The Complementary Roles of Visual and Written Representations Within Figures in Science Textbooks.
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| Title: | The Complementary Roles of Visual and Written Representations Within Figures in Science Textbooks. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Park, Joonhyeong1 (AUTHOR) joonhyeong.park@nie.edu.sg, Lee, Yew Jin1 (AUTHOR), Koh, Ada2 (AUTHOR), Tan, Grace1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Research in Science Education. Dec2025, Vol. 55 Issue 6, p1707-1727. 21p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Visual aids, *Textbooks, *Teaching aids, *Comparative studies, Social semiotics, Annotations |
| Geographic Terms: | South Korea, Singapore |
| Abstract: | Figures play a common, but highly crucial role in providing explanatory or contextual images of objects, phenomena, and processes for learning science. Although many studies have investigated the types and distribution of these visual representations in science textbooks, there has been a lack of understanding of how one mode of representation complements the meanings of other modes within figures from the perspective of social semiotics. To address this gap particularly in different instructional contexts, we thus adopted a comparative design to examine the roles of visual and written representations (i.e., captions and labels) within figures from current lower secondary (Grades 7 and 8) science textbooks from Singapore and South Korea. Using an analytic framework that we developed, we analysed 335 figures from science textbooks in these two regions with a focus on physics topics. We found that the primary role of visual components in figures from Singapore was to show realistic phenomena or examples whereas among Korean science textbooks visuals of figures were used to juxtapose phenomena and their visualised scientific models together. In both regions, the most dominant role of written components within figures was to connect scientific phenomena with their relevant terms and concepts. Another important role was to label scientific phenomena using everyday language, but not with targeted terms. Extending from these results, we discuss the complementary roles of visual and written representations within figures in science textbooks in terms of providing additional vital resources for the learning of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Research in Science Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 189802902 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The Complementary Roles of Visual and Written Representations Within Figures in Science Textbooks. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Park%2C+Joonhyeong%22">Park, Joonhyeong</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> joonhyeong.park@nie.edu.sg</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lee%2C+Yew+Jin%22">Lee, Yew Jin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Koh%2C+Ada%22">Koh, Ada</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tan%2C+Grace%22">Tan, Grace</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Research+in+Science+Education%22">Research in Science Education</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 55 Issue 6, p1707-1727. 21p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Visual+aids%22">Visual aids</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Textbooks%22">Textbooks</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+aids%22">Teaching aids</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Comparative+studies%22">Comparative studies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+semiotics%22">Social semiotics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Annotations%22">Annotations</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Korea%22">South Korea</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Singapore%22">Singapore</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Figures play a common, but highly crucial role in providing explanatory or contextual images of objects, phenomena, and processes for learning science. Although many studies have investigated the types and distribution of these visual representations in science textbooks, there has been a lack of understanding of how one mode of representation complements the meanings of other modes within figures from the perspective of social semiotics. To address this gap particularly in different instructional contexts, we thus adopted a comparative design to examine the roles of visual and written representations (i.e., captions and labels) within figures from current lower secondary (Grades 7 and 8) science textbooks from Singapore and South Korea. Using an analytic framework that we developed, we analysed 335 figures from science textbooks in these two regions with a focus on physics topics. We found that the primary role of visual components in figures from Singapore was to show realistic phenomena or examples whereas among Korean science textbooks visuals of figures were used to juxtapose phenomena and their visualised scientific models together. In both regions, the most dominant role of written components within figures was to connect scientific phenomena with their relevant terms and concepts. Another important role was to label scientific phenomena using everyday language, but not with targeted terms. Extending from these results, we discuss the complementary roles of visual and written representations within figures in science textbooks in terms of providing additional vital resources for the learning of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Research in Science Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11165-025-10246-0 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 21 StartPage: 1707 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Visual aids Type: general – SubjectFull: Textbooks Type: general – SubjectFull: Teaching aids Type: general – SubjectFull: Comparative studies Type: general – SubjectFull: Social semiotics Type: general – SubjectFull: Annotations Type: general – SubjectFull: South Korea Type: general – SubjectFull: Singapore Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The Complementary Roles of Visual and Written Representations Within Figures in Science Textbooks. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Park, Joonhyeong – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Lee, Yew Jin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Koh, Ada – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Tan, Grace IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 12 Text: Dec2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0157244X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 55 – Type: issue Value: 6 Titles: – TitleFull: Research in Science Education Type: main |
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