Adaptations and Continuities in the Use and Design of Visual Representations in US Middle School Science Textbooks

Abstract

Visual representations are ubiquitous in modern‐day science textbooks and have in recent years become an object of criticism and scrutiny. This article examines the extent to which changes in representations in textbooks published in the USA over the past six decades have invited those critiques. Drawing from a correlational analysis of a corpus of 34 US middle school physical science textbooks, continuities are established with respect to the purposes that most textbook images serve and the numbers of schematic representations that are used. Changes are observed in the overall total number of representations in textbooks and in the proportion of representations that are photographic. Interpretive cases of individual representations over time are presented to further illustrate the continuities and changes that have taken place. Specifically, high‐fidelity images, such as photographs, are shown permeating or replacing schematic and explanatory images in the interest of promoting familiarization to students. This shifting emphasis toward familiarization is discussed as a specific cause for concern about quality and utility of representations in modern‐day US science textbooks.

Keywords:

• Curriculum
• History of science
• K‐12
• Middle school
• USA
• Visualization

Acknowledgments

Patricia Finney and the Center for Research Libraries very generously provided access to their extensive collection of textbooks. Bruce Sherin, Brian Reiser, and David Uttal contributed useful suggestions to the study on which this article is based. Thanks to Leema Berland and two anonymous reviewers who provided thoughtful and constructive feedback. Erica Esser provided valuable artistic assistance. This research was funded by a doctoral fellowship from the Center for Curriculum Materials in Science, funded by the US National Science Foundation under Grant ESI‐0227557 to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of the National Science Foundation.

Notes

1. A number of these are owned by the same media company, though had in the past been independent publishing groups that had been acquired or merged over time.

2. in the style of.