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Erika Rimes


  Master of Teaching – Primary Education
                  2007


                  Action Research Project:

  How can I effectively develop students’
     visual literacy skills in stage 3?




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                       1
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Contents



A) Context of research                         pp 3



B) Research issue and rationale                pp 4


C) Methodology                                 pp 6



D) Data collected & Analysis of data           pp 11



E) Critical Reflection                         pp 27



F) Implications                                pp 28



G) Bibliography                                pp 29




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                2
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Does image matter? : An exploration into the teaching and student

                     learning of visual literacy in stage 3




A) Contextual statement


The school, where I conducted my research, has priorities to cater for the needs of

individual children in a caring environment. There are two OC classes, and three Support

classes including a special Language class, as well as English as a second language

programs and class. The student’s at the school are 67% from a non-English speaking

background. Many countries represented include countries in Asia, the Middle East,

Europe and the Pacific Islands.



The class I taught and conducted my Action Research Project was on an OC class

consisting of 30 year 5 students – 15 boys and 15 girls. I was involved in team teaching

as there were three teachers teaching the year 5/6 OC class. I taught by myself as well

as team teaching when I was not conducting my own lessons. The students were from a

range of backgrounds including Chinese, Indonesian, European, and Indian. All the

students were of a high academic level.




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                               3
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
B) Research issue and rationale


Research issue: How can I effectively develop students’ visual literacy skills
                               in stage 3?


The purpose of my Action Research Project is to develop students’ visual literacy skills

and to better understand my own pedagogical practices through my own teachings of

visual literacy and understand visual literacy as a dynamic teaching and learning domain.

Visual literacy is vital in today’s world with an abundance of multimodal texts, which

include understanding of visual literacy and using the proper meta-language in response

to and making meaning from visual texts is vitally important for any students growing up

in a multi-modal society.



In today’s world it is important for students to take active roles in making meaning from

visual texts, as not only is the world full of books use images to communicate meaning.

In education it is more than ever important to be able to not only understand multi-

modal text (video, TV, Internet, Radio, Newspaper, Advertisements) but to also

interpret and teach all kinds of text. For example, The NSW Board of Studies considers

‘viewing’ as a part of literacy development describes visual literacy as a learning

outcome, defined as ‘observing and comprehending a visual text such as a diagram,

illustration or photograph’ (NSW Curriculum, English Syllabus K-6 Modules, 1998 p.100).

Therefore teaching concepts from visual literacy and giving students the meta-language

to respond to visual images can help students to understand the visual cues of an

illustrator or artist to convey meaning.




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                  4
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Visual literacy is vital in today’s world as “it is a part of the wider aspect of how we

communicate in our culture” (Callow p.g. 3). We are continually being bombarded with
multimodal texts, which involve a wide range of “visual, electronic and digital images”

(Walsh, 2006, p.24;) and our process of learning is not only through reading but through

context and learning “about language, both implicitly through experience, and explicitly

by having the structures and grammar of various texts explained to us” (Callow p.g. 3).

For students to better understand visual texts I aim to draw from a variety of context,

known and unknown, in a variety of media, to further enhance student’s understandings

to decode and construct visual images. Visualising and conceptualising through visual

texts/images adds to the language learning process through predicting, constructing,

discussing and understanding context and text of an “imagine as the words of a text will

never be able to “tell” everything” (Walsh, 2006, p. 30).
Furthermore as an educator I find “it is timely to consider that the daily worlds that

our students move through are increasingly being filled with visual images.” (Connelly,
p.g. 16, 2006). Visual Images is a way of representing visual cultures and therefore

“pivotal to how they (students) are being represented.” (Connelly, 2006, p.g. 25).




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                    5
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
C) Methodology & Teaching Strategy

                                    Methodology: Collecting data



Observations                                   •   Class discussion with students

                                               •   Group discussion among students

                                               •   One-on-one discussions with students

Work samples                                   •   Written responses from students (Responding to text)

                                               •   Visual Arts task (Producing text)



Reflections and discussions                    •   Mentor teacher before and after lessons about the lessons

                                               •   My own reflections on my teaching practice



                                            Teaching Strategy


        Teaching approach in visual literacy will encompass common teaching practices as well as

        incorporating prior knowledge of visual literacy and a further development of my own

        knowledge in combination with teaching students the strategies employed by illustrators

        in a variety of mediums.



                                   1. Teaching and Learning Experience




                 2. Outcomes & Indicators                                3. Assessment




        Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                6
        University of Sydney M/teach 2007
1. Teaching and learning experience



My Action Research Project focused primarily on the following points;

    •   developing students’ understanding of the meaning-making strategies illustrators

        and artists use;

    •   assessing and evaluating how effective my teachings of visual literacy are in the

        classroom environment



Visual literacy is an aspect of literacy that has slowly been increasing in the importance

in today’s world, and the importance for developing “meaning-making tools” is ever more

relevant now than ever. As “the now overwhelming evidence of the importance of visual

communication and the now problematic absence of the means for talking and thinking

about what is actually communicated by images and by visual design” (Kress & Van

Leuween, 2001 p.15)



Applying teaching strategies to develop students’ visual literacy skills involves an

understanding of how we learn to read images and what do we use to read images

“bringing together our own knowledge, cultural perspective, prior knowledge and

explicitly taught skills” (Unsworth, 2001, p.g. 19). Students will inherently bring together

different viewpoints when first interpreting and understanding visual images. Therefore

approaching my teaching, using specific, relevent images, will help focus the meaning-

making process and the meaning-making tools illustrators and artists use to convey

meaning or to tell a story in a political, historical, mathematical or social context.




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                  7
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
My strategies involved in teaching and developing visual literacy skills within stage 3 in a

            classroom environment will utilise the following concepts prior to and during;




    Focused teaching approaches in visual literacy                   Key concepts used as a basis for my
                                                                       implementation of visual literacy


Identifying and classifying visual images                                 Visual image-making process

                                                             Representation

This is a major part of the meaning-making process           “When visual texts are produced, images and words in
from the viewer’s perspective as well as the artist or       combination are used to represent ideas to make
illustrator’s purpose and aim in creating a visual image.    meanings and to represent versions of the world.”
Therefore I will be aware when choosing images, that         (Simpson, 2004, p. 19 )

“visual texts construct worlds, cultures and identities in

powerful and often overtly ideological ways via semiotic     Discourses

grammars and cultural tools,” (Connelly, 2006, p22 ).        “Inside visual texts discourses are detected….Ways
                                                             of thinking and acting that individuals and groups can
                                                             identify with…discourses shape attitudes, beliefs and
Responding to and producing visual images                    values through the use of language influencing how
                                                             individuals understand and act in the world.”
Responding to visual images will include such practices as   (Connelly, 2006, p. 28)

talking and listening to one another, actively describing

elements of visual image and actively creating or re-        Intertexuality

creating their own visual images, “learners write or         To read intertexuality inside visual texts means to
encode visuals as a tool for communication” and              look to elements in a text that infer similarities,
therefore “Students develop their visual abilities           connections, references, and relationships to other
through use.” (Connelly, 2006, p. 25).                       texts. Intertexuality is strongly relied on prior
                                                             knowledge e.g. Shrek (Connelly, 2006, p.30)
                                                             These three tools can be present in any one given
                                                                                       text




            Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                 8
            University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Furthermore my teaching approach will include the following elements;


      Focus of teaching and learning experience             Development of students understanding of meaning-
    (NSW Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment                making tools using ‘Summary of Visual Codes’
        Resource Stage 3 ‘Seeing Meaning’)                       (Callow 199 and Kress & Van Leuween 1996)



      Modelled reading response to visual images                            1. What’s happening?
Displaying and reading a range of visual images to

students                                                   Discussion and analysis of a visual images;

                                                           What is the action?

