Teaching with Visual Symbols

Visual Symbols - representations of direct reality, which comes in the form of signs and symbols.

Rules of Thumbs in Using Visual Symbols
1. Visuals must be directly relevant to the audio content.
2. Redundancy between visuals and audio must be avoided. If words are displayed, viewers must be given time to read it.
3. Visual displays should be big enough to be seen by the farthest pupil.
4. Visual displays must be attractive.
5. Visual displays must be aesthetically presented to maintain good taste.

Kinds of Visual Symbols

A. Drawings

The art or act of making figure, plan, or sketch by means of lines. (Webster,1976).

  One essential skill that the teacher should posses is drawing.

B. Cartoons

                It is a pictorial representation or caricature of a person, idea, situation or issue that is designed to influence public opinion.

Suggestion for the use of cartoons

a. Appropriateness to experience level

b. Simplicity

c. Brevity of captions

d. Use of clear symbols

e. Adequateness of size

C. STRIP DRAWINGS

These are commonly called comics or comic strip. Dale(1969) asserts that a  more accurate term is strip drawings. Make use of strips that are educational and entertaining at the same time.

Values derived from the strip drawings

1.    1. Increases interest in the subject
2. Individualizes and personalizes instruction for certain types of pupils
3. Serves as a valuable practice in reading
4. Widens reading interest

D. DIAGRAMS

It is “any line drawing that shows arrangement and relations as a part to the whole, relative values, origins and developments, chronological fluctuations, distribution, etc”.(Dale, 1969)

Types of Diagram

• Ø  Affinity Diagram- used to cluster complex apparently unrelated data into natural and meaningful groups.
• Ø  Tree Diagram- used to chart out, in increasing details, the various tasks that must be accomplished to complete a project or achieve a specific objective.
• Ø  Fishbone diagram- it is also called the cause-and-effect diagram. It is most commonly used to analyze work-related problems.

E. CHARTS

  It is diagrammatic representation of relationships among individuals within an organization.

Kinds of Chart

• Ø  Time Chart- Is a tabular time chart that presents data in ordinal sequence.
• Ø  Tree or stream Chart- depicts development, growth and change by beginning with a single course (the trunk) which spread out into many branches; or by beginning with the many tributaries which then converge into a single channel.
• Ø  Flow chart - is a visual way of charting or showing a process from beginning to end. It is a means of analyzing a process.
• Ø  Organizational chart - shows how one part of the organization relates to other parts of the organization.
• Ø  Comparison and contrast chart
• Ø  Pareto chart -  is a type of bar chart, prioritized in descending order of magnitude or importance from left to right. It shows at a glance which factors are occurring most.
• Ø  Gannt Chart – it is an activity time chart.

F. GRAPHS

        It shows comparative relationship of data involved in size, trends and growth.

KINDS OF GRAPHS

• Ø Circle or Pie Graph - recommended for showing parts of the whole.
• Ø  Bar Graph - use in comparing the magnitude of similar items at different ties or seeing relative sizes of the parts of a whole.
• Ø Pictorial Graph- makes use of pictorial symbol.
• Ø  Graphic Organizers - Visual representations of knowledge, concepts, thoughts, or ideas. Graphic Organizers historically have been organized bits of data in easy-to-understand formats, such as charts, tables, and graphs.

G. MAPS

A map is a “representation of the surface of the earth or some part of it…”(Dale,1969)

Kinds of Map

• Ø  Physical Map- combines in a single projection data like altitude, temperature, rainfall, precipitation, vegetation, and soil.
• Ø  Relief Map - has three dimensional representations and show contours the physical data of the earth or part of the earth.
• Ø  Commercial or economic map - also called product or industrial map since they show land areas in relation to the economy.
• Ø  Political map - gives detailed information about country, provinces, cities and towns, roads and highways. Oceans, rivers and lakes are the main features of most political maps.

“Visual Symbols will be made meaningful if we can use them as summaries of our direct experiences or our rich indirect experiences… A little can stand for a lot!”