42 Science and Children

By Julianne Maner Coleman and M. Jenice “Dee” Goldston

W hat do science investigations and visual literacy have in common? More than one might think. When students draw observations or interpret and draw a

diagram, they’re communicating their understandings of science and demonstrating visual literacy abilities. Visual literacy includes skills needed to accurately interpret and produce visual and graphical information such as drawings, diagrams, tables, charts, maps, and graphs. Communication through visual modes is common in science instruction; however, using visual information in texts as part of the science inquiry is generally less common (Yeh and McTigue 2009). Visual information in textbooks is often neglected at the expense of the written word (Winn 1994; Wellington and Osborne 2001).

Though elementary teachers can and should use a variety of approaches to teach science, some elementary teachers rely on textbooks as primary tools for instruction (Weiss et al. 2003).

As part of a professional learning community project with elementary teachers, we examined the teacher’s edition of a popular K–6 science textbook series, finding little support for building students’ knowledge of science using visuals and graphics through questioning strategies. Because visually rich science textbooks are common, we wondered how graphics, particularly diagrams, were used by teachers to scaffold student learning of science. In the following vignette, Mrs. Sandage uses a cutaway diagram (Figure 1) to teach visual literacy skills to enhance students’ science inquiry experiences. As shown in Figure 2 (p. 44), cutaway diagrams are just one of several types of diagrams that can be found in science textbooks.

A Closer LookMrs. Sandage is a fourth-grade teacher who uses both inquiry and textbooks to teach her students science. In this snapshot, Mrs. Sandage’s fourth graders have started a unit on plants. The vignette presents how Mrs. Sandage leads a discussion using a cutaway diagram of a plant cell and its structure.

What Do You See?Purposeful questioning encourages visual literacy during a lesson on cells

September 2011 43

What Do You See?

M r s . S a n d a g e b e g i n s , “Class, we have just finished reading about cells. Please look at the diagram. Why do you think the authors include this diagram in a chapter?” Jill says, “It helps us see it [the cell].” Jose whispers to Jill, “Hey, they want to show us a cell, ‘cause we just read about it.” Mrs. Sandage responds, “You are both right. Diagrams can help us see what we are reading about. So it’s important to examine them. Let’s look at this diagram again to see what else we can learn.” She points to the plant cell diagram on the overhead and asks, “What do you observe?” Henry says, “I see things inside it.” Sally adds, “The things are colored.” Jill responds, “Yeah, and they have names.” Mrs. Sandage replies, “Good observations. Are we missing something that might help us to see what this diagram represents?” She waits for hands to go up to no avail. Then asks, “Ok, what information in the diagram helps us to name what we are seeing?” Nonchalantly, George says “Ahhhh, I see…it is a plant cell—it says it right there in the title!”

Mrs. Sandage responds, “Yes, George, good observation! What else can we find out about a plant cell from the diagram?” The students identify cell structures labeled in the diagram. Mrs. Sandage, using their responses, describes each organelle while pointing to the labeled parts (cytoplasm, cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus, chloroplasts). She uses analogies to describe the functions of the organelles in the cell. She says, “Look at the nucleus, and think about it as the ‘control center of the cell’ like the principal’s office is the control center of the school.” Following class discussion of the organelles she asks, “Do you notice anything else about the diagram? What do you notice about the outside of the diagram?” Puneet says, “I see some things coming off the outside of the cell.” Mrs. Sandage says, “Good, what do you think they are?” Maria replies, “They look like wings.” Mrs. Sandage grins, “They sure do, but they aren’t wings. Are there any ideas about what they might be?” Tracing the outline of the cell, Mrs. Sandage provides further explanation: “This diagram

Figure 1.

Cutaway diagram of a plant cell.

represents one cell and the “wings” show you the walls of the cells that would normally surround it.” She adds the additional cells to the diagram to create the sheetlike layer of cells using the “wings.” She then asks, “Can anyone tell us how big one plant cell is?” John suggests that it looks pretty big from the picture in the book. The rest of the class agrees. She appreciates their observations, but reminds them that to see cells they will use microscopes.