Always modelling the meta-language (the language to        What is the message?

talk about language)

                                                              2. How is the relationship developed between the
        Guided writing response of visual images                   viewer, the image and the image maker?
Give students guidance in understanding the variety of

ways illustrators and artists use different strategies     Jointly construct ideas in response to a visual image

for different purposes.                                    Using language such as camera angles, colour, offer

                                                           and demands

           Independent response to visual images
Encourage students to draw on both images and the                       3. How is the image composed?
print when constructing meaning and to talk about this

to the readers.                                            Reading paths – lines and vectors

Have them compare the text in terms of their purpose

and intended audience.                                     Layout -How do we read the image? Top/bottom or

Have them decide which text is the most eye-catching       Left/right

and talk about why.




             Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                             9
             University of Sydney M/teach 2007
2. Outcomes & Indicators

                    Throughout my Action Research Project I referred specifically to the syllabus including

                    English and Visual Arts. This helped structure what I want to teach, how I will teach and

                    what I want the students to achieve;

                                 English Outcomes                                                         Creative Arts outcomes

       NSW Curriculum, English Syllabus K-6 Modules, 1998 p.100                                NSW Curriculum, Creative Arts Syllabus K-6

                                                                                                             Modules, 1998, p. 30
RS3.5 Reading and viewing texts
Reads independently an extensive range of texts with increasing content demands
and responds to themes and issues                                                          VAS3.1 Investigates subject matter in an attempt to
*Understands a more complex expository text                                                represent likeliness of things in the world
*Interprets a factual text                                                                 *Explores historical events as subject matter for a movie
*Reads a text demanding a degree of technicality and abstraction                           poster


RS3.6 Skills and strategies                                                                VAS3.2 Makes artworks for different audiences,
Uses a comprehensive range of skills and strategies appropriate to the type of text        assembling materials in a variety of ways
being read                                                                                 *Considers the specific requirements of an artwork
*uses, adjusts and combines higher order skills in decoding texts and accessing visual     (poster) to clearly convey message to an audience
*Information e.g. scanning for information, examining pictures and text, reviewing parts
of the text
                                                                                           VAS3.3 Acknowledges that audiences respond in
RS3.7 Context and text                                                                     different ways to artworks and that there are different
Understands that texts are constructed by people and identifies ways in which              opinions about the values of artworks
texts differ according to their purpose, audience and subject matter                       *Understands that artworks can be made for different
*explains techniques used by the writer and illustrator to represent a point of view and   reasons.
position the reader                                                                        *Recognises that an audience may have different views
*identifies how camera angle, viewer position, colour, size and shading in a visual text   about the meaning of an artwork
construct meaning
*justifies opinions about the motives and feelings of characters in literary texts

                    3. Assessments

                    My assessment strategies in understanding students visual literacy skills has been drawn

                    from ‘Classroom assessment resource for stage 3’ – ‘Module 3 Reading: Seeing the

                    meaning’ by Board of Studies 1998. This approach has helped focus my own

                    understanding of how to teaching visual and written texts and to assess students’

                    understandings of the meaning making strategies illustrators and writers use in various

                    mediums.

                                                  Assessment focus throughout the cycles:

                                           Reading about, responding to, and producing images
                    Students; (Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3 1998)

                    •   use higher-order skills to access vital information from visual images and supporting
                        text
                    •   identify how elements of a visual text construct meaning
                    •   identify how authors target audience in constructing visual texts
                    •   incorporate and use elements of visual literacy to produce a visual image with a
                        purpose


                    Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                                  10
                    University of Sydney M/teach 2007
D) Data collected/ Analysis of data

                                   Cycle 1: 8th August – 22nd August 2007
                                                  Cycle 1 Aims:
           •     Students capability when identifying and interpreting images

           •     Reflect on my own teachings of visual literacy

           •     Assess students learning at the end of the cycle


                                    Reading images & understanding the meaning
                                            Observations: Introduction

           Through out my observations of lessons where I was introducing visual literacy skills I

           used specific examples, developed from my own findings as well as from Jon Callow

           (1999), where visual images use colour, angles and layout, lines and vectors to model &

           introduce the meta language. Students were able to respond, identify and classify visual

           images. However, I had to focus my questioning using the meta-language and give the

           students terms and definitions to use when introducing the meta-language about visual

           images.




                 Sources: Google Images and Callow, ‘Image matters:'Visual texts in the classroom’ (1999)
               Furthermore students were also able to discuss further as a class general ideas about
                            the different images the students see (where, when, why,)
                 Picture book / book                                           Newspaper/magazine
“To help understand the text”                                “Show the most important news first”
“Show characters in the book”                                “Grabs your attention so you will buy it”
“Images help say something that can’t be written”            “Uses big pictures to make you read it”

                      Advertisement                                                   Artwork
“To persuade”                                                “To express something they (artists) are interested in”
“To sell something that is good”                             “To tell you something about a place or a place in time “
“they (advertisers) say only good things about a
product to sell it”

               Quotations taken from class discussions and student responses of the above images,
                                                September 2007
           Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                    11
           University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Reading images & understanding the meaning
          Observations: Class Activity: Student’s own visual images to analyse


Throughout further observations in cycle 1 I did a class activity where students brought

in their own visual images they either found or liked from home, books or internet. This

activity was focused as a pair task, getting the students involved in responding to a

visual image verbally and in a written response. This task helped begin students

understanding of the meta-language with a focus of ‘field, mode and tenor’




The results from this class activity created a variety of responses from students not

writing in sentences to writing in detail about the chosen pictures. This gave great

insight into some of the visual images students respond to which ranged from satirical

humour, pictures advertising something to pictures from books as well as artworks.




