Collaborative Infographics for Developing Young Adults’ Metarepresentational Competence

• In Event: Learning Environments Inside and Outside the Science Classroom

Abstract

This study examined activity structures designed to develop young adults' meta-representational competence (MRC) in the context of authoring collaborative science news infographics. Seventy-one high school seniors participated in authentic activities of researching science topics and producing science infographics for publication. An external editor reviewed their draft infographics and provided comments for subsequent revision. We analyzed both the quality of infographics and the nature of comments provided. We also obtained survey data to determine students' perception of their experience in the process and analyzed it using principal component analysis. Preliminary results show that young adults can develop their MRC with appropriate feedback, contextualized and iterative activity structures, and use of technological resources. The study has implication for MRC-related instructional support.

Authors

• Engida Hailye Gebre, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Joseph L. Polman, University of Colorado - Boulder