Teach spatial literacy including natural mappings, not only graphic conventions, to support argument diagramming¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The authors recommend that education on spatial literacy address "not only on teaching graphic conventions, but also on the use of natural mappings to support spatial thinking," because learners in most contexts rely on natural preferences rather than trained conventions. They argue teaching students to use argumentation diagrams for decisions on difficult problems is important, and note previous research suggests it is possible to teach students to use perceptual cues in a 'good' way. The research is offered as "a first step in identifying which cues are important, and a start to creating shared conventions."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Instruction should build on the natural mappings learners already use (e.g., reading order, green/red valence) rather than replacing them outright

Constraints¶

• The for-against task produced some ad hoc visualization choices, such as the use of green versus red, which the authors acknowledge

Target Learners¶

• students in education settings learning argumentation and decision-making

Target Learning Goals¶

• using argument diagrams to order arguments, give overview, and make decisions on complex societal problems

Affordances¶

• Natural Resources Perceptual Cues Argument Diagrams

Claims¶

• Producers signal their own argumentative position with arrows pointing toward their own arguments and more boxes around own arguments [+W]
• Readers' judgment explanations support a cautious hierarchy of perceptual cues: content, then color, then space, then graphic features [+W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Marije van Amelsvoort, Alfons Maes. (2016). Show me your opinion. Perceptual cues in creating and reading argument diagrams. Instructional Science 44:335–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-016-9378-9