The Role of the Visual Image: What Are Students Really Learning from Pictorial Representations?

Abstract

Young learners must be better prepared to interpret and utilize the visual information presented to them in elementary science books. The findings of this study suggest that illustrations may not promote student understanding, but may. in fact, encourage misconceptions about science. Further, the elementary students in this study demonstrated a propensity for constructing their own interpretations to describe the visual representation, rather than posing questions about their observations, or reading the caption or explanatory text. Only two students, out of sixty, chose to read any part of the accompanying text. Other research on visual representations should concentrate on investigating learner understanding and interpretation to determine what changes, if any, are necessary to make illustrations more meaningful.