Linköping Studies in Science and Technology Education No.1833
Licentiate Thesis

Travelling through time
Students’ interpretation of evolutionary
time in dynamic visualizations

Jörgen Stenlund

Department of Science and Technology
Linköping University, SE-601 74 Norrköping, Sweden
Norrköping 2019i

Travelling through time – Students’ interpretationof evolutionary time in dynamic visualizations© JÖRGEN STENLUND, 2019 (unless otherwise noted)
liu-tek-lic 2019ISSN 0280-7971
ISBN: 978-91-7685-121-0
ISSN 1652-5051 no 105
Linköping University
Department of Science and Technology
SE-601 74 Norrköping
Printed by LiU Tryck, Linköping Sweden 2019
Cover: An image from OneZoom.org (2019)
URL: http://www.onezoom.org/life.html/@Vertebrata=801601

ii

Travelling through time
Students’ interpretation of evolutionary
time in dynamic visualizations
By
Jörgen Stenlund

March 2019
ISBN 978-91-7685-121-0
Linköping studies in science and technology
Licentiate Thesis No. 1833
ISSN 0280-7971
Studies in Science and Technology education
ISSN 1652-5051 no 105

iii

iv

ABSTRACT

Evolutionary knowledge is important to understand and address contemporary challenges such as loss of biodiversity, climate change andantibiotic resistance. An important aspect that is considered to be athreshold concept in teaching and learning about evolution is the timeit involves. The history of evolution comprises several scales of magnitude, some of which are far from direct human experience and therefore difficult to understand. One way of addressing this issue is to use
dynamic visualizations that represent time, for example, to facilitateteaching and learning about evolution.
This thesis investigates how students’ comprehension of evolution
and evolutionary time can be facilitated by visualizations in educationalsettings. Two different dynamic visualizations were investigated. In
paper I different temporal versions of a spatio-temporal animation depicting hominin evolution were explored. The temporal information
was expressed as one or several timelines along which an animatedcursor moved, indicating the rate of time. Two variables, the number oftimelines with different scales, and the mode of the default animatedtime rate (either constant throughout the animation or decreasing as
the animation progressed), were combined to give four different time
representations. The temporal aspects investigated were undergraduate
students' ability to find events at specific times, comprehend order,
comprehend concurrent events, comprehend the length of time intervals, and their ability to compare the lengths of time intervals.
In paper II, perceptions and comprehension of temporal aspects in
an interactive, multi-touch tabletop application, DeepTree, were investigated. This application depicts the tree of life. The focus was on theinteractive aspects, especially how the zooming feature was perceived,
but also on any misinterpretations associated with the interaction. The
same temporal aspects listed for paper I were also implicitly investigated.
The findings indicate that handling the problem of large differencesin scale by altering the rate of time in the visualization can facilitate
perception of certain temporal aspects while, at the same time, canhinder a correct comprehension of other temporal aspects. Findings
concerning DeepTree indicate that the level of interactions varies
among users, and that the zooming feature is perceived in two ways,
either as a movement in time or as a movement in the metaphoricalv

tree. Several misinterpretations were observed, for example the assumption that the zooming time in the tree corresponds to real time,that there is an implicit coherent timeline along the y-axis of the tree,
and that more nodes along a branch corresponds to a longer time.
The research reported in this thesis supports the claim that carefulchoice, and informed use of visualizations matters, and that different
visualizations are best suited for different educational purposes

Keywords: evolution, visualization, time, learning, threshold, zooming
Department of Science and Technology Linköping university
SE-581 83 Linköping, SwedenviSvensk sammanfattning
För att kunna förstå och ta ställning till utmaningar i form av exempelvis klimatförändringar, förlust av biodiversitet och antibiotikaresistenskrävs kunskap om evolution. För att förstå evolution är det i sin tur
viktigt att inse betydelsen av de tidsskalor som evolutionära processer
omfattar. Detta utgör inte sällan ett problem vid undervisning om evolution eftersom det rör sig om tidsskalor som sträcker sig långt bortom
vad vi själva kan erfara. Tidsskalor ingår i en grupp av begrepp som
kallas tröskelbegrepp. Tröskelbegrepp utmärks av att de är svåra att ta
till sig, men när väl förståelse uppnås så innebär det en radikal ochpermanent förändring av hur ett ämnesinnehåll, exempelvis evolution,
betraktas. Av den anledningen är de också ”enkelriktade” i meningen
att den nya förståelsen är bestående
Ett sätt att bemöta problemen med att förstå tidsskalor av varierande storlekar är att använda dynamiska visualiseringar. Denna avhandling handlar just om hur elevers förståelse av evolution med avseende på tiden kan underlättas genom visualiseringar i undervisning.
Avhandlingen baseras på två studier som var och en belyser evolutionär
tid på olika sätt beträffande såväl innehåll som form.
I den första studien undersöktes hur olika varianter av en tidsrepresentation i form av animerade tidslinjer påverkade 144 studenters förståelse av olika tidsaspekter. Representationen av tid hade två variabler, nämligen antal tidslinjer (en tidslinje respektive 3 tidslinjer med
olika skalor) och hastighet för animationen av tidsförloppet (konstanthastighet respektive avtagande hastighet när animationen närmade sig
nutid). De två variablerna kombinerades för att ge fyra olika varianter
av tidsrepresentation. I studien jämfördes varianterna genom att undersöka studenters förmåga kring olika tidsaspekter; hitta händelser
vid specifika tider, uppfatta ordning på händelser, uppfatta samtidiga
händelser, uppfatta längden på ett tidsintervall och jämföra längden av
två tidsintervall.
I den andra studien undersöktes uppfattningar och förståelse av
tidsmässiga aspekter hos 10 gymnasieelever med utgångspunkt från det
interaktiva multi-touch-bordet ”DeepTree”. Det är en interaktiv visualisering av livets träd, det vill säga de fylogenetiska sambanden mellanorganismer på jorden. I denna studie fokuserades de interaktiva
aspekterna av visualiseringen, särskilt kring hur zoomfunktionen uppfattades av elever men också vilka missuppfattningar som var koppladetill interaktioner. Även tidsaspekterna från den första studien undersöktes.

vii

Resultaten från den första studien visar att det under vissa omständigheter kan vara en fördel att variera det animerade tidsflödet, till exempel genom att hastigheten på tidsflödet i animationen avtar under en
speciellt händelserik period som behöver granskas noggrannare. Under
andra omständigheter kan det däremot vara olämpligt att variera hastigheten för den animerade tiden eftersom det försvårar bedömningen
av storleken på, och jämförelsen av, tidsintervall. Det är alltså viktigt
att lärare är medvetna om vilken, eller vilka, tidsaspekter som är centrala i den specifika lärandesituationen.
Resultaten från den andra studien visar två olika sätt att uppfatta
zoomfunktionen när den används i applikationen DeepTree; antingen
som en rörelse i tid eller som en rörelse i det metaforiska trädet. Flera
missuppfattningar av interaktionen observerades hos eleverna. Till
exempel tolkade en del elever den tid det tog att zooma i trädet som att
det motsvarade hur lång tid som förflöt mellan olika evolutionära händelser. Ett antal elever verkade anta att det finns en implicit linjär tidslinje längs y-axeln på trädet, och att ju fler grendelningar som fanns
längs en gren desto längre tid motsvarade grenen. Generellt är de flesta
tidsaspekter svåra att uppfatta för användare av DeepTree. Evolutionära träd av denna typ är dock främst gjorda för att illustrera släktskapsförhållanden, men de tidsmässiga aspekterna skulle kunna förbättras.
Applikationer av den typ som DeepTree utgör har potential att erbjuda
goda möjligheter till lärande även beträffande evolutionär tid men hänsyn behöver då tas just till hur tidsaspekter beskrivs.

viiiPreface
I did not enter biology with a specific biological interest, such as bird
watching or fishing. It was more of a philosophical aspect that made me
curious about biology. Questions such as where we all come from andhow all of the life we encounter daily came about intrigued me. With
this approach, it was natural that evolution soon became my particularfascination, since it addresses many of the ultimate “why” questions inbiology.
Apart from science, I have many other interests, such as music,
dance, literature and art. Common denominators for these activities arecommunication and creativity, and these features are very appealing tome and are probably the main reasons for my choice in becoming ateacher. In my profession as a teacher, I’ve had the opportunity to
combine my interest for communication and creativity, which has beena driving force for me.
In the last four years, I’ve had the opportunity to combine several ofthese interests in a completely new setting: research in science education focusing on how visualizations of evolutionary time can facilitate
understanding of evolution. It has been a truly marvellous experience
ever since my supervisor, Lena Tibell, showed me VisualiseringscenterC in Norrköping for the first time, where the research group is situated.
Since then, I’ve always looked forward to seeing Norrköping, meeting
my colleagues there, and anticipating the always intense meetings.
A well-known metaphor is that “education is a journey” and there
certainly are similarities between these two entities. Experiencing new
aspects of life and seeing things in new perspectives are enriching in asimilar way to travelling to unknown places can be. And it certainly has
been a wonderful journey. All of it has not been downhill — there certainly has been some uphill travelling as well. But in the end, without
any doubt, it was worth all of the effort, I’m really happy about the view
from where I am now.

ix

Acknowledgement
First of all, I would like to thank my main supervisor Lena Tibell for all
the generous sharing of your knowledge, assistance, hospitality andinspiration — it has been such a great pleasure to collaborate with you
during these years. I’m also very happy to have had the opportunity to
be guided by Konrad Schönborn, my co-supervisor. Your knowledgeable, always encouraging and inspiring guidance has also been invaluable. I am very grateful for all of the effort both of you have put into
guiding me along the way.
I would also like to thank all of the people involved in the EvoVis
project for your support, friendship and the very fruitful environmentthat you provide. This includes the Swedish group with Andreas
Göransson, Daniel Orraryd, Gustav Bohlin, Gunnar Höst, Marta KoćJanuchta, Henry Fröcklin, Johanna Andersson, Alma Jahic Pettersson
and Prof. Nalle Jonsson and the German group with Prof. Ute Harms
and Daniela Fiedler. In the Swedish group, a special thanks to Henry
Fröcklin, who has been an invaluable help assisting with the technicalaspects of publishing the web-based animations and in assisting withvideo recordings. Thanks to Prof. Anders Ynnerman and to Eva
Skärblom, who most certainly is an administrative genius, has mostgenerously provided top-class support.
Thanks to Dr. Chia Shen, Harvard University and Dr. Florian Block,
University of York for providing us with the opportunity to do researchon the DeepTree application.
I’m also grateful to my closest colleges at the Department of Scienceand Technology, Bodil Sundberg, Barbro Bergfeldt, Erik Sjöstedt, Ulrika Sultan and Annica Gullberg. You have all suffered from me being
grumpy and not available, complicating planning, etc. but I’ve always
been met by a forgiving smile from you, which I appreciate very much.
Ulrika Sultan has also been a great support as a PhD student, and I
very much appreciated Annica Gullberg as the reader of my 60% seminar. At Örebro University I’ve also received valuable technical assistance from Henrik Wahlstedt, thank you for that.
Tobias Ahlin, thank you very much for your valuable assistance andtips in the development of the software used in Paper I. Two very important person who generously have offered me to use their apartment
in Stockholm, in which much of this thesis was written, are Barbro and
Ulf Thelander; thank you very much for that, it has been invaluable.
Lars and Lena Andersson are thanked for excellent hosting, friendshipand inspiration in Linköping. I also want to thank Assoc. Prof. Astrid
Bulte and Prof. Doris Jorde, early readers of the proposed project. Axspecial thanks to Assoc. Prof. Inger Edfors, who was a muchappreciated reader in the 90% seminar, and to Prof. Niklas Gericke
who will act as the opponent during the licentiate seminar.
To all of the students who participated, I would like to address mygreat gratitude — without you this would never have been possible toaccomplish. A person whom I am in serious debt to is Jennica Petré,due to her really kind and valuable, cooperation, making it possible toperform Paper II with students from an upper secondary school. Thankyou to Andreas Larsson, who put me in contact with Jennica and withwhom I’ve had many interesting discussions and support.
I would also like to thank Dr. James Rosindell for permission to use
an image from the website OneZoom on the cover of this thesis andScott Bjelland, Director of Communications, Turkana Basin Institute,Jamie Brightmore and Leonard Eisenberg for giving me the permission to reproduce images from websites they are responsible for.
The research was funded by Örebro University, LUN with Krister
Persson as chairman, which was of fundamental importance to makethis possible in combination with contribution from the department of
Science and Technology at Örebro University. Furthermore, funding
was also provided from the EvoVis project, Vetenskapsrådet (grant
number 2012-5344) and FontD (grant 729-2013-6871), the Swedish
National Graduate School in Science, Mathematics and Technology
Education, which I am very happy to have attended. I am also very
grateful to Dr. John Blackwell, Dr. Konrad Schönborn and Dr. David
Morrison for language reviews.
Finally, I want to thank my family for all their support. First andforemost, my beloved and wonderful wife, Ulla Stenlund, who reallyhas made a major contribution to this endeavor by always being supportive and encouraging as well as understanding. And thanks also to
my daughters Agnes Stenlund and Linnea Stenlund, the flowers of mylife, for being such great supporters. Linnea and Josef Laden, thankyou for hosting me so many times in Linköping and Norrköping — it
made my studies so much richer and joyful.
Latorp January 2019
Jörgen StenlundxiList of papers
Paper I
Stenlund, J.I. & Tibell, L.A.E. (2018). Visualizing macroevolutionary
timescales - Students' comprehension of different temporal representations in an animation (Manuscript re-submitted to Evolution: Education and Outreach)
Paper II
Stenlund, J.I., Schönborn, K.J. and Tibell, L.A.E. (2018). Zooming intime – Student interaction with a dynamic Tree of Life (Manuscript)

Authors contribution
Paper I was a collaborative work by the authors. The idea for the project developed from my thoughts about evolutionary time, and the animations used in the study were all created by me, but ideas for designof the animation and the design of the study were discussed by both
authors. The data collection was done by me, but the analysis was acollaborative work by both authors. I wrote the original drafts of themanuscript, but it was revised and modified by both authors.
Paper II was a collaborative work by the authors. The study design andinterview protocol were developed in discussions between the authors.
The pilot study, clinical interviews and transcripts were performed byme, but the analysis was performed cooperatively by all authors. The
original draft of the manuscript was produced by me but was later revised and modified by all authors.

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Table of Contents
Svensk sammanfattningvii
Prefaceix
Acknowledgementx
List of papers
xii
Authors contribution
xii
Table of Contentsxiii
1. Introduction
15
1.1 Structure of the Thesis
17
1.2 Purpose of the Thesis
18
1.3 Positioning of the Thesis
18
2. Theoretical Framework21
2.1 Evolution
21
2.1.1 Evolutionary theory21
2.1.2 Hominin evolution
22
2.1.3 Teaching and learning about evolution
24
2.1.4 Threshold concepts in learning biology
25
2.2 Time and evolution
25
2.2.1 The nature of time26
2.2.2 The importance of long time spans in evolution 26
2.2.3 Conceptual and reasoning difficulties related toevolutionary time27
2.2.4 Research on temporal comprehensionof evolutionary time28
2.3 Visualizations29
2.3.1 Visualization and learning29
2.3.2 Visualizing time - an historical perspective30
2.3.3 Different visual representations ofevolutionary time31
2.3.4 Phylogenetic trees
34
2.3.5 How students understand time in dynamic, spatiotemporal visualizations and phylogenetic trees 36
2.4 Theoretical Lenses for Considering Students’
Interpretation of Evolutionary Time39
2.4.1 Threshold concepts in science learning39
2.4.2 Time metaphors and embodied learning39
2.4.3 Multimodal learning and cognitive load inlearning with visualizations
41
2.4.4 The role of visualization design on learning41
3. Aims and Research Questions
43
4. Methods
45xiii

4.1 Brief Description of the Visualizations Investigatedin the Research
45
4.1.1 The animation used in paper I
45
4.1.2 The DeepTree application
47
4.2 Study Context and Data Collection
48
4.2.1 Study context
49
4.2.2. Data collection
50
4.3 Analysis
55
4.3.1 Categorization of response in paper I
55
4.3.2 Emergent themes from the interviews reported
in paper II
56
4.3.3 Analysis of interactions in paper II
57
4.4 Reliability and Validity
57
4.5 Ethical Considerations
58
5. Findings
59
5.1 Paper I
59
5.2 Paper II
60
5.3 Comparison of Findings in Both Papers
61
6. Discussion and Implications
65
6.1 Animated Timelines in Visualizationsof Evolutionary Time66
6.2 Aspects of Temporal Representations in Touch Sensitive
Interfaces
68
6.3 The zoom aspect of DeepTree
68
6.3.1 The time aspect of DeepTree69
6.3.2 Misinterpretations induced by DeepTree70
6.4 Implications for Teaching and Learning about Evolution 71
6.5 Summary and Conclusion
72
6.6 Future Research73
7. References75xiv

