As a mother and public elementary school art teacher, I recognize the impact images have in the lives of children. Our culture is image rich and often image saturated. I believe I can do more to prepare my students to become discerning consumers and creators of images. Art teachers are uniquely qualified to teach visual literacy and visual inquiry. If grade school children can be taught to think more deeply and critically about their visual world, they will be better prepared for responding to it in a healthy, empowering way. This research describes an elementary school curriculum based on teaching some of the elements of design that provides a framework for children to investigate important issues using their own visual language. This thesis also describes a research project that explored images and ideas that are important to children in their artmaking decisions. Both of these research projects offer a combined unique perspective on visual literacy, visual inquiry, and visual communication in the elementary school years.

This synopsis discusses how and why Swedish art education ought to focus on teaching visual literacy from a glocal perspective. The aim is to position Swedish art education in a glocal, multi- and intercultural context. Searches were conducted mainly on LibSearch, as well as Google Scholar. Limitations were set to 2000, and peer-reviewed material only. Sources from Sweden, Europe and the USA, dealing directly or indirectly with visual literacy, were included.The results suggest that visual literacy may be taught through graphic novels, advertisements, public art, blogs and activities with peer-assessment. Critical multicultural pedagogy, visual rubrics and transparency in assessment processes are also suggested to strengthen visual literacy. It is concluded that visual literacy may aid students’ critical understanding and awareness of visual media in a multi-, intercultural and glocal visual world. To be visually literate may give them ability to critically participate in visual culture as democratic and empathic global citizens. Further research on how teachers and students use and understand visual literacies in Swedish art education is needed.

Multilingualism in the classroom is one of the many challenges found in the cumbersome bag that the South African education system is carrying over its shoulders at present. Globalisation and migration have added to the burden as factors adding further diversity to the already diverse classroom. In South Africa the spotlight is focused on equality. Equality is expected in the education system, and in the classroom and especially in tests. With 11 official languages excluding the additional languages from foreign learners it has become a daunting task to create tests that are fair across multilingual learners in one classroom. Items in tests that function differently from one group to another can provide biased marks. An investigation was done in order to detect any biased items present in a Picture Vocabulary Test. The study was lead by the main research question being: How do objects used in a Picture Vocabulary Test influence the level of validity? The first sub research question was: How do objects used in a Picture Vocabulary Test influence the level of validity? The next sub question was: To what extent is an undimensional trait measured by a Picture Vocabulary Test? The final subquestion was To what extent do the items in a Picture Vocabulary Test perform the same for the different language groups? This Picture Vocabulary Test was administered to Grade 1 learners in Afrikaans, English or Sepedi speaking schools within Pretoria, Gauteng. The sample totalling 1361 learners. The process involved a statistical procedure known as Rasch analyses. With the help of Rasch a Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis was done to investigate whether biased items were present in the test. The aim of this study it is to create greater awareness as to how biased items in tests can be detected and resolved. The results showed that the items in the Picture Vocabulary Test all tested vocabulary. Although items were detected that did indeed perform differently across the three language groups participating in the study. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

Syftet med denna studie är att få kunskap om vilka val elever i årskurs 2 gör då de skapar egna modeller av planeter i solsystemet och hur de förstår andra elevers modeller av planeter i solsystemet, samt vilken kunskap relaterat till skapande av modeller eleverna uppvisar när de ombeds analysera sina egna och andras modeller. Undersökningen bygger på kvalitativa fokusgruppsintervjuer. Resultatet visar dels att de flesta elever gör val baserade på kunskap om koder när de skapar sin modell av en planet, dels att några elever gör val baserade på tidigare förlagor i skapandet av modeller. När eleverna tolkar andra elevers modeller av planeter visar studien att det är viktigt med avkodning av färger och symboler. Vissa förkunskaper hjälper eleverna med avkodningen medan andra förkunskaper förvirrar eleverna. När eleverna får analysera sina modeller och andras framkommer elevernas kunskaper om koder och att tidigare förlagor används som utgångspunkt. När eleverna får reflektera om sina och andras modeller bidrar reflektionerna till en djupare förståelse för modeller och solsystemets himlakroppar, men för att möjliggöra lärande behöver läraren stötta eleverna i förståelsen för vad modeller visar och inte kan visa. / <p>Pedagogiskt arbete, inriktning NO-teknik</p>

