Static Visualizations
Static visualizations are those that do not change with time. Because
the learner does not interact with such a visualization, these play a
somewhat limited role. This is especially true if the learner enters
with misconceptions of a concept. An image of a graph or a diagram or
any form of static visualization will not only not be a convincing
media for showing inconstantcies in a students beliefs but will also
be interpreted within the context of their misconception. This does
not mean, however, that static visualizations can't play a role in
education. Simply that such visualizations are more suited for
building relationships between concepts than inducing disequilibrium
within the misconception of the student. Static Visualizations can:
Draw an anology to another domain of knowledge.
These
analogies serve to demonstrate that there are multiple representations
of concept. Such visualizations serve to facilitate the creation of
arcs in the knowledge network of the student. Below is a visualization
of a word problem. Students first learning word problems have
difficulty constructing a semantic model that represents the situation
in the text. Because of this they have difficulty constructing the
correct number sentence to solve the problem. The visualization below
draws on the students concept of sets and counting. In doing so it
makes direction between the word problem and knowledge they have of
the world
Serve as an intermediate representation in the case that
the concept to be learned is too distant from the knowledge base of
the learner.
The in the above visualization the intermediate set
representation is not meant to be a lasting fixture on the path from
word problem to number sentence. It serves as an intermediate
representation while the direct links are being formed. By using the
set representation, however, the set/counting part of the network has
become more integrated into the knowledge base. This integration can
again be utilized in teaching other material.
Make salient the the important relationships within a
concept.
Below is a pair of visualizations for a Stirling heat
cycle. The image on the left is a temperature(T) - entropy(S)
diagram. The other is a pressure(P) - volume(V) diagram. Combined
these diagrams show the relationships between pressure, volume,
temperature and entropy as the cycle procedeeds through the four
stable states of the cycle.
