Visual Literacy Part 3:Fun and Games Boosting Critical Thinking and Attention - and Great Summer Activities

I was recently at Macmillain Publisher's children's Fall 2012 preview event and their books are AWESOME!!!! (A sneak peak will follow in a future post.)  What struck me, however, was the buzz all the editors used... Visual Literacy.

From: geekologie.com

Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be “read” and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading. (From:wikipedia.org)

We need visual literacy to:
- read maps;
- read charts and graphs;
- decipher icons on computer, cellphones, tablets;
- encourage reluctant readers to read;
- read music;
- comprehend nuances in bold, italic, and varied fonts in words they see every day;
- decipher letters when learning to read - visual letter recognition relies on visual literacy;
- read faces/body language when interacting with others (or watching movies, videos, TV).

This is the third in a series of posts on visual literacy.  Each post can be read independently or in conjunction with the other. Here's a quick synopsis:

• Part 1: "Visual vs. Verbal Literacy" relates how BOTH visual and verbal literacies are vital for learning and cognition; suggested readings for kids of all ages are included. 
• Part 2:  "Visual / Verbal Literacy:  Reluctant Readers and Brick Walls" relates how visual literacy and visual texts can help reluctant readers find happiness in reading books.  

In this post - Part 3, I focus on  visual literacy as an aid to critical thinking (understanding and recognizing relationships, developing creativity, and reasoning)  and attention.

I. HOW VISUALLY LITERATE ARE YOU?

•  Look at the picture below. [It was taken from Tribes: The Dog Years written by Michael Geszel and Peter Spinetta, illustrated by Inaki Miranda with colors by Eva de la Cruz, produced by Soulcraft Comics (the book is on sale online and is geared for young adults and over - an AWESOME read). NOTE: This is the first book about the world which is organized into tribes, each of which is led by its elders - all below the age of 21.]
• Answer the following questions:
• PART I
1. Where does this take place?
2. When does this take place?
3. How does this tribe survive and care for its members?  What is it's main form of sustenance?
4. How might you describe this tribe's culture?
5. Would you want to live in this tribe?  Why / why not?

• PART 2: And, a few more questions:

1. Did you notice the rubber ducky?  What purpose might it play in this tribe's culture?
2. Did you notice the "One Way" sign?  What purpose might it play?
3. Does my pointing it out the rubber ducky and one-way sign change or influence any of your other responses?
4. How would you answer Eisner's six questions (which are discussed below):
1. How does the image affect the viewer?
2. How is the image composed?
3. How do the symbols that appear in the image affect the meaning?
4. How does the subject matter affect the viewer's responses?
5. How do the materials used affect the meaning of the image (photo, drawing, computer generated images, animation...)?
6. How does the cultural context affect the production and understanding of the image?

Note:  I will post the answers on Thursday, June 14th.  If you want, feel free to leave your answers in the comments section.

II. SOME EXPLANATION:

Visual literacy aids critical thinking because when reading a face or a picture, one must construct their understanding.  There are no words to tell 'readers' what to think, there is an image relaying 'bits' and hints of information - as evidenced above.  It is this CONSTRUCTION that we use when reasoning, comparing, contrasting and creating.

Visual literacy aids boosts attention and attention skills because by definition, one must stop, look, attend to the art, and then proceed to make sense out of all its components.

Elliot W. Eisner, professor emeritus Art and Education at the Stanford University School of Education and known for his work in arts education, curriculum studies, and educational evaluation noted:

"Our language development does not define the limits of our cognition."  Conversely, "our cognition is not defined by the limits of our language development."

 He then offers a series of questions to facilitate students' cognitive development using images:

1. How does the image affect the viewer?
2. How is the image composed?
3. How do the symbols that appear in the image affect the meaning?
4. How does the subject matter affect the viewer's responses?
5. How do the materials used affect the meaning of the image (photo, drawing, computer generated images, animation...)?
6. How does the cultural context affect the production and understanding of the image?

Each of these questions should be incorporated into discussions in your classrooms and homes to better understand the full message images relay in books, advertisements, etc.

My point here is that 

• the colors used 
• the design of the page 
• the letter fonts, sizes and even letter/word placements
• the details of faces, places,and objects added in the picture. ..

...THEY ALL were used by us to construct some level of understanding - they are the basics of visual literacy.

