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Why is visual literacy discouraged in most cultures & WHAT CAN WE DO to change that?
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Visual literacy, if described as the ability to communicate via doodling, drawing, and sketching or described as the ability to display complex information in visual language formats, is often a literacy missing in adults despite it being a universal and natural inclination in children. Why does it disappear? And more importantly, what can we do to alter this course?
**ADMIN UPDATE: Sunni Brown has asked to extend her Conversation for two weeks. She will be jumping in to catch up with responses over the next two weeks. Happy posting everyone!
Maxine Atkins
Debra Smith 200+
http://youtu.be/Sua0xDCf8MA
Twila Noble
James Lyne
Debra Smith 200+
I think people have worried so much about raising literacy that we have neglected to just communicate any and every way we can. Many times it is more effective to communicate in visual imagery. This TEDx talk, recently featured on TED because it is so excellent addresses clarity of communication and it reminded me of your question.
http://youtu.be/Tlt47diDnHU
Michael Wolok
Morry Patoka
As a business consultant, I've had the good fortune to put this insight to good use. I integrate a comprehensive suite of visual tools to engage teams in creative thinking and action planning. Using pictures torn out of magazines to form a collage of customer experiences. Filling giant, concentric circles with colourful sticky notes to represent lifecycle stages. Building operational solutions out of household items. Using metaphors as a visual device to establish hardcore corporate objectives. Plus dozens of other visual techniques.
What I've discovered from working with individuals, small and large groups of people, in every type of industry, is that we all share the ability to communicate quickly, efficiently and most important, inspirationally using visuals. Whiteboards, flip charts and sticky notes, even napkins during lunch, provide the canvas to share ideas and spark new ones. It's really amazing how a mind map can provoke even the most linear individuals in the room to "see" the concept forming and triggering them to add incredible value by building the idea.
More and more schools are equipping classrooms with smart boards, which is an awesome tool for creating, building and interacting with ideas in a very visual way. Companies are hiring consultants who bring a process for different thinking using techniques like the ones I described. Infographics are turning dry data into exciting concepts. The inclination to display and comprehend complex information in visual formats does not disappear with childhood. We only need a little stimulation to get us right back there, and I see it happening all around us.
Michael Sayo
Kristofer Schmolze
Jaime Lubin 10+
When we dont have yet developed the word, our natural way is drawing ... we us our conceptual natural skils.
We grow, achieve the word (talk, write, read) then our capabilities are enhanced by a new way to see our world: the abstract thinking. We have to loose our first thets to loose our drawing natural capabilities when our brain separates in two well defined hemispheres. So on, we loose also our natural hability to learn other lenguages....and worst, our natural way to ashtonishment begin to close the door. (I'm sure that here at TED theres a lot of brain experts to be guided in this misterys.)
As Picasso said, All childrens born artists.
Laurel Goetz
Second, many people are intimidated by creating art in any capacity because of the fear of failure and/or ridicule.
As a social experiment, ask anyone over the age of 11 to draw an unfamiliar object or animal while you watch them. Take note of how many times each person does one or all of the following: erase, retry, make excuses for their short comings, give up, "x" out their work, or deny the challenge outright. I wonder how many people will apologize for their drawing not being "perfect" when they finally finish and show you.
The arts are also commonly mistaken as a frill added onto our education system; not as something that will super charge it. But I believe the tide IS turning.
http://www.cedfa.org/special-programs/arts-integration-for-student-success-in-science-and-math/
Maybe people simply miss the fact that visual language is a system of patterns not too different from the patterns found in language arts, science, and math. All of which are used to report back our findings from observing our surroundings in nature to record history, help predict future patterns, or mimic them for our civilizations' better good.
As a visual learner, I understand the basic form of visual language as a straight line and a curved line (a single letters/number) that can be manipulated into a shape (word/number) which we combine with other shapes and lines to create an image (sentence/equation) to serve a specific purpose whether it is to pose a question, answer a question, or explore a thought. Artistic process and the scientific process are the same to me. If we bring total awareness to these shared patterns, nonvisual learners may finally understand it.
