Can Infographics Facilitate the Learning of Individuals With Mathematical Learning Difficulties?

Abstract

Visualization of data has recently gained great importance in education and use of infographics is regarded as an important tool in teaching mathematics since it presents information in a clear and abstract way. Therefore, use of infographics for helping individuals with mathematical learning difficulties has become an important research question. This study aims to provide an overview on the use of infographics in teaching mathematics to individuals with mathematical learning difficulties. This is a qualitative study in which document analysis was used the collect the data. Results provided information about the definition of infographics, effectiveness of using infographics in education and facilitative role of infographics in enhancing learning of individuals with mathematical learning difficulties, namely dyscalculia. Results were discussed with relevant literature and recommendations for further research and practices were also presented.

The influence of interactive and static infographics on the academic achievement of reflective and impulsive students

“…In turn, this has required teachers to find more varied ways to present content to students to facilitate information processing and encourage them to actively engage in their learning process. According to the information processing model, learning occurs when external stimuli attract an individual's attention, the information conveyed with these stimuli is recorded and organised in the short-term memory, and finally, it is stored in their longterm memory to be added to their existing knowledge (Baglama et al, 2017). As "different people tend to process the same information in different ways, using different areas of the brain, depending upon their cognitive style" (Riding et al, 1997, p. 219), presenting content in different modes to be more varied, interactive, flexible, and attractive is highly recommended to help students process information easily in accordance with their individual preferences.…”

Lectura grupal e infografías en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de contenidos de divulgación científica en el contexto universitario

“…de igual forma, Souza (2016) comenta que la infografía configura un nuevo idioma de significar la información, ya que mediante la presentación concisa y optimizada de un texto se permite simplificar la explicación de procesos complejos que pueden abordar hechos históricos y conceptos científicos que en ocasiones son difíciles de comprender por los estudiantes. De igual forma, según Baglama et al (2017) éstas son de mucha utilidad para presentar información que es complicada de entender por medio del texto y su impacto en la sociedad cobra cada vez más validez, ya que una buena parte de ésta lee menos cada día, pero si está al pendiente de la información y la representación de datos mediante gráficas. Sin embargo, se debe tener en cuenta que el construir infografías requiere considerar las necesidades del público, para así comunicar los conceptos de la mejor manera, atendiendo a las preguntas de qué, quién, cuándo, dónde y cómo, de igual forma se aconseja que la infografía sea sencilla, completa, ética, con buen diseño, redacción e información veraz (Fazdil, 2018).…”

“…En las diferentes investigaciones que vinculan el uso de la infografía en la enseñanza (Alrwele;Baglama et al, 2017;Fazdil, 2018) se comenta que dentro de las ventajas que ofrece el uso de ésta en la formación universitaria, está el favorecer la comprensión de conceptos que pueden ser complejos para los estudiantes ya que al incluir textos e imágenes y mostrar de manera rápida y entretenida las temáticas, se facilita la construcción del conocimiento, sin embargo, en la literatura científica no es posible encontrar investigaciones…”

Making scientific concepts explicit through explanations: Simulations of a high-leverage practice in teacher education

“…They also advance the conceptual understanding of scientific phenomena that are particularly abstract or complex (Podolefsky and Finkelstein, 2007). Simulations convert static concepts into dynamic visualizations (Baglama et al, 2017), bringing concepts to "life" (Danielson, 2013). All of these elements facilitate mental imagery of the concepts leading towards understanding the explanation (Geelan, 2013;Sevian and Gonsalves, 2008).…”