Chapter 3: Navigating Visual Data Literacy and Inscriptions in the Classroom

In teaching-learning environments, three kinds of literacy are important: audio literacy, print literacy, and visual literacy. (Literacy, in this sense, is one’s knowledge and understanding about a set of knowledge, and the ability to articulate meanings about it.) One might argue for other types of literacy, but these three comprise an important literacy trio. Other literacies utilize one or a combination of these three. To effectively teach science, one needs to understand the attributes of each of these literacies, and how to draw upon them in designing and delivering high quality instruction. A significant component within visual literacy is the use of visual representations. The teacher must keep in mind that just exposing a learner to visual representations does not mean he/she will learn from them. Visual representations can incorporate very large quantities of information in forms that are mentally manageable and flexible. However, many learners need to be taught how to manage visual representations and effectively deal with the volume of information contained therein so they do not become overwhelmed or confused. Learners need not only learn how to recognize, interpret, and analyze different visual representation modes, but also how to manage them—literally how to navigate between and within the different varieties and modes in which representations are presented (Gilbert, 2005). There is not a direct path from visualization inputs to understanding, and teaching with them requires careful planning. Important considerations about visual representations include not only their selection or construction, but also the context in which they will be used with learners (Vavra et al., 2011).