Visual Language and Science Understanding: A Brief Tutorial for Teachers

Abstract

Even in today’s highly visual culture, image creation by children tends to be de-emphasised after the early years, while written text predominates (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006). Although commercial products for children are seen from the point of view of visual communication, this is less often true of children’s products themselves, particularly in the content areas. The current paper uses the vocabulary of basic two-dimensional visual design (e.g., Atterberry & Block, 2000; Dondis, 1973; Lohr, 2008; Stewart, 2006) to discuss children’s drawings in a formal way. Because visual language can have a central role in expanding or limiting the meanings children make of science experiences, the article suggests the benefit of providing teachers with a background in visual communication. First, some background to children’s representations of science phenomena is provided. Next, four exemplars of children’s self-produced science journal entries are discussed with reference to the use of four visual elements (line, shape, colour, and value) and five visual relationships (harmony, balance, alignment, repetition, proportion, and movement). The article concludes by suggesting that teacher knowledge of visual language may be applied to explicitly teaching children about aspects of visual design as they carry out science investigations.