Mrs. Sandage points out, “We call this image a cutaway diagram because it shows us the inside of objects, like cells.” She asks, “How does the artist show that the cell is like a water-filled baggie and not flat like a piece of paper?” Mrs. Sandage holds up a bag full of water and demonstrates that it has depth and inquires again, “How does the artist draw the plant cell to show its depth?” Katie excitedly raises her hand, “I see lines and different colors that make the cell look like a box.” Mrs. Sandage summons Katie to the overhead to point to the lines and shaded parts of the diagram, giving it depth. Mrs. Sandage points out that because the diagram is drawn on a flat surface, the artist uses special

Cell wall Nucleus

CytoplasmChloroplast

Cell membrane

Vacuole

44 Science and Children

techniques like shading and lines to show the cell has depth. She concludes, “Visuals, like diagrams, presented in your books often show us characteristics of objects or phenomena that you normally can’t see.”

“Working with your partners, you are going to go look at onion and Elodea (an aquatic plant) cells using a microscope and draw your observations in your science journals. You’ll have time to compare observations with your partner and make changes to your drawings. First, let’s make two guesses. Thumbs-up if you think the cells and organelles will look exactly like those in the diagram. Second, thumbs-up if you think the parts you observe under the microscope will be the same color as those in the diagram. The majority of the class nods and gives a thumbs-up for each prediction. Mrs. Sandage smiles as the students move to examine cells.

After the cell lab, the students share their drawings with their partners, adding details, color, and labels to the cell organelles viewed with the microscope. They return to the microscopes to see whether their drawings are missing details and discuss organelles they could actually see.

Bringing the class back together, Mrs. Sandage asks, “Do you think that the diagram in your textbook does a good job of representing a cell?” Lynn volunteers, “I don’t think so… the cells we looked at under the microscope don’t really look like it.” Lynn elaborates on her thinking by saying, “The part called the nucleus was easy to see in the onion because we stained it with iodine, and we could see the wall because it is on the outside, but we couldn’t see a membrane.” Mrs. Sandage nods and asks students to identify other cell

parts they saw under the microscope. What about cytoplasm? Tommy offers, “I think it was there but I am not sure.” Mrs. Sandage states, “That is a good point: cytoplasm has no color so it would be hard to see unless you see cell parts moving. Good, did you see anything in the Elodea that you did not see in the onion cell? How were the cells different?” Brandon confidently says, “We could see green ovals moving around in the Elodea cells. We think they are chloroplasts. We didn’t see them in onion cells. They are white.” Becky chimes in, “Yeah, why did they put all those parts in the diagram if we can’t see them?” Mrs. Sandage smiles and says, “Let’s talk more about that and some of your other observations.”

She proceeded by framing questions so students would compare and contrast their observations under the microscope to the textbook diagram.

Look at your drawing and list the parts of a cell found in the cell diagram that you couldn’t see in the microscope. Why do you think you couldn’t see all the cell parts? Why do you think the cell parts you couldn’t see were in the text diagram? Did the cell parts (organelles) you observed in the lab look like the drawings? What is missing from some of the cell organelles in the text diagram? Why do you suppose there are cell organelles with and without labels in the diagram?

Strategies for Communicating ScienceGraphics like cutaway diagrams are often difficult for elementary-age children to interpret. However, Mrs. Sandage supports students’ knowledge of plant cells

Figure 2.

Moline’s classification system for graphics.

1. Simple Diagrams are pictures with labels or a scale.

A. Picture glossaries help the reader to identify, differenti-ate, or define items within a group.

B. A scale diagram is a picture of a subject with a scale beside it to indicate size, mass, or distance.

2. Synthetic Diagrams make connections between the parts of a sequence or subgroups within larger groups.

A. Flow diagrams link their parts with lines or arrows to show a process that moves through time (e.g., water cycle or the life cycle).

B. Tree and web diagrams take the form of branching trees or interconnecting lines or arrows that connect objects or concepts in hierarchies, subgroups, and clas-sifications in hierarchies.

3. Analytical Diagrams help us to see inside an object and to understand its internal workings.

A. Cutaway diagrams help us interpret the relationships in three-dimensional space by peeling off or cutting away the outside layer.

B. Cross-section diagrams reveal the inside of an object in one plane by taking a slice through and cutting the object in half.

