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Background: Poor comprehension of pharmaceutical pictograms used on medicine labels or leaflets can compromise understanding of medicine-taking information, potentially causing negative health outcomes. Aim: The aim was to assess association of health literacy (HL) with comprehension of pictograms displaying indication and side effect information in a lower literacy, limited English proficiency (LEP) population. Setting: Community centre, Makhanda, South Africa. Methods: This was a quantitative cross-sectional study using simple random probability sampling. Ninety isiXhosa-speaking adults with a maximum of 12 years schooling, attending primary healthcare clinics were interviewed using structured interviews. Health literacy was assessed using the Health Literacy Test for Limited Literacy populations. Comprehension of 10 locally developed pictograms was evaluated. Results: The mean pictogram comprehension score was 7.9/10, with 8/10 pictograms complying with the International Organization for Standardization criterion of 66.7% correct comprehension. Only 15.6% of participants had adequate HL. A significant association of HL with pictogram comprehension was established (p = 0.002). Pictogram misinterpretation was higher in those with lower HL; adequate HL was associated with superior comprehension. Pictogram comprehension was negatively associated with age (p < 0.006), and positively associated with education (p < 0.001) and English proficiency (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Higher HL was associated with better pictogram comprehension. Low HL, LEP and low education levels are regarded as potential indicators for possible pictogram misinterpretation. Contribution: This study observed the potential for misinterpretation of medication pictograms. Health professionals should be aware that low HL, limited schooling and limited English proficiency could signal difficulty in fully comprehending pictogram content.

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Visual literacy, which is the ability to effectively identify, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media, is an important aspect of science literacy. As molecular processes are not directly observable, researchers and educators rely on visual representations (e.g., drawings) to communicate ideas in biology. How learners interpret and organize those numerous diagrams is related to their underlying knowledge about biology and their skills in visual literacy. Furthermore, it is not always obvious how and why learners interpret diagrams in the way they do (especially if their interpretations are unexpected), as it is not possible to "see" inside the minds of learners and directly observe the inner workings of their brains. Hence, tools that allow for the investigation of visual literacy are needed. Here, we present a novel card-sorting task based on visual literacy skills to investigate how learners interpret and think about DNA-based concepts. We quantified differences in performance between groups of varying expertise and in pre- and postcourse settings using percentages of expected card pairings and edit distance to a perfect sort. Overall, we found that biology experts organized the visual representations based on deep conceptual features, while biology learners (novices) more often organized based on surface features, such as color and style. We also found that students performed better on the task after a course in which molecular biology concepts were taught, suggesting the activity is a useful and valid tool for measuring knowledge. We have provided the cards to the community for use as a classroom activity, as an assessment instrument, and/or as a useful research tool to probe student ideas about molecular biology.

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Protein structure-function relationship serves as the primary learning outcome in any undergraduate biochemistry course. We expanded the protein structure-function exploration, PSFE initiative during COVID-19 to provide more effective and engaging experience to our undergraduates in biochemistry and independent research courses. Multiple alignments of protein sequences provided crucial insight into sequence conservation across many species and thus allow identification of those sections of the sequence most critical to protein function. We used Anabaena Sensory Rhodopsin, ASR its transducer, ASRT and downstream novel kinase gene products of Anabaena PCC 7120 to seek their alignment with homologs in available database. Pymol served an opportunity to achieve this goal (interactive learning during lab session and stimulation of course content discussion) in interesting ways. The PSFE initiative expansion continued during pandemic using online/hybrid modality. Initially model examples all helical ASR and beta-sheet ASRT were introduced to connect and integrate our ongoing research interest into classroom activities. Subsequently, undergraduates in biochemistry course were assigned a homolog of model proteins any particular protein of students choice to study and characterize using Pymol in semester. During first phase, each undergraduate worked independently using established guidelines. Student's exploration progress was periodically reviewed in pilot phase with majority of students who perceived it as challenging task successfully completed the assignment. Using the PyMol application to reinforce visual understanding of protein structure was highly satisfying experience that greatly enriched undergraduates understanding and appreciation. This article reports a session from the virtual international 2021 IUBMB/ASBMB workshop, "Teaching Science on BigData."

