Comparison prompts are strongly concentrated in process diagrams (93%) and rare in photos (20%)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? The relationship between image type and comparison frequency was strong: 93% of process diagrams prompted comparison versus only 20% of photos. → Benjamin D. Jee 2022

Evidence¶

Benjamin D. Jee 2022¶

Benjamin D. Jee, Bryan J. Matlen, Monica Greenlaw, Nina Simms, Dedre Gentner. (2022). Spatial supports for comparison in educational science images. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-022-09599-0

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Chi-square analysis of the same 313-image textbook corpus relating image type (photo, structure diagram, process diagram, chart, graph) to whether comparison was prompted. The article reports "Comparison was invoked for 93% of the process diagrams" while "only 20% of photos" involved comparison, χ2(4, N = 313) = 79.03, p < .001.

"There was a considerably stronger relationship between frequency of comparison and the image type, χ2(4, N = 313) = 79.03, p < .001. Comparison was invoked for 93% of the process diagrams. In contrast, only 20% of photos—the most common image type—involved comparison."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Intervening visual units were moderately common and appeared more often in structure diagrams than process diagrams
• Over a third of images in middle school life science textbooks prompt students to compare visual units
• Fewer than half of textbook images requiring comparison have an optimal spatial layout (direct placement) for structural alignment — related