Thesis (M. Tech.) - Dept. of Visual Arts and Design, Faculty of Human Sciences - Vaal University of Technology / The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between visual and verbal codes of visual rhetoric in a sequential art setting. The literature investigation component of the study covered: (1) the notion of visual literacy; (2) the principles of visual rhetoric, and (3) trends in sequential art. The empirical component of the study involved the production of sequential art test material with an accompanying questionnaire in order to measure the comprehension of visual rhetoric in a sample of 197 undergraduate students at the Vaal University of Technology. The working hypotheses that guided the study were, firstly, that the comprehension of the visual code of the visual rhetoric used in a sequential art setting differs between (a) study participants that received visual training prior to the data collection and (b) study participants that received no visual training prior to the data collection, and secondly, that the comprehension of the visual code of the visual rhetoric used in a sequential art setting differs between (a) study participants that received test material in their home language and (b) study participants that did not receive the test material in their home language. Following a one-way ANOVA analysis of the questionnaire data, the first hypothesis indicated a significant statistical difference (p=O.OO) and was not rejected. The second hypothesis indicated no significant statistical difference (p=0.138) and was rejected. Based on the result obtained, possibilities for further research were motivated. / Vaal University of Technology

This thesis provides evidence that learning difficulties some. black primary-schoolchildren may experience with certain textbooks, can be attributed, in part, to the visual text (imagery). These difficulties were established by eliciting responses from educationally dlscfdvantaged urban black primary learners to selected examples of visual texts using the Research Interview method. To further establish if these difficulties were attributable either to poorly executed/unrecognizable visual text, or to low levels of learned educational visual literacy skills - white primary-school children were also interviewed - as it was anticipated that they would be familiar with Western pictorial material due to their consistent exposure to books from an early age. The difficulties experienced by the black interviewees were attributed mainly to their level of learned pictorial perceptual skills and to a lesser extent to poorly/inadequately illustrated visual texts. It was found from interviews with the developers of visual texts - publishing personnel and illustrators - that the former were not entirely certain e.xactly which aspects of visual text were difficult for black primary learners to comprehend, while the latter were generaUy very uncertain. The procedure for visual text development by the developers (including textbook authors), was found to be problematic due to the lack of synthesis and consultative decision making in the process- between these persons. The limited time allocated to illustrators for producing visual text, as well as their professional isolation, were found to be factors which can give rise to ineffective and inadequate visual texts. Most publishers and authors, if they trial (field-test) materials, generally do not trial the visual text. The visual text is usually decided upon ultimately by the poblishers and produced after trialling and/or consultants have examined the written text. Consequently incongruent meanings and inconsistencies can result between written and visual text, which can affect the learning effectiveness of the composite text. Trialling (field-testing) of visual and written text together, was recommended to identify and address any difficulties experienced by learners prior to final publication of the textbook. Recommendations were provided for textbook selection committees, authors, teachers, publishers and illustrators.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / All branches of anatomy (gross anatomy, histology, neuroanatomy, and embryology) involve significant amounts of visual identification. Understanding the spatial relationship and visual representations of anatomical structures forms the basis for much of anatomy education, particularly in laboratory courses. Students in these courses frequently struggle with the visual aspects of identification, and many lack the metacognitive awareness to identify this problem. The research presented here details a series of experiments designed to elucidate the factors involved in students’ difficulties with studying the visual aspects of anatomy. All of the research projects discussed involved surveying students about their specific study habits. Student populations surveyed include first-year medical students and undergraduates in anatomy, physiology. These populations were surveyed about their study habits in each course, and their level of familiarity with visual learning. Additionally some populations were given a mental rotation test to assess their spatial abilities. These survey data were then correlated with course grades in an effort to determine the most successful study strategies. Active learning approaches (including student-produced drawings) were most strongly correlated with high course grades. However, efforts to teach lower-performing students active learning skills did not produce significant results, possibly due to the lack of a metacognitive component in this instruction. The results of each project indicate a lack of good study skills among students at all levels of anatomy instruction, and highlight the need for more instruction in how to study for anatomy, including metacognitive awareness, especially focused on the visual aspects of the course.