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                 12
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Assessment: ‘Outrageous Reactions’
               NSW Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3: Module 3
                                      ‘Seeing the meaning’ 1998

                  Discussion Framework                         •   How do you think the
                                                                   photographer wants you to
         • What is happening in this                               respond to this picture?
             photograph?                                       •   Are you influenced in some way?
         •   What message is being                             •   Describe the ways the pictures
             communicated?                                         support the written text placed
         •   How has the message been                              in relation to the image?
             constructed? Think about:                         •   Why do you think it has been
             -The Camera Angle                                     done this way?
             -The use of colour                                •   Describe the ways the picture
             -Objects in the picture, their size                   don’t support the written text.
             and position                                      • What effect does this have on
                                                                   you the reader?
NSW Board of Studies, Stage 3 Assessment: Module 3
 ‘Seeing the meaning’ – ‘Outrageous Reactions’ 1998




                                                   What was evident?

                                                   Students were able to;

                                                      •   Access meaning from the photograph and the text and
                                                          refer to both in discussion

                                                      •   Use heading and photograph to access meanings

                                                      •   Read, review and discuss image with technical
                                                          language

                                                      •   Justify if the visual image supports the writer’s view




         Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                13
         University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Work samples – Assessment 1


  Example: B - High




   Example: C - Sound




 Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3: Module 3 ‘Seeing the meaning’,
                               ‘Outrageous Reactions’ 1998




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                              14
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Example: D - Basic




 Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3: Module 3 ‘Seeing the meaning’,
                               ‘Outrageous Reactions’ 1998


                                 Cycle 1 Overview
  Board of Studies, NSW Curriculum, English Syllabus, K-6 Modules, 1998, p. 29, p.33,

RS3.5 Reads independently an extensive range of texts with increasing content
demands and responds to themes and issues
*Understands a more complex expository text
*Interprets a factual text
*Reads a text demanding a degree of technicality and abstraction

RS3.7 Understands that texts are constructed by people and identifies ways in
which texts differ according to their purpose, audience and subject matter
*explains techniques used by the writer and illustrator to represent a point of view and
position the reader
*identifies how camera angle, viewer position, colour, size and shading in a visual text
construct meaning
*justifies opinions about the motives and feelings of characters in literary texts




                                       Assessment Activity: 'Outrageous Reactions’
Erika Rimes 306 205 904                     Assessment Module, August 2007
                                                                                     15
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Cycle 1 Reflection



        Strengths                     Weaknesses                  Where to next?

Good use of technology. I
was able to incorporate the
use of the data projector                                   Continue modelling the
which helped in discussing     There was a need to          meta-language
and analysing visual images    further develop my
as a class                     modelling of the meta-
                               language for analysing and   Incorporate more focused
Students were engaged in       discussing visual images.    lessons where students can
the activities and were able                                relate to
to beginning their visual
literacy journey through
classify and identify visual                                Further assessments
images                         Students were unable to
                               clearly justify their
Great use of resources         interpretation of visual     Develop more group tasks
developed from the Board       images, needing more
of Studies (1998) and from     modelling from the teacher
my visual literacy research

My questioning was good
and still developing,
reflected through students
responses.




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                              16
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Cycle 2: 27th August – 7th September 2007

                                     Cycle 2 Aims:
•   Achieve specific outcomes and indicators from the Board of Studies, NSW

    Curriculum, English Syllabus, K-6 Modules

•   Implement focused activities from Marsden’s ‘The Rabbits’, 1998, Hachwtte Livre

    Australia Pty Ltd.

•   Observe students ability to apply knowledge from Cycle 1

     Findings – Observations: Lessons and activities of students applying knowledge

                               Activity: Responding to ads

Students were able to focus their meta-language about visual images applying knowledge
about demands and offers, layout, colour saturation and reading paths on the following
pictures.




    Image Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday Life Magazine, September 2007

                        Activity: ‘Teaching Values’ Pictures (PETA)
These images further developed the student’s knowledge relating to the topics I was
teaching them in other subjects such as HSIE about reconciliation in Australia. The
following pictures dealt with values such honesty and trustworthiness, freedom and care
and compassion.




Image source: Rowan, Gauld, Cole-Adams, Connolly, ‘Teaching Values’
          2007, Primary English Teaching Association p.84, p.92 and, p. 95


Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                               17
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
What was evident?

                  Students were able to;
                  • apply meta-language to new images as well as reviewing well-known images
                     (‘Outrageous reactions’)

                  •   understand and respect everyone’s different opinion and thoughts about values such
                      as ‘freedom’

                  •   discuss and justifying own views in a debate

                  •   debate about own ideas which was sparked by visual images

                  •   learn from visual images about different representation of values



                            Assessment: “The Rabbits” by John Marsden, Illustrated by Shaun Tan



                                            Discussion Framework
                                •   When you first saw this picture book what of
                                    story did you think it was going to be? What
                                    made you think this?
                                •   Now that you have read it, is it what you
                                    predicted the story to be? Why, why not?
                                •   Is there anything you didn’t understand in
                                    this text? (Discuss further)
                                •   What is the picture book about? (Symbolic or literal)
                                              • Who do you think the picture book is
                                                 written for?
                                              • What is the purpose of the picture book?
                                              • What caught your attention? Why?
                                              • Why would someone choose to read this
                                                 picture book?

                                                         What was evident?


Image source: Marsden, ‘The Rabbits’ 2007             Students were able to:           Image source: Marsden, ‘The Rabbits’ 2007


                  •   Read and understand symbolic and literal meanings in a picture book
                  •   Access meaning from pictures and text and refer to in discussion
                  (Use of colour, layout and composition, characterisation, how the viewer is meant to
                  feel/see certain things)
                  •   Explain ways the illustrator and writer position the reader and represent a point of
                      view


                  Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                  18
                  University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Class discussion with written response




  Image source: Marsden, ‘The Rabbits’ 2007                             Image source: Marsden, ‘The Rabbits’ 2007




                                        Summary of visual codes
                       Used as a basis for discussion and worksheet for assessment

1. What’s happening?                                    Discussion and analysis of a visual images;

                                                        What is the action?

                                                        What is the message?
2. How is the relationship developed between the        Jointly construct ideas in response to a visual image

viewer, the image and the image maker?                  Using language such as camera angles, colour, offer

                                                        and demands


3. How is the image composed?                           Reading paths – lines and vectors

                                                        Layout -How do we read the image? Top/bottom or
                                                        Left/right


                             Questions developed from Callow,‘Image matters,(1999)




       Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                        19
       University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Work samples – Assessment 2
   Lesson Topic: “The Rabbits” by John Marsden and Illustrations by Shaun Tan, 1998




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                          20
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Work samples – Assessment 2 continued…




                                 Cycle 2 Overview
                Assessment Outcomes and Indicators - English Syllabus

        Board of Studies, English K-6, NSW Board of Studies, p. 31, p.33, 1998



RS3.6 Uses a comprehensive range of skills and strategies appropriate to the type
of text being read
*uses, adjusts and combines higher order skills in decoding texts and accessing
visual
*Information e.g. scanning for information, examining pictures and text, reviewing
parts of the text

RS3.7 Understand that texts are constructed by people and identifies ways in
which texts differ according to their purpose, audience and subject matter
*explains techniques used by the writer and illustrator to represent a point of view and
position the reader
*identifies how camera angle, viewer position, colour, size and shading in a visual text
construct meaning
*justifies opinions about the motives and feelings of characters in literary texts



Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                              21
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Assessment Activities: Responding to Visual Images from Rowan, Gauld,
      Connelly, and Cole-Adams, 2007 ‘Teaching Values’ & Marsden, ‘The
                                Rabbits’ 1998




                                    Cycle 2 Reflection



        Strengths                     Weaknesses                    Where to next?