1. Introduction
This thesis is about how students’ comprehension of evolution and evolutionary time can be facilitated by visualizations in educational settings. It is an investigation into how different visual representations areperceived, and how students’ understanding is expressed in response totasks and questions. The dissertation has a science education approach,concerned with teaching and learning about evolution with a particularfocus on evolutionary time.
Different theoretical frameworks emphasize different aspects oflearning, from cognitive processes within individuals to participation indifferent cultures (Wallin, 2004). Most of the learning theories accounted for in this thesis are based on a constructivist perspective andfocused on individual learning — that is, how individuals constructtheir understanding of the world. This is not to say that all constructions of the world are equally correct. On the contrary, and in line with
Sjøberg (2010), I want to emphasize that I believe there is a mindindependent world, and that science has made progress and refined ourunderstanding of it. An example of this is the theory of evolution, whichis the unifying principle in biology (Dobzhansky, 1973), explaining boththe unity and diversity of biological organisms.
Evolution is an important subject from different perspectives, andfor several reasons. From a societal point of view there are economic,
utilitarian, democratic and moral reasons (Driver, Leach, & Millar,1996). From a personal perspective, evolution is essential to understanding our own history, and to be able to formulate informed opinions about some of the more challenging contemporary problems, suchas loss of biological diversity and antibiotic resistance. These are allreasons to promote efforts to improve teaching and learning about evolution, which is within the domains of science didactic to which thisthesis adheres. The specific didactic perspective and theme in the thesis
is teaching and learning evolutionary time using visualizations.
A most essential implication of evolution is that it can lead to “thedevelopment of new types of living organisms from pre-existing types
by the accumulation of genetic differences over long periods of time”(Lawrence & Henderson, 2011). This occurs over long periods of time(from thousands, to billions of years), which is thus of central interestin this dissertation.
The meaning of understanding evolutionary time as used in thecontext of this thesis is: (i) the ability to comprehend important temporal aspects, such as relative order, concurrency and duration of
events and processes in timespans extending to the origin of life, and15

(ii) the ability to relate different magnitudes of temporal scales (Catley& Novick, 2009; Cheek, 2013b; Dodick, 2007; Dodick & Orion, 2003b;
Hidalgo, Fernando, & Otero, 2004; Libarkin, Kurdziel, & Anderson,
2007; Trend, 2000, 2001).
Visual metaphors of time, such as timelines and evolutionary diagrams with temporal information, have been used more than 150 years,
but new technologies offer new and extended ways of experiencing aphenomenon that was previously challenging to represent. The possibility to communicate dynamic events and processes, as well as offeringinteractivity, is now afforded in a multitude of applications, for example in many dynamic visualizations. The term dynamic visualization
will be used here to denote any visualization that is not static, including
animations and simulations that dynamically represent and display
processes that change over time (Ainsworth, 2008).
This thesis concerns the time during which living organisms are
known to have existed; that is, time spans covering up to 3,5 billion
years (Schopf, 1993). The terminology for such vast periods of time
include terms such as deep time, which is primarily used in earth sciences to characterize time spans covering the age of the earth 4,5 billion years (Allegre, Manhes, & Göpel, 1995), evolutionary deep time,and macroevolutionary time. The term macroevolution is more frequently used in particular contexts, but I find it a bit problematic since
it implicitly implies an ontologically different type of evolution, microevolution. Thus, it is not used in this thesis. I have chosen to use theterm evolutionary time when referring to what, in other contexts,
would be called deep time or macroevolutionary time, even though evolutionary time can also include short time spans which are only briefly
mentioned.
To understand evolution it is necessary to comprehend evolutionary
time (e.g. Catley & Novick, 2009; Dodick, 2007; Trend, 2001), and dynamic visualizations offer new ways to teach and learn about time inevolution. Therefore, the subject of this thesis is how these visualizations can facilitate understanding of evolutionary time from an educational perspective. The studies both involve an investigation of interactive visualizations that endeavor to convey events unfolding in evolutionary time, but illuminating different aspects. Paper I focuses on evolutionary time in relation to geographical aspects of the appearance,
dispersal and disappearance of hominin species, whereas paper II focuses on evolutionary time in relation to the development of relatedness among organisms since the beginning of life. Both papers discuss
the implications for the design of visualizations of evolutionary time
and their use for educational purposes.

161.1 Structure of the Thesis
This thesis consists of three parts: two separate papers and a comprehensive summary. This introductory chapter includes a description of
the structure (1.1), purpose (1.2) and positioning (1.3) of the thesis.
The second chapter covers the theory necessary to provide an account of the background to the papers. Since this thesis is concernedwith science didactics, the necessity to include several theoreticalframeworks is inherent (Sjøberg, 2010). Moreover, visualizations ofevolutionary time require even more theory to be included. So, thechapter has four parts.
The first part starts by defining the scientific concept of evolution.
Section 2.1 covers a series of subsequent and interrelated parts. The
first part describes the theory of evolution (2.1.1), hominin evolution(2.1.2), and teaching and learning about evolution (2.1.3 and 2.1.4). The
chapter ends by acknowledging that evolutionary time is a crucial concept to understand.
The second part of chapter two is about the nature of time (2.2.1),
the importance of long time spans in evolution (2.2.2), and the challenges in learning about time (2.2.3 and 2.2.4).
The third part of chapter two concerns visualizations, and starts
with an account of visualizations and learning in general (2.3.1) followed by an historical account of how time has previously been visualized (2.3.2). Then several variants of representations are exemplified,covering evolutionary time in general (2.3.3). In the subsequent text, abrief description of phylogenetic trees follows (2.3.4), which is an archetypical representation of evolution. The third part of chapter two
concludes with how students understand different visual representations of evolution, with a particular focus on the types used in the thesis(2.3.5).
In the fourth and concluding part of chapter two, theoretical lenses
for considering students’ interpretation of evolutionary time are accounted for, starting with threshold concepts in science learning (2.4.1),
time metaphors and embodied learning (2.4.2), multimodal learningand cognitive load in learning with visualizations (2.4.3), and ending
with the role of visualization design on learning (2.4.4).
In chapter three the aims and research questions are described.
Chapter four provides a brief description of the visualizations (4.1.1
and 4.1.2), the study context (4.2.1), and data collection (4.2.2). Methodological issues concerning the data analysis in both studies are described (4.3) followed by aspects of validity and reliability (4.4), and thechapter concludes with an account of ethical considerations (4.5).

17In chapter five the findings are described, first regarding each paper
and then in light of each other.
Chapter six discusses the findings, including implications for education and research concerning ways to visually communicate evolutionary time.

1.2 Purpose of the Thesis
In order to gain a perspective of our role in, and responsibility for, thebiosphere, it is necessary to understand the background and position of
our own species in evolutionary history. As Catley (2006) puts it,“The sense of humility gained through an appreciation of the kinshipof all life is a vitally important component in nurturing a stewardshipethic for a planet moving ever deeper toward ecological collapse.” (p.
781).
Climate change and loss of biological diversity are examples of important issues that require knowledge about evolution and evolutionary
time in order to fully appreciate the consequences, especially to understand the magnitude of the rate of change and to compare the timeframe involved in opposing events, such as speciation.
However, prior research has shown that understanding, or even accepting, the scientific definition of evolution has proven to be a significant challenge in many instances (Smith, 2010a, 2010b). One of thechallenges that learners face when learning about evolution is grasping
the vast time periods involved in evolution (Catley & Novick, 2009;
Dodick, 2007). One way of addressing this problem is through visualizations. The purpose of this thesis is to provide knowledge about how
different and novel ways of visualizing evolutionary time can facilitateteaching and learning about evolution. It is directed to teachers andstudents, as well as designers of visualizations and the interested public.

1.3 Positioning of the Thesis
This thesis is positioned in the field of science didactics with a particular focus on teaching and learning evolutionary time using visualizations. Due to the nature of science didactics, which is a conglomerate of
two areas, science and pedagogy (Sjøberg, 2010), the necessity to include several theoretical frameworks is inherent. Furthermore, visuali18

zations of evolutionary time require even more theory to be included.
Thus, in addition to scientific and pedagogical theories, theoreticalframeworks from Cognitive Science, Visual Communication and Geographical Information systems (GIS) are relevant in this context as
well.

19

2. Theoretical Framework
Several theoretical frameworks that form the underpinnings of thisresearch will be presented in the following text. Three different aspects,
namely evolution, time and visualizations, will first be accounted forseparately and then merged, and discussed in the context of teaching
and learning about evolutionary time using dynamic visualizations.

2.1 Evolution
There are several definitions of Evolution, which vary slightly — depending on the context, different aspects can be stressed. The implications of evolution are included in some definitions, for example thatevolution can lead to “the development of new types of living organisms from pre-existing types by the accumulation of genetic differences over long periods of time” (Lawrence & Henderson, 2011). Another example with a slightly different definition is offered by Sanders
and Bowman, (2016): “Any change in the genetic characteristics of a
population, strain, species over time”. In both of these the importanceof evolutionary time is highlighted. A commonly used definition of evolution is “any change in the frequency of alleles within a gene poolfrom one generation to the next.” (Curtis & Barnes, 1989, p.974), which
only pinpoints the most essential short-term process and omits all other aspects.

2.1.1 Evolutionary theory
The scientific theory of evolution by natural selection was proposed by
Charles Darwin (1859) and Alfred Russel Wallace, and later on complemented with concepts from Mendelian genetics and population genetics in the notion of “the modern evolutionary synthesis” (Huxley,
1942). In addition to natural selection, factors such as mutation, genetic drift and gene flow have also been shown to affect evolution. The
foundation for the modern evolutionary synthesis has been summarized in different ways by different authors, depending on the context ofcommunication (e.g. occurring among experts or pupils in a highschool class). Mayr (1982) formulated an assembly of “facts” and inferences that also have guided later authors see Table 1.

21

Table 1. The facts and inferences formulated by Mayr (1982)

Facts

Inferencesi) All populations have the potential
to grow at an exponential rateii) Most populations reach a certain
size, and then remain fairly stable
over time

1. Not all offspring survive to reproductive age, in part because of competition for natural resources.

iii) Natural resources are limitediv) Individuals in a population are not
identical, but vary in many characteristicsv) Many of the characteristics are
inherited.

2. Survival is not random: individuals
with characteristics that provide themwith some advantage over others intheir particular environmental situation will survive to reproduce (to ahigher degree), whereas others willnot (or to a lesser degree)
3. Populations change over time as
the frequency of advantageous alleles
increases. These can accumulate overtime to result in speciation.

Later, and additional, frameworks illuminate complementary aspects of the modern evolutionary synthesis, such as the fundamental
importance of random mutations, the role of cumulative evolution, thedistribution of species biogeography and macroevolution (e.g.
Andersson & Wallin, 2006; Ohlsson & Bee, 1992; Shtulman, 2006).
These facts and inferences, complemented by additional empiricalsupport from a huge variety of sources, ranging from fossils, comparative anatomy, biogeography to molecular biology, serve as the basis forthe theory of evolution, underpinning all biological sciences.

2.1.2 Hominin evolution
Based on the fossil record and comparisons of human DNA with the
DNA of our closest relatives (chimpanzees and bonobos), the last common ancestor we share lived approximately 6 to 7 million years ago(abbreviated mya). Species that exist, or have existed on our lineage(organisms allied by common descent) after the split from the chimpanzee and bonobo line are termed hominins (Pontzer, 2012). Thus,
hominins include our species and all extinct species along that branch.

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Characteristics of species belonging to the hominin branch are thatthey have bipedal walking and small and blunt canines.
The following text is a summary of the present knowledge concerning
spatio-temporal aspects of hominin evolution, which is the subject
matter of paper I.
Hominin evolution is a dynamic area of study, and recent research
has unveiled much new knowledge from paleontological findings andinformation based on molecular biology. These two areas cover varying
time spans and give rise to qualitatively different information.
The oldest fossils known today that show indications of these features can be divided into three groups: Sahelanthropus found in Chad
(6-7 mya), Orrorin (6 mya) found in Kenya, and Ardipithecus found in
Ethiopia (4,4-5,8 mya). All of these fossils bear signs of bipedal walking.
Following the three oldest known groups of hominins, the genus
Australopithecus appears in the fossil record. The oldest species so far
discovered in this genus is A. anamensis (approximately 4,2 mya) from
Kenya, but the best known species are A. afarensis from East Africa(3,6–2,9 mya) and A. africanus from South Africa (3,2–2.0 mya). The
genus Australopithecus persisted for nearly 3 million years.
The genus Homo is first represented in the fossil record 2,8 mya by
the finding of a lower jawbone in Afar, Ethiopia (Villmoare et al., 2015).
H. habilis is associated with simple stone tools (Blumenschine et al.,2003). The successor of H. habilis, H. erectus, became very widespreadand persisted for almost 2 million years (1,9-0,1 mya). This species has
been found in Africa, Europe and Asia. Approximately 700 000 years(abbreviated kya) ago H. erectus gave rise to H. heidelbergiensis in
Africa (Rightmire, 2009). H. heidelbergiensis later spread to Europe,
where populations of this species evolved to H. neanderthalensis approximately 250 kya (Hublin, 2009).
Recent research extends the origin of H. sapiens back to more than
315 kya, either from H. heidelbergensis or H. rhodesiensis (Hublin etal., 2017). H. sapiens spread and reached Europe by 100 kya, and eventually with a global distribution (DeGiorgio, Jakobsson, & Rosenberg,2009). H. neanderthalensis became extinct approximately 30 kya, but
DNA from fossils indicate occasional interbreeding between H. sapiensand H. neanderthalensis thereafter (Fu et al., 2015; Green et al., 2010).
To avoid information overload in the animation used in paper I,
some of the species, for example, H. floresiensis (Brown et al., 2004)
and H. naledi as well as some of the species included in the genus
Paranthropus, were omitted from the animations.

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2.1.3 Teaching and learning about evolution
Much research has confirmed that teaching and learning about evolution can be very challenging. Not only do teachers need to understandthe complex factors involved in evolutionary processes, but also how tocommunicate ideas that are counter-intuitive and even repulsive to
many people (Smith, 2010b). To list a few of the reasons: (i) intuitive
thinking, such as essentialism and teleological reasoning, offers erroneous ontological perspectives; (ii) it is hard to grasp the complexitythat results from interacting factors leading to natural selection; and(iii) the involvement of large (and/or small) numbers in terms of probabilities, spatial scales and temporal scales makes the theory of evolution abstract and to many people counter-intuitive (e.g. Mayr, 2007;
Nehm & Reilly, 2007; Mayr, 1982). Furthermore, religious opposition
can hinder students from accepting a scientific view of evolution (e.g.
Basel, Harms, & Prechtl, 2013; Billingsley et al., 2016; Yasri & Mancy,2014).
Of particular interest in this thesis are those difficulties associatedwith understanding evolutionary time, which is important to understand evolution itself. Two central aspects pointed out by Catley andNovick (2009, p. 313) are: understanding evolutionary time enables
students to see ‘‘that over vast periods of time very improbable events
do indeed occur; and that very small, seemingly insignificant changes
do accumulate, often with major impacts’’ (p. 330). Moreover,knowledge about evolutionary time is one of the primary problems formany people who do not accept biological evolution. For these reasons,Catley and Novick (2009, p. 313) propose that several important eventsin evolutionary time should be included in a teaching curriculum. Not
only does understanding of evolutionary time provide a temporalframework in which it is possible to situate, relate and compare eventsand processes, but it also provides a basis for understanding how crucial time is in the complexity of factors leading to evolution.
Evolutionary events do not only involve long time periods. In small
populations and in organisms with short generation time, evolutionary
processes can occur more quickly, but evolution leading to complex
organisms such as mammals requires vast time spans. The primarysource of genetic variation is mutations, which occur instantaneously,
but according to the definition initially stated in this chapter new mutations need to spread into future generations before evolution can besaid to have occurred. Comprehending very short timespans has proven to be even more difficult than very long time spans (Lee et al., 2011),
although this is a problem that this thesis will not elaborate on.

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2.1.4 Threshold concepts in learning biology
Meyer and Land (2005) introduced the notion of threshold concepts, aframework that is expected to provide teachers and students with auseful heuristic to confront conceptual difficulties in many different
subjects. It has also been introduced in the teaching and learning of
science, among other things, by Ross et al. (2010), who proposed several threshold concepts in biology and evolution; for example, randomness, probability, spatial and temporal scales. These concepts are often
abstract and incorporate tacit knowledge, and need to be taught explicitly (Tibell & Harms, 2017). Since temporal scales are included among
the threshold concepts, this framework is briefly introduced here, as a
background and rationale for doing this research, since evolution comprises temporal scales of several magnitudes.
Prior research has recognized the importance of, and problems associated with, teaching and learning about subjects where large differences in scale are involved (Catley & Novick, 2009; Lee et al., 2011). In
the case of teaching and learning evolution, temporal scales are relevant and important. Threshold concepts will be further discussed in
section 2.4.1.

