TEACHING WITH VISUAL SYMBOLS

LESSON 13

“ Visual symbols will be made meaningful if we can use them as summaries of our own direct experiences or our own rich indirect experiences…A little can stand for a lot!”

Focus Questionswhat instructional materials fall under this category?

What are examples of each visual symbol?

Where can they be integrated in the instructional process?

What guidelines must we follow when we read charts, graphs, and maps?

Introduction From an experience of real-world experience we proceed to a world of symbols.Here, we don’t see real things but symbols.Visual symbols include drawings, cartoons, strip drawings, diagrams, formulas, charts, graphs, maps, globes.For the sake of mastery and clarity, let us divide this lesson into seven (7) parts.

Activity 1….Believing that is very important to be very well-off financially, and having seen affluence ratchet upward little by little over four decades, are Americans now happier?

The research finding shows that those reporting themselves “very happy” has, if anything, declined slightly between 1957 and 1998 from 35 to 33 percent, twice as rich but no happier.

(After reading this finding, refer to Figure 10 below.)

Read this. Analyze what it means. After reading and analyzing it, study Figure 11 on distributions of self-esteem scores.

2. Self – esteem scores among Canadians and Japanese - A research team led by Steven Heine (1999) found scores on a North American self-esteem inventory are higher among Anglo-Canadians who have never left Japan. As Japanese and other Asians experience Canada’s culture, their self-esteem becomes Westernized.

After reading the paragraphs and studying the graphs, answer this question: which was easier to understand? The words or the graphs?

ABTRACTION Your experience of the words and the graphs

convinces you that a graph is easier to understand than the words.”

A graph and any visual symbol for that matter such as drawings, cartoon, strip drawings, diagrams, and maps are worth a thouand words.

They are more clearly understood than mere words.

Let us learn more about each of them and find out where they can be used in our lessons.

A. DRAWINGS A drawing may not be the real thing but

better to have a concrete visual aid than nothing.

To avoid confusion, it I good that our drawing correctly represents the real thing.

One essential skill that a teacher ought to possess in order to be understood is drawing.

It helps you a lot if you are capable of doing free hand sketching.

You will find out that as you lecture, you need to illustrate on the chalkboard.

So, better start learning how to draw. The only way to learn it is to do sketching

yourself and devote some time to it. There is nothing so difficult that is not

made easy when we spend at least forty hours learning and mastering it.

Here are some samples of stick drawings::

B. CARTOONS Another useful visual symbol that can

bring novelty to our teaching is the cartoon.

A first-rate cartoon tells its story metaphorically.

The perfect cartoon needs no caption The less the artist depends on words,

the more effective the symbolism. The symbolism conveys the message.

Here are two examples:

Source : Edgar Dale (1969), Audiovisual Methods in Teaching, NewYork, USA: The Dryden Press.

Interpret the cartoons above. Any message? Any insight? Share with the class.

Sources of Cartoons You can easily collect cartoons for instruction. They appear often in newpapers and magazines. In class, you can give it to individual study or

project it by an opaque projector. Depending on themes for the week or the month,

you can display these cartoons on the bulletin board.

One creative teacher arranged for a “cartoon of the month” and displayed and changed her display every end of the month..

Want to develop your skill at sketching for cartoons? See Figures below.

• Sketching cartoons

Figure 13. More Faces

Source : James W. Brown & Richard B. Lewis ( 1969) AV InstructionalMaterials Manual, New York, USA,: McGraw Hill Book Co.

Where to use Cartoons in Instruction You can also use this as a springboard

for a lesson or a concluding activity. It depends on your purpose.

K to 12 Curriculum Standards and Competencies Go back to the K to 12 Curriculum

Guide.

Which can be taught with the use of a cartoon?

Come up with a cartoon for a particular lesson.

C. STRIP DRAWINGS These are commonly called comics or

comic strip. Dale(1969) asserts that a more accurate

term is strip drawings. Make use of strips that are educational

and entertaining at the same time. Here is an example.

Any insight derived from the cartoon? Share . Did you haveSimilar experience?

Where to Use Strip Drawing in Instruction These can serve as motivation and a

starter of your lesson. It can also be given as an activity for

students to express insights gained at the conclusion of a lesson.

Sources of Strip Drawing in Instruction You can obtain strip drawings from

newspapers, magazines and book.

K to 12 Curriculum Standards and Competencies Identify a competency where a strip

drawing is appropriate. Look for an appropriate strip drawing or

make one.

