Teaching and Learning Data Visualization: Ideas and Assignments by Deborah Nolan, Jamis Perrett.
Abstract:
This article discusses how to make statistical graphics a more prominent element of the undergraduate statistics curricula. The focus is on several different types of assignments that exemplify how to incorporate graphics into a course in a pedagogically meaningful way. These assignments include having students deconstruct and reconstruct plots, copy masterful graphs, create one-minute visual revelations, convert tables into `pictures’, and develop interactive visualizations with, e.g., the virtual earth as a plotting canvas. In addition to describing the goals and details of each assignment, we also discuss the broader topic of graphics and key concepts that we think warrant inclusion in the statistics curricula. We advocate that more attention needs to be paid to this fundamental field of statistics at all levels, from introductory undergraduate through graduate level courses. With the rapid rise of tools to visualize data, e.g., Google trends, GapMinder, ManyEyes, and Tableau, and the increased use of graphics in the media, understanding the principles of good statistical graphics, and having the ability to create informative visualizations is an ever more important aspect of statistics education.
You will find a number of ideas in this paper to use in teaching and learning visualization.
I understand that visualizing a table can, with the proper techniques, display relationships that are otherwise difficult to notice.
On the other hand, due to our limited abilities to distinguish colors, graphs can conceal information that would otherwise be apparent from a table.
Not an objection to visualizing tables but a caution that details can get lost in visualization as well as being highlighted for the viewer.