Teachers in the 21st century are confronted with students who are mass consumers of visual texts via social apps on smart devices, media on television, and information in textbooks. Teaching students to analyze and question visual texts may help them construct meaning and critique what they see. Yet, very little is known about teachers’ pedagogical decisions when planning and teaching with visual texts. This study attempted to fill that gap. The purpose of this study was to explore how eighth grade history teachers utilize historical visual texts in their classrooms. Three eighth grade history teachers participated in this study. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews, teacher analyses of visual texts, video recorded lessons, and teacher reflections. Data obtained in this study addressed the following questions: How do teachers analyze a historical visual text for use in the classroom? What previous experiences do teachers utilize when planning to teach with a historical visual text? What do teachers’ reflections of a video recorded lesson reveal about the teachers’ instructional experiences with historical visual texts? What do video analyses of teachers utilizing historical visual texts reveal about teachers’ historical thinking and visual literacy pedagogical decisions? The results of this study indicated that the participants lack formal pedagogical content knowledge and prior experiences in teaching with historical visual texts. Yet, the participants reported that their lessons in this study were engaging and meaningful for students. Findings from this study suggest that historical visual texts can be effective in the teaching and learning of history.

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (M.Tech. - Graphic Design, Dept. of Visual Arts and Design, Faculty of Human Sciences) -- Vaal University of Technology / An exploratory study was undertaken at three campuses of the Vaal University of Technology in response to weak examination results in one of the subjects of the graphic design curriculum. The aim of the study was to investigate visual learning strategies as used in conjunction with co-operative learning approaches in a higher education setting and to asses the appropriateness of these learning approaches in the discipline of graphic design at first-year level. The research questions that guided the study focused on how first-year graphic design learners experience (a) visual learning strategies, (b) a cooperative learning environment, as well as (c) the combination of these. The literature review component of the study covered (1) the fundamentals of visual learning, including the concepts of visual literacy, visual semiotics and visual culture; (2) graphic design education, especially in a South African context; and (3) principles of co~operative learning, including Avenant's requirements for successful group work. In the field work component of the study, multiple-choice questionnaires, open-ended questionnaires and focus group interviews were used as the main data collection methods. The results of the study did not indicate that first-year learners enrolled in the discipline of graphic design are likely to benefit from a combination of visual learning and co-operative learning strategies. Therefore, the implementation of a combination of the above-mentioned teaching strategies is not recommended in this setting.

M.Ed. (Media Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The foremost aim of this study is clarifying how university libraries in Sweden include visual materials in their work. Moreover, this bachelor thesis examines what kind of support employees of university libraries provide to search for, use and evaluate visual materials in their pedagogics. The theoretical framework for the thesis is based on Hattwig, Bussert, Medaille och Burgess (2013) Visual Literacy Standards model, that explains seven skill areas that librarians can apply in their work with visual materials. In this study, the model was used to identify and analyze how the informants worked with visual materials. For the collection of data, a qualitative method was used. Seven librarians from three different libraries were elected for the interviews. The result showed that the most important part of visual materials for university libraries was related to copyright. Many of the informants emphasized that there is a difference in the expression of text versus images. None of the informants had any kind of special training about visual materials, but they offered material on copyright on their webpage. Most informants suggested that the college libraries responsibility for visual materials was to meet the students where they requested support. Many of the informants said that they did not know if they had sufficient expertise about visual materials to contribute with something to their students. All informants agreed that students today have a greater habit of searching and using images but that they lack knowledge about the use of visual materials in academic work.

