Visualizations help learning

Levin (1987) examined the learning functions of visualizations in text, examined the types of visualizations that can be used of facilitate the students’ learning. They described five categories of functions of pictures in prose, which are “decoration”, “Representation”, “Organization”, “Interpretation”, and “Transformation”.

Decoration is to make texts more attractive but irrelevant to the text. Representation is to illustrate the same story as the text. Organization is to structure coherence of aspects. Interpretation is to clarify abstract concepts. Transformation is to anchor information in the text by linking it to pictures that are easier to remember.

The picture above explains the learning effects of different types of illustrations in textbooks. This picture is a replication from an illustration in the book, "Context and Conceptualization" (Stappers et al., 2005. p. 103).

The latter categories are proved to be more beneficial to effective learning for students (See picture above). The transformation function was found to have a strong effect on learning, but it happens only when the association made by the illustrator is shared by the reader.

6 Ways of Seeing, by Dan Roam.

We see a number of things before we start to think. Actually, it all happens in a split second, and you don't even notice this.

We can see more than what we really “look at”. There are the “low-level” cognitive processes which take place when we receive numerous inputs and react to them without going through all over the complex brain. We filter out things and focus on something worth looking at because the “low-level” mental process enables us to act even before we think.

In "the Back of the Napkin", Dan Roam explained the pre-cognitive visual attributes as the six ways of seeing, in which he argued that people distinguished “who”, “what”, “how many/much”, “where” (positions of objects), and “when” (changing of positions) almost intuitively in a given scene, and defined “how” things influence each other and “why” in a later thought.

Understanding the potential of how our brains work in visual thinking paves a way to make a good use of them.

History of Visual Thinking, by Christine Valenza and Jan Adkins.

In their newly-released paper: Understanding Visual Thinking: The History and Future of Graphic Facilitation, Christine Valenza and Jan Adkins (2009) described the nowadays global economy model with a metaphor: the neuron, compared to a vertical ladder in the Middle Ages and a flat web in the industrial age. They further explained the idea that modern people deal with the complex world by near-instant communication plugging into all levels of a problem and with multiple variables . The nonlinear thinking process for human ingenuity and creativity is rather like a human’s neuron networks than a machine.

From linear and vertical ladder to a complex neuron system, people started to be aware of the voices outside a hierarchy and tried to involve expertise with no manufacturing and commercial background, such as psychology, social science and biology. The flip chart in 1950s was probably the most well-known tool for presenting ideas and recording process in a meeting. People developed the flip chart as a more elaborate VT/GF tool with knowledge of Gestalt awareness, corporate learning, group dynamics, mind maps etc. Therefore, the poster in the front of a group in a conference could record a propound view with assembled graphics, numbers, and arguments.

In 1970s, the concept of a facilitator actively leading meetings toward conflict- and problem-solving interactions emerged with the influence of David Sibbet’s large-paper approach or Michael Doyle’s flip charts recording running dialogue, augmented with large infographic images.

In 1980s, the emergence of computer networking and the internet triggered the interactive graphics to support group process. During the period, people realized that corporations were similar to human entity, subject to more complex motives, stressors, and failures. In 1990s, many business management consultants developed large-scale change methods to involve wider groups of stakeholders in the process of creating fresh decisions.

VT/GF in 21st century now takes advantages of the convenient social networking device and on-line program and still makes a good use of efficiency and accessibilities of the conventional tools, such as hand drawing skills, big poster, and markers. Visual Thinkers/Graphic Facilitators also use fresh visual language, a knowledge of group dynamics, and contemporary business and meeting process awareness.

With a thorough introduction of important publications, facilitation theory, and key figurers, this paper leads us to go through a clear context of the history of Visual Thinking. This is really valuable to understand fundamental background knowledge in Visual Thinking.

In the paper, you can find a better and detail description of the History of Graphic Facilitation with Cristine's and Jan's extraordinary insights. Enjoy it!

How the Brain Creates Meanings? -- Tom Wujec on TED Talks

Tom Wujec gave a presentation about 3 ways the brain creates meaning by vision on TED talks.

I tried to combine the 6 ways of seeing, proposed by Dan Roam in the book: the Back of the Napkin, with Tom Wujec's 3 ways here in the following summery of the presentation.

There are thirty parts of brain in relation to making visual senses. First of three major parts in the brain is called the ventral stream, which detects “who” and “what” the objects are. That's the part of the brain that is activated when you give a word to something. The second is the dorsal stream, which detects “where” and “when” in the scene. You'll create a kind of mental map of your surroundings. The third one is the limbic system where people have an emotional response to what they see. It is to say that the connections and the pattern of objects trigger the limbic system to augment memory by creating visual persistence. The process to create visual persistence can be the ways to understand “how” and ”why” attributes in the scene.