September 2011 45

What Do You See?

with a twofold purpose. First, through questioning she promotes students’ interpretations of a cutaway diagram, setting the stage for students’ inquiry with the microscopes. Second, she challenges students to compare and contrast their lab observations and drawings (visual productions) to the cell diagram

(visual interpretation) from the text. Ultimately, Mrs. Sandage fosters accurate understanding of plant cell structure, enhancing their visual literacy abilities through observations and inquiry experiences with microscopes (Figure 3). So what guided her instruction?

Figure 3.

Assessment for observations and inquiry experiences with microscopes.

Microscope Assessment Excellent Satisfactory Needs Work

All three parts of onion cell sketched

Two parts of the onion cell sketched

One part of the onion cell sketched

All three parts of onion cell labeled (cell wall, cytoplasm, nucleus)

Two parts of the onion cell labeled (cell wall, cytoplasm, nucleus)

One part of the onionlabeled (cell wall, cytoplasm, nucleus)

All three/four parts of Elodea cell sketched (cell wall, cytoplasm, nucleus, chloroplasts)

Two parts of Elodea cell sketched (cell wall, cyto-plasm, nucleus, chloro-plasts)

One part of Elodea cell sketched (cell wall, cyto-plasm, nucleus, chloro-plasts)

All three/four parts of Elodea cell labeled (cell wall, cytoplasm, nucleus, chloroplasts)

Two parts of Elodea cell labeled (cell wall, cytoplasm, nucleus, chloroplasts)

One part of Elodea cell labeled (cell wall, cytoplasm, nucleus, chloroplasts)

Team Assessment Yes No I Wonder

Did the onion cell parts have color before the iodine was added?

Are any of the Elodea parts green?

Did the sketch include cell parts from the text diagram?

Did the sketch include one cell or many cells?How do you know?

Does the sketch include cell parts NOT seen under the microscope? If included, why?

46 Science and Children

Figure 4.

Questioning strategies: Inquiry and visual literacy.

General Questions to Support the Interpretation of Graphical Representations

Determining Purpose (DP) Questions

• Why do you think the authors in-cluded this (what purpose) graphi-cal representation?

• What is their purpose?

Identify, Define, Label (IDL) Questions

• What observable elements of the graphical representation can be identified, defined, and labeled?

Analyze, Critique, Compare Check (ACCC) Questions

• Examine this graphical representation and ask, “Is this the best way to communicate the information presented?”

Mrs. Sandage’s Questioning Strategies

DP Questions

• Why do you think the authors included this diagram on this page?

IDL Questions

• What do you observe in the diagram?

• What information in the diagram helps us to name what we are seeing?

• What do you know about a plant cell by looking closely at the diagram?

• What do you think those things coming off the outside of the diagram are?

• Are we not seeing something in the diagram that might help us to understand what this diagram is showing us?

ACCC Questions

• Can you tell how big the plant cell is by this diagram?

• Who can look carefully at the diagram and point to where the artist helps us to see that the cell is not flat like a piece of tape?

• How does the artist try to show that the plant cell in this diagram has depth?

• What do you notice about how the diagram is drawn?

• Do you think the cells and their parts under the microscope will look exactly like those in the diagram?

• Do you also think the cell parts you observe under the microscope will be the same color as those you see in the diagram?

• As an expert observer, what advice would you give someone using diagrams to learn about nature?

Mrs. Sandage’s Questioning Strategies to Compare and Contrast Graphics to Student Inquiry-Generated Diagrams

• Look at your cell drawings and list the parts of a cell that you didn’t see in the microscope.

• Why do you think you couldn’t see these parts? Why do you think the cell parts you couldn’t see were in the cutaway diagram?

• When you first looked in the microscope, did you see one cell like the cutaway diagram or did you see a layer of many cells?

• Why do you suppose there are cell organelles with and without labels?

• How do you think we should find out more about the cell organelles that are unlabeled?

• Do the chloroplasts in the cutaway diagram look like the chloroplast seen in the Elodea?

• What are the limits of the use of diagrams? Where did the diagram fail to accurately represent what you saw during the microscope inquiry?

Determining Purpose QuestionsMrs. Sandage has students think about why the authors in-cluded the cutaway diagram in the text. She directs her stu-dents to consider the unique role visual information found in the cutaway diagram. Later, in the lab experience, she then asks questions that scaffold and guide careful student

observations. Observation, as part of science inquiry [or visual literacy], is a basic process skill for learning about the social and natural world (Padilla 1990; Ostlund 1996). As a result, the development of observation abilities in students is strengthened by her emphasis on inquiry involving both visual literacy and microscopes.

