Graphics for cognitive load reduction

1. Graphics for cognitive load reduction Lawrie Hunter Kochi University of Technology http://www.core.kochi-tech.ac.jp/hunter/

2. Dimensions of Media Object Compehensibility Island of Shikoku Lawrie Hunter Kochi University of Technology http://www.core.kochi-tech.ac.jp/hunter/ KUT

3. Tokyo Kochi

4. OUTLINE for today 1. Do humans have a graphic thought facility? 2. Are engineers wired differently? 3. What is readability? 4. Anchoring for cognitive load reduction 5. Literacy and technology 6. SEARCH for useful parameters of anchor types

6. < $$$ ! Do humans have a GRAPHIC THOUGHT FACILITY? Hunter: The knowledge structure map is a matrix (confluence) for the situated learner* and the situated mentor to confirm context and the nature of "stolen property."** *Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1990). Situated Learning: Legitimate Periperal Participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. **Brown, J.S. & Duguid, P. (2000)The social life of information. Harvard Business School Press.

7. Arguably important direction "Tomorrow's literacies... need to be process and systems literacies.” -John Thackara, In the Bubble: Designing in a complex world. MIT Press 2005.

8. OUTLINE for today 1. Do humans have a graphic thought facility? 2. Are engineers wired differently? 3. What is readability? 4. Anchoring for cognitive load reduction 5. Literacy and technology 6. SEARCH for useful parameters of anchor types

9. Constraint: L2 technical English The Japanese undergraduate engineering student -emerging non-native writer* of technical English -attempting a multi-level orchestration of -rhetorical moves -information elements -cohesion/readability devices. *(NNW)

10. Cognitive load Non-native writing carries a considerable cognitive load. It requires the writer to hold in conscious mind several types of linguistic representation: -rhetorical structure -information structure -information -grammar/lexical unit knowledge

11. Cognitive load reduction Non-native writing carries a considerable cognitive load. It requires the writer to hold in conscious mind several types of linguistic representation: -rhetorical structure -information structure -information -grammar/lexical unit knowledge If* some of these representation types can be encoded graphically, cognitive load** will be reduced. *observation suggests **or the load placed on Baddeley's working memory, Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. New York: Oxford University Press. Baddeley, A. D. & Hitch, G. (2001). Working memory in perspective: Foreword. In J. Andrade (Ed.), Working memory in perspective (pp. xv-xix). Hove: Psychology Press.

12. OUTLINE for today 1. Do humans have a graphic thought facility? 2. Are engineers wired differently? 3. What is readability? 4. Anchoring for cognitive load reduction 5. Literacy and technology 6. SEARCH for useful parameters of anchor types

13. Readability In the design of traditional high-text language learning materials, readability is a prominent concern. Reading difficulty has for some time been seen as depending on -word length -sentence length -text length -number of sentences per paragraph -vocabulary ‘difficulty’ More recent work has extended this list to include -subject-verb distance -adherence to old/new position conventions -topic position/stress position conventions Treated extensively in Hunter L. (1998) Text Nouveau: Visible Structure in Text Presentation. Computer Assisted Language Learning 11(4) pp. 363-379.

14. Readability: phrase boundary marking http://www.core.kochi-tech.ac.jp/hunter/WordByWord/

15. Readability: Tofu http://amarsagoo.info/tofu/

16. READABILITY The missing link in technical academic writing: Gopen’s readability -subject-verb distance -topic position / stress position -old/new information placement Gopen, G.D. and Swan, J.A. (1990) The Science of Scientific Writing. American Scientist (Nov-Dec 1990), Volume 78, 550-558. Downloadable as a pdf from http://www.amstat.org/publications/jcgs/sci.pdf

17. 2006~ new layer: READABILITY

18. OUTLINE for today 1. Do humans have a graphic thought facility? 2. Are engineers wired differently? 3. What is readability? 4. Anchoring for cognitive load reduction 5. Literacy and technology 6. SEARCH for useful parameters of anchor types

19. Survey: graphical anchors • Today: several load-reducing graphical representations • currently in use in the curriculum and materials designed by the author. • These representations provide writing task 'anchors' for • information structures* • prescribed sentence patterns • rhetorical structures** • cohesion devices***

20. Survey: graphical anchors • Today: several load-reducing graphical representations • currently in use in the curriculum and materials designed by the author. • These representations provide writing task 'anchors' for • information structures* • prescribed sentence patterns • rhetorical structures** • cohesion devices*** • Even if the learner's main writing strategy • is the lexical and structural mimicry of model texts, • the above forms of graphical scaffolding can provide • an external 'hands on the controls' work space. • *a variation on Mohan's (1986) knowledge structures • **as seen in Mann's rhetorical structure theory (http://www.sfu.ca/rst/) • ***(Gopen and Swan, 1990).