Orientador: Macioniro Celeste Filho / Banca: Dorival Campos Rossi / Banca: Márcia Lopes Reis / Resumo: A História é a ciência que investiga o passado para compreendermos o presente oportunizando a possibilidade de transformações. Mas, como interligar o ensino da História com a formação de um cidadão, realmente protagonista, atuante na construção da sociedade na qual está inserido? A presente pesquisa tem por objetivo elaborar e fundamentar, teoricamente, uma sequência didática que promova a leitura crítica e reflexiva do conteúdo de História por meio de análise de imagens, produção de um texto não verbal e de um texto verbal com tipologia "prescritiva injuntiva", "gênero receita" e ou "manual de instrução". A investigação nessa pesquisa foi desenvolvida com base no enfoque qualitativo de modalidade descritiva, de finalidade aplicada, seguindo um caráter bibliográfico e de campo baseada na metodologia da pesquisa-ação. A coleta de dados ocorreu, a partir da observação do professor pesquisador, no momento do desenvolvimento da sequência didática, no qual efetivou a atividade de leitura de imagem, para compreensão do conteúdo de História. Tal atividade foi aplicada aos alunos de 8ºs anos do ensino fundamental em escola da rede privada e pública. O conteúdo histórico, abordado na atividade de leitura de imagem, está inserido no Currículo do Estado de São Paulo e trata da Independência Política do território brasileiro. Foi estabelecida, como eixo temático, a reflexão sobre o conceito de liberdade, a fim de pautar o mote da construção dos textos verbais. As atividades presentes na ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: History is the science that investigates the past in order to understand the present, giving opportunities for changes. But how to interconnect the History teaching with the formation of a citizen who is active in the construction of his / her society? The present research aims to theoretically elaborate and substantiate a didactic sequence that promotes the critical and reflexive reading of the content of History through image analysis, non-verbal text production and a verbal text with "prescriptive injunction", "genre recipe" and/or "instruction manual" typology. The inquiry in this search was developed based on the qualitative approach of descriptive modality of applied purpose, following a bibliographic and field feature, oriented by the methodology of action research. The data collection took place, from the observation of the researcher professor, at the moment of the didactic sequence development, in which was performed the image reading in order to understand the History content. This activity was exercised with 8th grade elementary students in both private and public school. The historical substance covered in the image reading activity is inserted into the Curriculum of the State of São Paulo and deals with the Political Independence of the Brazilian territory. It was established, as thematic axis, the discussion about the concept of freedom in order to guide the motto of the elaboration of verbal texts. The activities present in the didactic sequence served as an i... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

A imagem é um recurso muito utilizado por professores de línguas estrangeiras. Seja uma ilustração, seja uma foto, seja um filme, estes elementos funcionam como um elo entre a língua estrangeira e o aluno, pois estabelecem uma conexão com aquilo que ele já conhece (imagens são universais) com o que desconhecem (língua estrangeira), por estarem sendo iniciados nela. Kress e Van Leeuwen, criadores da Gramática do design visual, afirmam que imagens podem disseminar discursos e posições ideológicas, e por esta razão o indivíduo deve ter um olhar crítico sobre a linguagem visual. É neste sentido que se instaura a necessidade de técnicas que auxiliem o espectador da imagem a decodificá-la. O letramento visual é uma dessas ferramentas. Assim como usamos inferências, analogias e nosso conhecimento de mundo para interpretar textos, o letramento visual é um recurso de leitura que ajuda a decifrar mensagens subjacentes às imagens, decodificando estas últimas em todos os seus aspectos (social, cultural, econômico). Diante do exposto acima, este trabalho se propõe, a partir do letramento visual, a fazer uma leitura de algumas imagens presentes em livros didáticos de língua italiana usados no Italiano no Campus, da Universidade de São Paulo, e nos cursos de línguas abertos à comunidade (CLAC), na Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, a fim de verificar se essas imagens possuem mensagens ideológicas ou estereotipadas nas entrelinhas, averiguando, além disso, se foram usadas de forma coerente com a unidade didática, se estão contextualizadas com o diálogo, o texto e o ascolto. / The image is a resource frequently used by foreign language teachers. May be in an illustration, a picture or a film, these elements work like a link between the foreign language and the student, because they establish a connection with what he already knows (images are universal) and what he doesn´t know (foreign language), for he is being initialized in it. Kress and Van Leeuwen, creators of the visual design Grammar, affirm that images can disseminate speeches and ideologies, and that it´s why the individual must take a critical look at the visual language. It is in this sense that it emerges the need of techniques that help the image viewer to decode it. The visual literacy it one of those tools. The same way we use inferences, analogies and our world knowledge to interpret texts, the visual literacy is a reading resource that helps to interpret messages underlying to the images, decoding such images in all its aspects (social, cultural, economic). Taken that for granted, this research aims, from the visual literacy, to do a reading of some images present in textbooks in Italian language used in Italian on Campus of the University of São Paulo and in language courses open to the community (CLAC), in Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in order to verify whether that images have ideological or stereotypical messages between its lines, checking, moreover, whether they were used in a coherent way to the teaching unit and whether they are contextualized with the dialog the text and the listening.