VISUAL LITERACY...what is it?

PICTURE BOOKS...What is the purpose

of them?

Researchers, Theorists & Educators

Michele Anstey: Former Teacher. Author of The Literacy Labyrinth and Reading the Visual. Co-author of the 2001 Board of Teacher Registration document, Literacy in Teacher Education: Standards for Pre-service Programs. Director of the Literate Futures Project for Education Queensland a state-wide professional development initiative for all teachers, 2001. Principal Adviser Literate Futures Project 2002 – 2004. Authored Literate Futures: Reading (2002) and other material for Education Queensland

Geoff Bull: Researcher. Author of The Literacy Labyrinth and Reading the Visual. Associate Professor at the University of Southern Queensland. Member of editorial board; Australian Journal of Language and Literacy. Author for the Literate Futures Project for Education Queensland 2002. Consultant to the Queensland Years 1-10 English Syllabus 2004.

Anne Bamford: Director of Visual Arts for the Centre for Research in Education and the Arts. Extensive experience in developing curriculum support material for teachers and interactive media in tertiary teaching and learning. Researcher in visual literacy and adolescents and the use of interactive media in teaching and learning. Author of The Visual Literacy White Paper.

Rosemary Johnston: Associate Professor in the School of Teacher Education and Director of Teacher education and Director of the Centre for Research and Education in the Arts at UTS, Kuring-Gai campus.

Researchers, Theorists & Educators Cont.

Dr Floyd Ausburn: Retired Professor. Theorist of ‘Visual Literacy Theory’. Holds international experience in educational and visual literacy development in more than 15 countries.

Dr Lynna Ausburn: Theorist of ‘Visual Literacy Theory’. Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Occupational Education Studies in the College of Education at Oklahoma State University. Over 10 years experience as Curriculum Development Supervisor for Oklahoma State Department of Career and Technical Education.

Mary Alice White: Researcher at Columbia Teacher's College. Contributor to book, ‘What Curriculum for the Information Age?’

Keith Lightbody: Information technology specialist in West Australia schools. Contributor to visual literacy articles such as Digital Cameras and Visual Literacy, Visual Literacy in Classrooms.

Stuart Oring: Author of ‘Understanding Pictures’

Lesley Wing Jan: Teacher, Curriculum Consultant, Author, Lecturer La Trobe University, Melbourne. Focus on literacy and language development.

John Hortin: Professor of Education at Kansas State University and past vice-president of the international visual literacy association.

Our Argument.

From the very first years at school, we found no Essential Learnings outcome that encouraged learning managers to use visual literacy, in particular, picture

books, in their teaching.

Essential Learnings.

The English Essential Learnings, by the end of year 3, Reading and Viewing states that, “words, groups of words, visual resources and images elaborate ideas and information, and portray people, characters, places, events and things in different ways” (Queensland Studies Authority, 2008).

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??

A visually literate person should be able to read and write visual language, this includes the ability to successfully decode and interpret visual messages and to encode and compose meaningful communications” (Bamford, 2003, p. 1).

White (in Lightbody, 2007), states “young people learn more than half of what they know from visual information”.

If this is true why don’t we have explicit curriculum in our schools, to show our students how to think critically about visual literacy? Western Australia does!

Task Requirements

• Study each picture in detail taking note of the elements.

• Discuss with your group the sequence in which the pictures should be placed.

• Write a narrative, using one or two sentences below each picture. You must use a minimum of 4 pictures.

• Choose one person to present your groups’ story to the class.

Aim/objective of our activity

Other Teaching Strategies and Resources that can be used…

Future?

“Picture books, are useful to promote and generate thoughtful debate on a range of issues, picture books also provide ideal material to develop students' visual literacy helping them to achieve outcomes in the Viewing mode of the English Learning Area and without a doubt picture books are valuable texts for students” (Western Australia Department of Education and Training, 2009a).

• If YOU are wanting to become a future orientated learning manager, maybe you should take a page out of the Western Australia’s curriculum, and use picture books to stimulate your students learning across ALL year levels not just early childhood. Isn’t it clear that we need to do something?

References