Teaching Students to Focus on the Data in Data Visualization

Joanna Wolfe Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract

Although most technical communication pedagogy provides students with solid advice on how to visualize particular numerical representations, it underproblematizes the rhetorical decisions we make in choosing which numbers to display in the first place. This pedagogical reflection uses Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca’s concept of interpretative level to foreground the rhetorical choices that underlie our decisions on how to summarize, aggregate, and synthesize the data we visualize. It then describes two informal classroom activities that emphasize the importance of interpretative level and help students see the recursive nature of data visualization and invention.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2015-07-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651915573944
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Cited by in this index (29)

  1. Written Communication
  2. Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Communication Design Quarterly
  4. Communication Design Quarterly
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly
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  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  6. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  7. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  8. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  9. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  10. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  11. College Composition and Communication
  12. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  13. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  14. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  15. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  16. Technical Communication Quarterly
  17. Technical Communication Quarterly
  18. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  19. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  20. Technical Communication Quarterly
  21. Technical Communication Quarterly
  22. Technical Communication Quarterly
  23. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  24. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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