Students engaged in
content                                                   •       Students to produce
                              Need for more lessons to            their own visual images
Students applied prior        develop a wider
knowledge in a range of       interpretation and          •       Students reflect on
settings                      understanding of the “The           their new skills in visual
                              Rabbits”                            literacy
Group tasks
                                                              •    Continue with relevant
Values pictures – cultural                                                content
learning activity




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                  22
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Cycle 3: 10th September – 14th September 2007

                                       Cycle 3 Aims:

•   Assess students’ ability in creating their own visual image
•   Discuss with students how they feel now about reading, discussing and understanding
    visual images
•   Reflect on activities of visual literacy

Assessment task;
Students has to create a movie poster            Poster criteria:
from finding, scanning, photocopying,            • Title for the movie
drawing or downloading images related            • Students name as the star
to one of the following historical events;       • A sentence/synopsis promoting the
*Gold Rush *The Eureka Stockade or                  movie / informing about the movie
*Federation

What was evident?
Students were able to demonstrate and show an understanding of;
• layout - where text should be located on the poster?
• size, font and colour- Can the audience easily read the text?
• assessment task - Does the image clearly illustrate the historical event?
• colour - What colours are most effective to capture someone’s attention?
• Composition - How are the different parts of the poster are organised

                              Work Samples – Assessment 3
                             Producing images – Movie Poster

                     Identity of students has been protected
        Assessment task from Stage 3 COGS Unit – Traditions and Heritage




                                         Image Source: Gold Rush Movie Poster
                                            Activity, Year 5, September 2007




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                            23
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Identity of students has been protected
        Assessment task from Stage 3 COGS Unit – Traditions and Heritage




                         Image Source: Gold Rush Movie Poster
                            Activity, Year 5, September 2007

                                 Cycle 3 Assessment 3
                  Assessment Outcomes and Indicators – Visual Arts
        Board of Studies, Creative Arts K-6, NSW Board of Studies, p.45, 1998

VAS3.1 Investigates subject matter in an attempt to represent likeliness of things
in the world
*Explores historical events as subject matter for a movie poster

VAS3.2 Makes artworks for different audiences, assembling materials in a variety
of ways
*Considers the specific requirements of an artwork (poster) to clearly convey message
to an audience

VAS3.3 Acknowledges that audiences respond in different ways to artworks and
that there are different opinions about the values of artworks
*Understands that artworks can be made for different reasons.
*Recognises that an audience may have different views about the meaning of an artwork




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                            24
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
Assessment Activity: Gold Rush Movie Poster, September 2007




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                      25
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
E) Critical Reflections
As a reflective practitioner at the beginning of my teaching career my Action Research

Project in visual literacy has taught me more about the importance of how students and

teachers can learn as well as enjoy visual images. My Action Research Project has

developed such a positive response from the students, which is evident in their

discussions and work samples. This has only enriched my teaching practice 'knowing

subject content and how to teach that content to their students' ((NSW Institute of
Teaching , Professional Teaching Standards Document, Element 1, 2005) and further

more develop and 'continue improving professional knowledge and practice' ((NSW

Institute of Teaching , Professional Teaching Standards Document, Element 6, 2005)

Overall this has given myself a reason to continue and incorporate visual literacy and

grammar into my everyday teachings.



“Students need to be aware that there may be preferred or dominant interpretations of
an image, with which they might not always agree. It is vital, both for understanding our
    world and teaching students why image matters, that we are able to critique and
     question visual texts as well as enjoy and learn from them” (Callow, 1999, p.41)


Student developed meaning making skills using technical language which were

represented in the overall assessment outcomes achieved. Students developed the skills

of being able to talk about, respond to, write about and produce visual images was

developed through a range of experiences of applying knowledge in different ways. The

results of each assessment showed an increase of students visual literacy skills, showing

an increase in High (17% > 48%) and outstanding (0% >14%) assessments results and a

gradual decrease in Sound (50% > 30%) and Basic (33% > 5%) results.



The most important aspect of developing student’s visual literacy skills was through

constructing well structured and designed tasks and assessments. This has helped my

ability to “plan, assess and report for effective learning” (NSW Institute of Teaching ,

Professional Teaching Standards Document, Element 3, 2005) which students have

effectively been engaged in and responded to, source of demonstrating an understanding

of visual literacy. Overall students showed engagement and development depending on

the task set, which indicates how important it is to always give students a range of

experiences when learning and developing new skills.
Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                  26
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
F) Implications
In my future teachings of visual literacy I would develop lessons to further develop

self-regulated and guided learning. Students in the Opportunity Class were challenged

from the content I presented them from. This could be due to no recently

implementation of lessons which focus in visual literacy learning. This was an issue

throughout my action research project as I would further investigate to make sure

students can develop more independent learning from my modelling and guided teachings

in visual literacy.



The extent to which the students were engaged was dependent on the subject content

and the task set. Students were consistent in their efforts and interests in discussions

and responses to the visual images however some students were inconsistent in being

engaged in the task at hand. I would further develop my tasks set, offering more

interactive subject content such as looking at Drama and interactive mediums such as

websites and TV advertisements.



An important aspect of my Action Research Project was that I did teach in an

Opportunity Class. This gave me the freedom to teach quite mature students, being able

to discuss in great detail visual images in one hour lessons. I realise that I would have to

further develop implementation of visual literacy lessons in a main-stream class, as from

my previous experience a main-steam class would need more concise lessons. This would

also be dependent on which stage – considering if it was early stage 1, stage 1 or stage 2;

which I would have to adapt my teachings to suit the age, stage and particular class.



Overall I have felt visual literacy lessons should be incorporated into Key Learning Areas

not just as simply the focus of all lessons. I found throughout my Action Research

Project I was able to give much focused visual literacy lessons which sometimes

students responded to in a negative way. I would focus the meta-language of visual

images through out tasks and incorporate visual literacy based tasks throughout all the

Key Learning Areas.




Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                 27
University of Sydney M/teach 2007
G) Bibliography


Board of Studies, Creative Arts K-6, NSW Board of Studies, 1998



Board of Studies, English K-6, NSW Board of Studies, 1998



Board of Studies, ‘Outrageous Reactions’, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3:

Module 3 Seeing the meaning,



Callow, Jon (ed.) ‘Image matters: Visual texts in the classroom’ (1999) PETA, Sydney



Connelly, Jan, ‘Tools for analysing visual literacy in the middle years’, University of New

England, Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, Vol 14 No.3, 2006



Kress & Van Leuween ‘Reading images, The Grammar of Visual Design’ Routledge

Publishing, 1996, New York, NY



Marsden, John and Tan, Shaun, ‘The Rabbits’, 1998, Hachwtte Livre Australia Pty Ltd



Professional Teaching Standards, NSW Institute of Teaching, DET



Rowan, L., Gauld, J., Cole-Adams, J., & Connolly, A., ‘Teaching Values’, Primary English

Teaching Association 2007, Sydney, Australia



Simpson, Alyson, ‘Visual literacy: A coded language for viewing in the classroom. ‘(2004)

PETA, Sydney.



Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday Life Magazine, September 2007



Unsworth, Len, ‘Teaching Multiliteracies across the curriculum’, Open University Press,

McGraw-Hill Education, NY, 2001



M, Walsh, ‘Reading visual and multimodal texts: how is ‘reading’ different? Australian
Catholic University, 2006

Erika Rimes 306 205 904                                                                    28
University of Sydney M/teach 2007

