More Like this

1. Communicative Visualizations as a Learning Problem

   https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2020.3030375  

   Adar, Eytan; Lee, Elsie (January 2020, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics)

   null (Ed.)

   Significant research has provided robust task and evaluation languages for the analysis of exploratory visualizations. Unfortunately, these taxonomies fail when applied to communicative visualizations. Instead, designers often resort to evaluating communicative visualizations from the cognitive efficiency perspective: "can the recipient accurately decode my message/insight?" However, designers are unlikely to be satisfied if the message went 'in one ear and out the other.' The consequence of this inconsistency is that it is difficult to design or select between competing options in a principled way. The problem we address is the fundamental mismatch between how designers want to describe their intent, and the language they have. We argue that visualization designers can address this limitation through a learning lens: that the recipient is a student and the designer a teacher. By using learning objectives, designers can better define, assess, and compare communicative visualizations. We illustrate how the learning-based approach provides a framework for understanding a wide array of communicative goals. To understand how the framework can be applied (and its limitations), we surveyed and interviewed members of the Data Visualization Society using their own visualizations as a probe. Through this study we identified the broad range of objectives in communicative visualizations and the prevalence of certain objective types. 

   more » « less
2. Affective Learning Objectives for Communicative Visualizations

   https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2022.3209500  

   Lee-Robbins, Elsie; Adar, Eytan (January 2023, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics)

   When designing communicative visualizations, we often focus on goals that seek to convey patterns, relations, or comparisons (cognitive learning objectives). We pay less attention to affective intents–those that seek to influence or leverage the audience's opinions, attitudes, or values in some way. Affective objectives may range in outcomes from making the viewer care about the subject, strengthening a stance on an opinion, or leading them to take further action. Because such goals are often considered a violation of perceived ‘neutrality’ or are ‘political,’ designers may resist or be unable to describe these intents, let alone formalize them as learning objectives. While there are notable exceptions–such as advocacy visualizations or persuasive cartography–we find that visualization designers rarely acknowledge or formalize affective objectives. Through interviews with visualization designers, we expand on prior work on using learning objectives as a framework for describing and assessing communicative intent. Specifically, we extend and revise the framework to include a set of affective learning objectives. This structured taxonomy can help designers identify and declare their goals and compare and assess designs in a more principled way. Additionally, the taxonomy can enable external critique and analysis of visualizations. We illustrate the use of the taxonomy with a critical analysis of an affective visualization. 

   more » « less
3. Conceptual Metaphor Theory as a Foundation for Communicative Visualization Design

   Parsons, Paul C (January 2018, IEEE VIS Workshop on Visualization for Communication (VisComm 2018))

   Interest in communicative visualization has been growing in recent years. However, despite this growth, a solid theoretical foundation has not been established. In this paper I examine the role that conceptual metaphor theory may contribute to such a foundation. I present a brief background on conceptual metaphor theory, including a discussion on image schemas, conceptual metaphors, and embodied cognition. I speculate on the role of conceptual metaphor for explaining and (re)designing communicative visualizations by providing and discussing a small set of examples as anecdotal evidence of the possible value of conceptual metaphor. Finally, I discuss implications of conceptual metaphor theory for communicative visualization design and present some ideas for future research on this topic. 

   more » « less
4. Spanning the Boundaries of Data Visualization Work: An Exploration of Functional Affordances and Disciplinary Values

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15742-5_6  

   Snyder, J; Shilton, K (April 2019, Lecture notes in computer science)

   Creating data visualizations requires diverse skills including computer programming, statistics, and graphic design. Visualization practitioners, often formally trained in one but not all of these areas, increasingly face the challenge of reconciling, integrating and prioritizing competing disciplinary values, norms and priorities. To inform multidisciplinary visualization pedagogy, we analyze the negotiation of values in the rhetoric and affordances of two common tools for creating visual representations of data: R and Adobe Illustrator. Features of, and discourse around, these standard visualization tools illustrate both a convergence of values and priorities (clear, attractive, and communicative data-driven graphics) side-by-side with a retention of rhetorical divisions between disciplinary communities (statistical analysis in contrast to creative expression). We discuss implications for data-driven work and data science curricula within the current environment where data visualization practice is converging while values in rhetoric remain divided. 

   more » « less
5. Correlating teachers’ engagement in online discussions with their persistence in professional development.

   Matranga, A. (January 2022, Proceedings of the Forty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education)

   This paper reports on a correlation analysis of two cohorts of mathematics teachers’ patterns of participation in online asynchronous discussions and their persistence in a sequence of professional development workshops. Findings indicate that increased access to colleagues’ knowledge resources and more frequent dispersion of these resources across the social network related to persistence. We discuss how variations in the design of our online workshops may have impacted teachers’ potential to persist in the professional development. The findings have implications for network-based instructional strategies that could increase mathematics teachers’ potential to persist in online professional developments. 

   more » « less