ArticleCBE life sciences education2017
Arrows in Biology: Lack of Clarity and Consistency Points to Confusion for Learners.
Article in CBE life sciences education, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Bad AI-generated images can be good for teaching visual literacy in biology.Journal of microbiology & biology education · 2026Article
- Here Is the Biology, Now What is the Mechanism? Investigating Biology Undergraduates' Mechanistic Reasoning within the Context of Biofilm Development.Journal of microbiology & biology education · 2023Article
- Visual Literacy of Molecular Biology Revealed through a Card-Sorting Task.Journal of microbiology & biology education · 2023Article
- Putting the Pieces Together: Student Thinking about Transformations of Energy and Matter.CBE life sciences education · 2022Article
- The DNA Landscape: Development and Application of a New Framework for Visual Communication about DNA.CBE life sciences education · 2022Article
- Psychology: a Giant with Feet of Clay.Integrative psychological & behavioral science · 2020Article
- Modeling in the Classroom: Making Relationships and Systems Visible.CBE life sciences education · 2020Article
- The Graph Rubric: Development of a Teaching, Learning, and Research Tool.CBE life sciences education · 2018Article
- Physical models can provide superior learning opportunities beyond the benefits of active engagements.Biochemistry and molecular biology education : a bimonthly publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology · 2018Article
- Visual representations of energy and chemical bonding in biology and chemistry textbooks: A case study of ATP hydrolysis.Biochemistry and molecular biology education : a bimonthly publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In this article, we begin to unpack the phenomenon of representational competence by exploring how arrow symbols are used in introductory biology textbook figures. Out of 1214 figures in an introductory biology textbook, 632 (52%) of them contained arrows that were used to represent many different concepts or processes. Analysis of these figures revealed little correlation between arrow style and meaning. A more focused study of 86 figures containing 230 arrows from a second textbook showed the same pattern of inconsistency. Interviews with undergraduates confirmed that arrows in selected textbook figures were confusing and did not readily convey the information intended by the authors. We also present findings from an online survey in which subjects were asked to infer meaning of different styles of arrows in the absence of context. Few arrow styles had intrinsic meaning to participants, and illustrators did not always use those arrows for the meanings expected by students. Thus, certain styles of arrows triggered confusion and/or incorrect conceptual ideas. We argue that 1) illustrators need to be more clear and consistent when using arrow symbols, 2) instructors need to be cognizant of the level of clarity of representations used during instruction, and 3) instructors should help students learn how to interpret representations containing arrows.
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