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Arp Report Erika Rimes 2007

  • 1. Erika Rimes Master of Teaching – Primary Education 2007 Action Research Project: How can I effectively develop students’ visual literacy skills in stage 3? Erika Rimes 306 205 904 1 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 2. Contents A) Context of research pp 3 B) Research issue and rationale pp 4 C) Methodology pp 6 D) Data collected & Analysis of data pp 11 E) Critical Reflection pp 27 F) Implications pp 28 G) Bibliography pp 29 Erika Rimes 306 205 904 2 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 3. Does image matter? : An exploration into the teaching and student learning of visual literacy in stage 3 A) Contextual statement The school, where I conducted my research, has priorities to cater for the needs of individual children in a caring environment. There are two OC classes, and three Support classes including a special Language class, as well as English as a second language programs and class. The student’s at the school are 67% from a non-English speaking background. Many countries represented include countries in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Pacific Islands. The class I taught and conducted my Action Research Project was on an OC class consisting of 30 year 5 students – 15 boys and 15 girls. I was involved in team teaching as there were three teachers teaching the year 5/6 OC class. I taught by myself as well as team teaching when I was not conducting my own lessons. The students were from a range of backgrounds including Chinese, Indonesian, European, and Indian. All the students were of a high academic level. Erika Rimes 306 205 904 3 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 4. B) Research issue and rationale Research issue: How can I effectively develop students’ visual literacy skills in stage 3? The purpose of my Action Research Project is to develop students’ visual literacy skills and to better understand my own pedagogical practices through my own teachings of visual literacy and understand visual literacy as a dynamic teaching and learning domain. Visual literacy is vital in today’s world with an abundance of multimodal texts, which include understanding of visual literacy and using the proper meta-language in response to and making meaning from visual texts is vitally important for any students growing up in a multi-modal society. In today’s world it is important for students to take active roles in making meaning from visual texts, as not only is the world full of books use images to communicate meaning. In education it is more than ever important to be able to not only understand multi- modal text (video, TV, Internet, Radio, Newspaper, Advertisements) but to also interpret and teach all kinds of text. For example, The NSW Board of Studies considers ‘viewing’ as a part of literacy development describes visual literacy as a learning outcome, defined as ‘observing and comprehending a visual text such as a diagram, illustration or photograph’ (NSW Curriculum, English Syllabus K-6 Modules, 1998 p.100). Therefore teaching concepts from visual literacy and giving students the meta-language to respond to visual images can help students to understand the visual cues of an illustrator or artist to convey meaning. Erika Rimes 306 205 904 4 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 5. Visual literacy is vital in today’s world as “it is a part of the wider aspect of how we communicate in our culture” (Callow p.g. 3). We are continually being bombarded with multimodal texts, which involve a wide range of “visual, electronic and digital images” (Walsh, 2006, p.24;) and our process of learning is not only through reading but through context and learning “about language, both implicitly through experience, and explicitly by having the structures and grammar of various texts explained to us” (Callow p.g. 3). For students to better understand visual texts I aim to draw from a variety of context, known and unknown, in a variety of media, to further enhance student’s understandings to decode and construct visual images. Visualising and conceptualising through visual texts/images adds to the language learning process through predicting, constructing, discussing and understanding context and text of an “imagine as the words of a text will never be able to “tell” everything” (Walsh, 2006, p. 30). Furthermore as an educator I find “it is timely to consider that the daily worlds that our students move through are increasingly being filled with visual images.” (Connelly, p.g. 16, 2006). Visual Images is a way of representing visual cultures and therefore “pivotal to how they (students) are being represented.” (Connelly, 2006, p.g. 25). Erika Rimes 306 205 904 5 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 6. C) Methodology & Teaching Strategy Methodology: Collecting data Observations • Class discussion with students • Group discussion among students • One-on-one discussions with students Work samples • Written responses from students (Responding to text) • Visual Arts task (Producing text) Reflections and discussions • Mentor teacher before and after lessons about the lessons • My own reflections on my teaching practice Teaching Strategy Teaching approach in visual literacy will encompass common teaching practices as well as incorporating prior knowledge of visual literacy and a further development of my own knowledge in combination with teaching students the strategies employed by illustrators in a variety of mediums. 1. Teaching and Learning Experience 2. Outcomes & Indicators 3. Assessment Erika Rimes 306 205 904 6 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 7. 1. Teaching and learning experience My Action Research Project focused primarily on the following points; • developing students’ understanding of the meaning-making strategies illustrators and artists use; • assessing and evaluating how effective my teachings of visual literacy are in the classroom environment Visual literacy is an aspect of literacy that has slowly been increasing in the importance in today’s world, and the importance for developing “meaning-making tools” is ever more relevant now than ever. As “the now overwhelming evidence of the importance of visual communication and the now problematic absence of the means for talking and thinking about what is actually communicated by images and by visual design” (Kress & Van Leuween, 2001 p.15) Applying teaching strategies to develop students’ visual literacy skills involves an understanding of how we learn to read images and what do we use to read images “bringing together our own knowledge, cultural perspective, prior knowledge and explicitly taught skills” (Unsworth, 2001, p.g. 19). Students will inherently bring together different viewpoints when first interpreting and understanding visual images. Therefore approaching my teaching, using specific, relevent images, will help focus the meaning- making process and the meaning-making tools illustrators and artists use to convey meaning or to tell a story in a political, historical, mathematical or social context. Erika Rimes 306 205 904 7 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 8. My strategies involved in teaching and developing visual literacy skills within stage 3 in a classroom environment will utilise the following concepts prior to and during; Focused teaching approaches in visual literacy Key concepts used as a basis for my implementation of visual literacy Identifying and classifying visual images Visual image-making process Representation This is a major part of the meaning-making process “When visual texts are produced, images and words in from the viewer’s perspective as well as the artist or combination are used to represent ideas to make illustrator’s purpose and aim in creating a visual image. meanings and to represent versions of the world.” Therefore I will be aware when choosing images, that (Simpson, 2004, p. 19 ) “visual texts construct worlds, cultures and identities in powerful and often overtly ideological ways via semiotic Discourses grammars and cultural tools,” (Connelly, 2006, p22 ). “Inside visual texts discourses are detected….Ways of thinking and acting that individuals and groups can identify with…discourses shape attitudes, beliefs and Responding to and producing visual images values through the use of language influencing how individuals understand and act in the world.” Responding to visual images will include such practices as (Connelly, 2006, p. 28) talking and listening to one another, actively describing elements of visual image and actively creating or re- Intertexuality creating their own visual images, “learners write or To read intertexuality inside visual texts means to encode visuals as a tool for communication” and look to elements in a text that infer similarities, therefore “Students develop their visual abilities connections, references, and relationships to other through use.” (Connelly, 2006, p. 25). texts. Intertexuality is strongly relied on prior knowledge e.g. Shrek (Connelly, 2006, p.30) These three tools can be present in any one given text Erika Rimes 306 205 904 8 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 9. Furthermore my teaching approach will include the following elements; Focus of teaching and learning experience Development of students understanding of meaning- (NSW Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment making tools using ‘Summary of Visual Codes’ Resource Stage 3 ‘Seeing Meaning’) (Callow 199 and Kress & Van Leuween 1996) Modelled reading response to visual images 1. What’s happening? Displaying and reading a range of visual images to students Discussion and analysis of a visual images; What is the action? Always modelling the meta-language (the language to What is the message? talk about language) 2. How is the relationship developed between the Guided writing response of visual images viewer, the image and the image maker? Give students guidance in understanding the variety of ways illustrators and artists use different strategies Jointly construct ideas in response to a visual image for different purposes. Using language such as camera angles, colour, offer and demands Independent response to visual images Encourage students to draw on both images and the 3. How is the image composed? print when constructing meaning and to talk about this to the readers. Reading paths – lines and vectors Have them compare the text in terms of their purpose and intended audience. Layout -How do we read the image? Top/bottom or Have them decide which text is the most eye-catching Left/right and talk about why. Erika Rimes 306 205 904 9 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 10. 