/Drawing/ is a noun, /drawing/ is a verb. A drawing is a finished visual expression, but it’s also an action: the exploration and expression of a thought on a surface. What if we communicated more through drawings? What if we could ~read~ them? What if we could name lines and say words about why we like them? And what if everyone felt empowered to do it? “Lines of Thought” is a graphic essay about Visual Literacy and Graphic Communication. A theory and practice book to enable people to draw, appreciate images and develop aesthetic taste and critique. This project comes from my own passion for drawing, visual culture, and education in the graphic arts. I wish to share this passion with a broad audience by exploring philosophically what it takes to draw and see images, how this should not be a skill of a few and make it more democratic.

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry is to explore critical visual literacy in a first grade classroom at a private school. This case study design focuses on students learning how to take a critical stance by focusing on the visual images, children's picture books, and visual arts masterpieces. The research question guiding this study is: How does a visual literacy approach using inferential and critical questioning support first graders' development of critical literacy? Four social issue topics were discussed which were exploring difference, bullying, poverty and global issues. The students engaged in conversations on each topic that were prompted by a specific set of questions to invite a critical stance. This study encouraged multimodality as it opened up a space to make thought visible in ways that go beyond printed words. The students were able to demonstrate their thinking and understanding by sharing their voice on the various topics through writing, art, music or acting. The inclusion of art was a valuable tool for building a deep understanding of self and others. Findings from this study support the development of social empathy in students and can be linked to morality theory and moral education. The study points to the significance of visual images and art in the development of agency in students while also initiating a change in how students approach all texts. Additionally, this study supports the use of inference as a tool for critical literacy with visual images. This approach to the curriculum encouraged students to become critically aware of the messages in their everyday worlds. The goal was for the students to develop a confident voice that can speak back to a text.

No description available.

No description available.

Many organizations form a visual language to brand and gain a competitive advantage in a competitive marketplace. The institutions of higher education are no exception. However, the conditions and context of branding in higher education are complex. The aim of this study is to explore how higher education uses the characteristics of their photographic language to brand and differentiate from other higher education institutions. The findings of this study rely on interviews with Communication Officers of four different Swedish universities. The analysis of the interviews suggests that there are distinct characteristics of the photographic language that the universities use for differentiation. The Communication Officers also argue that authenticity and inclusion are important aspects of their communication, pointing to the conclusion that all universities adapt to these as similar characteristics. The interviews also indicate that higher education want to differentiate from the visual language of global image banks and that they are all hesitant to mention competition within their context. To develop theories and models for visual branding within the context of higher education is a suggestion for future research, that might come to benefit many university representatives.

An Interactive Course Organizer (ICO) is an artifact that contains text and visual representation of a traditional course syllabus, it integrates visual elements, such as timelines, drawings, charts, graphs, maps, or pictures to show the sequencing and organization of major course topics while offering the user an actively controlled progression of the amount of course information covered. The goal of this research was to develop a theoretically- and empirically- grounded guidelines to design and develop of ICOs. It is anticipated that these guidelines can assist course developers and instructional designers in designing ICOs. This study employed a design and developmental research methodology with four phases: analysis, design, development and validation. Findings from literature review investigations in course syllabi, instructional message design, visual literacy, and interactivity theories and research as well as expert review informed the building of the guidelines. / Doctor of Philosophy / Interactive Course Organizer (ICO) is a tool that acts as a course syllabus. It combines both text and visual representation of a traditional course syllabus, and integrates visual elements, such as timelines, drawings, charts, graphs, maps, or pictures to help learners visually see the interrelationships between different parts of the course and how they all fit together. Its purpose is to provide visuals to assist learners in seeing the course and how it is organized "big picture". And by adding the interactivity feature, learners will navigate, access, and view the course content. It is a course framework to help students understand what it is they will be learning in the course. This research aimed to develop a theoretically- and empirically- grounded guidelines to design and develop of ICOs. It is anticipated that these guidelines can assist course developers and instructional designers in designing ICOs. This study employed a design and developmental research methodology with four phases: analysis, design, development and validation. Findings from literature review investigations in course syllabi, instructional message design, visual literacy, and interactivity theories and research as well as expert review informed the building of the guidelines.