This post summarises the findings of a paper by Barbara Tversky: Gestures for Thinking and Explaining (2005). The author demonstrates…
Cartoons and Abstract Visuals
Barbara Tversky (Minds in Motion) discusses the cognitive power of cartoons to explain abstract concepts. In these three images, I…
Using Visual Explanations Leads to Better Performance
I have been listening to Barbara Tversky’s wonderful new book: Mind in Motion, about the roots of thinking in the…
Up and Down the Ladder of Abstraction
Yesterday I wrote about the importance of physical, experiential knowlegde of physics: a sense of forces and flow; of motion…
A Visceral Hinterland in Physics
Underneath it all, physicists think with their bodies. They know what it feels like. Einstein described his approach to problem-solving…
A Short Booklet on What Research Says About Using Visuals in Teaching
Dear all, I have been thinking hard (and reading a lot) about using visualisations in class. Here is a booklet…
Communicating Physics in the Grid
Last weekend, my friend, a graphic designer, recommended this book by Joseph Muller-Brockman. It’s central message is that text and…
How To Draw Like a Physicist
Physicists are often mocked for their drawing skills – they are misunderstood. You too can draw like a physicist using…
Solving Problems with Diagrams
When physicists are presented with a problem, they reach for a pen and scrap of paper. Sometimes we go straight…
How Seductive Details Do Their Damage
I have been doing my homework on using images for learning and found this great 1997 paper by Harp and…
Reading for Learning 