Effective communication of information in a visual form is around us in our daily life. However, infographics (information graphics) as assessment still seems to be an emerging application in our teaching and learning strategies. Infographics are one-page documents that present a concise overview of a complex topic in visually rich form using icons, images, graphics and data (Darcy, 2019). As one of the few media forms that transfer complex information easily in an eye-catching way, the infographic is used widely in our society, including the commercial sector. It supports cognitive processing, learning, and future recognition and recollection (Dunlap and Lowenthal, 2016), and can reduce understanding barriers due to the human brain's rapid visual processing (Otten et al., 2015).
Accordingly, scholars suggest that graduates need to be able to interpret as well as create infographics in work environments (Toth, 2013). A well-designed infographic learning activity and assessment can encourage critical thinking and teach students to apply knowledge in an innovative and communicable form while also demonstrating digital literacy (Darcy, 2019; Dunlap and Lowenthal, 2016). But there are risks as well if the data or information is used inappropriately. Being a visually appealing medium, an infographic can influence its viewers more powerfully and induce greater trust in its information (Toth, 2013). As such, it is vital for teachers to guide students in creating infographics ethically. One suggestion is to use it in a group activity so that multiple members' input could reduce the possibility of inaccurately presented data (Otten et al., 2015).
Educators in the Monash Business School have also started to apply infographics as new assessment forms. They have noticed that such assessments not only assess subject-related learning outcomes but also develop students' employability by imparting transferable skills. Associate Professor Srinivas Sridharan has designed and implemented a collaborative infographic assessment in his unit MKC3140 - Marketing strategy implementation since 2020. In the latest semester, students worked in teams for three weeks to research a real-world case and create an infographic to visually present their work. This authentic assessment simulated a scenario of students working in a marketing consultancy team with an Australian grocery retailer client. The student team would read supplied materials, discuss, research, compile their ideas, write, and create the infographic. Such innovative assessment design does not only assess the marketing-related higher-order learning outcomes, but it also provides a unique opportunity for students to practise their digital literacy and Monash Graduate Attributes in terms of critical thinking, creativity and communication.
Considering that students might not be familiar with this type of assessment, Srinivas has prepared a detailed assignment instruction with visually presented information and a marking rubric for the students. The assessment was also introduced and discussed in the tutorials. He provided students with quite some flexibility in terms of the infographic format and that is a great practice to design assessments for academic integrity. The rubric assesses both content and visual storytelling. With such preparations, students were able to produce some really interesting infographics.
The students' feedback is very positive. They considered the assessment effective and help them to apply the knowledge. More importantly, the innovative assessment provides them with a unique opportunity to challenge their way of thinking that is built by the traditional marketing assignment. By engaging students in such innovative assessments, we hope that the students learn to critically engage with information, develop essential lifelong learning skills, and get ready for the evolving future.
And in future teaching, we can also look at how the business industry creates and uses infographics. A lot of those infographics (e.g. Infographic - Bringing the farm to school) are very visual and contain less text compared to the student assignments. Education design work can improve the assessment activity and make it more authentic.
Words from the CE: Associate Professor Srinivas Sridharan
In today’s fast-paced workplaces, managers want their teams to produce short and sharp documents that convey the essence of a complex issue and yet look comprehensive in their coverage. In particular, the infographic has emerged as a powerful presentation tool. It is also a powerful marketing tool for firms. Marketing emails and blogs whose content contains infographics are shown to generate more links back to a firm’s website than content without infographics (sometimes 90-100% more). Thus, for business students, building infographics can confer hands-on experience in developing a critical digital design type of skill while simultaneously assessing for the core subject matter. And they are more engaged too!
What is your experience?
What have you experienced in trying new ideas of assessments such as infographics? What worked and what did not? Please leave a reply or share your story with us.
References:
Dunlap, J.C., & Lowenthal P.R.(2016).Getting graphic about infographics: design lessons learned from popular infographics, Journal of Visual Literacy, 35(1), 42-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051144X.2016.1205832
Otten, J., Cheng, K., & Drewnowski, A. (2015). Infographics and Public Policy: Using Data Visualization To Convey Complex Information. Health Affairs, 34(11), 1901-1907.
Darcy, R. (2019). Infographics, assessment and digital literacy: Innovating learning and teaching through developing ethically responsible digital competencies in public health. Paper presented at the ASCILITE 2019 - Conference Proceedings - 36th International Conference of Innovation, Practice and Research in the use of Educational Technologies in Tertiary Education: Personalised Learning. Diverse Goals. One Heart. 112-120.
Toth, C. (2013). Revisiting a Genre: Teaching Infographics in Business and Professional Communication Courses. Business Communication Quarterly, 76(4), 446-457.
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