Chapter 11: Optimizing “Super Graphics” for Effective Informal Scientific Visualization Displays

On college campuses, and within museums and other informal science educational settings, classrooms and hallways are typically decorated with complex, scientific graphics (e.g., Figure 11.1). Even when the graphics are not incorporated directly in science teaching, they can provide informal learning opportunities for viewers who casually investigate the data and scientific knowledge contained in these displays. The graphics serve as an informal extension of our science classrooms and can communicate multifaceted scientific knowledge—if properly presented.

Not all scientific visualizations and graphic displays are equal, however. The educational effectiveness of a scientific display, including both the content and depth of viewer understanding facilitated by the visual presentation, will depend upon the quality of the data set and the format of its representation within the graphic. Poor communication of data and their variability can result in incomplete understanding, or even misconceptions, among viewers (Cooper & Shore, 2010), especially when viewers fail to integrate visual information with the graphic’s context (Korner, 2005). Additionally, viewer interpretations of data maps are often not based on the actual data represented by the map (Swenson, 2010), suggesting that appropriate support for graphic display and/or interpretation is necessary for effective viewer-graphic interaction.