Development Of Visual Literacy Research Articles

Integration of infographics in higher education: challenges faced by novice creators

In higher education, the popularity of using infographics as teaching and learning tools is increasing. However, their design is a demanding task and the majority of students are inexperienced in creating this form of visual. To help educators integrate tasks of creating infographics more successfully and thus enhance the development of visual literacy in higher education, this study seeks to identify challenges faced by university students while creating infographics for the first time. The study participants were students of Informatics attending the course of Academic and Technical Communication in English. Data sources were their initial drafts of infographics created in small groups during a multi-step project. The results of the content analysis revealed that the most commonly observed challenges were difficulties while applying titles and subtitles, too substantial amount of textual information, inability to put information in a story-like format, inappropriate layout of information, inaccurate spelling, lack of references or absence of their correct attribution and use of unjustified text. Importantly, the study includes lists of attributes and recommendations necessary to design infographics, the appliance of which together with the use of professionally designed templates could result in effective infographics.

The Power of Visuals: The Significance of Higher Education Teacher Professional Development in Visual Literacy in Kuwait

This study explores the role of higher education professional development in the integration of visual literacy instruction at the university level. Visual literacy is a crucial skill that empowers students to comprehend and generate visual content across diverse domains. However, many instructors lack necessary training and support to effectively incorporate visual literacy into their teaching practices. The research survey investigates the significance of teacher professional development in visual literacy implementation, encompassing the status of training, effective professional development programs for teachers, suitable teaching methods, education technologies, attitudes of higher education instructors towards visual literacy, and the influence of student engagement with visual materials on visual literacy advancement in Kuwait. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of higher education teachers. That data was analyzed employing descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, with SPSS v.26 software. Regression analysis and other multivariate analyses were conducted to test the research hypothesis and model. The outcomes should provide insights into the effectiveness of collaborative, experiential, and technology-enhanced teacher professional development programs in fostering visual literacy development within higher education, the significance of student engagement with visual materials, and the necessity for further research on effective teaching methods and educational technologies for promoting visual literacy. The findings can inform policy and practice by highlighting the importance of equipping higher education instructors with necessary skills and resources to effectively incorporate visual literacy into their teaching approaches, enhancing the quality of higher education by fostering competencies among students and facilitating their engagement with visual materials across various disciplines.

How visual literacy is developed through Engineering Graphics subjects

This paper aims to analyse to what extent the engineering curricula contribute to the development of visual literacy among engineering students. Communicating and thinking visually is a basic skill for all engineers, being a fundamental part of their educational stage. For this purpose, Engineering Graphics subjects from 30 engineering schools from Spain have been selected to review their content. The sample consists of 80 subjects of Engineering Graphics, mechanical design and computer-aided design. The curricula were analyzed using a quantitative and qualitative method. A database has been developed where keywords that identify the objectives of the analysis have been tabulated. Learning technical visual language and visualization skills as a means of developing visual literacy in engineering has been taken as the basis of the analysis. The results show that the curricula of the subjects contemplate the development of graphic skills around communication and technical representation and, to a lesser extent, visualization. On the other hand, the teaching activities contemplated do not dive into the cognitive aspects of graphics. We can also observe the pre-eminence of computer graphics as the main basis for teaching activities and marginal use of freehand drawing, which is basic for the development of Visual Literacy.

How photos can affect children's perception of animal welfare: A study involving pupils from Portugal and Spain

AbstractThis study aimed to identify perceptions of animal welfare in pupils from Portugal and Spain. Two versions of a questionnaire were designed. Each included one of a pair of photos for the same context, three out of six, intended to generate a positive perception of animal welfare. The results were similar in both countries and by sex, supporting the idea that the framing of photos can manipulate the children's perception of animal welfare. The importance of the development of visual literacy in children, as a way to better interpret the implicit and explicit messages proposed by photos, is recommended.

Bridges and barriers to developing visual literacy

Presentation abstract
 As learning developers, we are generally confident supporting academics and students with developing criticality and academic writing skills. However, communication today is multimodal and increasingly visual so our support is expanding to include developing visual literacy, i.e. approaching visual sources critically and using visuals to communicate effectively.
 
