Visual Literacy - Drawing Conclusions

Visual literacy is a “set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media"

We love seeing the new note-taking drawings that have recently inundated the education world. They are fresh, fun, and very rich, yet perform the same duties as any good

note-taking: they organize the information logically and sequentially, the keep a pace and a flow, they highlight and underline (literally) the critical information, they have enough detail to give the viewer (reader) a good understanding of the information presented, and they are reflective of the writer’s (artist’s) personality.

We doodle innately from the moment we pick up a crayon as children, and don’t stop even in our busiest business meetings years later as professionals. Our minds express our thoughts and understanding of facts via images, which we try to then replicate on paper (or electronically) as play. If visuals are so appealing, shouldn't they be present in our classrooms? Or even better, “shouldn’t we keep them in our classrooms?” We call it doodles or scribbles, this activity of transposing our thoughts in visuals.

We see our students filling their notebook covers and pages with it too often. But we reject it, more often than not, because it was either created from boredom, it is too personal or it makes little sense to us. What if, instead of dismissing this creative behavior and discouraging our students from scribbling, we would teach them how to organize their thoughts with this enjoyable and fun process? What if instead of locking them into words, we gave them visuals to build with as well? Would they, allowed to be themselves in their own learning, be more engaged?

We would then have not only built connections in our students’ minds between abstract words and real life circumstances, but also enflame their creativity and imagination. We would unleash their full learning power and allow them to drive their own learning. We’d also get a great library of student demonstrated concepts to teach with, as well as great student portfolios. And looking at Leonardo’s work, he seemed to have had the right idea! His doodles make great lessons! Visual Literacy must be educated Our students are creative beings and enjoy expressing their personalities and styles. They are still developing their thinking process, so it is up to the teacher to guide them through the flow of organizing their ideas. Like any good essay or summary, the elements of the topic must be clearly delineated, well documented, and factual. Providing the students with examples of visual note taking and a thinking map allows them to understand how the teacher prefers to see the information organized, and it doesn’t take from the creative process. The teacher can them easily follow the students’ visual thinking and fill in any gaps as they occur. The students can dive deeper into the topics, through personal interpretation and creativity. Visual Literacy is complementary to Information Literacy Visual literacy goes beyond image-as-information. It accesses specific skills needed to engage with the images on multiple levels: observation, awareness, empathy, synthesis, economy and organization. The two do not exclude one another. They complement each other and, in the process, engage one of the most important elements in learning, the personal perspective. By using text and visuals, the students can connect with the material faster, understand abstract concepts easier, and apply the information to their own environment. Visual Literacy develops confidence

Over many years of traditional learning visuals have been perceived as the attributes of the artistic people. The younger the students, the easier it is for them to express themselves with visuals. The older they are, the less they are willing to be ridiculed for their potential lack of artistic abilities. It is important for the teachers to create a safe environment where the focus is not the pleasing quality of the work, but the complex interpretation, the details, and the richness of the information presented. It is also important to remember that practice makes perfect, and though the first attempts may be more tentative, the students will find their confidence if they are praised for illustrating their ideas, rather than their artistry. Stick people are all the rage! Whether mapping data, or exploring math through architectural design, visual representations allow the students to understand and connect the abstract concepts. It allows them to build themselves as learners, decision makers, project managers, and creative thinkers; and they come equipped with it already. You should consider it. Because we live in a colorful, vivid, fast paced, attention-grabber media rich world.