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Differences in the ability of students to judge images can be assessed by analyzing the individual preference order (ranking) of images. To gain insights into potential heterogeneity in judgement of visual abstraction among students, we combine Bradley-Terry preference modeling and model-based recursive partitioning. In an experiment a sample of 1,020 high-school students ranked five sets of images, three of which with respect to their level of visual abstraction. Additionally, 24 art experts and 25 novices were given the same task, while their eye movements were recorded. Results show that time spent on the task, the students' age, and self-reported interest in visual puzzles had significant influence on rankings. Fixation time of experts and novices revealed that both groups paid more attention to ambiguous images. The presented approach makes the underlying latent scale of visual judgments quantifiable.

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As biologists accumulate or encounter increasingly large and complex data sets, our field creates the need for students to develop skills in data exploration and visualization. Many biology courses lack the time for students to develop the skills needed to parse complex datasets and visualize them appropriately. We developed a new upper-level undergraduate biology course to focused on data exploration and communication without requiring previous coding experience. We emphasized data visualization principles and best practices and taught students how to manage and visualize data via Tableau and R. We also explored scientific ethics, how to refute misinformation, and inequities that can occur in data collection and usage.

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In this study, 44 late elementary students' visual behavior patterns when reading mind maps were investigated, more particularly, the intuitive processing nature of their visual characteristics, reading sequence and presentation mode (i.e., mind map before or after text). Eye-tracked data were investigated by means of static early attention and dynamic educational process mining (EPM) analysis and combined with learning performance and retrospective interview data. All students seem to struggle with the map's radial structure during initial reading. Also, the picture's position in the map diverts students from consecutively reading interconnected branches. EPM analyses revealed different reading patterns in proceeding reading behavior. Students receiving a text first, seem to grasp the radial structure slightly more and show higher information integration attempts. They also attained higher free recall and coherence scores. The study concludes with instructional design principles for urgently needed explicit visual literacy instruction in elementary grades.

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To grow is to teach. In that spirit this article aims to teach best practice for visualizations and at the same time to highlight some of the harvest we could reap in our lab. Following figures recently published in one of our manuscripts, we demonstrate how creativity in figure making goes hand in hand with storytelling, a deepened understanding of the scientific work and an increase in lateral thinking inside the research avenue. We hope it will help to promote scientific visualizations as a useful, even if sometimes harsh, mirror to give new angles to the laboratory work.

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Keen observational skills are essential for veterinarians; however, the development of these skills is not usually an explicit part of the veterinary curriculum. Fine arts-based (FAB) observation training has been shown to improve medical students' observational skills and might also improve veterinary students' observational skills. We compared FAB and pathology-based (PB) observation training in a veterinary cytology course. Students initially wrote a pre-test in which they described two cytology images and one art image, followed by participation in either FAB or PB observation training. Both groups completed a similar post-test immediately after training and a delayed post-test 4 weeks later following instruction in cytology. Differences between groups were noted only in the immediate post-test cytology descriptions. The PB group used significantly more specific vocabulary terms and significantly more accurate observations than the FAB group, suggesting an immediate benefit to the discipline-specific information gained in the PB observation training. In the delayed post-test, results for both groups were similar. The FAB group significantly increased their use of specific vocabulary terms and maintained but did not increase accurate observations following cytology instruction, while accurate observations decreased significantly for the PB group. The FAB group might have been able to generalize their observation skills to the discipline of cytology and to better retain these skills. Neither type of training resulted in both achievement and maintenance of the highest recorded scores for accurate observations. Both FAB and PB training led to improved observational skills, and explicit observation training may be useful for veterinary students.