 Both the UK Quality Code for Higher Education (QAA, 2014) and many individual subject benchmark statements require students to be able to communicate ‘in a range of formats’ and to ‘non-specialist audiences’ —and yet not all students seem to have the opportunities learn how to do so effectively, despite these national and disciplinary requirements. This presentation reported on the findings from research undertaken as part of an EdD that explored the extent of visual literacy development across an institution and what further enablers and obstacles exist that influence a student’s ability to develop the skills needed to effectively communicate in a visually rich landscape (see Bartram, 2021). 
 
 The research began with an institution-wide audit of 1,725 module specifications that categorised each module as explicitly, implicitly, potentially or not apparently developing visual literacy. This audit indicated that choice of degree is the first major bridge or barrier to developing visual literacy a student may face. Only three subjects had the opportunity to develop both critical and creative visual literacy skills in a good proportion (>25%) of their modules (Film, Media & Digital Design, Engineering & Geography, Earth & Environmental Science); two more had a similar number of opportunities to develop only critical skills (History and American Studies) and likewise with creative skills (Biology & Environmental Science and English & Creative Writing – but the majority had only modest or low numbers of modules with opportunities to develop any visual literacy skills. Interviews with academic staff teaching on modules representing all the above categories then considered why visual literacy is or is not developed. Barriers were identified such as resistance to change, lack of staff experience/confidence in teaching and assessing visual communication, and student expectations of assessments. The research found many bridges, such as the increase in public communication assignments to improve employability and the need for more inclusive assessments. It concluded that most barriers could be minimised by providing a range of sample assessment rubrics which emphasise assessment of visual elements. The findings have implications for learning developers who may need to support both students and academics who are not confident developing a new set of academic skills that take them out of their logocentric comfort zone.

Теоретическое обоснование термина «визуальная грамотность» в условиях цифровизации общества

Introduction. Nowadays there is a tendency towards more critical and creative use of digital graphic elements for educational purposes. Modern generation of students and schoolchildren was born in the era of social networks, digital technologies and touch screens and now they live through visual content. However, being technically knowledgeable, modern information users are visually illiterate and easily fall for «fakes» and media provocations. This article considers the conceptual construct associated with the subject of visual literacy, including visual culture, visualization of information, visualization, etc. Based on publications indexed in the RSCI, theoretical analysis was made on the basis of a historical-logical approach and the empirica l analysis (quantitative and meaningful). According to theoretical analysis, we made conclusions about the structure, aspects, and main components of visual literacy in foreign literature. The article gives the definition of the term visual literacy. Empirical analysis of Russian research fund proved the “peak” level of interest to this topic. The author explains the reason for such high interest and makes assumptions about the further research topics. Conclusions. It is concluded that the development of visual literacy has a fundamental importance for an effective strategy of the modern education system development.

‘Getting Hands On with Other Creative Minds’: Establishing a Community of Practice around Primary Art and Design at the Art Museum

At a time of widespread concern over the decline of art teaching in schools, this article considers the findings of a practitioner led action research project exploring the potential of art museum and artist‐led CPD (Continued Professional Development) programmes to develop primary teacher knowledge, skills and confidence teaching in art and design. The project involved 68 teachers from over 40 primary schools who were introduced to a Renaissance painting of Cupid and Psyche in a series of training sessions at the museum in early 2019. Schools were then invited to submit art work to an end‐of‐project exhibition which opened in December. Over the course of the year, more than 500 children aged between 4 and 11 visited the museum to look at the painting and more than 3,800 studied it at school using specially created digital learning resources. We draw on survey and email feedback, interviews, blog posts, photographs and artwork collected during the project to discuss how the project provided expert training about art objects, materials and processes and brought teachers together to transform practice and extend pupil outcomes. We also consider how a constructivist pedagogy might encourage more participatory, open ended and playful approaches to teaching art and design to stimulate careful looking, deep thinking, and experimentation with materials and techniques. The article concludes with a discussion of the potential of communities of practice to bring together artists, teachers and art museum professionals to support the development of visual literacy and creativity in children and young people.