2.2 Time and evolution
In this section the role and importance of time in evolution will be presented. However, it is very important to be aware that time in evolution
is related to, and is measured in, generation times for organisms, sinceevolution refers to “change in the frequency of alleles within a genepool from one generation to the next." (Curtis & Barnes, 1989, p.974).
Thus, generation time is a decisive factor for the rate of evolution as
measured in absolute time. Organisms such as bacteria usually have ashort generation time, which explains their relatively high rate of evolution in terms of antibiotic resistance (Bohlin, 2017), whereas evolution in organisms with a long generation time (e.g. elephants) in general requires much longer time. Since the studies of this thesis involve
complex organisms with long generation times, the term evolutionary
time will mainly be used for time periods comprising thousands or millions of years, notwithstanding the fact that evolution can occur much
faster, under certain circumstances and in certain organisms such asbacteria.

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2.2.1 The nature of time
Time is an abstract and elusive concept difficult to define. This was
pinpointed by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in his autobiographical work “Confessions in Thirteen Books” written ca. AD 400:
“What then, is time? I know well enough what it is, provided that noone asks me; but if I am asked what it is and try to explain, I am baffled”
Can time be separated and isolated from sequences of events? Does
time travel, or is it us who travel in time? If so, in which direction?
People will provide various answers to these questions, since the perception of what time is differs between different individuals. As Feeney(2007) express it: “In any society individuals are liable to inhabit different frames of time, often simultaneously — cyclical or recurrent,
linear, seasonal, social, historical.”
Whether it is possible to conceive of time except in terms of metaphors is doubtful (Ault, 1981; Boyd-Davis, 2012; Lakoff & Johnson,1999). Regardless of whether time exists as a separate entity or not, it isconceived of in metaphorical terms and a commonly used metaphor istime mapped to space (Boroditsky, 2000; Gentner, 2001).

2.2.2 The importance of long time spans in evolution
Charles Darwin realized that evolutionary time, that is, time periods
including spans of millions of years is a prerequisite for evolution toproceed, and end up with such highly complex organisms as for example orchids or eagles. The pivotal role of time in evolution is illustrated
by the influence that Charles Lyell’s book “Principles of Geology” (Lyell& Deshayes, 1830) had on Darwin’s idea. Darwin read the book during
his voyage on the ship Beagle. Lyell claimed that the earth’s crust had
been formed by natural laws, still current today, a view that implied
vast periods of time in which the slow events had occurred, thus extending the age of the earth considerably compared to the prevailing
beliefs during the 1830s. It made it possible for life to have evolved
slowly by means of accumulated small changes. To Darwin, an ancientearth was a prerequisite for his theory.
The fundamental importance of such vast time periods made Darwin
write in “The Origin of Species” that anyone who could not “admit how
vast have been the past periods of time, may at once close this volume” (Darwin, 1859). The reason for this is that gradual evolution as
proposed by Darwin (1859) is founded on cumulative evolution, which26requires several generations and long periods of time. That is to say,small changes that accumulate in a direction favoured by natural selection.
Time to allow many generations is also an important part in thecomplexity of factors that together make up the basis for the process ofevolution. This complexity involves differential survival due to random
heritable genetic variation, of which certain variants are favourable
under the prevailing circumstances. In eukaryotic cells (the kind of cells
protozoa, fungi, plants and animals have, which contains a nucleus andorganelles), the mutation frequencies in specific positions on a chromosome (e.g. the position of a gene) are usually very small, but these
improbable occurrences can be counteracted by large populations andlong periods of time (i.e. many generations), which not only makes evolution possible but inevitable. Furthermore, time is also required inorder to spread and “fixate” a mutation in a population (i.e. for it tobecome established in the gene pool), as well as becoming extinct.

2.2.3 Conceptual and reasoning difficulties related toevolutionary time
There are several reasons for not understanding, or even accepting, theconcept of evolutionary time. Both cognitive and religious reasons canhinder a scientific view (Smith, 2010b). One reason is that the conceptof time is very abstract and needs to be addressed in metaphorical ways
(e.g. as distances, calendars, clocks etc.).
Another reason is that evolutionary time encompasses scales which
are far divorced from direct human experience which makes the concept even less concrete (Catley & Novick 2009) and prone to be misunderstood. An example of this is the effect called “the compression effect” coined by Longo and Lourenco (2007), which refers to the phenomenon that subjects tend to tweak very big, and very small, numbers
so that large numbers are underestimated and small numbers are overestimated towards the range of human experience. Catley and Novick(2009) showed that the compression effect could be revealed when subjects estimated durations for large temporal magnitudes.
A third reason is that evolutionary time comprises scales of various
magnitudes, and students need to learn strategies for how to relate different temporal scales. This can be done in different ways, for example
by using the full magnitude of one scale and linking it to a fraction ofanother scale, in order to relate the two. This is a strategy called bootstrapping, which is used for example in paper I, in animation B and D
where several different timelines of different scales are related. Estab-27

lishing other kinds of temporal references as hallmarks for comparisons is another feasible and complementary strategy to relate different
scales (Lee et al., 2011).
A different source for “non-scientific” conceptions is based on theological grounds. Various religions have different narratives regarding
genesis and the origin of life, but very few refer to temporal magnitudes
comparable with evolutionary time scales. For example, the earth isconsidered to be 6000 years old by young earth creationists (Heaton,
2009), and since evolutionary time is a necessity, especially for the evolution of more complex life forms, this is a fundamental issue.

2.2.4 Research on temporal comprehension ofevolutionary time
Dodick and Orion (2003b) divide research performed in science education concerning temporal understanding into two groups: studies basedon events comprised in evolutionary time (primarily relative and absolute order of events), and studies based on logical temporal reasoning.
Among the event-based studies, Trend’s investigations among students
of different ages and primary teachers (Trend, 1998, 2001a, 2001b) arenotable. In the group of logical-based studies, an early contribution
regarding time cognition was made by Piaget (1969). He claimed thatyoung children’s conception of time is related to motion. Building on
this notion, Ault (1981, 1982) performed seminal research regarding
students’ comprehension and reconstruction of geological strata. Ault
(1981) claimed that a child’s imperfect conception of conventional time
was not a major obstacle for understanding geological events, which
has been opposed by later research (e.g. Cheek, 2013a). Furthermore,
Dodick and Orion (2003a, 2003b) have criticised the emphasis on thenotion of time conceptualized as motion in the work of Ault (1981).
Later research has focused other cognitive aspects, for example the importance of understanding large numbers and subject matterknowledge (Cheek, 2010, 2012; Clary, Brzuszek, & Wandersee, 2009).

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2.3 Visualizations
2.3.1 Visualization and learning
Visualizations play an important role in science as well as in scienceeducation. Learning science requires both the understanding of external representations and the ability to form inner, mental visualizations(Gilbert, 2005). For this reason, Gilbert (2005) claims that it is important that students become metacognitively capable with respect tovisualizations. This means knowing the codes of representations, being
aware of what strengths and weaknesses representations have, and being able to move between modes of representations (e.g. visual, concrete and verbal). Lacking these three abilities will impair the potential
to learn science.
Considering the importance of visualizations in science and education, it is hardly surprising that the number of publications regarding
visualizations in science education increased very much during the decades either side of the millennium shift. However, there is still a lack ofconsensus concerning the definition of what a visualization is, let alone
what constitutes a “good” visualization.
In a comprehensive overview, Phillips, Norris, and Macnab (2010)
acknowledge 28 definitions of the term visualization in the literaturefrom 1974 to 2009. This rich variety of definitions is partly due to different referents of visualizations — they can refer to external physicalobjects such as illustrations and animations, internal mental objects(e.g. mental scheme and mental representation), and various cognitive
processes where visualizations are interpreted to make meaning. Thus,
the term visualization can be expressed as a noun (an object) as well asa verb (an activity). According to Phillips, Norris, and Macnab (2010)
visualizations are used for two main types of activities: either as a complement to other means of teaching, or as learning or as a tool to solve
problems (i.e. for understanding and for analysis respectively). Of
course, these functions are not mutually exclusive and some visualizations fulfil both.
Informed use of visualizations requires a comprehensive theory of
picture meaning, which is not yet available according to Phillips,
Norris, and Macnab (2010). However, two crucial aspects need to beconsidered in the use of visualizations in educational settings:
knowledge about the visualized objects, and the abilities needed to interpret the information on behalf of the user (Ainsworth, 1999).
29

Dynamic visualizations have to be well designed, for example by taking into account aspects such as relevance to the learning objective,complementarity with textual information, duration, and simplicity(Phillips, Norris, & Macnab, 2010). Moreover, animations should be
guided by principles of perceptual organization, such as grouping(proximity, similarity etc.), and figure-ground organization, such as
size and symmetry (Pinna, 2010). However, the learner’s preknowledge and abilities in terms of subject knowledge and visual literacy are of equal importance (Schnotz, 2002; Vekiri, 2002).
Real world educational settings are usually complex, and the learning outcome is dependent on several factors, including the relevanceand/or design of the visualization, the learner’s motivation, prior subject knowledge and visual literacy, as well as the learning context (e.g.
scaffolding) arranged by the teacher. Generally, visualizations used in
education are made by, and often for, experts, and chosen by teachers.
Thus, it is important to remember that students differ both concerning
subject knowledge and visual literacy (Linn, 2003; Matuk & Uttal,
2018). Phillips, Norris, and Macnab (2010) summarize this in threerecommendations to teachers: carefully select level-appropriate visualizations, prepare the students before performing the visualization activity, and assess the outcome to ensure the learning outcome.

2.3.2 Visualizing time - an historical perspective
The design of most modern timelines can be tracked back to the mid18th century (Boyd-Davis, Bevan, & Kudikov, 2013). By that time charts
based on a uniform scale first appeared, capable of communicating not
only relative order but also relations between intervals could be visuallyperceived. Preceding charts only accounted for chronology, omitting
information about durations.
Despite the vital importance of a uniform timescale, they also havedisadvantages. One reason is that oftentimes there is a need to switch
between overview and detail. Another reason is the problem of uneven
distribution of events, which can create problems in visual communication (Boyd-Davis, Bevan, & Kudikov, 2013; Vít & Bláha, 2012). Ironically, this was reinforced by the contemporary endeavors to envision thefull history since the creation at the same time, as new ideas and theories prolonged the age of the earth very much.
Based on theological grounds, the prevailing belief until the latter
half of the 18th century in Europe was that the age of the earth was a few
thousand years old. Opposition to this view became more frequent, andin the late 1700s James Hutton (1726-1797) coined the term “deeptime” to refer to the concept of geologic time, i.e. the history of earth in30

terms of millions (and even billions) of years. Since many evolutionary
processes occur very slowly, the relevant timescales often involve deeptime. Later scientific discoveries prolonged the age of the earth successively until today’s estimate of 4,5 billion years (Allegre et al., 1995).

2.3.3 Different visual representations of evolutionary
time
There is a huge variety of different visualizations of evolutionary time.
The problem is often how to incorporate details at different scales, andhow to relate the different scales in a way suitable for the intended
learning situation. Depending on the resources available for the designer, the teacher and the learner, the range of possible representations ofevolutionary time is very different. Without aiming to give an exhausting account for currently available visualizations of evolutionary time, anumber of categories of currently available visualizations are presented
below.
1. Analog representations in “real life” in the form of spatial distances,for example along a corridor or a toilet roll with labels of events

Figure 1. The toilet paper timeline (reproduced with permission
from Turkana Basin Institute). By Katarina Warren February 26th,
2014. Available at http://www.turkanabasin.org/2014/02/toiletpaper-timeline/312. Analog or digital 2D non-interactive representations (i.e. different
kinds of images). This category includes images of timelines, calendars and spirals

Figure 2. The geological time spiral. Produced by Graham, Joseph,
Newman, William, and Stacy, John, 2008, U.S. Geological Survey General Information Product 58, poster, 1 sheet. Available online
at http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2008/58

3. Digital and interactive representations that change appearance in
response to actions from the user. One example is the analogy of aclock. A dynamic version of this is found at http://deeptime.info inwhich hovering over any of the labels

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Figure 3. The Deep time clock. produced by and reproduced with permission
from Jamie Brightmore. Available on http://deeptime.info

surrounding the “deep time clock” will elicit a feedback with specificinformation. Another interactive web based application is the
Evogeneao Tree of Life with a multidirectional temporal direction(see Figure 4)

Figure 4. The Evogeneao Tree of Life. Copyright Leonard Eisenberg, 2008, 2017https://www.evogeneao.com/

4.! Digital and interactive representations that are dynamic with a predetermined narrative and limited interactivity (e.g. video animations), for example the animation of hominin evolution used in paper I available at33

http://liu.divaportal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1267911&dswid=1644
5. Digital and interactive representations that are dynamic without apredetermined narrative, and driven by user interactivity. An example of this is the visualization used in paper II the DeepTree exhibit which is available athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpo9iK26el8.

2.3.4 Phylogenetic trees
Despite the enormous biological diversity on earth, the notion of common decent is firmly established in biology. A visual representationthat has often been used to depict how all organisms are related is theTree of Life, which communicates both the unity and the diversity oflife (Gontier, 2011). The use of tree diagrams to depict natural or divineorder of the world can be traced back to ancient Greece (Gontier, 2011).
Trees preceding the theory of evolution were often based on affiliation,a term which refers to natural group similarities (Morrison, 2014). Accompanying tree diagrams, networks have been extensively used as well
to visualize the affiliation of biological diversity (Morrison, 2014). In
the early tree diagrams, time was not a relevant aspect since the affiliation organisms was perceived as due to a divine order or due simply tosimilarities (Gontier, 2011). Thus, these diagrams usually lack temporal
information. Charles Darwin’s famous illustration in “The Origin ofSpecies” (1859) had an identical iconography to many of the preceding
illustrations based on affiliation (Figure 5), but the underlying rationale
was very different, since it was based on genealogy and thus introduced
time as a necessary aspect of the schema. The Tree of Life metaphor
was in fact one of Darwin’s most influential metaphors, even though hehimself never called his diagram a “tree” (Gontier, 2011).

34

Figure 5. The Tree of life, Darwin (1859). Image source
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Darwin%27s_tree_of_lif
e.jpg?uselang=sv

A modern and frequent method used to visually represent evolutionary history is by means of phylogenetic trees. As the name implies, evolutionary relationships among organisms are visualized as a tree to indicate that organisms share common ancestors, in a way similar to howbranches in a tree share common ancestry with other branches andultimately a common root. Phylogenetic trees with similar iconography
can communicate different meanings, for example in diagrams called acladogram the temporal dimension is totally absent (see Figure 6A).
The diagram only comprises information about the number of sharedcharacteristics and relationships. In other types of phylogenetic diagrams additional information can add meaning to the branch length,
for example amount of changes (phylograms, see Figure 6B) or time
(chronograms see Figure 6C).

Figure 6 a) cladogram b) phylogram c) chronogram

However, there have been, and still are alternative ways to visualize
relatedness, primarily as networks. Networks actually preceded evolutionary trees as illustrations of classification, because biological rela-35

tionships are clearly complex, and networks can illustrate more complexity than can a tree (Morrison, 2014). A tree is thus a visual simplification of a network, leaving out some of the information — the tree
metaphor excludes such important biological phenomenon as lateralgene transfer (i.e transmission of DNA other than the “vertical” transmission from parent to offspring) and hybridization.
Much research has been devoted to how users understand and misunderstand phylogenetic trees in general (Baum, Smith, & Donovan,
2005; Catley & Novick, 2008; MacDonald & Wiley, 2012), and aframework or representational competence regarding tree thinking has
been developed by Halverson and Friedrichsen (2013). Stephens(2012) addresses the conceptual limitations of the visual metaphor ofevolution as a tree, and discusses new ways of visualizing evolution bymeans of new digital technologies. Nevertheless, only a minor part of
the research on phylogenetic trees has been devoted to perception andcomprehension of temporal aspects.

2.3.5 How students understand time in dynamic, spatiotemporal visualizations and phylogenetic trees
In this thesis, two specific visualizations that incorporate evolutionary
time are investigated: timelines and phylogenetic diagrams. Timelines
communicate temporal information explicitly whereas phylogenetic
diagrams usually communicate time implicitly (exceptions are cladograms which lack temporal information, and chronograms which explicitly express time).
In most phylogenies it is possible to deduce a temporal directionality, but several orientations are possible depending on the design of thephylogeny. The direction is always from the root towards the terminal
nodes. In most phylogenetic diagrams the temporal information mainly
concerns relative order of occurrences along the different lineages, withthe only absolute timestamps being the contemporary species at thetips.
Modern phylogenetic trees can also be arranged in different ways
and styles, e.g. having horizontal and vertical lines or diagonal lines,
oriented vertically or horizontally see (Figure 7).

