This paper engages with Italo Calvino's lecture on Visibility, included in his last--and testamentary--volume "Six Memos," by understanding it in an educational and pedagogical key. While the question of pedagogy is expressly addressed by Calvino himself in his lecture, the interpretation here provided is not merely an application of his…

In real-world settings, vision language models (VLMs) should robustly handle naturalistic, noisy visual content as well as domain-specific language and concepts. For example, K-12 educators using digital learning platforms may need to examine and provide feedback across many images of students' math work. To assess the potential of VLMs to support…

The image is the raw material of the twenty-first century. Images infiltrate all social and cultural spaces. Its digital-mediated realities drive communication, industry and knowledge. Images saturate life and adolescent learners are familiar with the participatory nature of image production and its social, educational and personal communicative…

Dewey (1934) defined reflection as "the kind of thinking that consists in turning a subject over in the mind and giving it serious and consecutive consideration" and argued that reflective thought should be an educational aim. Today the importance of reflective thought for students, teachers, and teacher candidates is recognized. Within…

Due to the large number of students, instructors teaching high enrollment courses often rely on traditional assignments such as scantron exams and research papers. While these types of assignments are functional and satisfy a purpose, they are typically not meaningful or pleasurable for students. In an introductory information technology course,…

This paper presents a new theoretical model of creative imagination and its applications in early education. The model sees creative imagination as composed of three inter-related components: vividness of images, their originality, and the level of transformation of imageries. We explore the theoretical and practical consequences of this new…

A conceptualization of visual proficiency is offered. A survey is described which asked college students (N = 358) to identify five photographs, five symbols, and five paintings that are generally recognized to be "famous". About 27% of all respondents claimed to recognize all the photographs, 23% recognized all the symbols, and 3%…

This study consists of two instructional experiments. Within the framework of dual coding theory, the study compares the learning effects of two instructional encoding methods used in Chinese vocabulary instruction among students learning beginning Chinese as a foreign language. One method uses verbal encoding only, and the other method uses…

Several theoretical issues are reviewed which address the pictorial vs. verbal characteristics of media and provide a beginning framework for understanding how these influence learning. (STS)

Those who focus on the study of visual information continue to search for effective ways to conceptualize that inquiry. However, many visual examples are better categorized as visual/verbal collaboration, complicating analysis. When analysis is based on the assumption that visual and verbal modalities perform in similar ways, important…

A specially designed mnemonic strategy was successful in teaching independent pronunciation skills to deaf college students. Examples of the cards showing key words (either a concrete object or dynamic action) are included. (CL)

The role of visual imagery is explored as an information processing strategy, and its relationship is counterpointed to the linguistic system. The importance of visual imagery as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool to aid both visual and nonvisual performance and learning problems is discussed. (Author)

Studies involving 30 learning-disabled elementary students support the contention that reading comprehension difficulties among learning-disabled children are partly due to inefficient memorization strategies, and demonstrate the efficacy of practical, cost-effective mnemonic training procedures which significantly increase reading comprehension…

Alternative genres such as graphic novels, manga, and anime are employed to build on students' multiple literacies. It is observed that use of visual stories allowed students to discuss how the authors conveyed mood and tone through images.

Examines the possibility that at times imagery might be a disadvantage in certain tasks. For example, the notion of a persistent image may be so vivid as to actually block other creative thought. Describes one calculus student's images supporting high levels of mathematical functioning which occasionally became so powerful as to obscure more than…