermann, & Poch, 2014)
• Students who use visual representations to solve word problems are more likely to solve the problems accurately. This was equally true for students who had LD, were low-achieving, or were average-achieving. (Krawec, 2014)

Visual representations are flexible; they can be used across grade levels and types of math problems. They can be used by teachers to teach mathematics facts and by students to learn mathematics content. Visual representations can take a number of forms. Click on the links below to view some of the visual representations most commonly used by teachers and students.

How does this practice align?

High-leverage practice (hlp).

• HLP15 : Provide scaffolded supports

CCSSM: Standards for Mathematical Practice

• MP1 : Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

Number Lines

Definition : A straight line that shows the order of and the relation between numbers.

Common Uses : addition, subtraction, counting

Strip Diagrams

Definition : A bar divided into rectangles that accurately represent quantities noted in the problem.

Common Uses : addition, fractions, proportions, ratios

Definition : Simple drawings of concrete or real items (e.g., marbles, trucks).

Common Uses : counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division

Graphs/Charts

Definition : Drawings that depict information using lines, shapes, and colors.

Common Uses : comparing numbers, statistics, ratios, algebra

Graphic Organizers

Definition : Visual that assists students in remembering and organizing information, as well as depicting the relationships between ideas (e.g., word webs, tables, Venn diagrams).

Common Uses : algebra, geometry

Before they can solve problems, however, students must first know what type of visual representation to create and use for a given mathematics problem. Some students—specifically, high-achieving students, gifted students—do this automatically, whereas others need to be explicitly taught how. This is especially the case for students who struggle with mathematics and those with mathematics learning disabilities. Without explicit, systematic instruction on how to create and use visual representations, these students often create visual representations that are disorganized or contain incorrect or partial information. Consider the examples below.

Elementary Example

Mrs. Aldridge ask her first-grade students to add 2 + 4 by drawing dots.

Notice that Talia gets the correct answer. However, because Colby draws his dots in haphazard fashion, he fails to count all of them and consequently arrives at the wrong solution.

High School Example

Mr. Huang asks his students to solve the following word problem:

The flagpole needs to be replaced. The school would like to replace it with the same size pole. When Juan stands 11 feet from the base of the pole, the angle of elevation from Juan’s feet to the top of the pole is 70 degrees. How tall is the pole?

Compare the drawings below created by Brody and Zoe to represent this problem. Notice that Brody drew an accurate representation and applied the correct strategy. In contrast, Zoe drew a picture with partially correct information. The 11 is in the correct place, but the 70° is not. As a result of her inaccurate representation, Zoe is unable to move forward and solve the problem. However, given an accurate representation developed by someone else, Zoe is more likely to solve the problem correctly.

Manipulatives

Some students will not be able to grasp mathematics skills and concepts using only the types of visual representations noted in the table above. Very young children and students who struggle with mathematics often require different types of visual representations known as manipulatives. These concrete, hands-on materials and objects—for example, an abacus or coins—help students to represent the mathematical idea they are trying to learn or the problem they are attempting to solve. Manipulatives can help students develop a conceptual understanding of mathematical topics. (For the purpose of this module, the term concrete objects refers to manipulatives and the term visual representations refers to schematic diagrams.)

It is important that the teacher make explicit the connection between the concrete object and the abstract concept being taught. The goal is for the student to eventually understand the concepts and procedures without the use of manipulatives. For secondary students who struggle with mathematics, teachers should show the abstract along with the concrete or visual representation and explicitly make the connection between them.

A move from concrete objects or visual representations to using abstract equations can be difficult for some students. One strategy teachers can use to help students systematically transition among concrete objects, visual representations, and abstract equations is the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) framework.

If you would like to learn more about this framework, click here.