Aside from the importance of images to help aid in critical thinking and attention, we live in an age where visual icons and illustrations are an integral part of our daily lives - from deciphering icons on our phones and computers, to building furniture bought for our homes, or using/viewing clips from pinterest or YouTube...(you get the message).  Images and communication via images are EVERYWHERE!

III.  SUMMER SUGGESTIONS to help build your family's visual literacy:

• Here is a link to view more images from Tribes: The Dog Years - use my image above or more images here and answer the questions above with your family.
• Have an origami day - construct origami figures by following graphic instructions.
• Talk about messages that colors, fonts and images relay - play around with them and make non-verbal messages for each other. Try leaving daily messages for family members using icons instead of words.  How well does that work?
• Make maps - treasure maps for dessert, or for a gift, or map out vacation plans.
• Have a crafts day, where everyone 'writes' up craft directions for a project to be completed by another family member BUT... the directions are all given through charts, icons and/or illustrations.  How did the crafts projects come out?
• Keep a visual diary of vacations, of camp, of a fun family activity - using photos and illustrations.  Compare this to written entries.  How does it compare? 
• Read graphic novels aloud - talk about the information the pictures relay and how the images ADD to the story line.
• Watch Disney's Carl and Ellie's story in Up  (I've attached it below) or the first half of WALLE  with a critical eye.  Talk about how these movies told their stories visually - with limited or no words.  How were the emotions and thoughts of those characters relayed? 

• For more details of using visual cues to read faces go to "Facial Literacy or Securing Social Skills"
• For more details on  how to encourage inferencing skills, go to "What's all this about Inference?"    
•  For more details on suggested graphic novels go to The Very Best of 2011 Kids' Graphic Novels.

Thanks for the visit. Please leave your reactions and/or quiz answers in the comments and please make sure you check back on Thursday, June 14th for the answers.  In the meantime, have a great week.

FOR YOUR WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT...HERE ARE THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS ABOVE:

Part I

1. This takes place on earth in what looks like the plains area of the United States.

2. This takes place in the future.  You can tell this by signs of technology:  the signs at the entrance of the 'village', the sunglasses worn by one of the characters in the bottom right corner, and the one-way sign on the center character's shirt. (The reader also know this as it is stated at the beginning of the book.)

3. The tribe survives by hunting and gathering - you can see the laden sleds entering the village - this is seen relatively clearly in the inserted box at the top right corner.

4. This is a social tribe - you see that by its configuration - semicircular, inclusive; we see this by the way the background characters are interacting in the bottom panel.  They appear strong, concerned, not hostile.

5. That's a very personal question...

Part 2:

The rubber ducky is in the bottom right corner, hanging from the (Shaman's) stick.

The one-way sign is on the center character's shirt.

1. Personal... I find it the image engaging and inviting - what about you?

2. I love the horizontal panels with the inserted boxes. I find the boxes really bring in and engage the reader.  What about you?

3. I think these symbols give A LOT of information.  They tell you these are 'modern'  or even post-modern times and that these tribes have 'collected' and used abandoned resources.

4-6 Personal opinions

Thanks for playing - I hope you enjoyed the challenge!

Reasoning

Reasoning relates how we generate one idea from other(s).  We reason when we:

• brainstorm, 
• consider and explain cause and effect,
• compare and contrast, 
• problem solve, 
• figure out how to best relate our ideas and opinions to others, 
• or even when conducting a witch trail (like Monty Python in the video attached).

Philosophers such as Pythagoras, Plato, Descartes, Hobbes, Maimonides, Locke, Hume Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche have all contributed to the discussion of  reason. I, however, approach it from a developmental psychology perspective, specifically from that of Swills psychologist, Jean Piaget.

While Piaget is more well known for his stages of cognitive development, what most appeals to me is his theory of how kids begin to reason and construct levels of understanding:

According to Piaget, reasoning involves "assimilating" (or incorporating) new information into our existing 'schema' (or rules of understanding).  When we face something we can't define, predict, or understand, we enter an (uncomfortable) state of "disequilibrium".  When in this state we try to tweak and work out inconsistencies until they make sense.  Piaget termed this process reflexive abstraction as we reflect, compare, contrast, reason rehearse, and rearrange facts and observations to reach a more comfortable level of understanding. 

As we reason and build understanding we will either:

• ignore what we can't understand, OR 
• construct newer levels of understanding, incorporating more aspects of the problem we face to accommodate the conflicting information. 