D. DIAGRAMS What is a diagram? It is “any line drawing that shows

arrangement and relations as parts to the whole, relative values, origins and development, chronological fluctuations, distribution, etc.” (Dale, 1969)

If you can draw stick figures, you can easily draw the diagrams that you need as you go along.

To emphasize the key points in your diagram, make use of color whether you use the chalkboard or the OHP and transparencies. See Figure below.

The diagram below I used to introduced a chapter lesson on heredity-environment interaction.Do you get an idea on what the chapter is about by just looking at the diagram

Types of a diagramFind out what these other diagrams are.You may need them as you teach and as

you go about your other teaching-related tasks.

Affinity diagram – used to cluster complex apparently unrelated data into natural and meaningful groups.

Figure 15. Affinity Diagram of Keeping Employees Motivated

Workenvironment

Supportivemanagement

Provide adequate

Equipment

Provide Clean and CheerfulEnvironment

Good instruction

Positive supervision

Providetraining

Rewards &Recognition

Quick and Appropriate

Rewards

GiveRecognitionWhere due

Opportunity for

Advancement

Adequate Salary

Good Benefits

Organization Philosophy

CommunicateOrganizational

Goals

Give GoodClear Direction

Double Goals

Focus on Our Mission

Remove Red Tape

Focus on the Future not the

Past

Job Focus

Interesting work

Provide ChallengingExperiences

Make Work Meaningful

Give Responsibility

EffectiveResponsibility

Opportunity To Show Skills

Interpersonal Environment

Let Us Think For Ourselves

Don’t hassle

Be Human

Clear Communication

WelcomeNew Ideas

Be Fair

Provide Good Example

Show Personal Interest

RemovePut-Down

• Tree diagram Used to chart out, in increasing detail,

the various tasks that must be accomplished to complete a project or achieve a specific objective.

Review supervisory

Refurbish all admin.

Teachers’ Offices

Improve and ensure

Opportunities for

advancement

Improve salary and benefits

Improve The

Workenvironment

Improve System of

Rewards and recognition

Improve Interpersonalenvironment

To create a work

Environment Where80-90%

EmployeesAre motivated

Figure 16. A Tree Diagram

Why not complete the tree diagram?

• Fishbone diagram It is also called cause-and-effect diagram. It is a structured form of brainstorming that graphically

shows the relationship of possible causes and subcauses directly related to an identified effect/ problem. It is most commonly used to analyze work-related problems.

Figure 17. Fishbone Diagram of the Causes Contributing to Poor Student Attendance in School District

Source: Latta, Raymond F. and Carolyn Downey, (1994) Tools For Achieving TQE, Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

Poor District

Attendance(effect)

Staff(Causes)

Student (causes)

Outside Influences(causes) System

(causes)

Philosophically believe

Not all students should Be in school

No sympathy for

Students behind

Less expectations

Force some

Student out

No patience with

To those unable to handle concepts

Too tired

Babysitting

Does not value school

Problem with teacher

Fear of failure

Working

Substance abuse

Substance abuse

Family does not value

education

Home demands

No family support

Child abuse

Member of gang

Curriculum does not

Meet students need

Poor home

Communicationsystem

System too

dehumanizing

Meets needs of average s

student

Lack of timely follow-up

and follow-through

• E. CHARTSA chart is a diagrammatic representation of

relationships among individuals within an organization.

We can have a:1) Time chart2) Tree or stream chart3) Flow chart4) Organizational chart5) Comparison and contrast chart6) Pareto chart7) Run chart or trend chart.

Examples of chart Time chart – is a tabular time chart that

presents data in ordinal sequence. Here is an example.

Time period Average lifeExpectancy (in years)

Prehistoric times

Ancient Greece

Middle Ages, England

1620, Massachusetts Bay

Colony

19th century, England

1900, USA

1915, USA

1964, USA

1998, USA

18

20

35

35

41

47

54

70

77c

Figure 18. Average Human Life Expectancy at Birth from Prehistoric to Contemporary Times

Source: Santrock, John W. Life-Spam Development (2002). New YorkMcGraw-Hill Book Co.

• Tree or stream chart- Depicts development, growth and change by beginning with a single course ( the trunk) which spreads out into many branches; or by beginning with the many tributaries which then converge into a single channel.

The genealogical tree is an example

Figure 19. Genealogical Tree

• Flow chart- Is a visual way of charting or showing a

process from beginning to end.- It is a means of analyzing a process.- By outlining every step in a process, you

can begin to find inefficiencies or problems. ( Latta, 1994)

START

Continue to workOn Daily “To Do”

Activities

Need Photocopying

?