September 2011 47

What Do You See?

Identify, Define, and Label QuestionsMrs. Sandage shifts students’ visual inquiry toward identifying, labeling, and defining elements of the dia-gram. Supporting students’ initial understandings and development as keen observers, she has students revisit the diagram seeking specific observations important to understanding the cell using visual literacy strategies. Although her questions might appear to be basic at first glance, this line of questioning, followed by her use of analogies, helps to uncover the students’ initial under-standings about the plant cell and its organelles. She an-ticipates that most of her students expect the live plant cell to look like the text diagram, which is not the case.

Discussing the diagram, she draws additional cells from the “wings,” illustrating how cells connect and form layers. Mrs. Sandage clarifies that the artist chose a cutaway diagram to allow viewers to see inside the plant cell, which is too small to be seen without magnification. Her questions prompt students’ use of visual literacy skills as they communicate their observations and understandings of the cell diagram, which later support their visualization of cells using the microscopes. Observing Mrs. Sandage, we recall that inquiry takes on many forms as she makes visual literacy an integral part of the larger science inquiry.

Analyze, Critique, Compare, and Check Questions Mrs. Sandage further seeks to develop students’ inter-pretations of the diagram by targeting the diagram’s structural design. As shown in Figure 4, her questions are purposeful and move students toward analyzing the artist’s use of drawing techniques, showing that the cell has depth. By having the students examine the design format of the cutaway diagram, Mrs. Sandage ensures that students use visual information to develop an artist’s perspective. By questioning students’ interpretations, she reduces the likelihood that the graphical forms in their textbooks might create misconceptions about sci-ence (Wellington and Osborne 2001).

Prior to viewing cells in the lab, Mrs. Sandage’s predic-tion questions (Figure 4) challenge students to consider the diagram in light of their cell drawings. Using hands-on inquiry, students develop a critical eye for analyzing visu-als and graphics. Her inquiry questions stimulate students’ critique of the cell diagram when checking it against their own cell drawings. She provides students with multiple opportunities to grapple with analyzing visual information from the diagram and their actual drawings to enhance students’ communication of science.

Visual literacy and science inquiry go hand in hand. By questioning visual information, children develop visual literacy skills that enable them to critically inter-pret and communicate information observed through

science experiences. When appropriate, comparing and contrasting visuals against observations during science activities promote students’ interpretative skills and their understanding of “how we know what we know in science” (NRC 1996, p. 105). The questioning framework offered is a practical approach for teachers seeking to improve students’ knowledge of science using visual literacy. n

Julianne Maner Coleman (jcoleman@bamaed.ua.edu) is an assistant professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. M. Jenice “Dee” Goldston is a professor of Elementary Science Education in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

ReferencesOstlund, K. 1996. Rising to the challenge of the national stan-

dards. Fresno, CA: S and K Associates.Padilla, M. 1990. The science process skills. In Research matters…

To the science teacher, ed. G. Markle (pp. 20–22). Reston, VA: National Association for Research in Science Teaching.

Weiss, I., J. Pasley, S. Smith, E. Banilower, and D. Heck. 2003. Look-ing inside the classroom: A study of K–12 mathematics and sci-ence education in the United States. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon.

Wellington, J., and J. Osborne. 2001. Language and literacy in science education. Philadelphia: Open Press.

Winn, W. 1994. Contributions of perceptual and cognitive pro-cesses to the comprehension of graphics. In Advances in psy-chology: Vol 108. Comprehension of graphics, eds. W. Schnotz and R.W. Kulhavy (pp. 3–27). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Yeh, Y., and E.M. McTigue. 2009. The frequency, variation, and function of graphical representations within standardized state science tests. Journal of School Science and Mathematics 109 (8): 435–449.

Connecting to the StandardsThis article relates to the following National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996):

Content Standards Grades K–12Unifying Concepts and Processes• Evidence, models, and explanation

Grades 5–8Standard A: Science as Inquiry• Ability to do science inquiry• Understanding about scientific inquiry

Standard C: Life Science • Structure and function of living systems

National Research Council (NRC). 1996. National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.