2. Outcomes & Indicators Throughout my Action Research Project I referred specifically to the syllabus including English and Visual Arts. This helped structure what I want to teach, how I will teach and what I want the students to achieve; English Outcomes Creative Arts outcomes NSW Curriculum, English Syllabus K-6 Modules, 1998 p.100 NSW Curriculum, Creative Arts Syllabus K-6 Modules, 1998, p. 30 RS3.5 Reading and viewing texts Reads independently an extensive range of texts with increasing content demands and responds to themes and issues VAS3.1 Investigates subject matter in an attempt to *Understands a more complex expository text represent likeliness of things in the world *Interprets a factual text *Explores historical events as subject matter for a movie *Reads a text demanding a degree of technicality and abstraction poster RS3.6 Skills and strategies VAS3.2 Makes artworks for different audiences, Uses a comprehensive range of skills and strategies appropriate to the type of text assembling materials in a variety of ways being read *Considers the specific requirements of an artwork *uses, adjusts and combines higher order skills in decoding texts and accessing visual (poster) to clearly convey message to an audience *Information e.g. scanning for information, examining pictures and text, reviewing parts of the text VAS3.3 Acknowledges that audiences respond in RS3.7 Context and text different ways to artworks and that there are different Understands that texts are constructed by people and identifies ways in which opinions about the values of artworks texts differ according to their purpose, audience and subject matter *Understands that artworks can be made for different *explains techniques used by the writer and illustrator to represent a point of view and reasons. position the reader *Recognises that an audience may have different views *identifies how camera angle, viewer position, colour, size and shading in a visual text about the meaning of an artwork construct meaning *justifies opinions about the motives and feelings of characters in literary texts 3. Assessments My assessment strategies in understanding students visual literacy skills has been drawn from ‘Classroom assessment resource for stage 3’ – ‘Module 3 Reading: Seeing the meaning’ by Board of Studies 1998. This approach has helped focus my own understanding of how to teaching visual and written texts and to assess students’ understandings of the meaning making strategies illustrators and writers use in various mediums. Assessment focus throughout the cycles: Reading about, responding to, and producing images Students; (Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3 1998) • use higher-order skills to access vital information from visual images and supporting text • identify how elements of a visual text construct meaning • identify how authors target audience in constructing visual texts • incorporate and use elements of visual literacy to produce a visual image with a purpose Erika Rimes 306 205 904 10 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 11. D) Data collected/ Analysis of data Cycle 1: 8th August – 22nd August 2007 Cycle 1 Aims: • Students capability when identifying and interpreting images • Reflect on my own teachings of visual literacy • Assess students learning at the end of the cycle Reading images & understanding the meaning Observations: Introduction Through out my observations of lessons where I was introducing visual literacy skills I used specific examples, developed from my own findings as well as from Jon Callow (1999), where visual images use colour, angles and layout, lines and vectors to model & introduce the meta language. Students were able to respond, identify and classify visual images. However, I had to focus my questioning using the meta-language and give the students terms and definitions to use when introducing the meta-language about visual images. Sources: Google Images and Callow, ‘Image matters:'Visual texts in the classroom’ (1999) Furthermore students were also able to discuss further as a class general ideas about the different images the students see (where, when, why,) Picture book / book Newspaper/magazine “To help understand the text” “Show the most important news first” “Show characters in the book” “Grabs your attention so you will buy it” “Images help say something that can’t be written” “Uses big pictures to make you read it” Advertisement Artwork “To persuade” “To express something they (artists) are interested in” “To sell something that is good” “To tell you something about a place or a place in time “ “they (advertisers) say only good things about a product to sell it” Quotations taken from class discussions and student responses of the above images, September 2007 Erika Rimes 306 205 904 11 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 12. Reading images & understanding the meaning Observations: Class Activity: Student’s own visual images to analyse Throughout further observations in cycle 1 I did a class activity where students brought in their own visual images they either found or liked from home, books or internet. This activity was focused as a pair task, getting the students involved in responding to a visual image verbally and in a written response. This task helped begin students understanding of the meta-language with a focus of ‘field, mode and tenor’ The results from this class activity created a variety of responses from students not writing in sentences to writing in detail about the chosen pictures. This gave great insight into some of the visual images students respond to which ranged from satirical humour, pictures advertising something to pictures from books as well as artworks. Erika Rimes 306 205 904 12 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 13. Assessment: ‘Outrageous Reactions’ NSW Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3: Module 3 ‘Seeing the meaning’ 1998 Discussion Framework • How do you think the photographer wants you to • What is happening in this respond to this picture? photograph? • Are you influenced in some way? • What message is being • Describe the ways the pictures communicated? support the written text placed • How has the message been in relation to the image? constructed? Think about: • Why do you think it has been -The Camera Angle done this way? -The use of colour • Describe the ways the picture -Objects in the picture, their size don’t support the written text. and position • What effect does this have on you the reader? NSW Board of Studies, Stage 3 Assessment: Module 3 ‘Seeing the meaning’ – ‘Outrageous Reactions’ 1998 What was evident? Students were able to; • Access meaning from the photograph and the text and refer to both in discussion • Use heading and photograph to access meanings • Read, review and discuss image with technical language • Justify if the visual image supports the writer’s view Erika Rimes 306 205 904 13 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 14. Work samples – Assessment 1 Example: B - High Example: C - Sound Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3: Module 3 ‘Seeing the meaning’, ‘Outrageous Reactions’ 1998 Erika Rimes 306 205 904 14 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 15. Example: D - Basic Board of Studies, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3: Module 3 ‘Seeing the meaning’, ‘Outrageous Reactions’ 1998 Cycle 1 Overview Board of Studies, NSW Curriculum, English Syllabus, K-6 Modules, 1998, p. 29, p.33, RS3.5 Reads independently an extensive range of texts with increasing content demands and responds to themes and issues *Understands a more complex expository text *Interprets a factual text *Reads a text demanding a degree of technicality and abstraction RS3.7 Understands that texts are constructed by people and identifies ways in which texts differ according to their purpose, audience and subject matter *explains techniques used by the writer and illustrator to represent a point of view and position the reader *identifies how camera angle, viewer position, colour, size and shading in a visual text construct meaning *justifies opinions about the motives and feelings of characters in literary texts Assessment Activity: 'Outrageous Reactions’ Erika Rimes 306 205 904 Assessment Module, August 2007 15 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 16. Cycle 1 Reflection Strengths Weaknesses Where to next? Good use of technology. I was able to incorporate the use of the data projector Continue modelling the which helped in discussing There was a need to meta-language and analysing visual images further develop my as a class modelling of the meta- language for analysing and Incorporate more focused Students were engaged in discussing visual images. lessons where students can the activities and were able relate to to beginning their visual literacy journey through classify and identify visual Further assessments images Students were unable to clearly justify their Great use of resources interpretation of visual Develop more group tasks developed from the Board images, needing more of Studies (1998) and from modelling from the teacher my visual literacy research My questioning was good and still developing, reflected through students responses. Erika Rimes 306 205 904 16 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 17. Cycle 2: 27th August – 7th September 2007 Cycle 2 Aims: • Achieve specific outcomes and indicators from the Board of Studies, NSW Curriculum, English Syllabus, K-6 Modules • Implement focused activities from Marsden’s ‘The Rabbits’, 1998, Hachwtte Livre Australia Pty Ltd. • Observe students ability to apply knowledge from Cycle 1 Findings – Observations: Lessons and activities of students applying knowledge Activity: Responding to ads Students were able to focus their meta-language about visual images applying knowledge about demands and offers, layout, colour saturation and reading paths on the following pictures. Image Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday Life Magazine, September 2007 Activity: ‘Teaching Values’ Pictures (PETA) These images further developed the student’s knowledge relating to the topics I was teaching them in other subjects such as HSIE about reconciliation in Australia. The following pictures dealt with values such honesty and trustworthiness, freedom and care and compassion. Image source: Rowan, Gauld, Cole-Adams, Connolly, ‘Teaching Values’ 2007, Primary English Teaching Association p.84, p.92 and, p. 95 Erika Rimes 306 205 904 17 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 18. What was evident? Students were able to; • apply meta-language to new images as well as reviewing well-known images (‘Outrageous reactions’) • understand and respect everyone’s different opinion and thoughts about values such as ‘freedom’ • discuss and justifying own views in a debate • debate about own ideas which was sparked by visual images • learn from visual images about different representation of values Assessment: “The Rabbits” by John Marsden, Illustrated by Shaun Tan Discussion Framework • When you first saw this picture book what of story did you think it was going to be? What made you think this? • Now that you have read it, is it what you predicted the story to be? Why, why not? • Is there anything you didn’t understand in this text? (Discuss further) • What is the picture book about? (Symbolic or literal) • Who do you think the picture book is written for? • What is the purpose of the picture book? • What caught your attention? Why? • Why would someone choose to read this picture book? What was evident? Image source: Marsden, ‘The Rabbits’ 2007 Students were able to: Image source: Marsden, ‘The Rabbits’ 2007 • Read and understand symbolic and literal meanings in a picture book • Access meaning from pictures and text and refer to in discussion (Use of colour, layout and composition, characterisation, how the viewer is meant to feel/see certain things) • Explain ways the illustrator and writer position the reader and represent a point of view Erika Rimes 306 205 904 18 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 19. Class discussion with written response Image source: Marsden, ‘The Rabbits’ 2007 Image source: Marsden, ‘The Rabbits’ 2007 Summary of visual codes Used as a basis for discussion and worksheet for assessment 1. What’s happening? Discussion and analysis of a visual images; What is the action? What is the message? 