Kristofer Schmolze
Short story... My old elementary school holds an art and invention show together in the same space every year. This is a collaborative effort between two specialists, the art teacher and the science teacher of a progressive school. (Yes, science is a specialist along with library, art, music, and sports [physical education]) Students get to show off their art works and share their inventions both kinds of work convey great ideas.
The connections between art and science mirror each other. Theory, hypothesis, experiment, conclusion, and then repeat based on your findings are how artists and scientists inform their work. There is a lot of discovery, accidental answers to unasked questions, and unknown outcomes. Original ideas are crushed or altered by pursuing a painting or experiment. Some might damn this as 'failure' or as a 'mistake' and judge it to be 'bad.' I argue otherwise and find it essential to learning. Anyone who is free of error does not exist. The more mistakes a person makes the greater lived experience they have earned.
Finding the strength to be brave enough to face failure is not as difficult as ridicule from others. Critical cruelty from the exterior world can work its way into the mind of anyone. Even lies can become beliefs after routine battery from peers especially during adolescence.
Overcoming negative feedback from others and especially yourself is the greatest challenge we face in order to try. Shutting down and running away seem to be safe places to be, where these kinds of feelings appear to 'go away.' These feelings actually anchor in and dig deeper, keeping people from pursuing their dreams and ideas. The real struggle is letting go of them and not finding comfort or familiarity in their pain.
My question at this point is how to address it? What can be done to alter, adjust, or advance through these challenges? Where does it come from, is it learned or taught?
cheena kaul
I let my son believe he is an artist and not just a child who might grow up to be one. He is extremely good with his expressions. He is very good at learning things. Art enables him to create and retain information. I am doing research on visual note taking as well as art in education as a need to improvise my website, http://www.littlesketchers.com. As a parent of an artist, I have always felt the need to cherish and document his art. This need took the shape of this website. I am constantly improving it.
My son has now started 'making' his own 'books' that he illustrates with stories, that he tells me, and makes me write next to his drawings.
This is the power of doodling and sketching. It empowers. It is amazing!!
Kristofer Schmolze
cheena kaul
Rob Appleby
So with all that experience behind us, why do so many people say 'I can't draw"
35,000 years since we started painting on cave walls and carving figures out of Mammoth ivory.
What have we done to ourselves that we educate our children to think of art and visual thinking as being a secondary, lesser subject.
Policy makers sitting ostentatious offices with art hanging on their walls, nicely designed suits, desks and chairs, driving to work in their beautifully designed cars, telling us that Art isn't as important as other subjects.
Karina Eisner 10+
(With my own bias as artist I would extend it: before you can draw, you can paint!)
The fact that drawing/doodling actually requires processing (unlike, for example, automatic writing) indicates that it takes active listening and contributes to anchor learning and increase retention.
Weather is art itself, or the ability to take notes this way that are suppressed, this simply reinforces the belief that instruction and indoctrination are preferred over education.
A passive student doesn't ask questions, but accepts all facts -he already lost his chance to learn!
Thomas Jones 100+
As it turns out it was the fourth largest: after food, clothing, and automobiles.*
I'm not sure were it would be placed now. I think hospitality/tourism is now considered the "biggest" industry ... but I'm not sure.
Think about every industry, no matter what else they do, they all use graphics: from package design, to signage; corporate ID to reports; to advertising, business cards, menus, vehicles, clothing, and so on.
------
* These are industries categorized in broad stokes: automobiles would include all support for autos; graphics would include design, printing, printing presses and inks, paper, photography, typography; and so on.
Julie Petrenko
I think visuals not only have the capacity to communicate, I think visuals influence our beliefs and decision making.
Kristofer Schmolze
Thomas Jones 100+
Debra Smith 200+
Scott Armstrong 50+
It's been the recent advances in online and digital technology that has highlighted this and made it possible to teach.