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Figure 7. Vertical and horizontal temporal directionality in different types of phylogenies. The arrows indicate
the temporal directionality and numbers represent species (images based on Gregory, 2008)

In studies performed by Gregory (2008) and Meir et al. (2007),
some misconceptions related to time were found, primarily backwards
time axes (e.g. misinterpreting the time axis as horizontal rather thanvertical) and different lineage ages for modern species (i.e. the viewthat the time separating contemporary species from a common ancestor is different).
Much research has been conducted regarding learning from different types of timelines (e.g. Boyd-Davis, 2012; Foreman et al., 2008;
Korallo et al., 2012; Vít & Bláha, 2012). In some of the studies, comparisons between timelines on paper/textual displays and virtual timelines
have been made (e.g. Foreman et al., 2008; Korallo et al., 2012), whichindicates that virtual timelines can be used with success but the results
are not entirely coherent. Boyd-Davis (2012) concludes that interactivity enables the learners to control the information, provided that thedesign is appropriately formed.
Student-generated timelines have been investigated by Cheek(2012), Clary, Brzuszek, and Wandersee (2009), Libarkin, Kurdziel, andAnderson (2007) and Truscott et al. (2006). Clary, Brzuszek, and Wandersee (2009) claim that subject content knowledge is crucial. Resultsfrom Libarkin, Kurdziel, and Anderson (2007) show that knowledge
concerning differences in temporal scale between events in deep time ispoor, whereas comprehension of relative order is better.
Visualizations that include both temporally and spatially variabledata are called spatio-temporal visualizations. Monmonier (1990) has
distinguished between two alternative ways to design spatio-temporalvisualizations, either (i) as highly interactive systems where the user isenabled to navigate and control the temporal aspect, for example by37

using the same technique as spatial zooming (Lee, Devillers, & Hoeber,2014), or (ii) as animation graphics where the sequence of events arepredetermined and the degree of interactivity is lower. These two ways
to design visualizations apply to the two studies performed in this thesis. The study in paper I serves as an example of animation graphics
and the study in paper II is an example of a highly interactive system.
In the case of animation graphics, the visualization has to containcomplementary temporal and spatial scales. These animations areequipped with animated temporal legends to express temporal information. The representation of time in this kind of legend can be of different types: timelines, time wheels or based on text/numbers.
Vít and Bláha (2012) studied different types of virtual timelines, andfound that timelines with units of varying length and a movable slide
bar moving at a constant speed was less user friendly than timelines
with units of consistent length.

Figure 8. Two ways to alter the animated time rate in an animated timeline with amoving cursor. The cursor (gray rectangle) moves with a variable pace, thus covering different distances along the timeline during corresponding time intervals (A).
The cursor moves with a constant rate along the timeline but the units on the timeline
are not of equal length (B). These two variant depict the same temporal lapse with ashift in time rate.

This is in line with Lee, et al. (2011), who caution against the use ofalterations in time rate by changing the animated temporal “flow”
which can be accomplished either by variations in animated time rateor by using timelines with units of varying length (see Figure 8). In
animation graphics a particular problem is that two animated objects(i.e. the animation and the animated temporal legend) are displayed
concurrently, which can cause cognitive load (Kalyuga, Chandler, &Sweller, 1999). Even in cases when information in only one of the concurrently displayed animations is necessary, the split attention effecthas been shown (Peterson, 1999).

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2.4 Theoretical Lenses for Considering Students’
Interpretation of Evolutionary Time2.4.1 Threshold concepts in science learning
Much research has been devoted to conceptual change theory (Posneret al., 1982), which has incorporated Piaget’s elements of assimilation
and accommodation. Assimilation refers to incorporating and adjusting
new concepts to fit in and complement an individual’s cognitive structure, and accommodation refers to how that new concepts alter existing knowledge structures (Tibell & Harms, 2017). Building on this tradition, a theoretical framework that rapidly gained interest from manydifferent subject areas emanated from the work of Erik Meyer and Ray
Land (Meyer & Land, 2005). This framework originated from a UK
national research project related to characteristics of successful teaching and learning in undergraduate education (Cousin, 2006). It focusedon certain concepts called “threshold concepts”. These concepts usually
have a more underlying, general and abstract nature.
Threshold concepts are characterized by certain features, the mostimportant in this context being that they are:- Transformative, in that they involve an ontological and conceptual shift:- Irreversible, i.e. they are unlikely to be forgotten;- Integrative, in that they disclose new relations, thereby making
it possible for the learner to make new connections; and- Potentially troublesome, since they might oppose “common
sense” or intuitive understanding (Cousin, 2006).
Rowbottom (2007) has criticized the theoretical underpinnings ofthreshold concepts, and pointed out two problems for empirical research based on this framework. First, he asks how is it can be possible
to test for concepts and not abilities? Second, how can it be conceivableto tell if there are multiple conceptual routes to the same ability? Despite these problems, the notion of threshold concepts still receives
pronounced interest from researchers.

2.4.2 Time metaphors and embodied learning
An approach to understanding the basis for abstract thought is throughthe theoretical framework of embodied cognition. In this framework,
metaphors play a vital role in understanding the world, primarily by

39

connecting abstract (i.e. non-physical) concepts with bodily experiences (Lakoff, 1999, 2012; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980).
Wilson (2002) argues that several of the claims made by proponentsof embodied cognition should be estimated separately and evaluated on
their own merits. Here, I wish to outline three of these claims that areespecially relevant to this thesis. The first claim is that cognition is situated (i.e. that cognitive processes occur in real-world contexts, which
therefore implicates both perception and action). A second claim is that
we off-load cognitive work onto the environment during problem solving. That is, due to limitations of human information-processing, we
use external representations to “store” information that we can accessand manipulate when we demand it, thus, lowering the load demandsof the task. A third claim is that the environment is part of the cognitive
system. That is to say, the flow of information between the internal
mind and the external world is so interconnected that it is difficult tofocus only on the features of the internal world (i.e. the mind) in considering learning.
The most common metaphor for time is mapping time to space, i.e.
temporal relations are expressed as corresponding spatial relations (e.g.
durations are mapped as distances). In fact, this way of mapping timeto space may even be the basis for our way of thinking about time
(Boroditsky, 2000). Lakoff and Johnson (1999) mention two variantsof the spatial metaphor for time: the time orientation metaphor and themoving observer metaphor. In the time orientation metaphor, present
time is the location where the observer is located facing the future, withthe past behind. In the moving observer metaphor, the observer ismoving towards the future with periods of time conceptualized as distances along the way. Visualizations with animated timelines, such as
the representation of time in paper I, mirror the moving observer metaphor, with the observer corresponding to the moving cursor along thetimeline.
The same kind of visual metaphor is also expressed in the type of
evolutionary diagrams called the Tree of Life, such as the representation investigated in paper II. The root of the tree is the time of theorigin of life and contemporary species are found at the tips of the
branches. Hence, following any branch from the origin of life towards a
branch tip with a contemporary species implies a movement in time
(Gregory, 2008). In the application used in paper II this is further reinforced by the zooming being featured much as a journey along a road.

40

2.4.3 Multimodal learning and cognitive load in learning with visualizations
A large volume of research suggests that an essential aspect to consider
in learning with dynamic visualizations is cognitive load (Baddeley,2003; Moreno & Mayer, 2007; Paas, Renkl, & Sweller, 2003). Mayer
and Moreno (2003) provided nine ways to reduce cognitive load in
multimedia learning. These load reducing principles are based on threeassumptions: first, the dual channel assumption (Baddeley, 2003;
Paivio, 1990), which states that humans verbal and visual information
is processed in separate channels in humans; second, the limited capacity assumption, which claims that each channel has a limited processing capacity; and third, the active processing assumption, whichasserts that meaningful learning requires considerable cognitive processing in both channels (Wittrock, 1989).
An effect that Kalyuga, Chandler and Sweller (1999) call the splitattention effect arises from situations where the user cannot simultaneously access two types of information shown in parallel; for example,
in the case when a timeline is displayed at the bottom of the display
screen and an animation shown above (Baddeley, 2003; Paivio, 1990;
Peterson, 1999). The split attention effect has been shown to affect users even when it is unnecessary to use both types of information(Peterson, 1999).

2.4.4 The role of visualization design on learning
Visualizations can be a key to successful education provided that they
are well designed, and used in educational circumstances that are well
suited for the desired outcomes (Phillips, Norris, & Macnab, 2010).
The two studies included in this thesis are concerned with very different visualizations. In paper I, a more conventional type of representation for time is used – the timeline. In paper II, DeepTree, time isexpressed at 200 nodes where common ancestors give rise to two or
more lineages of descendants (Block et al., 2012), but it can also be interpreted in a novel and quite different manner – by zooming, which isopen to different interpretations to a large degree. Since phylogenetic
trees are designed primarily to communicate relationships, it is hardly
surprisingly that time is not the prime focus; but one of the goals with
the DeepTree is to include time as well (Block et al., 2012). Whereas
timelines are relatively well researched (e.g. Boyd-Davis, 2012;
Foreman, 2008; Korallo et al., 2012), zooming features as a way tocommunicate very long time periods are not.

41

A particular area that provides relevant information regarding spatio-temporal visualizations, like the one used in paper I, is the use of
Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Research in GIS has indicated that the influence of various time representations (a timeline, a time
wheel, and a text-based legend) is of minor importance to users (Edsall
et al., 1997; Midtbø, Clarke, & Fabrikant, 2007). Relevant for this thesis
is also the research performed by Vít and Bláha (2012), which showedthat time represented as a temporal axis, with time units of consistent
length and a movable cursor indicating the rate of time, proved to be
most user-friendly in comparison with a representation with units ofvarying length and an animated cursor moving at a constant speed.
In the design and use of animated timelines, designers, teachers andstudents are faced with conflicting issues if the sequence events ofevents are unevenly distributed, which is often the case since the details
in history become more and more scarce when moving from the present time towards the distant past (Boyd-Davis, 2013a). In an educational context, the importance of narrative can be vital, which would
imply the use of variable rate of time rate under these circumstances.
However, research contradicting this approach suggests cautious use ofalterations in time rates, since it might accentuate the tendency to underestimate the duration of long time periods and overestimate theduration of short periods of time (Lee et al., 2011). This would reinforce
temporal misunderstandings.
In paper II, a different approach to communicate evolutionary time
was investigated, which included zooming. This kind of interface allows
users to virtually “travel” in any dimension be it time or space. Much
less research has been performed in this area.
Other important aspects to consider in the design and choice of dynamic visualization of time is the cognitive load demands discussed in
the preceding section.

42

3. Aims and Research Questions
The overarching aim of this thesis is to empirically investigate students’interpretation of dynamic visualizations of evolutionary time. Bothstudies included in the thesis are descriptive and explorative, and concerned with aspects of how visual design affects students’ comprehension of evolutionary time.
The research questions investigated in paper I relate to a spatiotemporal animation specifically produced for the research project, depicting the evolution of the hominin lineage during the last 7 million
years. The animation was supplied with one of four alternative versionsof time representations, which differed in whether the time rate wasconstant or variable and whether one timeline or three emerging timelines were used. Thus, it was possible to present four possible combinations of these two factors.
The research questions investigated in paper I were as follows:
How do the different versions of time representation affect students’ability to
1. find events at specific times?
2. comprehend the relative order of events?
3. estimate the duration of a time interval?
4. compare different temporal durations?
5. comprehend the concurrency of events?
Each of the time representations mentioned above have been analyzed
regarding students’ comprehension of these temporal aspects.
The research questions investigated in paper II related to a digital interactive tabletop visualization of the Tree of Life called DeepTree,
which was part of a project called “Life on Earth”, tested and evaluatedat the Harvard Museum of Natural History in 2011-2012 (Block et al.,2012). Since the zooming feature in this application was of particularinterest in paper II, the investigated part of the tabletop was restricted
to the main tree visualization in DeepTree, where this feature is prominent.
The specific research questions posed in relation to the applicationwere:
1. How do students interact with DeepTree in the exploration ofevolutionary time?
2. How does zooming influence students’ interpretation of evolutionary time?

43

3. What potential misinterpretations about evolutionary time areassociated with students’ interaction with DeepTree?
The research questions in paper I were also investigated in paper II,
since they constitute implicit aspects of research question 2 and 3.

44

4. Methods
4.1 Brief Description of the Visualizations Investigatedin the Research
The visualizations in the two included papers were chosen on the basisthat they illustrate different ways of communicating evolutionary time,in terms of content, interactivity and form (see Table 2). In the following text the visualizations are described more in detail.
Table 2. A comparison of the two visualizations used in the thesis

Time in relation to
Time span
Time visualized as
Production
Number of taxa included
Narrative/sequenceof events
Interface
Degree of interactivity

Paper I
Geographical distribution
7 million years
Animated timelines
Specifically designed for the
study by the author of thisthesis7

Paper II
Phylogeny
3500 million years
Explicit internal nodes
Produced in the project“Life on Earth (Blocket al., 2012)
70000

Predetermined

Determined by theuser
Touch-based interactive surface

A video display with thepossibility to play andpause the animation
Stop and play the animation

Driven by active interactions through finger
gestures4.1.1 The animation used in paper I

The development of the animation used in paper I was the result of asurvey of existing spatio-temporal animations involving evolutionary
time, found at Museums and online. The representation of time is in
one sense traditional – based on timelines, a way to visualize time thathas been used for at least 250 years (Boyd-Davis, 2012), but in this casealso complemented with new animated features. The animations can befound at:http://liu.divaportal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1267911&dswid=44
The reasons for choosing evolutionary time in relation to the dynamic distribution of taxa were that: a) the combination of information
containing large scales both in space and time presents an important
but less commonly used perspective on evolution, and b) this kind of45

information benefits from new technologies capable of presenting dynamic phenomenon.
We chose the evolution of the hominin evolution since it has provento be highly motivating for students (Besterman & Baggott La Velle,2007), and the relevant time span takes an intermediate position interms of evolutionary time — far from human experience but still only
constituting an insignificant fraction of the full evolutionary history of
all organisms.
The animations used in paper I were created by myself during 2015,
with new findings in paleoanthropology that have modified details in
the picture of hominin evolution. To avoid information overload, someof the species have been omitted from the animations, for example H.
floresiensis (Brown et al., 2004) and H.naledi, as well as some of thespecies included in the genus Paranthropus.
A combination of the software programs Adobe Photoshop and
Adobe After Effects was used in the construction of the animations. A
static, small-scale map, covering Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa,
acts as a geographical background. The Americas were excluded in order to avoid reducing the geographic scale. Moreover, the dispersal of
H. sapiens to America occurred late in the history of hominins, with noadditional species at that time.
Before finalizing the animation used in paper I, a pilot study was
conducted with 12 students during the spring of 2016, with a prototype
animation that we then refined. Four interviews with users were also
conducted, to investigate how the prototype was experienced. Resultsfrom the pilot were considered when the final version of the animation
was created.
The finalized visualization is designed as a map superimposed withanimated areas representing the dynamic dispersal and distribution ofa chosen sample of taxa, i.e. different species, or groups of species inhominin evolution during the last 7 million years (Wood, 2010). The
choice of included species and groups of species were based on what
was considered to be a suitable number of well-established taxa to bepresented in a dynamic spatio-temporal animation, considering the
cognitive load and amount of information presented. The animation is
3 minutes and 30 seconds long. The rationale for this particular length
is to provide an animation long enough to display relatively short timeintervals in evolutionary terms (e.g. the existence of H. sapiens) in areasonable “temporal resolution” (i.e. not happening too fast), while atthe same time not prolonging the periods with few events more thannecessary, to enable users to compare very long and very short timeintervals.

46

Of pivotal interest in paper I is the different representations of time.
How these differences affect the way relevant temporal aspects arecomprehended is of central interest in the study. A combination of two
factors were investigated: the number of emerging timelines with different scales, and the animated rate of time, either constant or withdecreasing rate as the animation reached the present time.
The combination of these two factors yields four versions of representations of time:
Animation A
Animation B
Animation C
Animation D

One timeline, and a constant time rate
One timeline, and a time rate that decreases as theanimation approaches the present time
three emerging timelines of increasing scales that
become visible as the animation approaches thepresent time, and a constant time rate
three emerging timelines of increasing scales that
become visible, and a time rate that decreases as theanimation approaches the present time

The current time in the animation is indicated by an animated cursor
moving along the timelines. The level of interactivity was limited, but at
all times the user was able to play, stop and replay the animation. The
actual visualizations can be found at:
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-153235

4.1.2 The DeepTree application
In contrast to the animation of the hominin evolution, the visualizationin paper II, DeepTree, is ready-made. The design and development of
the application has been described by Block et al. (2012). It provides anew, highly interactive and novel way of communicating evolutionary
time. This application is presented on the internet, for example at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpo9iK26el8.
Contrary to the visualization of the hominin evolution, DeepTree encompasses the full evolutionary history of life on earth, which is approximately 500 times longer than the hominin timespan. It was produced as an interactive tabletop exhibit intended for use in museums.
Approximately 70 000 species are represented in DeepTree, and among
these 8 000 are represented with images (Block et al., 2012). A clearlystated aim was to include evolutionary time in the application. Thus,
200 internal nodes in DeepTree are labeled with their estimated time.
In paper II we have specifically investigated temporal aspects of DeepTree.
47

This kind of touch-sensitive technology has already entered the domain of education, e.g. in the form of interactive whiteboards, andsmall interactive devices with touch-sensitive interfaces of different
kinds. DeepTree is a multi-touch application that can be operated bysingle users as well, and constitutes a modern version of the Tree ofLife. The ability to zoom is a striking feature to most users.
Zooming is achieved by moving a finger down the screen, whichcauses the tree to move downward at the same time as more details in
the canopy becomes visible, causing a “zooming in” effect. Similarly,
moving a finger upward on the tabletop causes the tree to move up,
revealing new nodes below, while details at the top vanish, causing a“zooming out” effect.

