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“MIRAGES” AND THE “REALITY” OF VISUALIZATION IN THE CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL PROCESS // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2023. Issue 3 (37). P. 9-36

The study is dedicated to visualization considered as a current trend, a phenomenon of contemporary education. It is known that visualization reflects the current visual turn and a new transformation of the educational sphere. A scientific study of the contemporary stage of visualization of education is important and topical because theorists have not yet fully comprehended all the processes and results of this trend, its “mirages” as something impressive, amazing, but illusory, and its “reality” as something real, but not always joyful and in line with expectations. We need to anticipate both the positive and negative educational effects of visualization during and after the bursts of the visual turn in education that is happening before our eyes. The effects are caused mainly by technical and technological breakthroughs, the state educational policy, which can be traced, for example, in the latest Education national project. The aim of the study is to identify and generalize the obvious (objective) and non-obvious (supposed) advantages, risks, disadvantages (negative influence) of visualization in the contemporary educational process. In accordance with the aim of the study, its objectives were formulated, aimed at clarifying the key terms that constitute the core of the terminological fields “visual turn” and “visualization of the contemporary educational process”; determining the current state of education visualization; comparing arguments and counterarguments in assessing the positive impact of visualization on the contemporary educational process; identifying and generalizing obvious (objective) and supposed advantages, as well as the negative impact of visualization (its risks and disadvantages) in the contemporary educational process; studying the possibilities of visualization for the individualization of the educational process and the development of students’ initiative. Research methods included an analysis of scientific literature on the research problem, reflection of our own educational activities and experience in the pedagogical design of educational resources, a study of the scientific and pedagogical experience of teachers, the method of binary positions, generalization and concretization. As a result of the study, we summarized the most common and objective arguments and counterarguments regarding the positive impact of visualization on the modern educational process, which reflect and confirm the lack of “transparency”, evidence and persuasiveness of the advantages of visualization. The authors compared the most obvious “mirages” and “reality” of visualization at the levels of subjects of the educational process (teachers and students) and visualization aids and techniques, which is the key scientific implication of the study. As expected, “mirages” are present at all levels under consideration, but to a greater extent they are manifested at the level of visualization aids and techniques. A significant potential of visualization is predicted for the individualization of the educational process, for the development of students’ initiatives.

Keywords: visualization in education, principle of visualization in education, visual turn, “mirages” of visualization in contemporary education, advantages of visualization in contemporary educational process, disadvantages of visualization in contemporary educational process

Development of visualizations and the phenomenon-based learning method: Experience of integration in teaching physics // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2024. Issue 4 (42). P. 100-118

The article presents the results obtained at the intersection of three research tasks: the development of visualizations for teaching physics in schools; the implementation of the Phenomenon-Based Learning (PhBL) method under various educational systems; and the construction of a creative educational environment for the training of future physics teachers. The relatively coincidental convergence of the authors’ research interests ensures the originality of the results obtained. The relevance of visual semiotics for solving these tasks is defined not so much by the development of the visualizations themselves, but by one of the PhBL key principles —contextuality—and by constructivism as its conceptual foundation, which opens the way for the application of “semiotic diagnostics” to assess the limits of the PhBL method itself. The article details the circumstances and tools involved in developing three visualizations: (1) light refraction; (2) the interaction of forces; and (3) the solar system model. The effectiveness of the visualizations is assessed in correspondence with the PhBL method and the students’ understanding of physical phenomena, such as light refraction, object motion, Newton’s laws, and planetary movements. This integration has allowed for an expanded context in students’ understanding of physical phenomena by combining the idealizations inherent in physics, the abstractions of the corresponding mathematical tools, and the interpretation of everyday situations. The study was conducted in four schools, where a total of 96 tenth-grade students participated in tasks based on visual representations of physical phenomena. The effectiveness of these methods was assessed through an organized observation of the students’ learning activities. The results of the study showed that 85% of the students reported a significant improvement in their understanding of complex physical phenomena due to the developed visualizations. The study is limited by the relatively small sample size and its focus on schools within a specific region, adhering to a particular educational system. Nevertheless, the findings from this pilot study indicate the effectiveness of the integration of visualizations and the PhBL method. The significance of the results lies in demonstrating the potential of visual semiotics for integrating teaching methods.

Keywords: visual semiotics, interpretation of physical phenomena, educational activities, schooling, integration of teaching methods