This study analyzed three types of visual representations (graphs, maps, & graphic organizers) in the most widely used eighth-grade U.S. History textbooks. The analyses included how each visual was constructed and used within the context of text narrative. Purposeful sampling techniques were used to select a representative sample of varied…

Some educators may view diagrams, pictures, and charts as nice add-on tools for students who are visual thinkers. But Steve Moline sees visual literacy as fundamental to learning and to what it means to be human. In Moline's view, we are all bilingual. Our second language, which we do not speak but which we read and write every day, is visual.…

Information graphics or diagrams are two-dimensional maps of relationships that present information. Creators and interpreters of diagrams need to know what makes some diagrams more effective in communicating information. This paper suggests a theoretical framework for diagram classification to make this possible. This framework consists of two…

Provides evidence of the devaluation of visuals in technical communication courses and also that pedagogical materials on visuals are at odds with current rhetorical theory and are increasingly anachronistic in the computer era. Discusses implications of the computers' impact for visual instruction and presents suggestions for future directions in…

Presentation of a methodology for instruction in reading and interpreting graphs and charts in a foreign language class. Illustrated by several demographic charts, the discussion includes an explanation of graphic semiology, several pedagogical approaches, the relationship between written text and graph and a bibliography. (Text is in French.)…