In this blog post, I explore the value of infographics beyond their visual aspect for widening participation students. The post draws on my PhD research, which focuses on the value of infographics for sports coaching students from a relational perspective. The drive to improve inclusivity in higher education has resulted in the admission of more non-traditional students. However, there are concerns regarding their lower retention and completion rates (Bright, 2022). Among other characteristics, these students are often described as having an applied and disadvantaged background and may struggle to cope with extended reading (Kelly, 2017). The data from my PhD study identified similar characteristics among sports coaching students, along with some additional ones. These trends prompted me to rethink our pedagogical practices to meet the needs of non-traditional students.
To explore this topic, I adopt the methodology of a/r/tography, in which a/r/t stands for artist, researcher and teacher. I employ embodied methods of data collection involving three art-informed focus groups (n=19) and network maps followed by unstructured interviews with sports coaching students (n=19), walking interviews with sports coaching lecturers (n=4) and a visual reflective journal for myself (n=1). My findings suggest that students not only use infographics as a visual tool (although this is very important for these students), but also rely on their bodies to make sense of the information presented. As such, I view infographics as embodied tools, creating opportunities for pedagogical approaches to draw on the body as a whole. Embodied learning relies on body-based processes for thinking and instruction to be meaningful (Nathan, 2022).
In this blog post, I focus on the hand (movement). For example, students use hand gestures to make sense of the information and convey knowledge they cannot express in words to others. Additionally, students have a tactile relationship with infographics, physically manipulating them in their hands and tracing or highlighting points of interest and importance. Research indicates that physical movements, such as gestures and tracing, impact memory and cognitive demand (Sweller et al., 2019). Body movement enhances the encoding process and may serve as an additional modality for working memory (Sweller et al., 2019).
