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Graphicacy: Do Readers of Science Textbooks Need It?

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2012
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Conference Paper

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Bétrancourt, Mireille and Ainsworth, Shaaron and De Vries, Erica and Boucheix, Jean-Michel and Lowe, Richard K. 2012. Graphicacy: Do Readers of Science Textbooks Need It?, in de Vries, E. and Scheiter, K. (ed), Staging knowledge and experience: how to take advantage of representational technologies in education and training? EARLI SIG 2 meeting, Aug 28-31 2012, pp. 37-39. Grenoble, France: Universite Pierre-Mendes-France.
Source Title
Staging Knowledge and Experience: How to Take Advantage of Representational Technologies in Education and Training
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EARLI SIG 2 meeting 2012
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Abstract

In contrast to literacy and numeracy, graphicacy is under-explored. Yet it is not only linked to fundamental cognitive abilities, but is also important in all areas of instruction. This paper reports an analysis of the graphics that appear in K-12 science school books. The questions were the following: what skills might school students need to understand these graphics? Do books provide guidance or instructions to help students process these graphics? We found that many graphics required a high level of graphicacy, in terms of strategies and skills required to understand them. Moreover, strategic guidance or instructional help were rarely provided.