The importance of visual literacy in the education of biochemists*

Abstract

Visualization is an essential skill for all students and biochemists studying and researching the molecular and cellular biosciences. In this study, we discuss the nature and importance of visualization in biochemistry education and argue that students should be explicitly taught visual literacy and the skills for using visualization tools as essential components of all biochemistry curricula. We suggest that, at present, very little pedagogical attention has been given to this vital component of biochemistry education, although a large diversity of static, dynamic, and multimedia visual displays continues to flood modern educational resources at an exponential rate. Based on selected research findings from other science education domains and our own research experience in biochemistry education, 10 fundamental guidelines are proposed for the promotion of visualization and visual literacy among students studying in the molecular and cellular biosciences.Keywords: External representation, visual literacy, visualization, interpretation, teaching, learning.All biochemists would readily agree that visualization tools are essential for understanding and researching the molecular and cellular biosciences. This is reflected by the exponential growth over the years in the number and range of visualization tools now available to the biochemist for teaching, learning, and research. These include, inter alia,

Bridging the educational research‐teaching practice gap

“…Typical topics will include not only the latest innovations in teaching, learning, and assessment, but also more specialized topics, such as visual or molecular literacy. In this regard, we will, for instance, present what the literature says about how one can improve the design and use of models such as diagrams, computer images, and animations to enhance the conceptual knowledge and visualization skills of our students [38]. Another example of the many topics that we intend bringing to the readership is the issue of what constitutes sound (and unsound) educational research and how a basic educational research study can be performed.…”

Bridging the educational research‐teaching practice gap

“…In addition, biochemists require other cognitive skills for visualizing and interpreting the myriad of external representations that communicate our science [3]. We use external representations (ERs) to describe the range of visual tools used to communicate scientific knowledge in the external world (e.g.…”

“…ERs can be static or dynamic and include diagrams, pictures, physical models, animations, simulations, multimedia, and virtual realities. In the submicroscopic, abstract world of biochemistry, interpreting ERs is often the key to unlocking a meaningful conceptual understanding of structure, function, and process [3]. However, the ERs that we use can be graphically complex in terms of their constituent symbolic language and therefore difficult for students to interpret.…”

“…However, the ERs that we use can be graphically complex in terms of their constituent symbolic language and therefore difficult for students to interpret. Thus, it is crucial to develop our students' visual literacy [3] to scaffold our students along the novice to expert continuum [1]. According to Bamford [5], visual literacy encompasses the skills required to read and write visual or symbolic language including the ability to, (i) decode and interpret ERs, (ii) encode and construct meaningful ERs, (iii) visualize objects in the ''mind's eye'' and, (iv) comprehend ERs generated by others.…”

Bridging the educational research‐teaching practice gap

“…In the next article, I will focus on the meaning and assessment of conceptual understanding and the often neglected cognitive skills that are so essential for the development of expert biochemists and molecular biologists. This will then be followed by an article on assessing visual literacy and visualization skills, a topic of extreme importance to modern biochemists, whose success relies very heavily on visual tools to represent the microscopic and molecular world they investigate [4]. Finally, the last article on assessment will expose readers to a variety of useful tools that can be easily used to evaluate the quality of assessment tasks so that they meet required standards and are valid measures of students' achievement of course objectives.…”