4.2 Study Context and Data Collection
In this section the study context, data collection, data analysis, and aspects of reliability and validity are considered. An overview with acomparison of the two studies is presented in Table 3.
Table 3. Participants, setting, data collection and analysis in the two included studies

Paper I
University students, primary teachers, college year

Paper II
Upper secondary students,social science program

Number of participantsSetting

144

10Real world

Clinical

Data collection

Questionnaire with
10 questions,
2/Research question

Semi structured interview,
video of interactions“Type of data”

Task based

Data analysis

Primarily deductive
correct-incorrect answers“Think aloud” guided byquestions, tasks
Inductive, deductive, themes,zooming frequency and time

Participants48

4.2.1 Study context

The study in paper I concerning visualization of the hominin evolution
involved 144 university students. The data were collected in four
rounds during a period of 15 months. In three of the rounds the participants were recruited from a teacher education programme targeting theage group 6–9 years. During the second round, students enrolled in“The Natural Sciences Competence Educational Course”, corresponding
to upper secondary level were recruited. The gender distribution wasbiased towards females (73%) among the participants.
In each round the students were distributed among two or three ofthe animations, so that specific animations were not attributed to specific rounds or groups of students. The intervention was conducted in acomputer lab in which each student worked individually, with the information presented on a computer screen. The average age of the participants varied between 22.6 and 24.5 years in the different rounds.
Before conducting the intervention, a questionnaire was distributedwith the purpose to gain knowledge about the participants’ generalbackground (e.g. age, gender, former education, interest in science),
their pre-knowledge about hominin evolution, and their abilities tosolve a basic arithmetic task, reading a timeline and comparing the sizeof two rectangles. This was done in order to establish the “baseline” andpotential influence of background, education and abilities that could
influence the results. Furthermore, after the intervention was performed we delivered three questions regarding how hard the students
found the task they had been given, how clear the language was, andhow difficult they found the depicted scenario to be.
In contrast the study in paper II involved only ten participants recruited from an upper secondary school. The students were enrolled ina social science programme, and the average age was 17.3 years. In thisstudy the gender distribution among the participants was also biased
towards females (80%). The actual study was performed in a computerlab. Each student worked individually in front of an interactive tabletop, with the interviewer located beside the tabletop (see Figure 9).

49

Figure 9. A) The study context in paper II B) The perspective caught by the video camera

4.2.2. Data collection
Preceding the studies, all participants were informed about the conditions of the current study, and were asked to sign a form of consent.
Then, they all filled in a preliminary questionnaire concerning theirbackground (age, gender, educational background, interest in science/biology) and pre-knowledge about the relevant aspects of evolution in each study, and were finally tested for skill/abilities that might
affect the results.
The data collected in paper I were based on a questionnaire (see Table 4), which the student answered digitally while engaged with theanimation. The format of the questions where either true or false, multiple choice, or open answers. The data in paper II were collected asvideo-recordings during a clinical semi-structured interview (see Table
5).
The two authors developed the questionnaire used in paper I to ensure construct validity and trustworthiness, in a process that also involved a pilot study with 12 participants and four interviews with individual students (Robson, 2011).
How the research questions are linked to the questions in the questionnaire in paper I can be seen in Table 4.

50

Table 4. The questionnaire used in paper I

Item

Related toquestion regarding

1. When did the group with Australopithecus species appear?

Finding events at specific times

2. When did the last ice age begin?

Finding events at specific times

3. What different species of Hominins existed between the penultimate and the last ice age?
4. Did Homo heidelbergensis exist
at the same time as Homo sapiens?
5. Did Homo habilis exist before
the appearance of Homo erectus?
6. Did Homo erectus exist before
the appearance of Australopithecus?
7. How long did the group of Sahelanthropus, Orrorin and Ardipithecus exist?
8. How long was the penultimate
ice age?
9. Compare the time Homo neanderthalensis existed with the time
Homo habilis existed.
10. How long did the group of genus Sahelanthropus, Orrorin andArdipithecus exist compared to
Homo sapiens?

Comprehending concurrency
Comprehending concurrency
Comprehending relative order
Comprehending relative order

Estimation of duration
Estimation of duration
Comparisons of durations

Comparisons of durations

The data collection in paper I was performed in a computer classroom where each student worked individually. Since we wanted to understand how the visualization was perceived during the time the students were actively engaged in working with the animation, they were
faced with two open windows: one displaying a questionnaire withquestions related to the animation, and the other displaying the actual
animation. Thus, they were able to access both the animation and thequestionnaire at the same time.
We also performed screen recordings of the actions performed, toensure that as much information as possible was collected. The study
also included two additional parts. One of these tasks was to re-present
the scenario they had experienced in an alternative graphical way; andthe other part involved mathematical problems to solve in relation to51

the depicted scenario. Results from the screen recordings and the complementary parts of the investigation will hopefully be analysed in later
studies
The data collecting procedure in paper II was done in the form ofclinical semi-structured interviews with individual students one at atime. The protocol for the semi-structured interviews (see Table 5) was
developed by the three authors in an iterative manner, including two
pilot studies. The participants were actively engaged in interactions
with the application, guided primarily by the questions from the interviewer. The sessions were video recorded with a camera locatedstraight above the tabletop, so that the actions on the interface werevisible (see Figure 9).
At the onset of the interview the students were told that this was a
representation that shows evolution, and that the investigation concerns how the visualization works and how it is understood by users.
Table 5. The protocol for the semi-structured interview and the aspects the different questions
addressed
Interview Question

1

The pupils should be encouraged to investigate
zooming and panning.
What does it mean to pull
down (Pull down to zoom
in)?
What does it mean to pullup (Push up to zoom out).
What happens when you
pull down and sideways(drag two pan).
Supplementary questions.
What happens? - How?
When is now

2

We begin with examining
the function of the tree byzooming starting from theorigin of life (the student
can do it him/herself)
towards two species: First
Metanopyrus kandleri - a
type of methane bacteria
and then Homo sapiens. A
question is concerning

52

Rational for posing the interview question (e.g. how theinterview probe relates to theresearch questions)
The purpose of the question
is to understand how thestudent experiences the
movement the different gestures results in. How do you
perceive that time is represented in the animation?

Conceptual andreasoning aspectof interest

The zoom time represents
the same real time span but it
is approx. 10 times shorter
for Metanopyrus kandleri.
This reveals if the student
understand that the timeline
is not "equal" - that there aredifferent timelines for different branches - that it is not
the same.

Time- Estimating aduration- Comparing
time intervals

Zooming &Timewhat the student has justwitnessed; compare howlong time it took for theseorganisms (Homo sapiensvs Metanopyrus kandleri)
to develop?
3What does the branching
represent?

First to investigate whether
the concept of most recent
common ancestors is relevant second to be able todevelop it if it is not the case.
This is to give everyone thesame background in theforthcoming questions

Relatedness

4

Pairwise compare andwrite down:
How long ago did the mostrecent common ancestorto?
- banana and human live?
(recent joint ancestors
lived 1, 4 billion years ago)
- yeast and man live?
(recent joint ancestors
lived for 1049 million
years)- E.coli and human live?
(recent joint ancestors
lived 3.5 billion years ago)
- Tyrannosaurus andhuman live?
(recent common ancestors
lived 302 million years
ago)
Then transfer the information to a timeline. Did
you expect it or not? Why?

Provide students with a paper containing a linear timeline to fill in the different
times.

Time- Finding eventsat specific times- Relative order,

5

The pupils are then given
the task of comparing two
pairs of species
First tyrannosaurus andvelicoraptor then velicoraptor and house sparrow. Which species are
more closely related?
Reflections.

The purpose of the question
is to investigate whether the
student understands the tree
metaphor because the result
is contra-intuitive (should
give rise to a certain cognitive
conflict)?

Relatedness

6

Zoom in to a species ofyour choice. Zoom out

Relatedness53

slowly and specify what
are the closest relatives
and the groups and times
that appear.)
7

Zoom in to the Homosapiens. Then zoom out
bit by bit and indicate howlong ago our most recent
common ancestors witha) Chimpanzees livedb) Gorilla livedc) Orangutan lived

The purpose of this question
is to see if time i.e. order(time vertically) is perceived
correctly. How easy it is tofind explicit dates.

Time-Finding eventsat specific times- Relative order

8Compare when the mostrecent common ancestorof orangutan and man
lived with when the mostrecent common ancestorof human and chimpanzees lived.

The purpose of this question
is to investigate the perception of simultaneity, to what
extent the inconsistent visualization of the time axis of
the tree gives rise to misconceptions (time horizontally).

Time- Finding eventsat specific times- Relative order- Concurrency

9Compare when the mostrecent common ancestor
to tomato and potato lived(2 million years), respectively tomato and silkworm (118 million years)

10

Where in the tree is abillion years ago?

11

If there is an opportunity
to investigate "FlowTree"ask the following questions
1. What are the dots for?
Follow-up question: Whatis the colour change for?
2. What is each line for?
3. How many generations
are needed for a new species to be formed (discussion question without aclean answer)

12

Additional questions that
may arise at potentiallyappropriate times or
posed at the close of thesession54

Relatedness &Time- Finding eventsat specific times- Relative order
Shows if the student understands that the tree is inconsistent temporallyTime- Finding eventsat specific times- Concurrency

Time- Finding eventsat specific times

- Where is the tree now?
- Where are living andextinct species in the tree?
- The tree shows different
aspects of life - what aspects do you think ofwhen you see the tree?
(unit and diversity)- What was the most striking / instructive of theapplication

4.3 Analysis
Both studies included in the thesis are descriptive and exploratory andpreceded by pilot studies which guided the final research design. The
data collected from the two included studies were of different character
and were analysed in different ways.

4.3.1 Categorization of response in paper I
In paper I the students were asked to answer questions. Since thesequestions were of various formats (e.g. open ended, multiple choice) we
had to standardize the answers to be able to compare the results. Thus,
the results were categorized as either correct or incorrect. The multiplechoice questions were already in a format that resulted in either a correct or incorrect answer, but questions concerning finding events intime and estimating the duration of a time interval had to be categorized. After considering what boundary could be most valid, we agreed
that a 10 % deviation from the correct value would still be considered ascorrect, since that hardly would impact learners’ understanding of evolutionary time. One question with a unique format concerned how
many concurrent hominin species coexisted between the penultimate
and last ice-age. If more than one species was mentioned the answer
was considered as correct (i.e. a certain degree of ability to comprehend
concurrent events).
The results from each group working with a specific animation werethen aggregated, and a mean score for each group and question was
calculated, to enable comparisons between the groups.

55

4.3.2 Emergent themes from the interviews reported in
paper II
We analysed the transcripts from the semi-structured interview using
thematic content analysis, which is a generic method not necessarily
tied to any particular theoretical framework, and possible to combinewith predetermined codes (Robson, 2011).
The interview protocol was derived from prior research, and basedon experiences from the preceding pilots. It included predetermined
codes to target crucial concepts, but additional codes that emerged inductively from the data were added during the analysis. This combination of deductive and inductive methods resonates well with Mayring(2000) and Fereday and Muir-Cochrane (2006). The rationale for using
this dual approach was to gain as complete and rich information as
possible from the data. The predisposed deductive analysis ensured
that anticipated themes in the study were explored, while the inductive
analysis allowed for unanticipated themes to emerge from the data during the analytic process.
In the deductive analysis of the transcripts and video-recordings, theauthors each analyzed two arbitrarily assigned transcripts with regard
to the predetermined codes. Hence, six of the transcripts were jointly
analyzed, to reach agreement upon refinements of the coding regarding
variations and subcategories.
The analytic steps in the inductive analysis of the transcripts andvideo-recordings were:
1. Three researchers each read two of the transcripts to look for
emergent themes that could be used in the coding schema (i.e. forthe study relevant and salient utterances or actions)
2. An inductive code schema was developed based on the results fromthe preceding step
3. The new coding schema was applied to two new transcripts
4. Based on the outcome of the preceding step the coding schema wasfurther modified
5. The coding schema modified in the preceding step was applied to
two new transcripts
6. Based on the outcome of the preceding step the coding schema wasfurther modified and finalized
7. All of the transcripts were inductively analysed using the final coding schema

56

4.3.3 Analysis of interactions in paper II
DeepTree entails rich opportunities to interact, primarily by zooming.
We analyzed interactions in relation to zooming in two ways: partly bymeasuring the amount and intensity of zooming actions, and partly as aqualitative analysis of utterances made about zooming experiences.
Regarding the amount and intensity of zooming actions, we firstrecorded the intensity of zooming (i.e. how many zooming events theparticipant performed per minute), and then the fraction of time devoted to zooming during the engagement with the tabletop. Both of theseparameters were extracted from the video recordings.
The qualitative analysis of utterances relating to zooming was donein an inductive way using MAXQDA 2018 (VERBI Software, 2017) in
the following way:
1. All transcripts were analysed with regard to utterances thatmade reference to zooming or were related to zooming actions
2. The utterances were coded in two ways — whether the zooming
event referred to movements in a temporal space (i.e. as motion
in time) or a spatial space (i.e. as motion within the tree metaphor)
3. Utterances that included explicit indications of direction of thezooming movement (most frequently forward/backward,
up/down, nearer/further, in/out) where coded in accordancewith the attributed direction.
Thus, each utterance about zooming was subcategorized depending onwhether, and how, the zooming was expressed in terms of dimension(time or “metaphoric” space) and direction of the movement. This wasdone independently by two of the authors.

4.4 Reliability and Validity
Both of the studies included in this thesis are descriptive and explorative, and neither is quantitative. Thus, issues concerning validity andreliability have to be considered in this context.
In paper I the construct validity (i.e. whether it measures what is intended to be measured) of the items in the test instrument was assured
by having two researchers who developed the questions specifically forthe study. Furthermore, to ensure that the items were interpreted by
the users in the way intended, we performed interviews with four participants in the pilot studies concerning the phrasing of the questions.
Moreover, we also made recordings of the events displayed on thescreen, which made it possible to revisit any action, including answering the questions. Thus, it was possible to use the screen-recordings as57

a part of a triangulation. Since we did not use a specific theoreticalframework in the analysis of the test instrument, some of the mainthreats to validity were avoided, e.g. errors in interpretation due to imposing an assumed meaning and exclusion of alternative explanations(Robson, 2011).
Paper I was performed in a real world setting (i.e. in a real educational setting), which means that reliability is hard to guarantee, but
the internal generalizability (i.e. within the study) is assured since thesame animations and the test instrument were used in the same classrooms in the same way, guided and observed by the same researcher.
The external generalizability, that is, generalizability beyond the setting
studied (Robson, 2011), is lower since the study did not use a random
sample of participants.
In paper II a dual approach was used, including both a deductive andan inductive analysis. Based on prior research and results from the preceding pilot studies, a protocol for a semi-structured interview was developed by the three authors together. This ensured the construct validity of the items with predetermined themes.
To ensure the validity and trustworthiness of the inductive analysis
in paper II, the three researches developed the coding schema in theiterative manner described above. The inter-rater reliability was assured by two of the authors, who independently coded all of the utterances about the zooming experience, and reached an agreement that
resolved any dissimilarities in coding after a discussion. Furthermore,
all of the interactions and utterances made by the participants werevideo-recorded, thus providing a rich complementary source of information that also served as a triangulation (Robson, 2011).
Since the study in paper II was conducted in a clinical setting, the internal generalizability is high due to the controlled milieu, whereas it ishard to claim a high external generalizability, for the same reason.

4.5 Ethical Considerations
The research was conducted in accordance with the principle andguidelines provided by the Swedish Research Council (Gustafsson,
Hermerén, & Petersson, 2006). Prior to each of the studies all participants were informed about the purpose of the study, and signed a formof consent (see Appendix I & II). All of the information was treatedanonymously. Moreover, in paper I all of the information was treated inaggregated form.

585. Findings
In paper I a depiction of time based on the traditional western convention (i.e. the passage of time occurs along a timeline in one direction,from left to right) was used, but complemented with additional features
afforded by the digital environment. In paper II a very different andmuch less commonly used approach to visually communicate temporal
aspects was used, based on a touch-sensitive interface, with the temporal dimension being less bound to particular cultural conventions(Domenjó, 2010). In fact, it is still uncommon to use a third “depth”
dimension to control the temporal dimension in digital environments,
but there are examples, such as the Khronos projector (Cassinelli &Ishikawa, 2005).
First, an account of findings in the separate studies will be presented, followed by a comparison and compilation of findings that are relevant to both papers.