2. How is the relationship developed between the Jointly construct ideas in response to a visual image viewer, the image and the image maker? Using language such as camera angles, colour, offer and demands 3. How is the image composed? Reading paths – lines and vectors Layout -How do we read the image? Top/bottom or Left/right Questions developed from Callow,‘Image matters,(1999) Erika Rimes 306 205 904 19 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 20. Work samples – Assessment 2 Lesson Topic: “The Rabbits” by John Marsden and Illustrations by Shaun Tan, 1998 Erika Rimes 306 205 904 20 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 21. Work samples – Assessment 2 continued… Cycle 2 Overview Assessment Outcomes and Indicators - English Syllabus Board of Studies, English K-6, NSW Board of Studies, p. 31, p.33, 1998 RS3.6 Uses a comprehensive range of skills and strategies appropriate to the type of text being read *uses, adjusts and combines higher order skills in decoding texts and accessing visual *Information e.g. scanning for information, examining pictures and text, reviewing parts of the text RS3.7 Understand that texts are constructed by people and identifies ways in which texts differ according to their purpose, audience and subject matter *explains techniques used by the writer and illustrator to represent a point of view and position the reader *identifies how camera angle, viewer position, colour, size and shading in a visual text construct meaning *justifies opinions about the motives and feelings of characters in literary texts Erika Rimes 306 205 904 21 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 22. Assessment Activities: Responding to Visual Images from Rowan, Gauld, Connelly, and Cole-Adams, 2007 ‘Teaching Values’ & Marsden, ‘The Rabbits’ 1998 Cycle 2 Reflection Strengths Weaknesses Where to next? Students engaged in content • Students to produce Need for more lessons to their own visual images Students applied prior develop a wider knowledge in a range of interpretation and • Students reflect on settings understanding of the “The their new skills in visual Rabbits” literacy Group tasks • Continue with relevant Values pictures – cultural content learning activity Erika Rimes 306 205 904 22 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 23. Cycle 3: 10th September – 14th September 2007 Cycle 3 Aims: • Assess students’ ability in creating their own visual image • Discuss with students how they feel now about reading, discussing and understanding visual images • Reflect on activities of visual literacy Assessment task; Students has to create a movie poster Poster criteria: from finding, scanning, photocopying, • Title for the movie drawing or downloading images related • Students name as the star to one of the following historical events; • A sentence/synopsis promoting the *Gold Rush *The Eureka Stockade or movie / informing about the movie *Federation What was evident? Students were able to demonstrate and show an understanding of; • layout - where text should be located on the poster? • size, font and colour- Can the audience easily read the text? • assessment task - Does the image clearly illustrate the historical event? • colour - What colours are most effective to capture someone’s attention? • Composition - How are the different parts of the poster are organised Work Samples – Assessment 3 Producing images – Movie Poster Identity of students has been protected Assessment task from Stage 3 COGS Unit – Traditions and Heritage Image Source: Gold Rush Movie Poster Activity, Year 5, September 2007 Erika Rimes 306 205 904 23 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 24. Identity of students has been protected Assessment task from Stage 3 COGS Unit – Traditions and Heritage Image Source: Gold Rush Movie Poster Activity, Year 5, September 2007 Cycle 3 Assessment 3 Assessment Outcomes and Indicators – Visual Arts Board of Studies, Creative Arts K-6, NSW Board of Studies, p.45, 1998 VAS3.1 Investigates subject matter in an attempt to represent likeliness of things in the world *Explores historical events as subject matter for a movie poster VAS3.2 Makes artworks for different audiences, assembling materials in a variety of ways *Considers the specific requirements of an artwork (poster) to clearly convey message to an audience VAS3.3 Acknowledges that audiences respond in different ways to artworks and that there are different opinions about the values of artworks *Understands that artworks can be made for different reasons. *Recognises that an audience may have different views about the meaning of an artwork Erika Rimes 306 205 904 24 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 25. Assessment Activity: Gold Rush Movie Poster, September 2007 Erika Rimes 306 205 904 25 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 26. E) Critical Reflections As a reflective practitioner at the beginning of my teaching career my Action Research Project in visual literacy has taught me more about the importance of how students and teachers can learn as well as enjoy visual images. My Action Research Project has developed such a positive response from the students, which is evident in their discussions and work samples. This has only enriched my teaching practice 'knowing subject content and how to teach that content to their students' ((NSW Institute of Teaching , Professional Teaching Standards Document, Element 1, 2005) and further more develop and 'continue improving professional knowledge and practice' ((NSW Institute of Teaching , Professional Teaching Standards Document, Element 6, 2005) Overall this has given myself a reason to continue and incorporate visual literacy and grammar into my everyday teachings. “Students need to be aware that there may be preferred or dominant interpretations of an image, with which they might not always agree. It is vital, both for understanding our world and teaching students why image matters, that we are able to critique and question visual texts as well as enjoy and learn from them” (Callow, 1999, p.41) Student developed meaning making skills using technical language which were represented in the overall assessment outcomes achieved. Students developed the skills of being able to talk about, respond to, write about and produce visual images was developed through a range of experiences of applying knowledge in different ways. The results of each assessment showed an increase of students visual literacy skills, showing an increase in High (17% > 48%) and outstanding (0% >14%) assessments results and a gradual decrease in Sound (50% > 30%) and Basic (33% > 5%) results. The most important aspect of developing student’s visual literacy skills was through constructing well structured and designed tasks and assessments. This has helped my ability to “plan, assess and report for effective learning” (NSW Institute of Teaching , Professional Teaching Standards Document, Element 3, 2005) which students have effectively been engaged in and responded to, source of demonstrating an understanding of visual literacy. Overall students showed engagement and development depending on the task set, which indicates how important it is to always give students a range of experiences when learning and developing new skills. Erika Rimes 306 205 904 26 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 27. F) Implications In my future teachings of visual literacy I would develop lessons to further develop self-regulated and guided learning. Students in the Opportunity Class were challenged from the content I presented them from. This could be due to no recently implementation of lessons which focus in visual literacy learning. This was an issue throughout my action research project as I would further investigate to make sure students can develop more independent learning from my modelling and guided teachings in visual literacy. The extent to which the students were engaged was dependent on the subject content and the task set. Students were consistent in their efforts and interests in discussions and responses to the visual images however some students were inconsistent in being engaged in the task at hand. I would further develop my tasks set, offering more interactive subject content such as looking at Drama and interactive mediums such as websites and TV advertisements. An important aspect of my Action Research Project was that I did teach in an Opportunity Class. This gave me the freedom to teach quite mature students, being able to discuss in great detail visual images in one hour lessons. I realise that I would have to further develop implementation of visual literacy lessons in a main-stream class, as from my previous experience a main-steam class would need more concise lessons. This would also be dependent on which stage – considering if it was early stage 1, stage 1 or stage 2; which I would have to adapt my teachings to suit the age, stage and particular class. Overall I have felt visual literacy lessons should be incorporated into Key Learning Areas not just as simply the focus of all lessons. I found throughout my Action Research Project I was able to give much focused visual literacy lessons which sometimes students responded to in a negative way. I would focus the meta-language of visual images through out tasks and incorporate visual literacy based tasks throughout all the Key Learning Areas. Erika Rimes 306 205 904 27 University of Sydney M/teach 2007
  • 28. G) Bibliography Board of Studies, Creative Arts K-6, NSW Board of Studies, 1998 Board of Studies, English K-6, NSW Board of Studies, 1998 Board of Studies, ‘Outrageous Reactions’, Classroom Assessment Resource Stage 3: Module 3 Seeing the meaning, Callow, Jon (ed.) ‘Image matters: Visual texts in the classroom’ (1999) PETA, Sydney Connelly, Jan, ‘Tools for analysing visual literacy in the middle years’, University of New England, Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, Vol 14 No.3, 2006 Kress & Van Leuween ‘Reading images, The Grammar of Visual Design’ Routledge Publishing, 1996, New York, NY Marsden, John and Tan, Shaun, ‘The Rabbits’, 1998, Hachwtte Livre Australia Pty Ltd Professional Teaching Standards, NSW Institute of Teaching, DET Rowan, L., Gauld, J., Cole-Adams, J., & Connolly, A., ‘Teaching Values’, Primary English Teaching Association 2007, Sydney, Australia Simpson, Alyson, ‘Visual literacy: A coded language for viewing in the classroom. ‘(2004) PETA, Sydney. Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday Life Magazine, September 2007 Unsworth, Len, ‘Teaching Multiliteracies across the curriculum’, Open University Press, McGraw-Hill Education, NY, 2001 M, Walsh, ‘Reading visual and multimodal texts: how is ‘reading’ different? Australian Catholic University, 2006 Erika Rimes 306 205 904 28 University of Sydney M/teach 2007