We have to give up some of our intense love for text and share it with the other forms of literacy.
Julia John
london translation agency
http://www.london-translation-agency.co.uk
Andi Sharp
The statement was, "Some teachers use Big Books to help children distinguish many print features, including the fact that print (rather than pictures) carries the meaning of the story, that the strings of letters between spaces are words and in print corresond to an oral version, and that reading progresses from left to right and top to bottom."
So I agree that the use of Big Books do all of that except for the part that says..." including the fact that print (rather than pictures) carries the meaning of the story."
I feel as if that should read that the print "as well as" the pictures carry the meaning of the story and that the two together create meaning. Young children can't infer meaning and context without the visual component. I just wish it were more of a both/and statement.
Thanks for starting such a wonderful discussion. The title caught my eye as I have been reading tons of research lately on literacy and art. Good luck.
Karina Eisner 10+
I am currently teaching the little ones and make sure every time we pick up a book, as a routine, to remind the students that every good reader thinks, asks many questions as s/he reads, and can read both pictures and words. In fact we have a phrase that goes with gestures about it.
If they can't read the content, we always do a walk through the book, were they tell me what the book is about based on what they see.
Peter Han 500+
What an effective and interesting way to learn math this visual way.
Peter Han 500+
In my corporate career with huge manufacturing firms, it is my experience that visual literacy is highly valued for many reasons. One reason is that visual images can represent complex relationships concisely, accurately and in a compelling way. Another reason is that visual images usually do not need translation the way text does. I worked in firms that operated in up to 90 countries so the time, expense of translation was significant.
I am surprised that Edward Tufte has not been mentioned in this conversation yet. He has published at least 4 major books on visual literacy and conducts workshops around the world on this topic. http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/ In one of my former employers, training in Tufte's workshops was a common choice for professionals across different functions.
Another phenomenon is the rising popularity of illustrated/graphic novels as serious communication forms. Nick Sousanis is a talented graphic novelist who creates remarkable works on a variety of topics, including the nature of thinking. http://spinweaveandcut.blogspot.com/
Yet another interesting development is the field of data visualization which has become more and more valued as the sheer amount of information freely available rises exponentially.
Finally, I believe that cultures with pictograph-derived written languages have a greater regard for visual literacy. I recall working hard to create aesthetically balanced characters when learning to write Chinese script. The feeling and skills I used to write such characters were markedly different from those I experienced when writing English words, even English script.
Kenneth Bell
In such a world, visuals became meaningless. People wrote without the presence of a chalkboard, mostly. Now we use whiteboards and chalkboards all the time, and power point, and document cameras and projectors, so I think we are moving in the direction Sunni visualizes. Chalkboards gave way to whiteboards. Spreadsheets gave way to powerpoint. The party game of dictionary gave way to the party game of pictionary.
I think the conversation could be titled "Visual literacy is coming. How can we prepare?"
Karina Eisner 10+
I personally can hardly function without visuals, so I provide lots as well...
Alistair Hamill
Have you any thoughts as to how we might win students over?!?
Tory Rivelli
Youngwook Kim
And, yes, we have always been visual creatures---as for seeing. We have always been talking creatures---as for communication though. And for that communication, we are using phonograms that are combinations of letters that create unique sounds, and not drawing.
Karina Eisner 10+
I don't know how I have missed it till now. I have a debate going about creativity, and these two topics are deeply interconnected.
I've been a doodler all my life, and didn't know it. This is how I take notes. However, I think as a student I was aware at a certain level of which teachers didn't appreciate it. I remember being a "selective doodler".
There were classes where I automatically switched to traditional note taking, others where I could be myself. I didn't need to study for those, one quick look at my doodle/ summaries and I was ready for finals. With the others, memorization, and doodling while I reviewed (it had to be there) were necessary. The funny thing is, many friends asked to copy my "notes" or review them together before tests...
Only very recently I found out that there is even a career, graphic recorder, that's all about this.