5.1 Paper I
The results from paper I show how well the students were able to interpret five different temporal aspects (finding events at specific times,
comprehending the relative order of events, estimating the duration ofa time interval, comparing different temporal durations and comprehending the concurrency of events) in four alternative representationsof time in an animation.
•

•
•
•

Of the two factors we investigated, time rate and number oftimelines, the most critical factor was the number of timelines.
The animations with only one timeline (A and B) gave rise to
low scores concerning items located near the present time. Thiswas particularly pronounced in the items related to finding
events at specific times and estimating a time interval.
The number of timelines did not, to any notable extent, affectthe results concerning the ability to apprehend relative order,
and to compare the duration of two time intervals.
In the case of a constant time rate with several timelines displayed (i.e. animation C), the quick series of events close to thepresent time impaired the comprehension of concurrent events.
Regarding the ability to comprehend concurrent events locatednear the present time, the student groups with a decreasing
59

•time pace succeeded much better than those with a constanttime rate.
In general, the animation that displayed three timelines and adecreasing rate of time (D) gave rise to the best results, with one
notable exception: comparing the duration of two time intervals
that spanned parts of the timeline with different scales. In this
item, students working with animation D succeeded worst of allgroups.

5.2 Paper II
In paper II we focused on three aspects of an application called DeepTree: how students interact with the application, how students interpret zooming, and which misinterpretations arise from the interactions
with DeepTree. The application elicited a very strong affective reaction
among many students. Utterances such as: “Woow!”, ”Ahh ..! Oops! ..
Oh oh oh!”, “I think it's cool” were frequent.
Two aspects of interactions were investigated: the frequency ofzooming (i.e. the number of zooming events per minute), and the proportion of time spent on zooming while working with DeepTree.
•

•

•
•

•

60

The students showed considerable variation concerning both
frequency and time spent on zooming. Generally, a higher proportion of time spent on zooming accompanied a higher zooming intensity, but several exceptions existed.
All students except one expressed the experience of zooming asa movement in a temporal space (i.e. in time) and/or in a spatial
space (i.e. in the tree, along branches that represent relatedness).
In two thirds (69%) of the utterances about zooming the direction of movement was expressed.
In utterances concerning the direction of movements in time,the vast majority (62%) were stated in terms of going forward/backward, whereas the predominant (44%) direction expressed in relation to movements in the tree was nearer/further(i.e. using a proximity metaphor).
The proximity metaphor was used in three different ways by thestudents: as closeness within the tree metaphor, that is, closeness in terms of neighborhood (n=7); as close relationships(n=3); and as a closeness to the tree itself, i.e. as if the tree or
the user was approaching each other (n=3).

•

•
•

Two distinct groups were discerned: students who made manyutterances (6 or more) about movements in time, and students
who talked less about temporal movements (with 2 or fewer utterances). Hereafter, I will denote the group with many utterances about time T (abbreviation for temporal) and the groupwith few utterances about time S (abbreviation for spatial).
Group T also made more utterances generally and interacted
more than did group S
The results also reveal several misinterpretations:a) the assumption that there is an implicit coherent timelinealong the y-axis of the interface that could be applied to all of
the lineages in the tree (n=4),b) the assumption that zooming time corresponds to real evolutionary time in a consistent way (n=10),c) the assumption that the branch tips represent present time(n=4), andd) the assumption that more nodes (i.e. “branching points”)
along a lineage means longer real time (n=5).

5.3 Comparison of Findings in Both Papers
In the following text, the findings with relevance to both papers aredescribed and compared in the light of each other. Of course, the comparisons are imprecise, since the questions and tasks were different and
set in different situations, but they do provide a basis for evaluating
how the different visualizations communicate the various temporal
aspects investigated.
How do the different versions of time representation affectstudents’ ability to find events at specific times?
Generally, finding events at specific times was not a difficult task in thevisualization used in paper I, except for animations with only one timeline near the end of the time where the sequence of events appearedvery quickly, which resulted in low results.
Since DeepTree lacks a coherent time axis (as the primary purposeof the tree is not to convey time but relatedness), identifying specifictimes was much harder and prone to be misinterpreted, except for:those specific times that were explicitly labelled in the tree, contemporary species in the canopy, and the origin of life. This was illustrated byquestion 8 and 10 in the semi-structured interview (see Table 5).

61How do the different versions of time representation affectstudents’ ability to comprehend the relative order of events?
The results show that comprehending relative order was not difficult
for the participants in paper I, independent of where the times werelocated on the timeline and independent of which animation was used.
The same results apply to paper II, in which all of the students who
answered question 7 (n=5) were correct (see Table 5). This result is inline with prior research (e.g. Libarkin, Kurdziel, & Anderson, 2007).
How do the different versions of time representation affectstudents’ ability to estimate the duration of a time interval?
The ability to estimate the duration of a time interval in paper I appeared to depend much on which visualization was used, as it was moredifficult for groups working with animations with only one timeline,
especially near the end of the animation, where the sequence of eventsoccurred quickly. In paper II, estimating the duration of time intervals
was prone to be misunderstood by all users which was revealed in question 2 (see Table 5), since zooming time was equated with the time interval, which is not correct.
How do the different versions of time representation affectstudents’ ability to compare different temporal durations?
Making correct comparisons of time intervals in paper I was relatively
independent of which animation was used, with one exception: student
groups working with an animation featuring several timelines and adecreasing default animated time rate performed worst at comparing
events with intervals that spanned parts of the timeline with different
scales (contrary to the relatively high score on every other aspect investigated). In paper II, all students (n=10) were unable to compare timeintervals, since zooming time was equated with time interval, which is
not correct. This was revealed by results from question 2 in Table 5.
How do the different versions of time representation affectstudents’ ability to comprehend the concurrency of events?
The most influential factor in paper I affecting the ability to comprehend concurrent events was high cognitive load. This was particularly
pronounced in animations where several timelines were displayed simultaneously and the animation speed was relatively high. In paper II theparticipants faced a different kind of problem in perceiving and comprehending concurrent events: the implicit and incoherent time axis
leading from the root to the canopy. This was evident considering theresults from question 10 in Table 5, where four of the seven students
62who answered the question misinterpreted the temporal information.
Thus, they could not correctly comprehend concurrent events. A summary of these comparisons is presented below.
Table 6. A comparison of how hard it was to understand different temporal aspects in the two visualizations

Students’ ability toTimeline

DeepTree(Zooming)
Difficult(unlesslabelled
in the tree)
Easyfind events at specific times

Easy in animations with expanded timelines (C and D)

comprehend the relative orderof events?
estimate the duration of a timeinterval?

Easy
Easy in animations with expanded timelines (C and D)

Difficultcompare different temporal
durations?

Difficult for all, but mostdifficult for animation D

Difficultcomprehend the concurrencyof events?

Difficult if many timelines,
but most difficult in C

Difficult63

64

6. Discussion and Implications
Considering, important contemporary environmental and health issues, the need to understand evolution and evolutionary time seems
ever so urgent. These are problems with many implications from philosophical (e.g. ethical, aesthetical) to practical (e.g. public health, economical) issues. Furthermore, they highlight different aspects of evolutionary time: loss of biodiversity and climate change should be considered in the light of speciation, and the current climate change should becompared with the rate of former climate changes, i.e. long evolutionary time.
The challenge of understanding evolutionary time is largely due tothe different magnitudes of the temporal scales involved. Thus, the thesis research supports the claim that temporal scales constitute a
threshold concept in biology (Ross et al., 2010) that should be consciously considered when teaching evolution. Time spans covering millions of years are challenging for learners, since the magnitude of scale
is far from human experience and prone to be underestimated (Lee etal., 2011).
Furthermore, this poses a problem when designing representationsof evolutionary time, since the temporal distribution of events often
tends to be uneven (Vít & Bláha, 2012) and often there is a need toswitch between overview and detail (Boyd-Davis et al., 2013). In thisrespect, new dynamic and interactive technologies can offer new waysof communicating evolutionary time. Thus, the central issue in thisresearch is how dynamic visualizations can facilitate teaching andlearning about evolutionary time in educational settings for different
purposes. Understanding evolutionary time in this context means: a) tobe able to order events, b) to locate events in time, c) to comprehend
concurrent events, d) to estimate time intervals, and e) to compare theduration of time intervals (Hidalgo, Fernando, & Otero, 2004).
Based on the findings in this research, I claim that addressing a, b
and c is possible by using well-designed visualizations, which will beelaborated below. Addressing d and e is more complicated, since it involves several abilities: finding the time of onset and termination andthen estimating the difference when calculating an interval. Even moremathematical operations are involved in comparisons of time intervals,
but well-chosen and well-designed visualizations can offer ways to visually aid the perception of the length of one or several time intervals.
An important problem affecting the comprehension of several of these
aspects of time is related to the threshold concept of temporal scales,i.e., moving between scales (Meyer & Land, 2005; Ross et al., 2010).
The problem with visualizing temporal scales of different magnitudes
was evident in both papers, manifested as conflicting design issues; for65example, the use of various time rates in animations, which facilitates
perceiving details and might improve the narrative structure (BoydDavis, 2013b; Vít & Bláha, 2012), simultaneously reinforces intuitive
errors in users (Lee et al., 2011).
This research shows that careful choice and informed use of visualizations matters, and that different visualizations will be best suited for
different educational purposes (Phillips, Norris, & Macnab, 2010). This
will be elaborated on in the following text. First, findings from the twostudies will be discussed from a wider perspective. Then, implications
for teaching and learning will be covered. This will be followed by the
major conclusions, finally ending with suggestions for future research.

6.1 Animated Timelines in Visualizationsof Evolutionary Time
Timelines have been used at least during the past 250 years (BoydDavis, 2012), but new technologies extend the possibilities to express
time in timelines, e.g. animated timelines. In paper I, the combinationof two design features in animated timelines was investigated in relation to how evolutionary time is comprehended: a) number of timelines, and b) constant versus variable rate of time. In the following I
will discuss the findings in light of prior research and important aspects regarding the use of animated timelines in education.
Five aspects were possible to discern that could influence how animated timelines were comprehended: whether the representation oftime did or did not involve temporal shifts in relation to “real” time
(Lee, et al., 2011; Vít & Bláha, 2012), the structure of the narrative in
the animation (Boyd-Davis, 2013b), the cognitive load (Mayer & Moreno, 2003), the temporal resolution (i.e. the time rate, especially during
event “intensive” periods), and the spatial resolution of the timeline(i.e. how sparsely events were distributed). The factors that were anticipated to impair, distort or aggravate comprehension of temporal aspects were: high cognitive load, and low temporal and spatial resolution. Narrative flow (primarily the temporal distribution of events) anddistortion of time (in the form of variable time rates) were expected tobe advantageous or disadvantageous under different circumstances,
depending on the educational objective.
A compilation of how the different animations relate to the abovementioned aspects is shown in Table 7.

66

Table 7. A comparison of important aspects in the different animations.

Animation
A. 1 timeline
and constanttime rate
B. 1 timelineand variable
time rate
C. 3 timelines
and constanttime rate
D. 3 timelines
and variable
time rateTimedistortion(variable
time rate)

Narrative
flow (thetemporal
distributionof events
displayed)

Cognitive
load due tosplit attention (several timelines
and/orvariabletime rate)

Temporalresolution
in part III(howquickly
events are
displayed)

Spatialresolution
in part III(howdensely
events are
positionedon thetimeline)nouneven

low

poor

poor

yes

even

medium

good

poor

no

uneven

high

poor

good

yes

even

mediumgood

good

The major findings were generally in line with what was predicted: alow spatial resolution, that is, animations with only one timeline (A andB), most notably gave rise to poor results, concerning the event-filledperiod close to the present time. This was particularly pronounced regarding items related to finding events at specific times, and estimating
a time interval. Prior research has shown that there is a tendency tounderestimate durations for large temporal magnitudes (Catley &Novick, 2009) and to overestimate small numbers (Dehaene et al.,2008). This is what has been called the compression effect (Longo &Lourenco, 2007), towards a range that is familiar to human experiences. Because of the compression effect Lee et al. (2011) recommend carefulness when using visualizations with alterations in time rate, since
this actually reinforces the intuitive error. This is a probable reason forthe bad result concerning comparisons of durations in the animation
with a decreasing time pace and several timelines (animation D).
Assessing the relative order of events was the least demanding task
for the participants, independent of which animation was used. This is
not surprising, since it was possible to comprehend the order without
reference to the representation of time. This applies to items related toconcurrency as well, but in that case indications of cognitive load due tosplit attention (Mayer & Moreno, 2003; Peterson, 1999) were indicatedin the animation that displayed several timelines and a constant time
rate (animation C). Generally, a representation with several timelines67and a decreasing time rate gave rise to the best results, with one notable
exception: comparisons of durations involving time spans that spanned
temporal shifts.
A contributing factor in this case might also be the high cognitive
load. When designing animations involving evolutionary time, otheraspects have to be considered, for example that much more is known
about the recent past compared to more distant past (Boyd-Davis,2012). This aggravates the problem with uneven distribution of events,
which can impair the narrative of an animation (Vít & Bláha, 2012).
Thus, informed decisions have to be made when choosing an appropriate visualization for specific educational purposes. In contrast to someprior research (Midtbø, Clarke, & Fabrikant, 2007), this study indicatesthat the design of the time representation does matter, and can affectlearners’ abilities to comprehend at least some temporal aspects.

6.2 Aspects of Temporal Representations in Touch
Sensitive Interfaces
The visualization used in paper II, DeepTree, was, contrary to the animation in paper I, open-ended and with no predetermined sequence of
events. The level of interactivity and the user control was considerably
higher compared with the animation in paper I. DeepTree actually required interactivity on behalf of the user, in order for it to respond.
Several aspects of the interface of DeepTree made it a highly embodied
experience: for example, the touch interface and the zooming experience, which bears strong resemblance to travelling along a road withsigns and crossings that pass along the way. Zooming is perhaps themost striking feature of DeepTree, which evokes strong reactions
among users.
However, since the study concerning DeepTree was performed under clinical conditions with only ten persons from the same age groupand educational background, and with a large majority of females, theresults are not readily generalizable. Despite this, the interviews provided rich insight into which possibilities and problems are associatedwith this kind of dynamic visualization involving evolutionary time.

6.3 The zoom aspect of DeepTree
One of the finding in paper II was that there was considerable variation
among students concerning the time spent on zooming and the intensity of zooming events. All students, except one, comprehended the68zooming feature as a movement. This student did not express any particular interpretation of zooming, but could correctly identify the originof life and incorrectly perceived the implicit y-axis as a coherent temporal axis. Furthermore, the participants were distributed equally
among those who made many utterances about zooming as a movement in time or as a movement in space (i.e. within the tree metaphor).
The direction of zooming movements in time was dominated by theforward/backward metaphor, and the direction of zooming movementsin the tree metaphor was dominated by the nearer/further metaphor.
Viewed through the theoretical lens of embodied cognition, severalof the results make sense. It is apparent that most participants experience zooming as striking, probably because it is very similar to travelling along a road. This is even further reinforced by the touch sensitive
interface, which acts similar to a throttle control. The experience is very
immersive, and gave rise to many affective reactions.
According to Wilson (2002), embodied cognition should preferably
be considered according to separate claims made by the framework. I
will respond to three of these claims, namely: 1) that cognition is situated, 2) that we off-load cognitive work to the environment, and 3) thatthe environment constitutes a part of the cognitive system. Claim 1 applies well to the included studies, since the participants were situated ina particular environment and forced to act and perceive using a specificanimation, and solving specific tasks. Claim 2 applies as well, as theinformation was held in the animations, and could be accessed on demand by the user by interactions. This was most pronounced in DeepTree. Furthermore, DeepTree constituted a manifestation of claim 3,
since participants cognitively could simulate the outcome of hypothetical questions and then perform the actual operation on the tabletop, totest their simulated outcome. Moreover, it was possible for the users todevelop their understanding by a dynamic interplay between the cognitive simulations, which could be tested and modified, using the externalsimulation on the board.

6.3.1 The time aspect of DeepTree
One of the major findings in paper II was that the application, in its
present design, does not help students very much to understand evolutionary time. The only temporal aspect that could easily be discerned tocomprehend relative order of events. However, the experience of working with DeepTree had very little effect on student’s perception of evolutionary time. For example, the student’s prediction of the time for thedinosaur development before working with DeepTree with their an-69

swers after the session were very disappointing. Only three of ten students had changed their mind to more correct answers.
On one hand, this might not be so strange, since phylogenetic trees
originally were developed to illustrate kinship. However, with the possibilities available today, an interactive tree could also be designed tofill temporal relationships. For example, to shift moods between different options like time or kinship.
To prioritize temporal aspects in a visualization such as DeepTree,the ability to find specific times in an evolutionary tree should be facilitated not only by labelling important events with the approximate time
but also somehow inform users if there is a timeline, and what kind ofscale it has. In this way the ability to perceive the order of events, concurrency of events and periods would also be facilitated.
In its present form, DeepTree may be associated with several temporal-related misunderstandings (see below).

