Ethical Discernment and Educational Semiotics: Preservice Teachers’ Conceptions of Visual Images in Humanities Learning

• In Event: Toward Just Educational Renewal Through Educational Semiotics

Abstract

Material culture and screen-based technologies have radically altered the classroom. The prevalence of graphics in our everyday surroundings requires citizens to be literate (Bowen & Bartley, 2014; Felten, 2008), such that “multiliteracies” (New London Group, 1996) and “multimodality for learning” (Lim, 2024) are prioritized education outcomes. This paper explores critical multimodality (Silvestri, Barrett, & Nyachae, 2023) through the lenses of image complexity and ethical considerations pre-service teachers (PSTs) use to inform their pedagogical decisions when engaging multimodal literacies in P-12 classrooms. In response to the AERA call for the examination of research aimed at educational repair, our research seeks to disrupt assumptions around normalized multimodal practices drawing broadly from resource pedagogies (Reyes & Norman, 2021) and funds of knowledge (González, et al., 2005) in teacher education.

We draw on three theoretical frames: (1) multimodality, in particular visuality (Avgerinou, 2009; Kress & van Leeuwen, 1995; Kress, 2009); (2) teachers as instructional decision-makers (Craig & Ross, 2008; Thornton, 1989); and (3) classroom as a dilemmatic space (Fransson & Grannäs, 2013). Because the classroom context has shifted considerably with digital technologies and device-based interactions (Author 1, 2024; forthcoming), teaching can be framed as a dilemmatic space in which teachers grapple with ever-present challenges, many that are new and disconcerting (Fransson & Grannäs, 2013; Fransson, 2016).

This paper details a pilot, instrumental case study (Merriam & Tisdale, 2016). Focus group transcripts, artifacts, and participant open answer surveys were collected from two groups of participating preservice teachers (N=10). Using a curated collection of photos focused on the issues of migration/immigration, war, and the environment. During our focus group sessions, PSTs shared conceptions of visual literacy and the use of visual artifacts as learning tools within their disciplines. Thematic analysis of the data included deductive coding using a codebook grounded in the three theoretical frameworks, followed by inductive coding arising from the experiences and ideas expressed by participants.

Based on our initial analysis of the pre- and post- survey and transcript data, PSTs express:
● Varying levels of expertise for selecting images for classroom use, as indicated by the methods of selection, selection criteria, and purposes for selection, notably ELA PSTs shared views on visual literacy instruction which may indicate gaps in opportunities to practice effective multimodal pedagogies and pedagogical content knowledge.
● General awareness of the power of visuality, referring to the “power” and “accessibility” of images to “humanize history,” “contextualize fiction,” and “support multiple types of learners.”
● Caroline (social studies), “I can tell students about the destruction of the Hiroshima bombings, but the impact will never by the same as showing students the consequences in primary sources.”
● Important questions about how to “discern student maturity,” and “responsibility to the people in the images.”
“Multimodal communication provides children...with powerful opportunities to build their understanding through various perspectives and ways of seeing,” (Cappello, et al., 2019, p. 210). Critical modality research (re)considers both the teachers and students who engage in dilemmatic spaces when selecting images for learning interactions (Fransson & Grannäs, 2013).

Authors

• Julianna E. Lopez Kershen, University of Oklahoma

• Kristy Brugar, University of Oklahoma