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To reduce the lag between highly visual texts in elementary classrooms and a lack of emphasis on visual literacy in teacher preparation, this study explored preservice teachers' coding in the design of a visually-enhanced digital book. A qualitative case study shaped the research design and data collection, including ten digital book artifacts and reflections from preservice teachers. Content analysis identified modes of communication evident within digital books, while thematic analysis examined reflections. One book included all modes of communication. Books lacked consistency of supportive, accessible, and engaging features such as narration, captions, and scene detail. Reflections indicated possibilities and visual affordances of digital book reading in the classroom, at the cost of technological challenges and time required to use a new tool. Findings call for a shift to acknowledge and incorporate visual literacy theories and practices into teacher preparation programs to prepare preservice teachers for digitally literate classrooms.

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Proteopedia (proteopedia.org) is an open resource to explore the structure-function relationship of proteins and other biomolecules. This guide provides practical advice on how to incorporate Proteopedia into teaching the structure and function of proteins and other biomolecules. For 11 activities, we discuss desired outcomes, setting expectations, preparing students for the tasks, using resources within Proteopedia, and evaluating student work. We point out features of Proteopedia that make it especially suitable for teaching and give examples of how to avoid common pitfalls.

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Every branch of science needs visitors' attention during the poster presentation session at conferences, symposiums, seminars, etc. In particular, participants in the chemistry and biochemistry conference need more visual tools to explain their research work in detail. Presence of smartphones and the ability of 2D barcodes will allow chemical reactions or processes to be shown in the form of a movie, animation or augmented reality (AR). Therefore, the next generation of posters will be more interested in this view. Here, the ability of 2D barcodes or QR codes to help researchers to catch more attention in their research work was presented during a poster presentation session. In this way, the visitors showed positive attitudes to the applicability of such tools. Also, some information including the number of poster visitors and interesting topics in the conference can be collected easily which is useful for the scientific and organizing committee of conferences. As a result, biochemistry conference posters can be presented in new ways, based on animation images or video, to capture the attention of viewers and deepen their understanding of poster concepts.

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The results of two experiments are analyzed to find out how artistic expertise influences visual search. Experiment I comprised survey data of 1,065 students on self-reported visual memory skills and their ability to find three targets in four images of artwork. Experiment II comprised eye movement data of 50 Visual Literacy (VL) experts and non-experts whose eye movements during visual search were analyzed for nine images of artwork as an external validation of the assessment tasks performed in Sample I. No time constraint was set for completion of the visual search task. A latent profile analysis revealed four typical solution patterns for the students in Sample I, including a mainstream group, a group that completes easy images fast and difficult images slowly, a fast and erroneous group, and a slow working student group, depending on task completion time and on the probability of finding all three targets. Eidetic memory, performance in art education and visual imagination as self-reported visual skills have significant impact on latent class membership probability. We present a hidden Markov model (HMM) approach to uncover underlying regions of attraction that result from visual search eye-movement behavior in Experiment II. VL experts and non-experts did not significantly differ in task time and number of targets found but they did differ in their visual search process: compared to non-experts, experts showed greater precision in fixating specific prime and target regions, assessed through hidden state fixation overlap. Exploratory analysis of HMMs revealed differences between experts and non-experts in image locations of attraction (HMM states). Experts seem to focus their attention on smaller image parts whereas non-experts used wider parts of the image during their search. Differences between experts and non-experts depend on the relative saliency of targets embedded in images. HMMs can determine the effect of expertise on exploratory eye movements executed during visual search tasks. Further research on HMMs and art expertise is required to confirm exploratory results.

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Arts-based training has been shown to improve medical students' observational skills. Veterinarians also need keen observational skills. Student veterinarians are expected to develop their observational skills; however, this training is usually not an explicit part of the veterinary curriculum. The impact of arts-based observation training has not been investigated in veterinary students learning cytology. In this pilot study, we compared student descriptions of art and cytology images before and immediately after receiving arts-based observation training. After 10 hours of cytology instruction, we again tested students' observational skills and asked for feedback via a survey. Pre-tests and post-tests were scored following a rubric based on expert descriptions of the images. Scores for art image descriptions were higher for both the immediate and delayed post-tests compared to the pre-test (p < .05). Scores for cytology image descriptions were higher for the immediate post-test than the pre-test, but this difference was not significant. Despite 10 hours of cytology instruction between post-tests, scores for cytology image descriptions were lower for the delayed post-test than the immediate post-test, but again, this difference was not significant. Student feedback on the arts-based observation training was positive. Overall, our results suggest that arts-based training may improve student observational skills, although context could be important, as the improvement in description was only significant for art images. Further investigation with a larger cohort of students and a control group that does not receive arts-based training would be valuable.