6.3.2 Misinterpretations induced by DeepTree
Several misinterpretations were observed, some of which have beenreported in prior research (Meir et al., 2007): that the branch tips represent present time, that there is an implicit coherent timeline along
the y-axis, and that more branching points infer a longer time. In addition, an unanticipated type of misinterpretation was observed, whicharose from the zooming feature: that zooming time corresponds to realevolutionary time, which is not the case.
One interpretation of the results is that the zooming experience cancontribute to learning but also cause misinterpretations. That time often is thought of (and expressed) metaphorically as space is well known(Boroditsky, 2000; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, 1999). Since time is explicitly expressed in DeepTree with the origin of life situated at the root,
and that many of the species located in the canopy are contemporary, it
is not very surprising that zooming can be assumed to correspond to apassage in time. However, if time is perceived as distance, then longer
experienced distance means longer time.
Another misinterpretation was that many of the participants
thought that more nodes meant longer time. A parallel misinterpretation in prior research was observed by Meir et al. (2007), who foundthat more intervening nodes between two species was interpreted as asign of less relatedness.
In the DeepTree application, another probable source of misinterpretation is that more nodes confer longer zoom time. All participants
assumed that unequal zooming time also meant unequal evolutionary
time, which is not the case. The zooming time from the origin of life tocontemporary species differs much more than would be explained by70their evolutionary history. This was a misinterpretation all participants
made. Thus, using embodied experiences can be a useful method tomake meaning but can also cause grave misinterpretations.

6.4 Implications for Teaching and Learning about
Evolution
As a teacher with long experience of education at upper secondary level,
I know that teaching in real world setting is multifaceted, and dependent on a variety of factors. Thus, the use of visualizations such as theones investigated in this thesis should also be considered from a wider
perspective. To successfully teach and learn with visualizations, representational competence is crucial both for the teachers and the students. On the part of the teacher, important knowledge concerns whichamong the many available animations to choose, considering the educational purpose, as well as the ability to arrange the learning situationand how to scaffold the visualizations used. To use visualizations in
educational settings in an optimal way, supplementary discussion isneeded since visual tools always need explanations.
A result emerging from the thesis research supports the notion thatan awareness of the different important factors in relation to the educational objective is the key to successful use of visualizations. In the particular case of paper I (visualization of evolutionary time in hominin
history), design issues affecting the cognitive load and narrative have tobe acknowledged, as well as the importance of pre-knowledge and theobjective of the learning situation. “No size fits all” as it were — different representations suit different educational purposes. To give a simple and proportionally correct rendering of the temporal sequence, inorder to highlight how insignificant is the time our species has existed
in comparison to the origin of life, animation A with one timeline and aconstant time rate will serve well. But if it is important to be able toidentify and reason about subtler and/or concurrent events, animation
D would be preferable.
Since the study in paper II was conducted in a clinical environment,
it is harder to extrapolate to real world settings, but the results indicatethat this kind of new technology has the potential to make strong impressions on learners, not the least by connecting to bodily experiences(e.g. travelling). Zooming can be an embodied and affectively engaging
feature, but the experience has to serve a function in relation to theintended purpose. The results also reveal that this potential has to beframed and guided, since it is easy to misinterpret several of the features in the application. Unity and diversity among organisms is well71

communicated, but further development is required if educational purposes concerning temporal aspects in evolution are to be fulfilled.
A viable path to using visualizations of evolutionary time is throughthe use of multiple representations (Ainsworth, 1999), which reduces
the number of compromises needed. Even better would be if different
representations could be built into the same application, so that it
would be possible to switch between representational “modes”. One
such example would be the way phylogenetic trees can be depicted differently depending on how the temporal factor is expressed.
A common problem facing users of visualizations is high cognitive
load. In the case of the visualization in paper I it could result fromdistortions of time perception due to different time rate or variable
scales, or due to the split attention effect. One way to circumvent thiskind of problem is to provide the user with a high degree of control andinteractivity. For example, the abilty to zoom in on specific parts of atimeline by pinching, to access information that needs more details.
Moreover, the availability of the visualization can be important. If it ispossible to revisit the animation any time and from many places, as is
the case if it is available on the internet, the opportunity to investigate
the information becomes better, thus enhancing the learning
opportunities.

6.5 Summary and Conclusion
As mentioned at the beginning of this thesis, several immensely important contemporary problems facing the human species require scientific literacy to be addressed in a rational way. The issues mentioned
require knowledge about evolution, including evolutionary time, inorder to understand, form opinions and take proper action. In my own
opinion, education and scientific outreach are the only viable routes toincrease scientific literacy, so any tool that provides support and improvements to education is valuable. One novel type of tool used in education is interactive dynamic visualizations; and how these can facilitate teaching and learning about evolution and evolutionary time is thetheme of this thesis.
Evolutionary trees have been used for more than 150 years now andmodern timelines more than 250 years. New technologies have extended the opportunities that these representations can offer, especially incommunicating dynamic processes and in possibilities to interact.
Much research has been devoted to how static evolutionary trees andtimelines are comprehended among learners, but there are still gaps inknowledge concerning how new dynamic visualizations are understood.
72

This thesis is a contribution to fill some of the gaps in existingknowledge. The major findings in this thesis are as follows:
•

•

•

•

Several factors should be considered when designing and choosing
among the available visualizations of predetermined sequences in
evolutionary time for educational settings. Depending on the specific educational object, different aspects will be important.
If it is important to discern details in minor parts of a depicted
evolutionary history, then a change of rate could be favoured. Thismight also improve the narrative structure if it is a predeterminedsequence of events, for example in an animation.
A drawback with altering time rate is that it might reinforce an intuitive tendency to underestimate very long time periods and overestimate the duration of very short time periods. Thus, the use of
temporal changes should be used carefully, especially if it is important to understand comparisons of time intervals.
The cognitive load imposed on the learner has to be considered.
This factor is especially relevant concerning concurrency of events,and even more so if the representation of time is multifaceted orcomplex, since the split attention effect might impair the comprehension of events.

An alternative way to address evolutionary time is by means of interactive features, such as touch sensitive interfaces that afford zooming. The highly embodied and immersive experience of this kind of applications can affect learners in a strong way. This thesis has shownthat:• zooming can be interpreted in different ways
• zooming can lead till reinforced misinterpretations• with well-guided use, the potential for learning is very promising.

6.6 Future Research
The results from the studies included in this thesis uncover potential
new research questions and themes. Visualizations aiming to enhance
understanding of the combined effect of the components involved in
the process of evolution (i.e., evolutionary time in combination withlarge populations, small probabilities of mutations in certain genes, andnatural selection) would be most interesting, since this targets thecomplex mechanisms of evolution by natural selection.
73

A second area of research that would be very interesting to follow up
on, would be how the combination of the opportunities offered by new
interactive and immersive technologies can be combined with the informed use of knowledge from embodied cognition to facilitate learning. An example would be to build upon the strong experience thatzooming is perceived as travelling but deliberately use the visual metaphor in an informed way to exploit the possibility to emphasize temporal aspects.
A third interesting field would be to analyze how informed use ofmultiple representations concerning evolutionary time could contributeto teaching and learning. For example, presentation of a phylogenetic
tree in which different aspects could be prioritized (e.g., correct chronological time or the most effective way to visualize relationship).

74

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85

Appendix I

Deltagandeavtal
Detta avtal är ett medgivande till materialanvändning från den som deltagit i en enkätundersökningoch skärminspelning vid datoranvändande med avsikt att ge råmaterial till forskning, primärt vid
institutionerna ITN och ISV vid Linköpings universitet.
Användande av materialet

Användande av materialet avser analys av deltagarnas svar samt interaktion med maskin- ochmjukvara. Materialet kommer huvudsakligen att analyserat i aggregerat tillstånd. Råmaterialet
kommer att förvaras på ett säkert sätt och ej sprids utanför den inblandade forskargruppen.
att- upptaget material från enkät och skärminspelning där jag
medverkar får användas i forskningssyfte, förutsatt att det
hanteras i enighet med vedertagen svensk forskningsetik.

o Jag medger
o Jag medger ej

Presentation av resultat från studieno Jag medger

att enkätmaterial, avidentifierade och anonymiserade fåranvändas i samband med presentationer och publicering av
studiens resultat.

o Jag medger ej

att skärminspelade sekvenser där jag medverkar får användas isamband med presentationer och publicering av studiensresultat förutsatt att materialet är avidentifierat och anonymt.

o Jag medger
o Jag medger ejÅngerrätt

Jag kan när jag vill ändra mina nuvarande medgivanden och avbryta mitt deltagande i studien. Det
uppdaterade avtalet träder i kraft när det mottages av kontaktpersonen och gäller ej retroaktivt
avseende publicering utförd i enighet med tidigare avtal.
Underskrift
Namn (textat)

Personnummer

Ort och datum
Underskrift

Kontaktperson:

Namn:
Adress:Jörgen Stenlund E-post: jorgen.stenlund@oru.se
Linköpings universitet, ISV, SE-601 74 Norrköping

Appendix II
Titel:
Liggande cmyk
Skapad av:
Adobe InDesign 2.0.2
Förhandsgranska:
Den här EPS-bilden sparades inte
med en inkluderad förhandsgranskning.
Beskrivning:
Den här EPS-bilden kan skrivas ut på en
PostScript-skrivare, men inte på
andra typer av skrivare.

Deltagandeavtal

Avtal avseende användningsbegränsning av
forskningsmaterial
Detta avtal är ett medgivande till materialanvändning från den som deltagit vid en bildoch/eller ljudupptagning med avsikt att ge råmaterial till forskning, primärt vid
institutionerna ITN och ISV vid Linköpings universitet.
Allmänt användande av materialet
Allmänt användande av materialet avser t.ex. analys av deltagarnas interaktion med
maskin- och mjukvara. Det innebär att materialet ej sprids utanför de inblandade
forskargrupperna.
o Jag medger
o Jag medger ej
Att upptaget bild- och ljudmaterial där jag medverkar får användas i forskningssyfte ochdatorbehandlas, förutsatt att det hanteras i enighet med vedertagen svensk forskningsetik.
Utdrag ur materialet för användning vid presentationer
Det huvudsakliga syftet med att använda utdrag ur materialet är att kunna visa på specifika
situationer där beteenden exponeras som bedöms vara relevanta i relation till forskningen.
o Jag medger
o Jag medger ej
Att utdrag ur upptaget bild- och ljudmaterial där jag medverkar får användas vid
presentationer anknytande till forskning, förutsatt att mitt namn döljs.
Utdrag ur materialet för användning vid elektronisk publicering
Elektronisk publicering är en möjlighet att sprida kunskap om forskning vid Linköpings
universitet, primärt till andra forskare men även till allmänheten. Bilder och videoutdragunderlättar förståelsen för sampresenterat skriftligt material och är ett ypperligt sätt att visa
intressanta exempel.
o Jag medger att utdrag ur upptaget bild- och ljudmaterial där jag medverkar får användas
vid elektronisk publicering anknytande till forskning, förutsatt att mitt namn döljs.
o Jag medger att endast stillbildsutdrag ur upptaget bildmaterial där jag medverkar får
användas vid elektronisk publicering anknytande till forskning, förutsatt att mitt namn
döljs.
o Jag medger inget användande vid elektronisk publicering av utdrag ur upptaget bild- eller
ljudmaterial där jag medverkar.

Deltagandeavtal

Titel:
Liggande cmyk
Skapad av:
Adobe InDesign 2.0.2
Förhandsgranska:
Den här EPS-bilden sparades inte
med en inkluderad förhandsgranskning.
Beskrivning:
Den här EPS-bilden kan skrivas ut på en
PostScript-skrivare, men inte på
andra typer av skrivare.

Utdrag ur materialet för användning vid tryckning.
Forskningsmaterial publiceras oftast i tryckt form och fotografier eller utvalda stillbilder urvideosekvenser kan förtydliga budskapet. Publicering sker mestadels i vetenskapliga
tidsskrifter och i samband med forskningsrelaterade konferenser.
o Jag medger
o Jag medger ej
Att utdrag ur upptaget bildmaterial där jag medverkar får användas vid publicering i tryckt
form, förutsatt att mitt namn döljs.
Ångerrätt
Jag förbehåller mig rätten att vid senare datum ändra mina nuvarande medgivanden,
varvid jag insänder en uppdaterad version av detta avtal till nedanstående kontaktperson.
Det uppdaterade avtalet träder i kraft när det mottages av kontaktpersonen och gäller ej
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E-post:Adress:Jörgen Stenlund
jorgen.stenlund@oru.seÖrebro universitet,
Institutionen för naturvetenskap och teknik,
701 82 Örebro

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Papers
The papers associated with this thesis have been removed for
copyright reasons. For more details about these see:
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-154619

Studies in Science and Technology Education
ISSN 1652-5051

1. Margareta Enghag (2004): MINIPROJECTS AND CONTEXT RICH PROBLEMS –Case studies with qualitative analysis of motivation, learner ownership andcompetence in small group work in physics. (licentiate thesis) Linköping University
2. Carl-Johan Rundgren (2006): Meaning-Making in Molecular Life Science Education– upper secondary school students’ interpretation of visualizations of proteins.
(licentiate thesis) Linköping University
3. Michal Drechsler (2005): Textbooks’, teachers’, and students´ understanding ofmodels used to explain acid-base reactions. ISSN: 1403-8099, ISBN: 91-85335-40-1.
(licentiate thesis) Karlstad University
4. Margareta Enghag (2007): Two dimensions of Student Ownership of Learning during
Small-Group Work with Miniprojects and context rich Problems in Physics. ISSN:
1651-4238, ISBN: 91-85485-31-4. (Doctoral Dissertation) Mälardalen University
5. Maria Åström (2007): Integrated and Subject-specific. An empirical exploration of
Science education in Swedish compulsory schools. (Licentiate thesis) Linköping
university
6. Ola Magntorn (2007): Reading Nature: developing ecological literacy throughteaching. (Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
7. Maria Andreé (2007): Den levda läroplanen. En studie av naturorienterande
undervisningspraktiker i grundskolan. ISSN: 1400-478X, HLS Förlag: ISBN 978-917656-632-9 (Doctoral Dissertation, LHS)
8. Mattias Lundin (2007): Students' participation in the realization of school science
activities.(Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
9. Michal Drechsler (2007): Models in chemistry education. A study of teaching andlearning acids and bases in Swedish upper secondary schools ISBN 978-91-7063-1122 (Doctoral Dissertation) Karlstad University
10. Proceedings from FontD Vadstena-meeting, April 2006.
11. Eva Blomdahl (2007): Teknik i skolan. En studie av teknikundervisning för yngre
skolbarn. ISSN: 1400-478X, HLS Förlag: ISBN 978-91-7656-635-0 (Doctoral
Dissertation, LHS)
12. Iann Lundegård (2007): På väg mot pluralism. Elever i situerade samtal kring hållbar
utveckling. ISSN:1400-478X, HLS Förlag: ISBN 978-91-7656-642-8 (Doctoral
Dissertation, LHS)
13. Lena Hansson (2007): ”Enligt fysiken eller enligt mig själv?” – Gymnasieelever,fysiken och grundantaganden om världen. (Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping
University.
14. Christel Persson (2008): Sfärernas symfoni i förändring? Lärande i miljö för hållbar
utveckling med naturvetenskaplig utgångspunkt. En longitudinell studie igrundskolans tidigare årskurser. (Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
15. Eva Davidsson (2008): Different Images of Science – a study of how science isconstituted in exhibitions. ISBN: 978-91-977100-1-5 (Doctoral Dissertation) Malmö
University
16. Magnus Hultén (2008): Naturens kanon. Formering och förändring av innehållet ifolkskolans och grundskolans naturvetenskap 1842-2007. ISBN: 978-91-7155-612-7(Doctoral Dissertation) Stockholm University
17. Lars-Erik Björklund (2008): Från Novis till Expert: Förtrogenhetskunskap i kognitiv
och didaktisk belysning. (Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University.
18. Anders Jönsson (2008): Educative assessment for/of teacher competency. A study ofassessment and learning in the “Interactive examination” for student teachers. ISBN:
978-91-977100-3-9 (Doctoral Dissertation) Malmö University