Concrete-Representational-Abstract Framework

• Concrete —Students interact and manipulate three-dimensional objects, for example algebra tiles or other algebra manipulatives with representations of variables and units.
• Representational — Students use two-dimensional drawings to represent problems. These pictures may be presented to them by the teacher, or through the curriculum used in the class, or students may draw their own representation of the problem.
• Abstract — Students solve problems with numbers, symbols, and words without any concrete or representational assistance.

CRA is effective across all age levels and can assist students in learning concepts, procedures, and applications. When implementing each component, teachers should use explicit, systematic instruction and continually monitor student work to assess their understanding, asking them questions about their thinking and providing clarification as needed. Concrete and representational activities must reflect the actual process of solving the problem so that students are able to generalize the process to solve an abstract equation. The illustration below highlights each of these components.

For Your Information

One promising practice for moving secondary students with mathematics difficulties or disabilities from the use of manipulatives and visual representations to the abstract equation quickly is the CRA-I strategy . In this modified version of CRA, the teacher simultaneously presents the content using concrete objects, visual representations of the concrete objects, and the abstract equation. Studies have shown that this framework is effective for teaching algebra to this population of students (Strickland & Maccini, 2012; Strickland & Maccini, 2013; Strickland, 2017).

Kim Paulsen discusses the benefits of manipulatives and a number of things to keep in mind when using them (time: 2:35).

Kim Paulsen, EdD Associate Professor, Special Education Vanderbilt University

View Transcript

Transcript: Kim Paulsen, EdD

Manipulatives are a great way of helping kids understand conceptually. The use of manipulatives really helps students see that conceptually, and it clicks a little more with them. Some of the things, though, that we need to remember when we’re using manipulatives is that it is important to give students a little bit of free time when you’re using a new manipulative so that they can just explore with them. We need to have specific rules for how to use manipulatives, that they aren’t toys, that they really are learning materials, and how students pick them up, how they put them away, the right time to use them, and making sure that they’re not distracters while we’re actually doing the presentation part of the lesson. One of the important things is that we don’t want students to memorize the algorithm or the procedures while they’re using the manipulatives. It really is just to help them understand conceptually. That doesn’t mean that kids are automatically going to understand conceptually or be able to make that bridge between using the concrete manipulatives into them being able to solve the problems. For some kids, it is difficult to use the manipulatives. That’s not how they learn, and so we don’t want to force kids to have to use manipulatives if it’s not something that is helpful for them. So we have to remember that manipulatives are one way to think about teaching math.

I think part of the reason that some teachers don’t use them is because it takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of organization, and they also feel that students get too reliant on using manipulatives. One way to think about using manipulatives is that you do it a couple of lessons when you’re teaching a new concept, and then take those away so that students are able to do just the computation part of it. It is true we can’t walk around life with manipulatives in our hands. And I think one of the other reasons that a lot of schools or teachers don’t use manipulatives is because they’re very expensive. And so it’s very helpful if all of the teachers in the school can pool resources and have a manipulative room where teachers can go check out manipulatives so that it’s not so expensive. Teachers have to know how to use them, and that takes a lot of practice.

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Data Visualization – Information Visualization – The Art of Visualizing Meaning For Better Decision-Making

What is Data Visualization? Data visualization refers to the practice of transforming information/data into visual representations to simplify and communicate complex information clearly and effectively. Designers strategically use colors, shapes, and symbols to bridge the gap between raw data and human understanding, empowering viewers to better interpret and analyze the information presented. Key Words: Design; ...

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Hierarchical Maps

Use visual brainstorming to develop and organize your ideas. Like cluster/spider maps, hierarchical maps involve drawing a graphical representation of ideas. Unlike clustering, cluster/spider maps are chiefly concerned with analyzing relationships among ideas. When Are Hierarchical Maps Useful? Mapping is a useful organizing and revising tool when you want to see if you’ve made connections ...

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What is Visual Representation

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What is Visual Representation?

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Visual representation means using pictures, symbols, or other images to show ideas or things. It helps kids understand things better by showing them instead of just telling them.

