2. Levin’s
Categories • Decorative
Levin (1981)
categorized graphics
based on their • Representative
instructional function
• Organizational
• Interpretive
• Transformative
EDIT 9990: Information Design 2 Spring 2012
3. Alesandrini’s
Categories
Representational
Alesandrini (1984)
proposed three
graphic categories
based on their
content
Analogical
Arbitrary
3
4. • Symbols
Saunders’
Categories • Maps
Saunders (1994)
proposed categories
• Graphs
based on content,
composition, and • Diagrams
medium
• Illustrations
• Photos
• Three-dimensional models
• Graphic devices and elements
4
5. Braden’s • Semiotics and video conventions
Categories
Braden (1996) • Signs, symbols, and icons
introduced five
graphical categories
based on existing
areas of educational • Images and illustrations
research
• Multi-images
• Graphic representations
5
6. Representational Graphics
Rieber’s
• Share a physical resemblance with
Categories the object they are supposed to
Rieber (1994) represent
provided specific
explanation for three
categories Analogical Graphics
• Provide learners with a comparison
between a familiar and unfamiliar
artifact or concept
Arbitrary Graphics
• Clues, but do not share any physical
resemblances to the concept being
explained
6
7. Clark, Lyons, & Surface features
Hoover’s
Categories • Static art, dynamic art, and true virtual
reality
Clark, Lyons, and
Hoover (2004)
categorized
Communication functions
instructional graphics • Decorative, representational,
based on factors that
contribute to their mnemonic, organizational, relational,
effectiveness transformational, and interpretive
Psychological functions
• Supporting attention, activating or
building prior knowledge, minimizing
cognitive load, building mental
models, supporting transfer of learning,
and supporting motivation
7
8. Four Categories
Decorative
Representational
Analogical
Organizational
EDIT 9990: Information Design 8 Spring 2012
9. Decorative Graphics
Pros Cons
Add interest to the Often overused
appearance Potential to distract
Improve the aesthetic from the content
appeal May cause a split-
Ornamental attention affect
Used to gain a learner’s
attention
Motivational
9
11. Analogical Graphics
Depicts someone or something
Explains a likeness, correspondence, or similarity
Makes a comparison between two things
Activates prior knowledge
Bridges the gap between known to unknown
Both birds and airplanes have wings, aerodynamic bodies, and can fly.
11
13. Organizational Graphics
Provides structure to
information
Arranges data spatially
Visually defines
relationships
Illustrates connections
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
13
14. Types of Graphs
Favorite Types of Music Favorite Types of Music
Jazz 15
Rock 33
15 Country
25
Rap Classical 5
Classical
11 Rock Rap 11
33
5 Jazz
Country 25
0 20 40
14
15. Branch, R. (2000). A taxonomy of
visual literacy. In A. W. Pailliotet, &
P. B. Mosenthal (Eds.), Advances in
Readings reading/language research Volume
Explore visual 7: Reconceptualizing literacy in the
literacy, types of media age (pp. 377-402). New
visuals, and the use of
visuals further with Jersey: JAI/Ablex Publishers.
these readings. Krause, J. (2004). Design Basics
Index. Cincinnati, OH: How Design
Books. [Pages 62-77]
Wainer, H. (1997). Visual revelations:
Graphic tales of fate and deception
from Napoleon Bonaparte to Ross
Perot. Mahwah, New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[Chapters 8-13]
EDIT 9990: Information Design 15 Spring 2012
Editor's Notes
For decades, scholars and researchers have explored the effects of instructional graphics on learning. In doing so, instructional graphics have been described, labeled, and classified in multiple ways based on their content, composition, medium, mode, and function.
(Sweller, van Merrienboer, & Paas, 1998)
Representational graphics physically depict someone or something and “share a physical resemblance with the object they are supposed to represent” (Rieber, 1994, p. 36). Representational graphics depict a particular subject and can be used to visually describe someone or something.
Learning often takes a learner down the path of what is known (prior knowledge) toward new knowledge (Reigeluth & Curtis, 1987; Rieber, 1994). Analogical graphics can be used to activate prior knowledge and bridge the learning gap from the known to the unknown. Therefore, “The usefulness of [analogical graphics] . . . is largely dependent on the learner's prior knowledge (Rieber, 1994, p. 39).
