1 Considering Visual Literacy When Designing Instruction (original) (raw)

Visual literacy

The presence of visual elements in today’s teaching and learning is increasing as the integration of images and visual presentations with text in textbooks, instructional manuals, classroom presentations, and computer interfaces broadens. Research reported in educational literature demonstrates that using visuals in teaching results in greater degree of learning. The basic premise of this body of research is the concept of visual literacy, introducing visual literacy and stratagems to teach it in secondary schools.

Visual literacy: what is it and do we need it to use learning technologies effectively

2002

Visual images are increasingly appearing in learning and teaching resources, delivered across a range of media in a variety of formats: digitally in Web-based materials and multimedia as well as in print and as transparencies. The proliferation of image-rich resources is due in part to the wide availability of digital images and access to the technology and graphics software that facilitates the creation and delivery of visual materials. As theory underpinning the modelling of learning shifts current practice towards the construction of knowledge based on tutor-student and student-student interchanges, communication skills including visual communication, and therefore visual literacy, become more critical to successful educational outcomes. This paper offers a definition of visual literacy and identifies some of the core competencies of a visually literate person. Also described is how the Learning Technology Support Service at the University of Bristol, UK, is beginning to address the need for visual communication skills development in staff, students and learning technologists by developing training in the visual design of online learning and teaching materials.

The Reflections of Visual Literacy Training in Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions and Instructional Materials Design

Journal of Education and Human Development, 2015

This study was conducted to describe the visual literacy training perceptions of pre-service preschool teachers and the way they use the design tools learned during visual literacy training in their instructional materials. Participants were 57 pre-service teachers and 226 preschool students. Qualitative data were collected by using semi-structured interviews and student diaries, while quantitative data were collected through the use of graded materials evaluation forms and observation forms for preschool students. The findings suggested that pre-service teachers had positive perceptions of the visual literacy course. In instructional materials design, they were often successful at the use of design tools.

Visual Literacy as a Classroom Approach

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2012

I (Cheryl, second author) recently observed 2 ninth-grade general English classrooms in an urban high school in which I do research. Both were print rich-walls covered with posters, charts, and artwork that referenced literature texts, content knowledge, and curriculum standards. In both classrooms, similar content was covered, including literature texts such as Monster, Who Am I Without Him? and Day of Tears.

Critical analysis of research on the impact of visual literacy for learning: strengths, weaknesses and recommendations for improvement

Journal of Visual Literacy, 2019

The current systematic review aimed to investigate in what ways the incorporation of visual display tasks benefits K-12 students' content-area learning. After screening 1693 articles at abstract level and a systematic evaluation of methodological quality, we synthesized 44 articles for this review. The qualitative synthesis of the studies is organized by categories of interaction with visual displays (ViDis), instructional support, and types of knowledge and learning. Overall findings indicate the simple inclusion of visual displays does not guarantee a positive learning effect. More detailed findings distinguish three categories of ViDis: author-provided, studentfilled-in, and student-created visual displays. Furthermore, we discuss each category's effectiveness for students' learning. Additionally, findings on retention and information comprehension are mixed when students are either provided with ViDis or complete ViDis themselves. However, the integration of ViDis in K-12 classrooms indicate highly promising results for enhancing students' higher-level learning (i.e., analyzing, evaluating, applying, and creating). Finally, we provided practical implications for K-12 teachers and recommendations for future research.

Methodological Approaches for Exploring Visual Literacy Practices

2017

The proliferation of images and their increased use in academic and everyday information practices has sparked an interest in visual literacy as an area of research and library instruction. Teaching approaches and student learning are examined using theoretical frameworks and a variety of methodological strategies. This paper provides a review of research methodology adopted in empirical studies of visual literacy that were published in academic journals between 2011 and 2017. The results indicate that one third (33%) of the examined studies adopted a quantitative approach with surveys being the most popular strategy. Qualitative and mixed methods studies were a minority but represented a greater variety of strategies and data collection techniques. One third (33%) of the studies in the sample did not report any research methodology. Most of the studies (87%) used images in the research process.