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Introductory biochemistry courses are often challenging for students because they require the integration of chemistry, biology, physics, math, and physiology knowledge and frameworks to understand and apply a large body of knowledge. This can be complicated by students' persistent misconceptions of fundamental concepts and lack of fluency with the extensive visual and symbolic literacy used in biochemistry. Card sorting tasks and game-based activities have been used to reveal insights into how students are assimilating, organizing, and structuring disciplinary knowledge, and how they are progressing along a continuum from disciplinary novice to expert. In this study, game-based activities and card sorting tasks were used to promote and evaluate students' understanding of fundamental structure-function relationships in biochemistry. Our results suggest that while many markers of expertise increased for both the control and intervention groups over the course of the semester, students involved in the intervention activities tended to move further towards expert-like sorting. This indicates that intentional visual literacy game-based activities have the ability to build underdeveloped skills in undergraduate students.

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While molecular visualization has been recognized as a threshold concept in biology education, the explicit assessment of students' visual literacy skills is rare. To facilitate the evaluation of this fundamental ability, a series of NSF-IUSE-sponsored workshops brought together a community of faculty engaged in creating instruments to assess students' biomolecular visualization skills. These efforts expanded our earlier work in which we created a rubric describing overarching themes, learning goals, and learning objectives that address student progress toward biomolecular visual literacy. Here, the BioMolViz Steering Committee (BioMolViz.org) documents the results of those workshops and uses social network analysis to examine the growth of a community of practice. We also share many of the lessons we learned as our workshops evolved, as they may be instructive to other members of the scientific community as they organize workshops of their own.

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BACKGROUND: Skin diseases are among the most common diseases encountered by healthcare professionals. Despite this, dedicated dermatology teaching is limited in most Canadian medical school training programs. This is especially true of clinical skills training. OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of early introduction of dermatology clinical skills in Canadian undergraduate medical training. Secondary objectives included examining the impact of having sessions co-led by a clinician with expertise in the field of dermatology. METHODS: A half-day dermatology clinical skills session was introduced in the University of Toronto preclerkship medical school during the dermatology week. Sessions were co-led by staff or resident dermatologists. Sessions were evaluated using student pre- and postclinical skills test scores, as well as experience questionnaires completed by both tutors and students. RESULTS: The clinical skills session was well received by both students and tutors, with no cumulative score less than 4.34 on a 5-point Likert scale. The majority of students agreed or strongly agreed that the introduction of clinical skills in the early years of the curriculum facilitated learning consolidation (99.5%). Comparison of pre- and post-test scores showed that students' dermatology comprehension improved by an average of 12.1% following completion of the session. In questionnaire responses, students and nondermatology co-tutors emphasized the impact of having an expert in the field of dermatology co-lead the session. CONCLUSIONS: Students valued early clinical skills exposure to dermatology and felt it enhanced their knowledge and abilities. This study demonstrates learning consolidation when dermatologic didactic teachings are paired with practical clinical skills sessions.

