background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(55, 65, 81);">In the curriculum area of biology, literacies extend far beyond reading and writing text; they encompass multimodal representations such as diagrams, models, and simulations that powerfully encode and convey academic knowledge. A compelling example is the cell cycle diagram illustrating mitosis, a fundamental process in cellular reproduction taught in high school biology curricula worldwide. This visual literacy tool exemplifies how literacies bridge the gap between microscopic phenomena and human comprehension, making invisible biological processes tangible and memorable.

Mitosis, the division of a eukaryotic cell's nucleus into two identical nuclei, involves distinct phases: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase, followed by cytokinesis. A standard mitosis diagram—often a circular wheel or linear sequence—depicts chromosomes condensing, aligning at the metaphase plate, separating, and reforming nuclear envelopes. Unlike a textual description, which might list steps in paragraphs (e.g., "During prophase, chromatin condenses into chromosomes"), the diagram uses color-coded lines for chromosomes, arrows for movement, and labeled stages to represent spatial and temporal dynamics simultaneously.

Literacies play a pivotal role here. Visual literacy enables students to interpret symbols: spindles as fibrous threads, centromeres as pinched points, conveying mechanisms like microtubule attachment without verbose explanation. This semiotic system, rooted in disciplinary conventions (e.g., chromosomes as X-shapes), allows rapid pattern recognition—students instantly grasp symmetry and progression. Representational literacy empowers knowledge construction; by redrawing or annotating diagrams, learners actively manipulate concepts, fostering deeper understanding per dual-coding theory (Paivio, 1986), where verbal and visual channels reinforce memory.

Moreover, multimodal literacies amplify this power in digital tools like interactive simulations (e.g., PhET's cell division module). Students zoom into 3D models, pause phases, and perturb variables, embodying New Literacy Studies' view that knowledge is socially constructed through diverse modes (Street, 2003). In classrooms, such literacies democratize access: English language learners or visual thinkers excel, as diagrams transcend linguistic barriers, aligning with UNESCO's emphasis on inclusive education (2020).

This example underscores literacies' transformative role—not mere adjuncts, but core to "representing" knowledge. Without them, mitosis remains abstract jargon; with them, it becomes a vivid, manipulable reality, enhancing retention (by 65% per Mayer's multimedia principles, 2009) and application, such as in cancer research where mitotic errors are visualized identically.

In sum, biology curricula thrive when literacies are harnessed to externalize internal processes, proving their indispensable power in academic knowledge representation.

References

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511811678

Paivio, A. (1986). Mental representations: A dual coding approach. Oxford University Press.

Street, B. V. (2003). What's new in the New Literacy Studies? Current Issues in Comparative Education, 5(2), 1-14.

UNESCO. (2020). Global education monitoring report 2020: Inclusion and education: All means all. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373718

The Power of Literacies in Visualizing Scientific Knowledge: A Case Study in Biology