Notas para la lectura de álbumes sin palabras. Discurso no ficcional y viaje migratorio

One of the most distinguishing features of wordless picture books is a visual and multimodal conception within the context of the complexity of postmodern children’s literature. Reading them challenges child readers and also mediators in the development of visual literacy and art education in educational contexts. This study aims to provide guidance for reading based on the analysis of works that address the migratory phenomenon from the experience of the journey. These books are usually analysed from social and ideological approaches but this work aims to contribute a new perspective in order to prompt multireferential, critical and reflective readings. The analysis shows how non-fictional discourse is latent behind a seemingly fictional account. This discourse is revealed as a constructive strategy through collective characters, common places, authorship voices or symbols that reflect a universal and collective view of the migratory experience, which, in turn, would explain the uniform portrait of migrants and refugees in these works. As a result, these picture books are closer to the documentary genre in which fiction is a foundation that involves the reader.

Multi-dimensional support for development of visual literacy in engineering education

Visual literacy is becoming increasingly important in the digitalized economy, as it determines the ability to perform and communicate effectively. The need to close skills gap and provide engineers and engineering educators with practical, transferable skills based around visual literacy is a topic attracting growing interest at national and international levels. Numbers of reports lead to the conclusion, that not only a deep understanding of visual competences needs among people at technical education is required, but also mechanism of transferring them into ‘teachable’ innovative pedagogical strategies within traditional engineering courses, and mandating curricular improvements among stakeholders involved in education process. Thus, the article presents a case study that describes deeply an example of the initiative aimed at multi-dimensional support for development of visual literacy framework in engineering education. The VLEE initiative, undertaken by 6 organizations recruited in 5 European countries, was carefully designed to address studying and developing visual literacy simultaneously in various areas and formats, hence generating impact in numerous fields. The paper addresses the questions referring to measuring and developing visual literacy and to assess short-term and long-term initiatives aimed at achieving the desired development impact. The achieved results enriched the existing knowledge through proposing the complex approach to organize the appropriate visual literacy oriented education as a spectrum of interconnected analytical and action-focus activities required to be taken to achieve the proper impact on target group. The practical application of proposed approach in VLEE project was presented by indicating the role of related outputs in a process of developing the short and long-term impact strategy.

Развитие визуальной грамотности как инновационное средство обучения будущих врачей в зарубежных медицинских вузах

The aim of the review article is to describe the way of integrating medicine and art in the educational field of specialized disciplines of foreign medical universities. The relevance of the topic is related to the need for students to develop clinical observation, affecting the accuracy of the preliminary diagnosis in the framework of general clinical research. The appeal to this topic is due to the fact that in the digital era the process of percepting visual information qualitatively changes among representatives of the younger generations, clip thinking is formed, in which there is no ability for prolonged concentration of attention and memorization, the ability to analyze is partially lost. As a result, students do not notice important signs of diseases during external examination, they appeal more to the data of modern instrumental diagnostic methods and feel difficulties in formulating their diagnostic hypotheses. Foreign colleagues see the solution of these problems in the use of works of art in the process of teaching clinical disciplines, actively using strategies of visual thinking and techniques of visual literacy development.

Enhancing visual literacy in the mathematics classroom: the case of Dar es Salaam

Visual literacy is defined as competencies that enable an individual to understand, interpret, use, generate, and evaluate visual images or messages. The role of visual literacy in teaching mathematics is to enhance learners’ understanding of complex concepts, accommodate their needs, promote their logical and critical thinking, and develop their communication skills. To develop learners’ visual literacy, teachers need to use meaningful teaching styles and strategies in mentoring and guiding their learners, giving them sufficient opportunities to engage in meaningful tasks. This study therefore aimed to answer the research questions regarding what mathematics teachers’ understanding of the role of visual literacy in mathematics teaching is; and how their instruction in terms of teaching styles and strategies facilitated the development of visual literacy. A two-part conceptual framework was used: the first part focuses on teachers’ styles and strategies and the second part on the integration of different visual media with text during instruction. This article reports on an explorative case study conducted with three Form 2 (second year of secondary school) mathematics teachers who were required to facilitate visual literacy in their classrooms. The data were collected through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews and a deductive analysis approach was implemented. The study revealed that a teacher-centred teaching style and direct instruction as teaching strategy dominated all three teachers’ instruction. Information was provided to the learners in the form of demonstrations through the use of still media, and oral explanations, with inadequate opportunities for learners to engage in encoding and decoding visual information. We make the recommendation that teacher training programmes should focus on how teachers can use various teaching strategies in a learner- and teacher-centred style, but also how visual media can be made and effectively used by both the teacher and learners to develop their visual literacy.