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Histology is a visually oriented, foundational anatomical sciences subject in professional health curricula that has seen a dramatic reduction in educational contact hours and an increase in content migration to a digital platform. While the digital migration of histology laboratories has transformed histology education, few studies have shown the impact of this change on visual literacy development, a critical competency in histology. The objective of this study was to assess whether providing a video clip of an expert's gaze while completing leukocyte identification tasks would increase the efficiency and performance of novices completing similar identification tasks. In a randomized study, one group of novices (n = 9) was provided with training materials that included expert eye gaze, while the other group (n = 12) was provided training materials with identical content, but without the expert eye gaze. Eye movement parameters including fixation rate and total scan path distance, and performance measures including time-to-task-completion and accuracy, were collected during an identification task assessment. Compared to the control group, the average fixation duration was 13.2% higher (P < 0.02) and scan path distance was 35.0% shorter in the experimental group (P = 0.14). Analysis of task performance measures revealed no significant difference between the groups. These preliminary results suggest a more efficient search performed by the experimental group, indicating the potential efficacy of training using an expert's gaze to enhance visual literacy development. With further investigation, such feedforward enhanced training methods could be utilized for histology and other visually oriented subjects.

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More than 20 years ago an article about the use of drawings in higher education appeared in a medical journal. After that, other papers explored the possible contribution of drawings in adult education, while only very few in the field of health promotion and education. This article aims to introduce the use of drawing in this field using the salutogenic lens to think, plan and reflect on academic learning. Reflections on what salutogenesis is and what we can consider a clear application of salutogenic principles to the learning process answer a hypothetical question for the reader concerning the relationship between drawings and health promotion theories. They appear as communication tools capable of exploring meaning-making processes, capturing data that is flexible to dynamic systems, power relations, as well as emotional and latent aspects of human experience. This article proposes a connection between salutogenesis and drawings through: a theoretical framework on salutogenic learning and drawings; a teacher practice and its tools focusing the critical point on visual data analysis in a learning environment; a learner case example for knowledge and capacity building through the drawing process; and a health promotion competency-based analysis. Our case example illustrates how drawings were introduced in a post-graduate course in Health Promotion and Education and argues their strengths and weaknesses.

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Objective @#To construct a visual literacy evaluation system for pupils by Delphi expert consultation method（Delphi method）. @*Methods @#The visual literacy evaluation indices for pupils were preliminarily constructed through literature review. Twenty experts in relevant fields were invited and the visual literacy evaluation system for pupils was established by two rounds of expert consultation based on Delphi method. @*Results @# The average age of 20 experts was（48.35±5.79）years old,of which 19 experts had senior titles,and 17 experts had master's degree or above. The enthusiasm of the experts in two rounds of consulting was both 100.00%. The average authoritative coefficient（W）of the experts was 0.88. For the first consulting round,the W of importance scores from experts was 0.91（P<0.01）;the W of operability scores from experts was 0.89（P<0.01）,which indicated satisfactory consistency. For the second consulting round,the W of importance scores from experts was 0.79（P<0.01）;the W of operability scores from experts was 0.77（P<0.01）,which also indicated satisfactory consistency. The finalized visual literacy evaluation system for pupils after two rounds of expert consultation included three primary indices（eye care knowledge literacy,eye care attitude literacy and eye care behavior literacy）,six secondary indices（basic knowledge,eye care behavior,eye care attitude,eye care willingness,bad eye care behavior and eye protection）and 40 tertiary indices（≥5.0 of eyesight among normal people,always wearing glasses due to poor eyesight and so on）. @*Conclusion @#The experts who participated in the construction of visual literacy evaluation system for pupils had strong professional representativeness,high enthusiasm,high authority and good coordination,and the evaluation system can be used for evaluating pupils visual literacy.

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An assessment was developed using entries from the macromolecular Crystallographic Information File that was given to students in an upper level bioinformatics class at the end of the semester during a 2½ hour time period. Although all students completed the same questions, they were assessed on an individual protein they had worked on during the semester in the situated learning of the classroom as they completed computer-based tutorials and exercises using internet sources. The students' difficulties with the external representation of their protein were: not following directions, not understanding how to use the computational software, or a lack of knowledge about their protein. The students also were required to answer questions that required biochemical knowledge. The difficulties they experienced during the assessment can be attributed to factors, such as, their reasoning ability, understanding of the concepts, and the external representations of their protein. © 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 46(6):634-643, 2018.

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