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• Frequently Asked Questions
• Science Person Definition

Real World Example of Visual Representation

How does visual representation work, recommended products, related topics, frequently asked question.

Can visual representation help with communication difficulties?

Absolutely! Visual communication tools, like icons and symbols, offer an alternative way for children to express themselves, bridging communication gaps and promoting interaction.

What types of visual tools are commonly used for kids with special needs?

Common visual tools include symbols, pictures, charts, graphs, interactive apps, and social stories that aid comprehension, communication, and learning.

Can visual representation help improve organization and daily routines?

Absolutely, visual schedules and color-coded systems help kids follow routines, stay organized, and anticipate activities, reducing anxiety and promoting independence.

Is visual representation only for young children or can older kids also benefit?

Visual representation is beneficial for children of all ages, including older kids and teenagers. It helps convey complex information, foster independence, and enhance comprehension across various age groups.

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Scientific Definition

Visual representation is conveying information, concepts, or data through visual means such as images, charts, graphs, and diagrams. It is crucial in facilitating comprehension and communication, especially for children with special needs . Visual elements make information more accessible and understandable, promoting effective learning and engagement. Unlike solely relying on words, visual representation taps into the brain’s natural ability to process and retain visual information, making it an essential tool in the educational journey of children with diverse learning needs.

Meet Susie, a cheerful 7-year-old with a penchant for exploration. Despite her enthusiasm, following routines often posed challenges due to her ADHD . Visual representation came to the rescue, making her daily life more manageable and enjoyable.

Susie’s journey with visual representation exemplifies how innovative tools like Goally can transform the lives of children with special needs, making learning and growing a joyful experience.

Visual representation uses images, pictures, and diagrams to convey information. For kids with special needs, it can be a powerful tool to enhance understanding and learning. Here are some examples of how it works:

• Symbols and Icons:  Simple symbols, like a thumbs-up or a heart, can represent concepts without using words.
• Visual Schedules :  Timetables with pictures help kids anticipate daily activities and routines.
• Mind Maps:  Diagrams with central ideas and branches show connections between concepts.
• Social Stories:  Illustrated stories help children navigate social situations and emotions.
• Color Coding:  Assigning colors to different subjects or tasks aids organization and memory.
• Interactive Apps:  Educational apps with visual elements make learning engaging and interactive.

Visual representation empowers kids with special needs to grasp ideas, communicate, and learn effectively by leveraging their visual strengths. 

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Example sentences visual representation

Fittingly, on a periphery wall, 82 dots of light reflect into the darkness of the room, a visual representation of the missing.

Yet our creative minds, in search of a visual representation of aliens in the stars, unwittingly used images of aliens from the deep.

Number lines provide a visual representation of a range of numbers along a horizontal line.

And why he decided that such a bold visual idea needed an equally bold visual representation .

Given an image that represents their pain-related brain activity, they use this visual representation to learn how to decrease their pain.

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Recommended Reading

Card SK, Mackinlay JD, Shneiderman B. Information visualization. In: Readings in information visualization: using vision to think. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann; 1999. p. 1–34.

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Card SK, Mackinlay JD, Shneiderman B. Readings in information visualization: using vision to think. Los Altos: Morgan Kaufman; 1999.

Foley JD, van Dam A, Feiner SK, Hughes JF. Computer graphics: principles and practice. Reading: Addison-Wesley; 1990.

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Haber EM, Ioannidis Y, Livny M. Foundations of visual metaphors for schema display. J Intell Inf Syst. 1994;3(3/4):263–98.

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Mitchell W. Representation. In: Lentricchia F, McLaughlin T, editors. Critical terms for literary study. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1995.

Tufte ER. The visual display of quantitative information. Cheshire: Graphics Press; 1983.

Tufte ER. Envisioning information. Cheshire: Graphics Press; 1990.

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Ioannidis, Y. (2018). Visual Representation. In: Liu, L., Özsu, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8265-9_449

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