19. Pernilla Nilsson (2008): Learning to teach and teaching to learn - primary science
student teachers' complex journey from learners to teachers. (Doctoral Dissertation)
Linköping University
20. Carl-Johan Rundgren (2008): VISUAL THINKING, VISUAL SPEECH - a Semiotic
Perspective on Meaning-Making in Molecular Life Science. (Doctoral Dissertation)
Linköping University
21. Per Sund (2008): Att urskilja selektiva traditioner i miljöundervisningens
socialisationsinnehåll – implikationer för undervisning för hållbar utveckling. ISBN:
978-91-85485-88-8 (Doctoral Dissertation) Mälardalen University
22. Susanne Engström (2008): Fysiken spelar roll! I undervisning om hållbara
energisystem - fokus på gymnasiekursen Fysik A. ISBN: 978-91-85485-96-3(Licentiate thesis) Mälardalen University
23. Britt Jakobsson (2008): Learning science through aesthetic experience in elementary
school science. Aesthetic judgement, metaphor and art. ISBN: 978-91-7155-654-7.
(Doctoral Dissertation) Stockholm university
24. Gunilla Gunnarsson (2008): Den laborativa klassrumsverksamhetens interaktioner En studie om vilket meningsskapande år 7-elever kan erbjudas i möten med denlaborativa verksamhetens instruktioner, artefakter och språk inom elementär ellära,
samt om lärares didaktiska handlingsmönster i dessa möten. (Doctoral Dissertation)
Linköping University
25. Pernilla Granklint Enochson (2008): Elevernas föreställningar om kroppens organ
och kroppens hälsa utifrån ett skolsammanhang. (Licentiate thesis) Linköping
University
26. Maria Åström (2008): Defining Integrated Science Education and putting it to test
(Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
27. Niklas Gericke (2009): Science versus School-science. Multiple models in genetics –The depiction of gene function in upper secondary textbooks and its influence on
students’ understanding. ISBN 978-91-7063-205-1 (Doctoral Dissertation) Karlstad
University
28. Per Högström (2009): Laborativt arbete i grundskolans senare år - lärares mål och
hur de implementeras. ISBN 978-91-7264-755-8 (Doctoral Dissertation) UmeåUniversity
29. Annette Johnsson (2009): Dialogues on the Net. Power structures in asynchronous
discussions in the context of a web based teacher training course. ISBN 978-91977100-9-1 (Doctoral Dissertation) Malmö University
30. Elisabet M. Nilsson (2010): Simulated ”real” worlds: Actions mediated throughcomputer game play in science education. ISBN 978-91-86295-02-8 (Doctoral
Dissertation) Malmö University
31. Lise-Lotte Österlund (2010): Redox models in chemistry: A depiction of theconceptions held by upper secondary school students of redox reactions. ISBN 97891-7459-053-1 (Doctoral Dissertation) Umeå University
32. Claes Klasander (2010): Talet om tekniska system – förväntningar, traditioner och
skolverkligheter. ISBN 978-91-7393-332-2 (Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping
University
33. Maria Svensson (2011): Att urskilja tekniska system – didaktiska dimensioner igrundskolan. ISBN 978-91-7393-250-9 (Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
34. Nina Christenson (2011): Knowledge, Value and Personal experience – Upper
secondary students’ use of supporting reasons when arguing socioscientific issues.
ISBN 978-91-7063-340-9 (Licentiate thesis) Karlstad University
35. Tor Nilsson (2011): Kemistudenters föreställningar om entalpi och relaterade
begrepp. ISBN 978-91-7485-002-4 (Doctoral Dissertation) Mälardalen University
36. Kristina Andersson (2011): Lärare för förändring – att synliggöra och utmana
föreställningar om naturvetenskap och genus. ISBN 978-91-7393-222-6 (Doctoral
Dissertation) Linköping University
37. Peter Frejd (2011): Mathematical modelling in upper secondary school in Sweden An
exploratory study. ISBN: 978-91-7393-223-3 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University38. Daniel Dufåker (2011): Spectroscopy studies of few particle effects in pyramidal
quantum dots. ISBN 978-91-7393-179-3 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
39. Auli Arvola Orlander (2011): Med kroppen som insats: Diskursiva spänningsfält ibiologiundervisningen på högstadiet. ISBN 978-91-7447-258-5 (Doctoral
Dissertation) Stockholm University
40. Karin Stolpe (2011): Att uppmärksamma det väsentliga. Lärares ämnesdidaktiskaförmågor ur ett interaktionskognitivt perspektiv. ISBN 978-91-7393-169-4 (Doctoral
Dissertation) Linköping University
41. Anna-Karin Westman (2011) Samtal om begreppskartor – en väg till ökad förståelse.
ISBN 978-91-86694-43-2 (Licentiate thesis) Mid Sweden University
42. Susanne Engström (2011) Att vördsamt värdesätta eller tryggt trotsa.
Gymnasiefysiken, undervisningstraditioner och fysiklärares olika strategier för
energiundervisning. ISBN 978-91-7485-011-6 (Doctoral Dissertation) Mälardalen
University
43. Lena Adolfsson (2011) Attityder till naturvetenskap. Förändringar av flickors och
pojkars attityder till biologi, fysik och kemi 1995 till 2007. ISBN 978-91-7459-233-7(Licentiate thesis) Umeå University
44. Anna Lundberg (2011) Proportionalitetsbegreppet i den svenska gymnasiematematiken – en studie om läromedel och nationella prov. ISBN 978-91-7393-132-8(Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
45. Sanela Mehanovic (2011) The potential and challenges of the use of dynamic software
in upper secondary Mathematics. Students’ and teachers’ work with integrals in
GeoGebra based environments. ISBN 978-91-7393-127-4 (Licentiate thesis)
Linköping University
46. Semir Becevic (2011) Klassrumsbedömning i matematik på gymnasieskolans nivå.
ISBN 978-91-7393-091-8 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
47. Veronica Flodin (2011) Epistemisk drift - genbegreppets variationer i några av
forskningens och undervisningens texter i biologi. ISBN 978-91-9795-161-6(Licentiate thesis) Stockholm University
48. Carola Borg (2011) Utbildning för hållbar utveckling ur ett lärarperspektiv –Ämnesbundna skillnader i gymnasieskolan. ISBN 978-91-7063-377-5 (Licentiate
thesis) Karlstad University
49. Mats Lundström (2011) Decision-making in health issues: Teenagers’ use of scienceand other discourses. ISBN 978-91-86295-15-8 (Doctoral Dissertation) Malmö
University
50. Magnus Oscarsson (2012) Viktigt, men inget för mig. Ungdomars identitetsbygge och
attityd till naturvetenskap. ISBN: 978-91-7519-988-7 (Doctoral Dissertation)
Linköping University
51. Pernilla Granklint Enochson (2012) Om organisation och funktion av människokroppens organsystem – analys av elevsvar från Sverige och Sydafrika.
ISBN
978-91-7519-960-3 (Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
52. Mari Stadig Degerman (2012) Att hantera cellmetabolismens komplexitet –Meningsskapande genom visualisering och metaforer. ISBN 978-01-7519-954-2(Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
53. Anna-Lena Göransson (2012) The Alzheimer Aβ peptide: Identification of Properties
Distinctive for Toxic Prefibrillar Species. ISBN 978-91-7519-930-6 (Licentiate thesis)
Linköping University
54. Madelen Bodin (2012) Computational problem solving in university physics
education- Students’ beliefs, knowledge, and motivation. ISBN 978-91-7459-398-3 (Doctoral
Dissertation) Umeå University
55. Lena Aretorn (2012) Mathematics in the Swedish Upper Secondary School Electricity
Program: A study of teacher knowledge. ISBN 978-91-7459-429-4 (Licentiate thesis)Umeå University

56. Anders Jidesjö (2012) En problematisering av ungdomars intresse för naturvetenskap
och teknik i skola och samhälle – Innehåll, medierna och utbildningens funktion.
ISBN 978-91-7519-873-6 (Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
57. Thomas Lundblad (2012) Simulerad verklighet i gymnasieskolans fysik: endesignstudie om en augmented reality simulering med socio-naturvetenskapligt
innehåll. ISBN 978-91-7519-854-5 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
58. Annie-Maj Johansson (2012) Undersökande arbetssätt i NO-undervisningen igrundskolans tidigare årskurser. ISBN 978-91-7447-552-4 (Doctoral Dissertation)
Stockholm University
59. Anna Jobér (2012) Social Class in Science Class. ISBN 978-91-86295-31-8 (Doctoral
Dissertation) Malmö University
60. Jesper Haglund (2012) Analogical reasoning in science education – connections tosemantics and scientific modeling in thermodynamics. ISBN 978-91-7519-773-9(Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
61. Fredrik Jeppsson (2012) Adopting a cognitive semantic approach to understandthermodynamics within science education. ISBN 978-91-7519-765-4 (Doctoral
Dissertation) Linköping University
62. Maria Petersson (2012) Lärares beskrivningar av evolution som undervisningsinnehåll
i biologi på gymnasiet.ISBN 978-91-7063-453-6 (Doctoral Dissertation) Karlstad
University
63. Henrik Carlsson (2012) Undervisningsform, klassrumsnormer och matematiskaförmågor. En studie av ett lokalt undervisningsförsök för elever med intresse och
fallenhet för matematik. ISBN 978-91-86983-89-5 (Licentiate thesis) Linnaeus
University)
64. Anna Bergqvist (2012) Models of Chemical Bonding. Representations Used in School
Textbooks and by Teachers and their Relation to Students’ Understanding. ISBN 97891-7063-463-5 (Licentiate thesis) Karlstad University
65. Nina Kilbrink (2013) Lära för framtiden: Transfer i teknisk yrkesutbildning. ISBN
978-91-7063-478-9 (Doctoral Dissertation) Karlstad University
66. Caroline Larsson (2013) Experiencing Molecular Processes. The Role ofRepresentations for Students’ Conceptual Understanding. ISBN 978-91-7519-607-7(Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping University
67. Anna-Karin Carstensen (2013) Connect Modelling Learning to Facilitate Linking
Models and the Real World through Labwork in Electric Circuit Courses forEngineering Students ISBN 978-91-7519-562-9 (Doctoral Dissertation) Linköping
University
68. Konferensproceeding: 10-year Anniversary Meeting with the Scientific Committee
69. Marie Bergholm (2014) Gymnasieelevers kommunikativa strategier imatematikklassrummet. En fallstudie av ett smågruppsarbete om derivata ISBN 97891-7519-306-9 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
70. Ingrid Lundh (2014) Undervisa Naturvetenskap genom Inquiry – En studie av två
högstadielärare. ISBN 978-91-7519-285-7 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
71. Nils Boman (2014) Personality traits in fish - implications for invasion biology
ISBN:978-91-7601-097-6 (Licentiate thesis) Umeå University
72. Torodd Lunde (2014) När läroplan och tradition möts - lärarfortbildning och syften
med undersökande aktiviteter inom den laborativa NO-undervisningen igrundskolans senare del. ISBN: 978-91-7063-577-9 (Licentiate thesis) Karlstad
University
73. Martin Eriksson (2014) Att ta ställning - gymnasieelevers argumentation och
beslutsfattande om sociovetenskapliga dilemman. ISBN 978-91-7063-588-5(Licentiate thesis), Karlstad University

74. Annalena Holm (2014) Mathematics Communication within the Frame ofSupplemental Instruction. Identifying Learning Conditions. ISBN 978-91-7623-112-8(Licentiate thesis) Lund University
75. Daniel Olsson (2014) Young people’s ‘Sustainability Consciousness’ – Effects of ESD
implementation in Swedish schools. ISBN 978-91-7063-594-6. (Licentiate thesis)
Karlstad University
76. Marlene Sjöberg (2014) Möjligheter I kollegiala samtal om NO-undervisning och
bedömning. https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/24063 (Licentiate thesis)
Gothenburg University.
77. Teresa Berglund (2014) Student ‘Sustainability Consciousness’ and Decision-Making
on Sustainability Dilemmas. Investigating effects of implementing education forsustainable development in Swedish upper secondary schools. ISBN 978-91-7063599-1 (Licentiate thesis) Karlstad University
78. Elisabet Mellroth (2014) High achiever! Always a high achiever? A comparison of
student achievements on mathematical tests with different aims and goals. ISBN 97891-7063-607-3 (Licentiate thesis) Karlstad University
79. Jenny Green (2014) Elevers användande av formativ återkoppling i matematik. ISBN
978-91-7519-164-5 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
80. Klara Kerekes (2014) Undervisning om växande geometriska mönster-envariationsteoretisk studie om hur lärare behandlar ett matematiskt innehåll påmellanstadiet. ISBN: 978-91-7519-135-5 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
81. Cecilia Axell (2015) Barnlitteraturens tekniklandskap: en didaktisk vandring från Nils
Holgersson till Pettson och Findus. ISBN 978-91-7519-227-7 (Doctoral Dissertation)
Linköping University.
82. Jan Forsgren (2015) Synthesis and characterization of catalysts for hydrogenproduction from water ISBN 978-91-7601-206-2.(Licentiate thesis) Umeå University
83. Maria Eriksson (2015) Att kommunicera naturvetenskap i nationella prov: En studie
med andraspråksperspektiv. ISBN 978-91-7519-138-6 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping
University
84. Tomas Jemsson (2015) Time correlated single photon spectroscopy on pyramidal
quantum dots. ISBN 978-91-7519-143-0 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
85. Helen Hasslöf (2015) The Challenge of Education for Sustainable Development.
Qualification, social change and the political ISBN: 978-91-7519-127-0 (Doctoral
Dissertation) Linköping University.
86. Johan Sidenvall (2015) Att lära sig resonera – Om elevers möjligheter att lära sig
resonera matematiskt. ISBN 978-91-7519-100-3 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping
University.
87. Jonas Jäder (2015) Elevers möjligheter till lärande av matematiska resonemang.
ISBN 978-91-7519-099-0 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University.
88. Laurence Russell (2015) Exploring systematic lesson variation -a teaching method inmathematics. ISBN 978-91-7519-041-9 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University.
89. Roger Andersson (2015). Ett lysande experiment. En studie av lärandeprogressionen
vid lärande med datorstöd i optik. ISBN 978-91-7485-215-8 (Licentiate thesis)
Mälardalen University.
90. Therese Granekull (2015). Kamratbedömning i naturvetenskap på mellanstadiet formativ återkoppling genom gruppsamtal. ISBN: 978-91-86295-74-5(Licentiate thesis) Malmö högskola.
91. Yukiko Asami-Johansson (2015) Designing Mathematics Lessons Using Japanese
Problem Solving Oriented Lesson Structure. A Swedish Case Study. ISBN. 978-917685-990-2 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University.
92. Katarina Ottander (2015). Gymnasieelevers diskussioner utifrån hållbar utveckling.
Meningsskapande, naturkunskapande, demokratiskapande. ISBN 978-91-7601-322-9(Doctoral Dissertation) Umeå University
93. Lena Heikka (2015) Matematiklärares målkommunikation - En jämförelse av
elevernas uppfattningar, lärarens beskrivningar och den realiserade undervisningen.
ISBN: 978-91-7583-446-7 (Licentiate thesis) Luleå University of Technology.

94. Anette Pripp (2016) Välja teknik? Ungdomars röster om valet till gymnasiets
teknikprogram. ISBN 978-91-7685-775-5 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University.
95. Annika Pettersson (2016) Grafisk och algebraisk representation: Gymnasieelevers
förståelse av linjära funktioner. ISBN 978-91-7063-705-6 (Licentiate thesis) Karlstad
University.
96. Erika Boström (2017) Formativ bedömning: En enkel match eller en svår utmaning?
Effekter av en kompetensutvecklingssatsning på lärarnas praktik och på elevernas
prestationer i matematik. ISBN 978-91-7601-706-7 (Doctoral Dissertation) UmeåUniversity.
97. Gustav Bohlin (2017) Evolving germs – Antibiotic resistance and natural selection in
education and public communication. ISBN: 978-91-7685-489-1 (Doctoral
Dissertation) Linköping University.

98. Daniel Åkerblom (2018) Meningsfullhet i lärandet – hur kan autenticitet förändra
undervisningspraktiken? ISBN: 978-91-88761-19-4 (Licentiate thesis) Linnaeus
University.
99. Charlotta Nordlöf (2018) Tekniklärares attityder till teknikämnet och
teknikundervisningen. ISBN 978-91-7685-328-3 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping
University.
100. Johan Boström (2018) Teknik i förskolan – att motverka traditionella könsroller – En
aktionsforskningsstudie. ISBN 978-91-7685-307-8 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping
University
101. Christian Rydberg (2018) Didaktiska dilemman i undervisning utifrån samhällsdilemman
ISBN 978-91-86295-78-3 (Licentiate thesis) Malmö University
102. Magnus Jansson (2018) Risken blir ju att det blir mer skola av det”! En studie om teknik på
fritidshem ISBN 978-91-7685-272-9 (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University
103. Maria Lindfors (2018) ”Kunskap är vad du vet, och vet du inte kan du alltid googla!”
Elevers epistemic beliefs i naturvetenskaplig undervisningskontext. ISBN 978-917601-887-3 (Doctoral Dissertation) Umeå University
104. Felix Schultze (2018) Coteaching chemical bonding with Upper secondary senior
students - A way to refine teachers´ PCK. ISBN 978-91-7685-211-8 (Licentiate
thesis) Linköping University
105. Jörgen Stenlund (2018). Travelling through time – Students’ interpretation ofevolutionary time in dynamic visualizations. ISBN 978-91-7685-121-0 (Licentiate
thesis) Linköping UniversityDepartment of Science and Technology
Linköping University

SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Linköping University
SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden

www.liu.se

www.liu.se

Jörgen Stenlund Travelling through time

Linköping studies in science and technology, Licentiate Thesis No. 1833
Linköpingin science and technology, Licentiate Thesis No. 1833
Department of Scienceand studies
Technology

Jörgen Stenlund						Travelling through time 							 2019

FacultyFACULTY
of Scienceand Engineering
OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Linköpingscienceand
andtechnology,
technology,Licentiate
Licentiate
Thesis1833
Linköping studies
studies in science
ThesisNo.No.
1833

Travellingthroughthroughtime
time
Travelling

Students’
time
in in
dynamic
visualizations
Students’interpretationinterpretationofofevolutionary
evolutionary
time
dynamic
visualizations

JörgenStenlund
StenlundJörgen2019