Sometimes this new understanding will hold over time, sometimes it won't.  These states of disequilibrium are where effective learning, reasoning, and constructing understanding take place.
Piaget provides a famous "conservation" experiment to show how kids construct knowledge.  This is best done with kids ages 5-8 who are beginning to go beyond the obvious or "concrete" and begin to "abstract," factoring a variety of aspects including those which are so obvious. 

From: sciencebuddies.org

WE BEGINS WITH A QUESTION:  In front of your child, measure a given amount of liquid, say 1/2 cup of water (using measuring cup  "B") and pour the liquid into a tall narrow glass "A" and another 1/2 cup into short wide glass "C".  Ask your child which has more - glass "A" or glass "C"? 

[Sound familiar:? How many times have siblings argued because you poured "more" lemonade or milk shake for one and not the other because you had different sized glasses?]

A young child (typically below the age of 7) will tell you that glass "A" has more because it is "taller" or "higher" or "more."  This is because younger kids will focus on one aspect of the problem, typically what they see.  In this case it is the height.  They do not look at volume.

So, to help them reason and grasp the concept of volume, Piaget would then have the child pour 1/2 cup of liquid from "B" into "A" and that same amount again from "B" into "C" asking again which has more, "A" or "C"?  If child still said "A" - because it is higher,  have the child write down the exact amount going into "A" and then "C" pointing out that it is the same amount.  Then ask why "A" still looks like more. 

Piaget might also play around with different glasses.  He might, for example add glass"D" (the same size as "C") and have the child pour the same amount that is in "C" into "D" - asking which has 'more" (with the child answering 'they're the same'). Piaget would then have the child pour the liquid from "D" into "A" and ask again which has more.  The point is to create a state of disequilibrium where the child begins to recognize that maybe "A" (for some reason) doesn't have more.  Through questioning and experimenting adults can help their child reason that it is not just the height of the glass but its width as well.

HOW DOES THIS TRANSLATE FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILD?
HOW CAN YOU HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN TO REASON?  PRACTICE!  Talk and ask questions about the world around you:

• When walking outside ask why some robins have bright read breasts and others don't.  Why some mallard ducks have bright green or blue on their necks and others don't.
• Why do some birds have long beaks and others short ones?
• Ask why some streets have stop signs or lights and others don't.
• Ask them to predict things, ask why people they see in a movie or read about in a book do something unusual or silly.
• When driving in a car at night, ask them if they think the moon is following them?  Why?  How? What if one of you want in one direction, and your friend in another - would the moon follow both of you?  How?

You get the idea.  The trick, is to ask the questions and let your child think of the answers.  If their answers are not quite right, ask more questions to help them recognize other aspects of the problem.  Let them wrestle, reason, problem solve and brainstorm.

Requests:

• Please let me know if you'd like me to pursue this further, or if you have any other questions.
• In your comments, Please share the types of questions you ask your kids and please share their wonderfully funny responses.  Here are a few Art Linkletter collected over his career.

For further reading, here are some related blogs I've posted:

• "Options, Shining Opportunities, Opening Worlds..." http://departingthetext.blogspot.com/2011/04/options-shining-opportunities-opening.html
• "Kicking Back a Bit...What's All This About Inference?" http://departingthetext.blogspot.com/2011/03/kicking-back-bitwhats-all-this-about.html
• "INSPIRING:  Looking at the World From Another Perspective - Richard Feynman Style"http://departingthetext.blogspot.com/2011/03/looking-at-world-from-another.html
• "On Creativity"http://departingthetext.blogspot.com/2010/08/words-to-whys.html
• "Departing the Text 101:  Beginners Manual http://departingthetext.blogspot.com/2010/07/departing-text-101-beginners-manual.html

              

Addressing Diverse Needs In The Classroom

Earlier today I wrote a blog about addressing diverse needs in the classroom and Dr. Mel Levine's theoretical contributions to education.  I understandably received controversial comments.  In my effort to more sensitively and more accurately express myself I was editing the post and accidentally wiped it out  and cannot quickly replicate it, nor am I sure that now is the best time to do so.

My intention was to draw attention to parts of Levine's theory I found helpful,  and not to eulogize the man as the accusations against him were and are inexcusable.  I am sorry the post was erased and with time, I will post what I found intriguing about addressing all kinds of minds in a classroom again, in a more sensitive well written post.  The post was not intended to be about the man but about his theories of looking at a learner's profile, to teach to strengths while boosting weaknesses, and to teaching kids, parents and students to advocate for student needs.  His writings and the work done by Schools Attuned have helped many struggling students.

My apologies.