Visual Literacy Development in Flexible Text-Based College Writing Courses

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Semiotics in Education: Signs, Meanings, and Multimodality SIG Roundtable Session

Abstract

This case study examines college students’ visual literacy development during multimodal composition in flexible text-based writing courses in the Northeastern U.S. Data sources included students’ artifacts (i.e., research papers and brochures), interview recordings, and observation data. The data collected were analyzed through the lens of Kress’s (2010) multimodal social semiotics perspectives. Findings revealed that following the teacher’s explicit instruction of visual literacies, the students made an assemblage of verbal (i.e., writing) and visual semiotic resources (i.e., font, color, frames, and layout) that interacted as communicative vehicles to intensively convey messages to the intended audience. I argue that the inclusion of explicitly taught visual literacies in college preparatory programs is an essential element to the growth and development of learners.

Author

• Jeeyoung Min, SUNY - Buffalo