Ask PersonUsing it to Call You

when They Have

Finished

Call to See if Copy

MachineIs Available

YES

IsCopy

Machine Available

YES

NO

NO

Place Original to Copy Machine

Location

A

Secure and Load Paper

Needed

Is PaperStock and

Size Adequate?

Select SizeQuantity, and

Intensity Desired

Start Copier

Remove Original and Copies and Return to Office

NO YES

Figure 20. Flowchart of the Photocopying Process

• Organizational chart- Shows how one part of the organization relates to other parts of the organization.

Office of the Regional Director

School Division Superintendent

Asst. School Division SuperintendentAdministrative Division

Promotional Staff

EPSIEnglish

EPSIMath

EPSIScience

EPSIFilipino

EPSISoc.

Studies

EPSIMAPEH

EPSIVE

EPSIAP

Direct Supervisor

Secondary School Elementary School

Figure 21. Organizational Structure of School/City Division

• Comparison and contrast chart

- Used to show similarities and differences between two things (people, places, events, ideas, etc.). Key frame questions: What things are being compared? How are they different?

Attribute 1

Attribute 2Attribute 3

Compare/Contrast Matrix

Name Name 2

Figure 22. Compare/contrast matrix

• Pareto chartIs a type of bar chart, prioritized in descending order magnitude or importance from left to right.It shows at a glance which factors are occurring most.

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

HomeRespon.

HomeworkNot done

Had to work other

60%

10% 5%

25%

•

•

•

85%95%

100%

Percent Of

UnexcusedAbsences

Reason for Absences

Figure 23. Pareto Chart of Reasons for Unexcused

Absences

• Gannt chart - Is an activity time chart.

Figure 24.Gannt chart.

LEGEND

SCHEDULED ACTIVITY

COMPLETED ACTIVITY

BEHIND SCHEDULE ACTIVITY

SCHEDULED MILESTONE

COMPLETED MILESTONE

UNACHIEVED MILESTONE

Figure 24. Gantt Chart

FUNCTION OR

ACTIVITY

DAYS FROM GO AHEAD January 1, 1993 Latest Review Date

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

DETERMINE OBJECTIVE RECRUIT PARTICIPANTS 50%RECRUITED 100% RECRUITED

SCHEDULE FACILITIES DETERMINE APPROACH DETERMINE PROGRESS PREPARE MODULES 50% COMPLETED 100%COMPLETED

K to 12 Standards and Competencies

Find out which of these charts are appropriate for any lesson in the K to 12 Curriculum Guide for any teaching-related task.

• GRAPHSThere are several types of graphs. They are: 1) Circle or pie graph2) Bar graph3) pictorial graph4) Line graph

• Pie or circle graph Recommended for showing parts of

whole

Figure 25. The Cost of Education

operation, mainte-nance and auxillarycapital outlayinstructioninterestgeneral control

61.9%

19.1%

8.8%

6.8%

3.4%

• Bar graph-used in comparing the magnitude of similar items at different ties or seeing relatives sizes of the parts of a whole.

India

Singap

ore

Taiwan

United

Stat

es

Canad

a

Great B

ritain

German

y

Icelan

d0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

Do you think it is wrong for unmarried couplesTo bear children? (% yes)

Figure 26. Response to 1997 World Gallup Survey

• Pictorial graph- makes use of picture ymbols

2224

36

Sept.1

Oct.2

Nov.1

Dec.1

Jan. 1

Each symbol represents 4 pupils

Figure 27. The number of Library Users Among Pupils for Five (5) Months

24

36

32

38

34

• Graphic organizers- You met several graphic organizers in your subject, Principles of Teaching. Here is another graphic organizer, an information organizer.

K to 12 Standards and CompetenciesIn which lessons can you use each of

these graphs?

G. MAPS A map is a “representation of the surface

of the earth or some part of it…”(Dale, 1969)

KINDS OF MAP Physical map- combines in a single,

projection data like altitude, temperature, rainfall, precipitation, vegetation, and soil.

• Physical Map

• Relief map- Has three dimensional representation and show contours of the physical data of the earth or part of the earth

• Commercial map or economic map

- Also called product or industrial map since they show land areas in relation to the economy

Ex: of Commercial or economic map

• Political map- Gives detailed information about country, provinces cities and towns, roads and highways, oceans, rivers and lakes are the mean features of most political maps.