An Expert Derived Feedforward Histology Module Improves Pattern Recognition Efficiency in Novice Students.

Histology is a visually oriented, foundational anatomical sciences subject in professional health curricula that has seen a dramatic reduction in educational contact hours and an increase in content migration to a digital platform. While the digital migration of histology laboratories has transformed histology education, few studies have shown the impact of this change on visual literacy development, a critical competency in histology. The objective of this study was to assess whether providing a video clip of an expert's gaze while completing leukocyte identification tasks would increase the efficiency and performance of novices completing similar identification tasks. In a randomized study, one group of novices (n=9) was provided with training materials that included expert eye gaze, while the other group (n=12) was provided training materials with identical content, but without the expert eye gaze. Eye movement parameters including fixation rate and total scan path distance, and performance measures including time-to-task-completion and accuracy, were collected during an identification task assessment. Compared to the control group, the average fixation duration was 13.2% higher (P<0.02) and scan path distance was 35.0% shorter in the experimental group (P=0.14). Analysis of task performance measures revealed no significant difference between the groups. These preliminary results suggest a more efficient search performed by the experimental group, indicating the potential efficacy of training using an expert's gaze to enhance visual literacy development. With further investigation, such feedforward enhanced training methods could be utilized for histology and other visually oriented subjects.

Change Laboratory Workshop Methodology in Transforming Visual Literacy: A Case of Cartoons in English First Additional Language

In-service teacher development continues to be a challenge of curriculum reform in South Africa. In spite of previous interventions that have been used, visual literacy continues to challenge many inservice teachers. Visual literacy involves the development of competencies that a person needs in order to understand a combination of linguistic, visual, audio, gestural and spatial design elements. This paper proposes that change laboratory workshop methodology can transform in-service teacher development of visual literacy. Change laboratory workshop methodology develops from Cultural Historical Activity Theory’s principles of contradictions and expansive learning, and is used to implement change. This paper uses an illustrative example of a cartoon in English First Additional Language in Grade 11. Data were collected from a change laboratory workshop of nine participants who met for four sessions of two hours each. Lesson video clips and transcript and a cartoon were used for double stimulation and reflexivity. Insights from Cultural Historical Activity Theory and the Newfield Framework were used to analyse this data. The main finding of this intervention is opening of a dialogical space in which participants took initiatives to develop their visual literacy and reconfigure the multi-layers of interpreting cartoons.Keywords: Visual literacy, Multimodality, cartoons, teacher education, CulturalHistorical Activity Theory, change laboratory workshop

Photographs as a pedagogical tool to strengthen the reading and writing competences

The objective of this research was: Strengthen the reading and writing skills of ninth grade students of the Municipal Educational Institution María Concepción Loperena through the implementation of workshops with photographic texts mediated by ICT through a pedagogical model based on learning under the cognitive approach whose most relevant exponents for this study were Ausubel, Vygotsky and Bruner, also from the concept of visual literacy addressed by Arheim and Gardner, emphasizing a methodology of the scope of competencies. The research was qualitative, action research, applied to a sample of 36 students who were intervened through the implementation of eight workshops with photographs mediated by ICT, including free photographic platforms: Pinterest and Pixabay, which allowed transformation processes in the classroom, making classes more participatory and active in the development of visual literacy with all the cognitive processes of perception, attention, memory, language and thought, enhancing the scope of reading and writing skills. In turn, the photographs used as a pedagogical tool allowed the attainment of the proposed objectives, an improvement in the academic performance and a high degree of motivation towards the work of the class in the area of language and led to autonomy, responsibility and critical sense of the student.

