High School Girls’ Interpretations of Science Graphs: Exploring Complex Visual and Natural Language Hybrid Text

Abstract

Science communication, as a hybrid, involves the concomitant reading of graphical representations and natural language. A scientifically literate individual should be able to make sense of both sites of information in relation to one another. In this paper, we explore the ability of 61 students from a highly rated, all-girls Catholic School to make sense of inconsistent graphical and textual data and examine their interpretations within 3 distinct settings: individually on a paper assessment, in a one-to-one interview with the researchers, and through classroom conversation. This study indicates that (1) sense-making was difficult for even advanced students and (2) different interpretations of text evolved within each of the 3 settings. Many students initially privileged natural language over the data represented on the graph and sought ways to explain how the incorrect description could somehow be construed as accurate. Although these students could successfully complete school assignments related to graphs, their skills in reading authentic, real-world science communication was limited. We recommend that teachers invite discussion of various semiotic forms rather than scaffold for correctness. Students have learned to do schoolwork, but they are much less able to engage critically in real-world science.