21. Systems view of writing Train of argument Diversions Rhetorical structures This is the domain of structures up here. Extension Functional structures Background Knowledge structures Evocative rhetoric Cohesion devices This is the domain of texture down here. Word order rules Grammar (sentence surface structure)

22. Systems view of writing Train of argument Diversions Rhetorical structures This is the domain of structures up here. Extension Functional structures Background Knowledge structures False hierarchy: the train stops here. Cohesion devices Rhetorical structure theory, systemic functional linguistics and knowledge structure mapping form a hierarchy of structures, whereas grammar and sentence diagrams reflect rules for texture management. This is the domain of texture down here. Grammar (sentence surface structure)

23. Systems view of writing

24. Anchor: Sentence diagramming Moutoux, E.R. Sentence Diagrams:One Way of Learning English Grammar. http://www.german-latin-english.com/diagrams.htm

25. Anchor: Sentence diagramming Every year on the afternoon of December 24, you, a Christmas procrastinator, loaded down with sacks and boxes, walk from store to store, but you concentrate on Mom. Moutoux, E.R. Sentence Diagrams:One Way of Learning English Grammar. http://www.geocities.com/gene_moutoux/diagrams.htm

26. Mohan's (1986) knowledge structures

27. hunter’s tools GENRES REGISTERS MOVES Hunter’s ‘knowledge structures’ Description Classification Comparison Sequence Cause-effect + inference Pro-con ... reflect information types (Mohan's (1986) knowledge structures) rather than speech act types such as SFL's text types.

28. Hunter’s ‘knowledge structures’ • At KUT, we have built our curriculum • around these genres: • Description • Classification • Comparison • Sequence • Cause-effect • + inference • Pro-con • -a composite genre

29. Hunter’s ‘knowledge structures’ • At KUT, we have built our curriculum • around these genres: • Description • Classification • Comparison • Sequence • Cause-effect • + inference • Pro-con • -a composite genre Critical Thinking Asahi Press 2001 2nd year textbook 6 units (6 genres) in 2 quarters

30. hunter’s tools GENRES REGISTERS MOVES Hunter’s ‘knowledge structures’ The learning process used in this book Each of the 6 units in this book follows the same teaching/learning pattern: Critical Thinking Asahi Press 2001 2nd year textbook 6 units (6 genres) in 2 quarters INPUT USAGE PRACTICE AUTHENTIC TASK EXPRESSION

31. Hunter’s ‘knowledge structures’ • The learning process used in this book • Each of the 6 units in this book follows the same teaching/learning pattern: • INPUT: the learners are exposed to the target vocabulary and phrases required for expression of the ideas which are basic to the genre in the unit. For input, the learners listen to explanations of the genre by the teacher, practice speaking and listening to sentences from the genre, and read various explanations of the genres language and language structure • USAGE PRACTICE: in each unit there are a succession of activities and tasks which allow the learner to practice using the language required for the genre. It is important to emphasize to the learners that the activities and exercises are necessary to prepare the students for the final large task at the end of each unit. The activities and tasks may be performed in several different modes: for example, as in-class activities (individual or group) or as written homework. This flexibility is important for the teacher, allowing for a variety of timings and paces. • AUTHENTIC TASK: the tasks at the end of the units are designed to be non-linguistic tasks, based in the real world. In some chapters the learners are asked to arrange information in certain structures; in other chapters the learners are asked to solve real-world type problems. These tasks may be done individually or in groups of 2, 3 or 4 learners. • EXPRESSION: the language aspect of the authentic tasks lies in the expression of the product of the task. In this book the tasks are written tasks, but they may also be done as pair or group presentations. The presentation approach is explained in detail in the teacher's guide. Read this on Hunter's website. Critical Thinking Asahi Press 2001 2nd year textbook 6 units (6 genres) in 2 quarters

32. Hunter’s ‘knowledge structures’ Critical Thinking Asahi Press 2001 2nd year textbook 6 units (6 genres) in 2 quarters Thinking in English KUT Press 2004 A mapping workbook, companion to CT 6 units (6 genres) Extends CT to 4 quarters

33. Hunter’s infomaps stem from Mohan's (1986) knowledge structures Hunter’s infomaps < good

34. Hunter’s infomaps HunterGraphical Anchoring of Second Language Writing Task Classification Description Degree comparison Attribute comparison < big Contrast ! Sequence hunter systems

35. Hunter’s infomap links DESCRIPTION My friend Canadian 57 English teacher

36. Hunter’s infomap links CLASSIFICATION Cars station wagons sedans coupes

37. Hunter’s infomap links COMPARISON (relative) < Calcutta Tokyo big old

38. Hunter’s infomap links COMPARISON (by attribute) new 3 years old M’s car K’s car white red

39. Hunter’s infomap links SEQUENCE insert bank card follow directions find ATM

40. Hunter’s infomap links SEQUENCE structure signals First Then and insert bank card follow directions find ATM

41. Hunter’s infomap links SEQUENCE First Then and toast two slices of bread tear some lettuce slice a tomato

42. Hunter’s infomap links CAUSE-EFFECT be late for school bus cancelled rain

43. Hunter’s infomaps HunterThinking in English:task support with graphics and varied processing Learner tasks with info mapping writing from maps summarizing mapping text controlling navigation hunter systems

44. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Infomaps for content control Writing from Hunter's information maps

45. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Infomaps for content control Writing from Hunter's information maps

46. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Infomaps for content control Writing from Hunter's information maps

47. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Infomaps for content control Writing from Hunter's information maps

48. Glitch: infomaps and perception Massive diversity in learner perception of knowledge structures.Below: maps of the same content:

49. Glitch: infomaps and perception Massive diversity in learner perception of knowledge structures.

50. Example: sequence • Hunter's knowledge structures curriculum: • Description • Classification • Comparison • Sequence • Cause-effect • Inference • Pro-con INPUT USAGE PRACTICE AUTHENTIC TASK EXPRESSION