Monkey‐see, Monkey‐do: An Eye‐tracking Study Assessing the Efficacy of Feed‐forward Training in Histology Visual Literacy Development

Histology is a foundational subject in professional health curricula requiring competency in visual identification of cells and tissues on microscope slides. The emergence of virtual microscopy (VM), an app that simulates optical microscopy (OM) in a digital interface, has transformed histology curricula in health sciences education by increasing teaching efficiency and accessibility to students while reducing costs and space associated with OM labs. Over 70% of North American medical schools now report using VM solely or in combination with OMs in histology education. Despite the numerous advantages reported in the literature, no studies have shown VM's ability to enhance acquisition of visual literacy. One method shown to be effective in training novices in a virtual environment is a feed‐forward system used in aircraft inspection training. Novices who are shown expert's eye scan‐paths conducting aircraft inspection perform better on subsequent tasks than those who are not. The objective of this study was to assess whether feed‐forward training would yield higher efficiency in visual literacy development in histology. An expert's eye scan path was recorded using an eye‐tracker while completing white blood cell identification tasks on VM. A scan path includes an overlay of the expert's fixations and saccades (rapid eye movements between fixations). In an IRB‐exempt study, first‐year graduate students enrolled in a histology course, who have not yet encountered the content, were randomly assigned to two groups. The experimental group (n=11) viewed videos of the experts' scan‐path completing blood cell identification tasks on VM. The control group (n=9) viewed the same videos, but without the expert's scan‐path overlay, instead, the correct cells were highlighted at the end of each video. Both groups then completed a series of blood cell identification tasks. Linear mixed model regression analyses were used to analyze group differences for the following parameter averages: (1) time to identification; (2) total number of fixations; (3) total number of saccades; and (4) average length of saccade path. These parameters have been used previously to characterize eye movement profiles for experts and novices. On average, identification time was 1.4% lower [95% CI: 24.6% lower to 17.5% higher] and average saccade length was 17.0% lower [95% CI: 54.5% lower to 11.3% higher] in the experimental group compared to the control group. The number of saccades per slide was 13.8% lower [95% CI: 31.2% lower to 8% higher], and the number of fixations per slide was 12.2% lower [95% CI: 27.7% lower to 6.6% higher] in the experimental group compared to the control group. These results indicate the eye movement parameters between the two groups are noticeably different, with the experimental groups being more similar to expert parameters. This study provides preliminary data that feed‐forward training may be a viable method to teach pattern recognition skills and visual literacy development in histology. Further investigation of this feed‐forward training method could have implications on developing educational interventions that influence future histology curricula.Support or Funding InformationThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

A Competency‐Based Approach to Developing Biomolecular Visual Literacy

When you show a visual representation of a biomolecule, do your students “see” what you “see”? Are they able to interpret the model correctly and draw appropriate conclusions about the structure and atomic/molecular interactions? Do they grasp that cartoon and space‐filling models represent the same protein? Biochemistry instructors use visual representations of biomolecules to teach many concepts, yet there are few tools and frameworks to assess whether students can interpret these models. The BioMolViz.org group is a team of educators developing these tools. Over four years, we have identified a set of overarching themes that encompass biomolecular visualization skills with teachable objectives. We define proficiency levels for the objectives, describe student competency within the objective at the novice (first year) and amateur (junior/senior year) levels, and link these competencies with assessment questions. For example, the objective: “students will describe the significance of the monomer unit location within the three‐dimensional structure of a polymer” can be applied throughout the student's academic career. Novice students would be expected to identify the termini of a biological polymer, while more advanced students would catalog interactions of monomers that stabilize the macromolecule. Here, we present our current efforts on this Biomolecular Visualization Framework, including the results from four National Science Foundation‐funded 2018 workshops and our diversity SACNAS/ABRCMS outreach efforts. We propose targeted visual literacy development will enable students to understand the structure and associated function of biomolecules. The BioMolViz.org website makes resources widely available to help instructors facilitate this growth.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by the National Science Foundation under award numbers DUE‐1022793, ‐1323414, ‐1503811 and IUSE‐1712268. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

