Moving From Theories of Visual Literacy to Instructional Practices
Literacy education has been dominated by written language and the medium
of the printed text to the exclusion of visual images and design elements. If children are to
understand how images represent and construct meaning, they need knowledge of
the visual meaning-making systems used in their production. Bearne (2009) states, “children deserve to
be given the key to translating their inner text making into coherent
communications by explicit discussion of variations in the structures, purposes
and effects of multimodal as well as written texts (p.99). As theories for
interpreting visual images and multimodal texts continue to evolve,
instructional approaches in literacy education need to evolve as well. Selecting
the essential aspects of the vast array of theories of visual literacies and
multimodality to build a foundation for pedagogical approaches can be a
daunting enterprise. The purpose of this article is to offer a framework for
bringing theories of visual literacies into the classroom without adding to an
already overburdened curriculum.
One of the primary considerations in making the shift from written
language to visual images and multimodal ensembles is rethinking the concept of text and the interpretive repertoires students will
need to develop to make sense of the texts they encounter in their daily lives.
Based on the tripartite framework of theoretical perspectives drawn upon for
interpreting multimodal texts delineated previously, three
analytical perspectives were constructed: 1) Perceptual Analytical Perspective
- focuses on the literal or denotative contents of an image or series of images
in a multimodal text, the elements of design, for example borders and font, and
other visual and textual elements of these texts, 2) Structural Analytical
Perspective - evolves from the literal naming of the perceptual perspective to
a consideration of the meaning potential of a multimodal text constructed by
the viewer based on the visual grammar and structural aspects of a text, and 3)
Ideological Analytical Dimension - focuses on the socio-cultural, historical
and political contexts of the production, and dissemination of visual images
and multimodal texts (Serafini, 2010). It is through the lens of these
analytical perspectives that the concept of text and students’ interpretive
repertoires will be discussed.
Attention to the
denotative aspects of an image, naming the visual elements
of a multimodal text, and taking an inventory of its contents is the focus of
the perceptual analytical perspective. The structural analytical perspective
focuses on the underlying compositional, structural, and grammatical aspects of
an image or multimodal text used to construct meaning. This analytical
perspective focuses on how images and
multimodal ensembles offer meaning potentials, not what meanings are being offered. The ideological analytical
perspective bring into the act of noticing visual elements and constructing
possible meanings the sociocultural, historical, and political contexts of the production
and reception of texts during particular reading events. Anne Wolcott argues that readers must look
not only at the relationships within a text or work of art, but beyond the work
itself to the historical, cultural and social contexts in order to comprehend
its meaning.
Each of these
analytical perspectives should be considered necessary, but insufficient ways of analyzing images and multimodal
ensembles in and of themselves. Readers in new times need to go beyond the
basic skills used to decode texts to understand the sociocultural contexts that
affect how meanings are constructed. Going beyond the perceptual and structural
analytical perspectives to consider the cultural, historical and political or
ideological ramifications of the production and reception of visual images and
multimodal texts is an important consideration in understanding multimodal
texts in contemporary society.