I am interested in how our mind works and expresses in creative ways, and how we can turn that creativity into problem solving. While this process can be fascinating, the big pachyderm in the room is education.
How do you see education and creativity (in this case doodling) working together from the early years?
How can it be encouraged to support subjects without taking extra time (one of the things teachers are concerned about when writing things off the agenda)?
James Makohon
I think children should be taught both visually and verbally, to make learning more effective, and to reduce classroom problems that occur when teachers think in a different way to students. There is also the generation gap in brain structure caused by differences in environments while growing up - my generation grew up with computers, my teachers grew up with books - as a result, our brains are structured differently. Kids that think differently could fail classes just because the teacher isn't catering for different brain types. This puts kids off subjects like mathematics, science, engineering, electronics etc. which they could potentially learn if they were taught the right way.
Karina Eisner 10+
And ancient Greeks knew how to do it, just look at the Socratic school -the Maieutica- where a SMALL group of students were guided by a wise teacher through an inquisitive thinking process, questioning everything and reviewing all accepted knowledge inside and out. The assumption was that we do not really know anything yet, we have to discover all. Also, that everyone was able to access this truths through this process.
Outside, under the trees, with visuals and tactile experiences... it sounds very avant-garde if you ask me.
I can hear Cher now, "If I could turn back time..."
Kristofer Schmolze
James Makohon
Perhaps doodling looks immature, but studies I've read/heard about show doodling is really beneficial to memory and creativity (sorry about lack of references). Also, music is really beneficial to mathematical understanding, with all the harmonic relationships etc. Education and industry needs to catch up with science!
Karina Eisner 10+
It was a math set, ALL MANIPULATIVES, all visual and kinesthetic, that is admired even today. He favored open ended activities, LOTS of "play" time, where children explored and talked to discover natural laws. All rare things in today's education, by the way...
Peter,
I have never seen M. Bradley's version (do you mean a Hasbro game similar to the Gifts?)
But I have been trained on the 1820 set (a replica), the progression of concepts, the goals, etc.
Incredible material, challenging even for adults!
Peter Han 500+
His Gifts do live on in many respects in Waldorf education, which is gaining in popularity worldwide.
Fritzie Reisner 100+
So in my teaching career and watching my three kids in schools public and private, I cannot say I have seen a neglect of visual tools in learning and communication.
Alistair Hamill
Oliver Kuy
I'm glad that my kids are living in this day and age that schools are aware of the different kinds of learning although most don't do anything about it.
It's the system that kills visual learning. Example: My kids take Math everyday and have Art once a week.
Karina Eisner 10+
The reason the curriculum pushes math is, in principle, because it is such a needed tool in many real life occupations today, such as computer programming, engineering, physics, etc.
Yet, the way it is implemented keeps it disconnected from real applications in a formulaic confusion of rot memory data and useless required demonstrations. If it were hands on, deductive, exploratory and project based (e.g. build a bridge that supports X weight, or a robotic device for a given purpose) kids of any age and skill would feel at ease with at least the rudiments and practical use of algebra.
Oliver Kuy
Tony Pupkewitz
Erik Richardson 500+
I am very down with this whole project. In fact, I am a teacher and have worked at every level from K4 to college and taught subjects from English to math to philosophy. I am pursuing graduate studies in ed psych for the purpose of researching and rebuilding our classrooms (both the thinking and the physical spaces) around the visualization process, so please take energy and encouragement from the awareness that you are not alone.
Ben Trevino
Anne Dagen 10+
graeme ward
Dominic Carubba
It's my humble opinion that the arts are not valued and that we are socializing our creativity out of existence.
Just my 2 cents before this thread closes.
PS- ADD in adults is not as troublesome because adults can choose their environments to thrive and be successful. Schools tend to think that kids should be good at EVERYTHING (and the choices are limited) when that's now how we are organized in life. We choose the areas that we want to and can be good and satisfied with.
La Sculpteure