Literacy Inquiry and Pedagogy Through a Photographic Lens By: M. Cappello & S. Hollingsworth

1. Literacy Inquiry and Pedagogy Through a Photographic LensBy: M. Cappello & S. Hollingsworth Georgetown College Josh Morgan Article 35 Summer 2011 EDU 516

2. In what content areas have you used photos? Were the photos student-generated? Did you notice a change in the child’s ability to discuss the topic with the visual support? Have you used photos in your class?

3. Make a personal connection How would he sound? High pitched or deep? Quiet or loud? Hesitant or excited? How does he feel? What is this person thinking? Retrieved 7/11/11 at http://www.mobilesoftwaredownloads.net/freewallpaper/funny-kid.html If this person could speak, what would he say? “We believe photography has the potential to ‘enhance what is possible by amplifying what teachers are able to do…[and] by extending what students are able to produce as a result of their investigations.’” Cappello & Hollingsworth (p. 333)

4. Photography Research in Education Bintz (1997) • Alternative school • Students were given cameras to photograph: “most significant” about school • Students were able to “participate vicariously” in the research • Enthusiastic, motivated, focus on safety

5. Photography Research in Education Orellana & Hernandez (1999) • First-grade students • Used during community literacy walks focusing on environmental print • Students asked to capture places that have significance to them • Later, photos used in classroom to generate new literacy experiences with writing and dictation

6. Photography Research in Education Prosser (1998) & Hollingsworth • Used images to document changes in quality of instruction in a school with low test scores • Introduced this data when test scores were lowest in district to capture the “confidence, spirit, and resilience of students and staff • Data earned the school a grant to implement new literacy programs which raised scores

7. Make a personal connection How would he sound? High pitched or deep? Quiet or loud? Hesitant or excited? How does he feel? What is this person thinking? Retrieved 7/11/11 at http://www.mobilesoftwaredownloads.net/freewallpaper/funny-kid.html If this person could speak, what would he say? “Cappellonoticed that when composing written text, some students struggled for expression through limited language development, searching for words to suitably match their ideas. The photographs spoke for these students” (p. 337).

8. The Nature of Photography • Two main concepts of perception in photography: • Objective/”positivist notions” • Photos depict an objective reality (i.e. crime scene investigation, magazines, television ads, historical photos) • Assumes that everyone sees the same thing in a photo • Disregards idea that photographer “confers importance” • Collier and Collier (1986)- camera is an “instrumental extension of our senses, one that can record on a low scale of abstraction. • Subjective • Assumed when working in education setting (encourages creativity) • Assumes that the photographer and the viewer “confer importance” • Not everyone sees the same thing in a photo • “Regardless of reason we choose to create an image, it has relevance or importance, and except in the case of art, is used for another purpose (Sontag, 1977). • Walker (1993) - photography is a “silent voice,” “another language we can employ in constructing understandings and communicating them to others (p. 335).

9. Transmediation • The process of interpreting meaning from one sign system to another • Sign systems: oral, writing, language, photography • Seigel, 1995- shifting between communication systems • “increases students’ opportunities to engage in generative and reflective thinking because they must invent a connection between the two sign systems”

10. Transmediationand Student Writing • Albers, 2006 • “ When constructing multimodal texts, meaning makers intentionally choose media with which they are familiar and/ or the media that will enable them to say what they want to say” • In other words incorporating photos into writing allows individual students to present information using the medium that is more comfortable in order to build up the other. • Ex. Students with language difficulties could rely on the photos to strengthen their writing abilities.

11. Participant-made images • Critical to photography in education; the students “confer importance.” • Creating images based on the content or activity provides additional support for finding vocabulary words, emotions, perspectives, extensions, questions, etc. for discussion and writing. • Students produce images of their own choice which provides insight into their view of the world and their place in it. • Students with language difficulties (ESL, special education, early primary, etc.) can convey ideas in pictures and then learn to label these ideas through social interaction with peers and teachers.

12. Researchers’ Tips for Teachers • Disposable cameras (can get expensive) • Inexpensive digital cameras (2 or 3) • Use a cart similar to a projection cart to keep cameras accessible and charged • Digital cameras allow more spontaneity and creativity of instruction without worry of wasting film • Teach students, much like in writing, how to revise and trust them to make decisions to demonstrate their voice • Establish a common classroom vocabulary (i.e. “bird’s eye view, long shot, close-up, foreground, background, line, shape, pattern, etc.)

13. Sample Strategy for the Classroom • Retrived from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/picture-this-building-photo-based-writing-skills/ • Look at the pictures, use the questions to • discuss with your group, and write one comment • each. • Make a personal connection. • What would you think if you were in this picture? • If you touched something in the picture, what would it feel like? Hot? Cold? Wet? • What would you do if you were in this picture? • What has happened in the picture?

14. A strong, engaging discussion Pictures retrived 7/17 @ http://www.reallyfunnypictures.co.uk/

15. Lesson Extension Ideas • Show pictures and connections with document camera or make posters using chart paper to drive class discussion and activate prior knowledge throughout the unit. • Continue questioning with content in following lessons, connecting to the photos each time. • Students use their own photos to create a weather narrative or informational text. • Technology: • Students find related pictures on the internet and discuss similarities/differences • Daily classroom visit to weather blog to discuss pictures and topics related to real world events • The effectiveness and age appropriateness of the activity depends on the questioning and content. Teachers are able to use the questioning strategies to connect content to the photo discussion.

16. Strategies used found on the following websites: • Kodak Education Website • Lesson plans • Resources • Forums

18. References