Tom Wujec also present a real case to describe how visual thinking took place in a business meeting without using power point slides in two days. For people, it is just naturally, biographically evident that visual thinking happens spontaneously even before we start to think.
Making of good use of the visual support is simply that natural for people.

What is Visual Thinking Process?

This poster is my first step to decipher the Visual Thinking Process. They are originated from JAM as a concept to describe Visual Design Process.

The four steps in Visual Design Process are "Collecting elements", "Finding coherence", "Composition", and "Translation". People shift from one step to another following the flow of thinking. Visual thinkers use multiple techniques to smooth the flow of thinking in a given meeting. The flow breeds abundant benefits both in the process and final result. Please click on "read more" if you want to get more explanation.

1. What is Visual Thinking Process?

Through Visual Thinking, people can solve complex problem in the process. However, what happened in the process is something needs to be deciphered if we want to make a good use of Visual Thinking. I am going to explain the process of Visual Thinking, Visual Thinkers' techniques, and benefits of Visual Thinking in the following pictures.

2. Visual Thinking Process Creates a Flow:
In visual thinking process, there are four steps: "collecting elements", "finding coherence", "composition", and "translation". Collecting elements is when people try to explore and lay out all helpful data on the table. Finding coherence is when people start to find out linkage between data and cluster them. Composition is to figure them out in a bigger and logical scale. Translation is to transfer the result in composition with a meaningful metaphor which can motivate and inspire people in the end.

3. Underlying Flows in Visual Thinking Process:
The process is non-linear and non-rational. The underlying flows in the picture indicate that the process can shift from one loop to another. Instead of running in a linear an one-way route, it is more like cycling in each loop when people try to get more in-depth insights.

4. What do Visual Thinkers Do in the process?
Visual thinkers use multiple techniques to help the flow smooth. People can think more fluid and, instead of being pushed to next loop, slow down their thinking. People can therefore stay in a loop longer until they get enough insights.

5. Benefits of Visual Thinking:
In the process, visual thinkers' techniques help create common ground in a team, which bring benefits both in the process and the result.

The picture is an initial exploration of the power of hand drawing in facilitation workshop. I will try to make it more elaborate in the latter phase of the graduation project. Please feel free to give comments for me to improve them.

What Makes Visual Thinking So Special? -- Jan's Feedback on 2nd 10-min Presentation

After 2nd 10-min presentation in JAM, I got a number of feedback from colleagues in JAM. Here is one infographic of them. Jan, an experienced visual thinker in JAM, shared his reflection on what makes visual thinking so special from other kinds of facilitation. The picture above is a visual recording of our discussion after presentation. I will do a detailed explanation for this now.

1. Multiple supporting roles in terms of "process" and "result" in a workshop:
The picture above is about what participants and visual thinkers in a workshop will focus on in terms of "process" and "result". This picture differentiate different expectations and purposes of participants and visual thinkers. In top-right fan, participants always focus more on a promising result while, in bottom-left fan, visual thinker's first task is to build a sense-making process for participants. The top-left fan indicates that participants are beneficial to sense-making in the process. Then, visual thinkers help to reach the result by building mutual sense-making in bottom-right fan.

2. Ongoing creation keeps participants always focus:
It is fun to see other people drawing. That becomes simply a positive cycle in the process. People will become more and more curious about what will happen next. They will then be more eager to contribute when they feel more involved in the co-creation.

3. Visual thinking is especially good at dealing with novel and complex problem:
Based on the picture above, we also understand that visual thinking actually is only part of the problem solving when there are many different focuses in different phases. Visual thinking is especially good for people to solve novel and complex problem. Visual thinkers catch elusive information and make them accessible as drawings. People then can always build on each other's work or opinions without losing any positive details.

4. Visual thinker's work will be a living document in the end:
Visual thinker's work will be a big picture depicting not only the result of the team, but the process of the discussion. People can always get their "AHA!" moments back on the picture. The picture can be added on all the time when there is new idea. It can evolve with time and keep living after participants leave the workshop.
5. Drawings are flexible in the levels of translation:
There are different levels of drawings used in visual thinking. A given drawing has the ability to represent something really simple and something really complex. Visual thinkers make a good use of the flexibility of drawings. In the process, they draw images and texts with open interpretation for simulating creative thinking. For the result, they choose a metaphor which contents correct and rich information deriving from participants' shared understandings.

Thanks for Jan's inspiring feedback!

"What does sustainability look like?" -- Visualizing Sustainability

"Professional Visual Facilitators Mariah Howard and Julie Gieseke bring whiteboards, pens,cameras and one question to the Maker Faire: What does sustainability look like? Here is the harvest of images they discovered from the Makers"

This is quoted from an introduction of a youtube footage: "Visualizing Sustainability".

You can learn how people improvise with simply a pen and a whiteboard to draw their ideas. Sharing is such simple and fun!! Enjoy it!