Visualisation techniques, human perception and the built environment

Historically, architecture has a wealth of visualisation techniques that have evolved throughout the period of structural design, with Virtual Reality (VR) being a relatively recent addition to the toolbox. To date the effectiveness of VR has been demonstrated from conceptualisation through to final stages and maintenance, however, its full potential has yet to be realised (Bouchlaghem et al, 2005). According to Dewey (1934), perceptual integration was predicted to be transformational; as the observer would be able to ‘engage’ with the virtual environment. However, environmental representations are predominately focused on the area of vision, regardless of evidence stating that the experience is multi sensory. In addition, there is a marked lack of research exploring the complex interaction of environmental design and the user, such as the role of attention or conceptual interpretation. This paper identifies the potential of VR models to aid communication for the Built Environment with specific reference to human perception issues

Cognitive psychology and problem solving in the physical sciences

This paper provides and introduction to the literature on cognitive psychology and problem solving in physical sciences. We consider the working memory and its three different components, two of which hold and record information and are controlled by an executive that controls attention. Working memory alone cannot explain problem solving ability and we review the influence of schemata, the construction of mental models, visual reasoning and the cognitive style of field dependence

Spatial reasoning skills about 2D representations of 3D geometrical shapes in grades 4 to 9

This is the final version. Available on open access from the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia via the DOI in this recordGiven the important role played by students’ spatial reasoning skills, in this paper we analyse how students use these skills to solve problems involving 2D representations of 3D geometrical shapes. Using data from in total 1357 grades 4 to 9 students, we examine how they visualise shapes in the given diagrams and make use of properties of shapes to reason. We found that using either spatial visualisation or property-based spatial analytic reasoning is not enough for the problems that required more than one step of reasoning, but also that these two skills have to be harmonised by domain-specific knowledge in order to overcome the perceptual appearance (or “look”) of the given diagram. We argue that more opportunities might be given to both primary and secondary school students in which they can exercise not only their spatial reasoning skills but also consolidate and use their existing domain-specific knowledge of geometry for productive reasoning in geometry

AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACT OF COMPUTER-BASED ANIMATIONS AND VISUALIZATION SEQUENCE ON LEARNERS' UNDERSTANDING OF HADLEY CELLS IN ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION

Research examining animation use for student learning has been conducted in the last two decades across a multitude of instructional environments and content areas. The extensive construction and implementation of animations in learning resulted from the availability of powerful computing systems and the perceived advantages the novel medium offered to deliver dynamic representations of complex systems beyond the human perceptual scale. Animations replaced or supplemented text and static diagrams of system functioning and were predicted to significantly improve learners' conceptual understanding of target systems. However, subsequent research has not consistently discovered affordances to understanding, and in some cases, has actually shown that animation use is detrimental to system understanding especially for content area novices (Lowe 2004; Mayer et al. 2005). This study sought to determine whether animation inclusion in an authentic learning context improved student understanding for an introductory earth science concept, Hadley Cell circulation. In addition, the study sought to determine whether the timing of animation examination improved conceptual understanding. A quasi-experimental pretest posttest design administered in an undergraduate science lecture and laboratory course compared four different learning conditions: text and static diagrams with no animation use, animation use prior to the examination of text and static diagrams, animation use following the examination of text and static diagrams, and animation use during the examination of text and static diagrams. Additionally, procedural data for a sample of three students in each condition were recorded and analyzed through the lens of self regulated learning (SRL) behaviors. The aim was to determine whether qualitative differences existed between cognitive processes employed. Results indicated that animation use did not improve understanding across all conditions. However learners able to employ animations while reading and examining the static diagrams and to a lesser extent, after reading the system description, showed evidence of higher levels of system understanding on posttest assessments. Procedural data found few differences between groups with one exception---learners given access to animations during the learning episode chose to examine and coordinate the representations more frequently. These results indicated a new finding from the use of animation, a sequence effect to improve understanding of Hadley Cells in atmospheric circulation

Developing the use of visual representations to explain basic astronomy phenomena

Several decades of research have contributed to our understanding of students’ reasoning about astronomical phenomena. Some authors have pointed out the difficulty in reading and interpreting images used in school textbooks as factors that may justify the persistence of misconceptions. However, only a few studies have investigated to what extent usual textbook images influence students’ understanding of such phenomena. This study examines this issue exploring 13-14 years old students’ explanations, drawings and conceptions about three familiar phenomena: change of seasons, Moon phases and solar/lunar eclipses. The research questions that guided the study were: RQ1) How are students’ explanations and visual representations about familiar astronomical phenomena affected by different imagesupport conditions? RQ2) How are students’ conceptions about familiar astronomical phenomena affected by different image-support conditions? RQ3) Which features of the used images most affected the students’ visual representations and explanations of familiar astronomical phenomena? To answer our research questions, we designed three instructional contexts under increasing support conditions: textbook images and text; teaching booklets with specially designed images and text; only text. To analyze students’ drawings, we used exploratory factor analysis to deconstruct drawings into their most salient elements. To analyze students’ explanations, we adopted a constant comparison method identifying different levels of increasing knowledge. To investigate students’ conceptions, we used a mixed multiple choice/true false baseline questionnaire. For RQ1, results show that the specially designed images condition was effective in helping students producing informed drawings in comparison to text-only condition for all phenomena, and more effective than textbook images condition when one considers seasonal change drawings. Concerning RQ2, the specially designed images condition was the most effective for all phenomena. Concerning RQ3, prevalent elements of astronomy images that affected students’ explanations and visual representations were: elliptical Earth's orbit, position of the Sun with respect to the Moon orbit, Sun, Moon and Earth alignment. Our findings confirm concerns about textbook astronomy images, whose features may interfere with the identification of the relevant factors underlying the phenomena. Moreover, findings of this study suggest that affordances of the specially designed images may play an essential role in scaffolding meaningful understanding of the targeted phenomena. Implications for teaching through and learning from visual representations in astronomy education are briefly discussed

Using Diagrams to Understand Geometry

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73219/1/0824-7935.00062.pd

Developing and Evaluating Visual Analogies to Support Insight and Creative Problem Solving

The primary aim of this thesis is to gain a richer understanding of visual analogies for insight problem solving, and, in particular, how they can be better developed to ensure their effectiveness as hints. While much work has explored the role of visual analogies in problem solving and their facilitative role, only a few studies have analysed how they could be designed. This thesis employs a mixed method consisting of a practice-led approach for studying how visual analogies can be designed and developed and an experimental research approach for testing their effectiveness as hints for solving visual insight problems