Kozhevnikov, Hegarty, and Mayer (2002) found that low spatial ability participants interpreted graphs as pictures, whereas high spatial ability participants were able to construct more schematic images and manipulate them spatially.
All students had completed the prerequisite course, BIO 111 (Molecules, Genes, and Cells), in which they discussed neuron structure and function, examined microscopic images, and interpreted graphs.
In Instructor 2-AL's class, students also interpreted graphs showing the change in weight of fruit, mold, and fruit plus mold, and developed explanations for the different results.
By now, students have played with a physical game, modified parameters in a computer model, and interpreted graphs showing the progress of specific diseases that differ in mode and ease of transmission, incubation period, and susceptibility to treatment.
Although several investigators have disseminated structured criteria and visual inspection aids or strategies, inconsistencies in interpreting graphed data continue to exist even for individuals considered to be experts at interpreting SCED graphs.
We must therefore additionally show that people naturally interpret graphs in a sentence-like way even when there is no verbal statement to compare the graph to, and when they are free to attend to the graphed values in any temporal order they choose.
Second, as a general strategy for interpreting graphs in an open-ended way (i.e., they are not being asked about a specific directional relationship), students should choose one task-relevant anchor point to attend to first (e.g., the larger data point when comparing sizes) rather than attending to data points in an arbitrary order.
The principal at a large Head Start center in Midland, Texas, conducted the first tests with her 4-year-olds and told me that, among other things, the children were expected to interpret graphs (a task requiring highly developed logical/mathematical and visual/spatial skills) and that they were supposed to be able to describe a swamp.
Nevertheless, we can interpret graphs like Figures 2 and 4 in the following manner.
Our final question, number 5, asked students to correctly interpret graphed data.
