DEVELOPING STUDENTS' VISUAL LITERACY IN A VIRTUAL MODELING ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

This study addresses how secondary school students’ visual literacy can be improved by virtual modeling activity in a web-based learning environment. Visual literacy can be defined as the ability to interpret visual messages accurately and to create such visualisations (Avgerinou 2011; Heinich et al. 1982; Pettersson 1993). The ways of how students perceive and understand visual images is one of the crucial issues for the field of visual literacy (Avgerinou & Ericson, 1997). Therefore, the present study concentrates on students’ skills of analysing visual information and the ability of translating information between different visual representations. According to the theoretical framework for designing multimedia proposed by Reed (2009), manipulation of objects, rather than just perception of objects, has the crucial role in learning process. This proposition is also supported by empirical studies about the effect of interactivity in computer-based learning (Evans & Gibbons, 2007). Therefore, the design of the learning environment “Cell World” (http://bio.edu.ee/models/en/) implemented in this study emphasizes the role of object manipulation in instruction. The virtual modeling environment “Cell World” enables learners to explore complex microscopic processes that take place in cells, such as molecular genetics, respiration, photosynthesis, etc. Students’ main activity in the environment is to virtually construct biological processes by adding necessary molecules or changing parameters so that the process can continue. Each model consists of two types of learning objects: the objects that are manipulative by students, and the non-manipulative objects that students cannot move, but only observe how these objects take part in animation of the process. The second goal of the study is to clarify the effect of object manipulation on the learning process. The following research questions were set to the study: 1) How does the virtual modeling activity influence students’ visual literacy?; 2) What is the effect of learning object manipulation on students’ visual literacy? METHODS In order to fulfil the aims of the study, an experiment was conducted in which 190 students (aged 17-18) from 11th grades of nine Estonian secondary schools participated. The students applied the learning environment “Cell World” for 2x45 minutes. In the first lesson, students used the model of protein synthesis, and in the second one, the model of genetic code was applied. For assessing students’ visual literacy skills, pre- and post-test were filled out before and after the intervention. The test consisted of picture-based questions that measured students’ understanding of different representations and the ability to translate information between the different visual representations. For comparison of pre- and post test scores, the Paired samples t-test was implemented with SPSS software. MAIN FINDINGS Students’ visual literacy skills were assessed on the basis of three different representations in the pre- and post-tests. The first representation was a screenshot of the model that was applied during the study and indicated students’ understanding of the representational language of the model. According to the post-test results, students could identify better the objects that were manipulative on the models. Understanding of non-manipulative objects, on the other hand, was significantly lower. This result demonstrates that object manipulation had a positive effect on students’ understanding of visual representations as manipulative objects were more effectively integrated into students’ individual mental models. Students’ skills of translating information between different visual representations were analysed on the basis of two representations. One of the representations was familiar to students from textbook that they had previously used for learning the topic of protein synthesis in classroom settings. The other representation, on the other hand, was unfamiliar to students. Students had to compare the different representations and translate the information between them. Comparison of pre- and post-test data with Paired samples t-test indicated that after model application, students got higher scores in translating information between different representations than before the intervention. Again, in translating tasks, students had marked more often the objects that were manipulative and missed the non-manipulative objects. Therefore, this study provides additional evidence that introducing manipulative learning objects in instructional settings can significantly improve learning outcomes.