Article Summary
The article titled The Effect of a Blended Learning Course of Visual Literacy for In-Service Teachers by Huilcalpi-Collantes, Martin and Ramos (2020) focuses on strategies to improve literacy outcomes. Huilcalpi-Collantes, Martin and Ramos (2020) conducted quasi-experimental research to establish if educators could benefit from visual literacy programs. Visual literacy is an essential aspect of literary education, considering that teachers are expected to construct and use visual materials for instructions. In this case, teachers must develop high levels of visual literacy so that they could improve the educational outcomes of learners. The researchers established that teachers who participated in the 20-hour visual literacy course were in a better position to handle visual instructions.
Critique
The article is a significant addition to the area of literacy research as it focuses on ways of ensuring that educators have the requisite skills to implement visual literacy. Huilcalpi-Collantes et al. (2020) establish that visuals are so central to literacy education since they are incorporated in digital and print learning and teaching materials. In this case, it means that learners constantly perceive visual messages implying that teachers need to be more aware of how visuals affect learning. The centrality of visuals in learning and teaching materials implies that teachers must be ready to design visuals that do not confuse or mislead learners. Huicalpi-Collantes et al. (2020) argue that in as much as visuals are so central to learning and teaching, there are glaring gaps in the teaching-learning process. The reason for this gap is the fact that there are teachers who are yet to develop the requisite skills needed to enhance effective visual communication. A lack of these skills means that teachers are most likely to select bad images or even have poor visual designs, which then distorts instructions.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Pre-service training is a crucial aspect of the teacher training process since it is during this period that would-be teachers acquire the requisite skills. However, it does not necessarily mean that all teachers will develop visual literacy skills due to differentiated learning abilities. Kedra (2018) asserts that in as much as some teachers do not develop visual literacy skills, they are crucial for instruction, and this reason, teachers must learn these skills. Teachers are facing different educational contexts, and if they are to be effective, they must communicate through visual language. School administrators and other education stakeholders must ensure that the teachers have visual literacy skills if they are to have better learning outcomes. The teachers must understand that the twenty-first century which is aligned to digital technologies, is more of visual. In such a case, teachers must endeavor to develop these skills to navigate the teaching landscape and improve educational outcomes.
The focus of visual literacy research has mainly been on students, and it has been exploring issues related to teaching and learning from the learners’ perspective. This article, however, has taken a different stance by focusing more on teachers considering that they have a significant influence on the teaching-learning process. Brumberger (2019) asserts than now more than ever, especially in an era of incorporating digital technologies in education, attention should be shifted to in-service teachers. There is a need to conduct more research to determine the most effective and practical visual literacy interventions that could help seal the existing knowledge gaps. Huicalpi-Collantes et al. (2020) research is a significant contribution towards this objective as it establishes the positive impact of visual literacy courses. Fifty-one teachers took part in the 20-hour course based on ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards. The researchers then established the difference between pretest and posttest performance, where they established an improvement. These findings indicate that with the right interventions, in-service teachers would develop visual literacy competencies, which would enhance the teaching-learning outcomes.
Visual literacy skills are crucial since they help to enhance in-service teachers and other essential members in the educational community in their teaching practice. However, if visual literacy is to improve the teaching practice, the interventions must have effective assessment methods and clear learning objectives. Matusiak et al. (2019) note that ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education that is developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries is the foundational course. The course provides a comprehensive framework that could be used to teach visual literacy skills in the digital era. This course seals the existing gaps by ensuring that teachers do not need to rely on the outdated skills they learned during their teaching practice. Instead, teachers can have advanced visual literacy skills that they can integrate with modern technologies to enhance learning. these skills would prove crucial considering that visual communication is instant and that it allows for the integration of other sensory experiences.
Reflection/Implication
The article has significant implications in literacy research as it points to the need to insist on visual literacy skills. Humans first learn through seeing even before they learn to read or write something that gives more weight to visuals. The research takes a different stance at visual literacy since it focuses more on teachers by outlining how their literacy skills could be improved right from the start. While visuals form a significant part of the teaching-learning process, some teachers do not have these skills meaning that there will be poor choice and design and interpretation of visual aids. Huilcalpi-Collantes et al. (2020) outline that teachers can have improved visual literacy levels in a short period. In such a case, there is a need to train the in-service and other teachers on visual literacy to have improved educational outcomes..
References
Brumberger, E. (2019). Past, present, future: Mapping the research in visual literacy. Journal of Visual Literacy, 38 (3),1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051144X.2019.1575043
Huilcapi-Collantes, C., Hernández Martín, A., & Hernández-Ramos, J. P. (2020). The effect of a blended learning course of visual literacy for in-service teachers . Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 19 , 131-166. https://doi.org/10.28945/4533
Kędra, J. (2018). What does it mean to be visually literate? Examination of visual literacy definitions in a context of higher education. Journal of Visual Literacy, 37 (2), 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051144X.2018.1492234
Matusiak, K., Heinbach, C., Harper, A., & Bovee, M. (2019). Visual literacy in practice: Use of images in students’ academic work. College & Research Libraries, 80 (1), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.80.1.123
