Assessment of visualisation skills in biochemistry students

Abstract

In the field of biochemistry, the use of external representations such as static diagrams and animations has increased rapidly in recent years. However, their effectiveness as instructional tools can be hindered if students lack the visual literacy and cognitive skills necessary for processing and interpreting such representations. We aimed to identify and assess visualisation skills necessary for effective processing of external representations in biochemistry. We used a modified Bloom’s taxonomy to identify the cognitive skills essential for optimal visual literacy, and designed probes based on those skills to develop a test instrument. Student responses to the probes were scored and processed with the Rasch model. This approach enabled us to rate the degree of difficulty of each visualisation skill on a linear logit scale, and to generate a person–item map to measure biochemistry students’ level of visual literacy. The results showed that the identified visualisation skills could be measured reliably, and the Rasch model was effective both for ranking the skills according to level of difficulty and for estimating a student’s relative level of visual literacy.

Using expert data to inform the use of research methods and representations to enhance biochemistry instruction and textbook design

“…After engaging in simpler reasoning behaviors to establish the content of ERs, the experts employed more complex reasoning behaviors as they began to consider the context of their research. This hierarchy of behaviors aligns with the idea of lower‐order and higher‐order cognitive skills as described by the revised Bloom's taxonomy , and other tools that describe levels of visual literacy . The use of seemingly more complex cognitive skills when considering the surrounding research context may have implications for structuring the presentation of material and questions in textbooks and curriculum.…”

Visual Literacy in Bloom: Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Support Visual Learning Skills

“…Guides for reforming curricula emphasize scientific communication, as evidenced by recommendations that students be able to analyze and interpret results provided to them visually and to represent data in appropriate and meaningful ways ( Merkel, 2012 ; ASBMB, 2017 ). Thus, the development of scientific visual literacy should be an explicit outcome of undergraduate science courses ( Blummer, 2015 ; Mnguni et al. , 2016 ).…”

“…With regard to visual literacy in particular, Trumbo (1999) used Bloom’s taxonomy to describe the visual learning skills involved in developing familiarity with visual representations and gaining competency with the process of extracting meaning from a visual representation. Mnguni and colleagues (2016 ) also used Bloom’s taxonomy to characterize cognitive skills associated with the process of visualization while seeking to measure students’ visual literacy level.…”

Realidade virtual no ensino de vias metabólicas

“…Pesquisas têm demonstrado que as tecnologias educacionais podem ser úteis para desenvolver habilidades de literacia visual [7]. As novas tecnologias estão mudando o significado de ser alfabetizado no século 21.…”