• Map language Scale – shows how much of the actual

earth’s surface is represented by a given measurement on a map.

The scale must be shown so that the map reader can use the distances and areas shown on the map in measuring or figuring out the real distances and areas on the earth’s surface.

On some maps, scale is shown graphically.

In others the scale is expressed in words and figures. E.g. 1 inch = 15 statute miles.

scale

Symbols –Usually a map has a legend that explains what each symbol means

Some symbols represent highways, railroads, mountains, lakes and plains

Color – The different colors of the map are part of the map language.

What colors represented the bodie of water?

What about contours of the earth and railroads, highways and other cultural features? Get a physical map and study it.

Geographic grids – The entire system of these grid lines are called grid lines.

These grid lines are called meridians and parallel.

A meridian is a north to south pole line. Parallels are line with an equal distance

from the pole. Longitude is the distance in degrees of any

place east or west of the prime meridian. Latitude is the distance in degrees of any

place north and south of the equator.

Map-Reading Test1. Lines of longitude are parallel to each

other.2. On a globe all lines of latitude meet at

poles.3. A degree of longitude ranges from 68.4 to

69.4 miles4. Longitude is usually measured from

Greenwich, England.5. Latitude is measured from the equator.

T F

T F

T F

T F

6. The latitude of the poles is 90 degrees.7. The hours of daylight in summer and

winter are related to longitude.8. Places in the low latitudes usually have

warm climates.9. Time belts are directly related to

longitude.10. The latitude of the place indicates its

distance from the equator.

T F

T F

T F

T F

T F

11. The highest latitudes are around the poles.

12. A place on the equator must be either north or south of it.

13. The lines of the longitude bisect the earth

14. Latitude means angular distance north or south of the equator.

15. Longitude 0ᵒ defines the exact place on the earth.

16. Lines of the latitude are parallel to the equator.

T F

T F

T F

T F

T F

T F

17. Latitude 90ᵒN defines an exact place on the earth.

18. Any place not on the Greenwich Meridian is either east or west f it.

19. A place at 40ᵒ latitudes is about 1,000…..,3000…..,5000…..,8000…., miles from the equator.

20. A line of the longitude is also called a meridian.

21. The longitude of a place gives a rough indication of its climate.

22. A line of latitude is referred to as parallel.

T F

T F

T F

T F

T F

T F

Understanding Maps, Graphs and Charts What should you do be successful in

reading maps, charts and graphs? The following steps will be of help:

1. Read the titles and subtitles. They will often tell you the purpose of the graphic materials and may provide a clue to its main idea.

2. Read the key, and/or the legend, the scale of miles whenever any of these is present. (these items ordinarily appear on maps.)

3. Read the information shown along the side and the bottom of graphs and charts and tables, if any. This will help you understand what qualities are being presented or what comparisons are being made. On the maps, notice how the different parts of the map are related to each other.

4. Determine your purpose for reading the map, chart, table, or graph.

APPLICATION1. Pictures, slides, handouts, mock up,

models, computer projections and computer projections and computer presentation are visuals but are they visual symbols?

2. Summarize this lesson by means of a diagram. See Sample.

PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE AND LATE CHILDHOOD

Physical Development Cognitive Development

Body Growth and

proportion

Motor Development

Exercise and Sports

Health, Illness, and Disease

Children withDisabilities

intelligenceInformation Processing

Piagets Theory

creativity

Language Development

3. Construct a ten-item true-false test on map-reading. Provide the key to correction.

SUMMING UPLike a picture, a graph and all other visual symbols, are worth a thousand words. The proper use of visual symbols will contribute to optimum learning

Visual symbols come in many forms-drawing, cartoons, strip drawing (comic strip) diagram, map, chart, graph. For these visual symbols to be at your finger tips , you ought to be skilled at

The collection, preparation and use of these various visual symbols depend to a great extent on your resourcefulness and creativity. They may be used in different ways and in different phases of the lesson depending on your purpose, if you use them skillfully, your classroom may turn into a beehive of busy students.

MAKING THE CONNECTION1. Go over past lessons in this course, Ed Tech 1. Look

for visual symbols that you used in the past lessons. Identify them.

2. In your lesson on correction in Statistics, you came across a scatter diagram. Go over a sample scatter diagram. Is this also virtual symbol? What does a scatter diagram show?

3. Make a tree chart by creating your own genealogy tree. Go as may generations as you can go. Interview your parents and grandparents.

4. Under which kind of visual symbols do the life cycles that you study in science belong?

THE END