Applying Visual Literacy in the Classroom

The students of today need to become active learners rather than passive participants. The students must have an awareness to interpret visual text and have the ability to deconstruct and construct visual text. Students of today bring with them a rich understanding and prior knowledge through experience on visual literacy (Rettke, 2008). A study was completed in Victoria, on a range of year levels involving visual literacy. The teachers were given a variety of specific outcomes that they needed to achieve to teach the learners specific subjects using visual literacy as a tool for the learning (Rettke, 2008). An example was that one teacher was scaffolding the learning around the earth. She used visual diagrams and graphs to teach the students about the earth’s layers. She also used other mapping forms and diagrams. The student’s assessment reflected that the learners had high engagement in the topic and also were more capable to store the information because there were visual tools used to inform the learning.

Learning managers need to be aware of the importance of using information texts in the delivery of lessons and use them to scaffold the learning journey. This will ensure that the learners of today are visually literate and able to decode and encode a variety of information texts. Below are links to possible ways that learning managers could use visual literacy as a tool to instruct the learners across Key Learning Areas. 

Examples of visual texts

Year Three Reading Lessons


English
A varitey of diagrams and graphs could be used to enfore the learning.


Science:
Information texts can be used to inform science lessons. A variety of diagrams and graphs can be used to visually stimulate the learners to ensure that the information is stored. Cross sections, maps and graphs are also great tools to consider.

 

Study of Society and the Environment
Cross sections, flow charts, tree diagrams and storyboards are great tools to inform visul literacy in information texts.

Technology
Diagrams are a great tool to use to reinforce the design process that is associated with technology.

Mathematics
Tables, charts and formulas are fantastic tools to use when istructing mathematics. The students are then able to use these structures to clearly and precisely complete the equations and become lifelong problem solvers.

The Arts
The use of storyboards can be a great tool to engage the learners in the Arts. This also allows for visual learners to engage in the learning process.