Springer Visualization in Science Education: 1 (Models and Modeling in Science Education, 1)

This book addresses key issues concerning visualization in the teaching and learning of science at any level in educational systems. It is the first book specifically on visualization in science education. The book draws on the insights from cognitive psychology, science, and education, by experts from five countries. It unites these with the practice of science education, particularly the ever-increasing use of computer-managed modelling packages. Review International Journal of Science Education Vol. 30, No. 15, 15 December 2008, pp. 2091a "2096 ISSN 0950-0693 (print)/ISSN 1464-5289 (online)/08/152091a "06 DOI: 10.1080/09500690802065940 BOOK REVIEW T1I0B2T0Jjrna090aSaoty.50myeEo1a080rlk0sDo@n-0h 8r0raR0_ r0ht6a&e2Aei/b9noe0v _c3dRnF09is3e ar85a(eF0wlapm0. r6ntJra0i7oiacfnn6rdi6ucs.t9a0r)i0ne/s.1s8sag4.l0i m6n2o40f -6S55c29i8e49n0 c(eo nEldinuec)ation Visualization in Science Education John K. Gilbert (Ed.), 2005 Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer 346 pp., a, ¬49.95 (hbk) ISBN 978-1-4020-3612-5 Visualisation is an area that has fascinated scientists and science educators alike, yet it has proved problematic for research and study (Mathewson, 1999). It is only in the past 10 years that science educators have had some success in understanding and tackling the questions related to visualisation and its role in learning. Research in this area has been eclectic in nature, often spurred by the entry of new visualisation technologies into the classroom, and drawing on theoretical frameworks and analytical tools developed by cognitive scientists as well as historians of science and science educators. The studies have so far remained scattered over a range of disciplines and several interdisciplinary journals and books. The present volume does an exemplary service in bringing together the research in this new and emerging field, placing it firmly on the radar of science educationists. In science education, the closely related area of models and modelling has been of interest for some time now. Visualization in Science Education is in fact the first in a series of volumeson a ~Models and Modelling in Science Educationa (TM) edited by John Gilbert and published by Springer. Several articles in this volume examine in detail the relationship between a ~modelsa (TM) and a ~visualizationa (TM) in science education. The book is organised into four sections that recall a classic sequence in education: a ~The Significance of Visualization in Science Educationa (TM), a ~Developing the Skills of Visualizationa (TM), a ~Integrating Visualization into Curricula in the Sciencesa (TM), and a ~Assessing the Development of Visualization Skillsa (TM). John Gilberta (TM)s introductory chapter brings out the relationship between models, both a ~in the worlda (TM) and a ~in the minda (TM), and visualisations, which also could be both external and internal. Gilbert sees visualisation as a metacognitive skill, involving the monitoring and control of an image being learnt, knowing how to rehearse and retain it in memory, retrieving the appropriate image when necessary, and, finally, amending and transforming the image according to the reasoning demanded by the task at hand. This chapter gives several examples to bring out the role of visualisation in student learning and in classroom practice. Chapter 2 by Barbara Tversky looks at the many ways in which external depictions convey information. Tversky is a psychologist who has researched visualisation in relatively complex domains. She therefore easily moves beyond the common Downloaded By: [van Driel, Jan] At: 09: 22 26 November 2008 2092 Book Review psychological paradigm of visuals as percepts, to consider visuals that could be related with mental models. Herexamples are drawn from route maps, mechanical diagrams, and animations used in education. Tversky suggests some cognitive design principles for effective visualisatio