The narrative of visual literacy: a framework for understanding the personal, social, and diachronic aspects of learning

In an environment that encourages co-construction and participatory practices, and especially in an educational environment saturated with media and images in which children are considered to be valid and competent contributors to knowledge construction, children's visual literacy becomes increasingly important to the development of educational theories and practice. In this paper, I focus on Visible Thinking as a reflective process through which students learn and which provides students with a metacognition of visual literacy; as students make their thinking visible and are guided to reflect upon these visual expressions, not only is their visual literacy developed, but so is their understanding of their thinking processes. Moreover, I argue that the emergent nature of learning can best be understood by using narrative as a framework to understand the personal, social and diachronic qualities of the learning process. Through the partnered use of Visible Thinking and narrative, teachers and researchers alike can gain a better understanding of the development of students' development of visual literacy as well as learning in a broader sense over time, through space, and across disciplines.

Lighten the Load: Scaffolding Visual Literacy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The development of scientific visual literacy has been identified as critical to the training of tomorrow's scientists and citizens alike. Within the context of the molecular life sciences in particular, visual representations frequently incorporate various components, such as discipline-specific graphical and diagrammatic features, varied levels of abstraction, and spatial arrangements of visual elements to convey information. Visual literacy is achieved when an individual understands the various ways in which a discipline uses these components to represent a particular way of knowing. Owing to the complex nature of visual representations, the activities through which visual literacy is developed have high cognitive load. Cognitive load can be reduced by first helping students to become fluent with the discrete components of visual representations before asking them to simultaneously integrate these components to extract the intended meaning of a representation. We present a taxonomy for characterizing one component of visual representations-the level of abstraction-as a first step in understanding the opportunities afforded students to develop fluency. Further, we demonstrate how our taxonomy can be used to analyze course assessments and spur discussions regarding the extent to which the development of visual literacy skills is supported by instruction within an undergraduate biochemistry curriculum.

The design classroom as a scenario of exploration between visual literacy and critical thinking

Some of the results obtained in the research project Photography as a medium for the development of visual literacy, in which different strategies were analyzed to enhance the development of visual literacy and critical thinking in students of the graphic design program of the Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes (Mexico), are shared in this article. Visual literacy refers to the ability people have for interpreting and generating images from the study of the components that constitute visual language, a competence that is a fundamental input in the practices within the design classrooms thus becoming a relevant item for the research and the qualification of design professionals. The article shows one of the laboratories implemented where the third-year students of the Graphic Design program, after reading the chapter The Medium is the Message by Marshall McLuhan, visualized one of the concepts of the text. The image that was hosted on a virtual platform for discussion in class. Among the findings, the reader will know the synthesis of the analysis of four of the 27 images made which allows appreciating, among other things, that students need to develop argumentative skills related to the principles of critical thinking. In addition, in their projective exercise, the interpretation of concepts must be consistent with the active values of their environment, which enables the generation of products that meet the contextual requirements. As a conclusion, it is established that reflective decoding proper to visual literacy and procedures of interpretation and representation of knowledge, inherent in critical thinking, should be assumed as teaching-learning strategies in the courses that form the curriculum of the Graphic Design Bachelor's degree.

Visual Literacy in Primary Science: Exploring Anatomy Cross-Section Production Skills

Are children competent producing anatomy cross-sections? To answer this question, we carried out a case study research aimed at testing graphic production skills in anatomy of nutrition. The graphics produced by 118 children in the final year of primary education were analysed. The children had to draw a diagram of a human cross section, integrating knowledge of anatomy acquired from longitudinal sections. The results show that they have very limited skills in producing these graphics judging by the dimensions (scale, shape, organs represented and its organization inside the section) and their conception of human anatomy at thoracic level (location of the organs, elements in the spaces between them and connections between organs). The results also indicate that the only exposure to cross-sections in daily life is not enough by itself to draw them correctly, so this type of graphic production should be addressed from the earliest stages of education, since it contributes to the development of visual literacy, and this is a crucial skill when it comes to learning science concepts and developing scientific literacy.