Using data from a qualitative case study examining how lynching is taught in schools near historic lynching sites, this article examines how lynching photographs were used or not used in the teaching of lynching. Using a pedagogy of witnessing as the analytic tool this article argues that lynching photographs were used in one of three ways:…

This paper examines the introduction of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) in Denmark and its potential as a pedagogical tool used throughout Danish education culture and particularly in Danish primary schools. The first active Danish users of and trainers in VTS in the country provide purposive qualitative interview data through structured e-mail…

The notion of scientific visual literacy has been advocated in recent science curriculum reform documents and related learning outcomes are expected from students. However, few studies have been conducted to determine how it is tested in high-stakes examinations. This study utilized the Visualization Blooming Tool to examine the level of visual…

One of the main purposes of the classroom-based research featured in this article was to develop 9-year-old students' visual meaning-making skills and competences by focusing specifically on elements of visual art and design in picturebooks. The complexity of the picturebook format requires and rewards slow looking by readers/viewers. However,…

In a contemporary society dominated by visual media, critical visual literacy (CVL) is a significant skill to inculcate, and yet, in some educational systems, its integration in teaching and education has not (yet) achieved enough recognition, especially in a context like Pakistan. As it is assumed that students will develop the necessary…

The overarching goal of this review article is to discuss and provide evidence of ways that visual displays can be used to improve classroom thinking skills. Specifically, we attempt to first, provide a synthesis of the relationship among visual displays, visual literacy, and visual thinking. Second, we review the relatively scant educational…

The art of looking is a museum and art gallery teaching tool at the core of the Visual Thinking Strategies, a Harvard School of Education pedagogy initiated as an educational experiment for schools across the United States almost two decades ago. Today, a large number of schools implement this teaching method to increase student engagement in a…

This article describes a pedagogical approach to collage based on the work of art historians John Berger (1926-2017) and Aby Warburg (1866-1929). Its aim is to understand how images can be used to develop critical visual thinking skills within the context of architectural education and architectural theory in particular. Drawing on the notions of…

We constructed a new taxonomy for inferential thinking, a construct called Integrative Inferential Reasoning (IIR). IIR extends Pearson and Johnson's (1978) framework of "text-implicit" and "script-implicit" question-answer relations, and integrates several other prominent literacy theories to form a unified inferential…

"Vision and Change" identifies science communication as one of the core competencies in undergraduate biology. Visual representations are an integral part of science communication, allowing ideas to be shared among and between scientists and the public. As such, development of scientific visual literacy should be a desired outcome of…

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." - Henry David Thoreau This study utilized an intervention of deep looking through implementation of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) using artwork and artifacts in area museums/galleries (Yenawine, 2014). Techniques for working with primary sources, objects, artifacts, artwork,…

This article presents the major findings of a longitudinal study on the use of photograph-based assignments to improve higher-order thinking and language skills among second- and fifth-grade students using an intervention framework and a convergent mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) approach. The method promoted oriented study skills for…

How school librarians focus on activating critical thinking through traditional literacy development can proactively set the stage for the deep thinking that occurs in all literacy development. The critical-thinking skills students build while becoming accomplished readers and writers provide the foundation for learning in a variety of…

(Purpose) The purpose of this paper is to describe visual literacy and an adapted version of Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) and its value to enhance students' inferential thinking. (Methodology) An example of a middle school VTS, art-integrated lesson is described as well as reflections of a middle school language arts teacher about what she…

Visual representations are essential for science understanding, but many students have poor diagrammatic reasoning skills. Previous research showed that teaching high school and college students about the conventions of diagrams (COD) can improve diagrammatic reasoning. In this study, middle school science students received COD instruction…