Background & Reading

Visual Literacy is a subject that should not be foreign to you, as you've read multiple articles, investigated your understanding, and started to think about how visual literacy plays an important role in the classroom (your sector/career) and the learning process. At this point, you are starting to build an understanding and think about how the components of visual literacy might fit into digital literacy.

As discussed in the last module, there are National and State accrediting bodies to which schools subscribe and align with to remain accredited in their State. Accrediting bodies set the standards and adhere to a research-based, subscribed set of rubrics or indicators that stay "this" or "that" is considered proficient concerning its content or design. Schools then use assessment data to demonstrate how their students meet the standards to accreditation bodies. Oh, accreditation is SO fun! 

In a classroom, we would say that a student is proficient or meets the standard(s) based on a rubric based on a standardized assessment, a reading scale, a classroom-based assessment, or a blend of assessments. For example, as a College of Education, we geared up for national accreditation in Spring 2024; however, we started to prepare in Fall 2022, as we were going to be assessed under a newer (to us) accrediting body called CAEP. Regardless of countless acronyms (Yes, Education is really good at this...) and the standards, they are there and must be known/assessed. More importantly, FHSU wants an accredited Teacher Education Program and Advanced Programs, such as a Masters in Reading, SPED, Building Leadership, etc., so State and National accreditation is not optional if we want accredited programs.

Regardless of your role, some standards must be met for you to prove a level of quality, knowledge, or completion. Within a classroom, for instance, we can look to our state content standards and more focused standards like the ISTE Standards. Although we can admit the area of standards seems to be in constant flux in each state, at every level, we know that standards frame our course objectives that lead to our daily/weekly learning objectives. The objectives also aligned with our instructional materials, strategies and activities, learner interactions, and, most importantly, our assessments. If you work in design or other sectors of the market, there are also important industry standards that guide our design of courses, course delivery, etc. Regardless of their use, all of these standards have an origin typically based on theory, research, and general know-how or common sense by industry leaders or experts. 

Concerning visual literacy, in terms of media, some standards have been set forth for designers and curriculum developers to follow to ensure that the learning is seamless and effective for all learners. The standards ensure student learning (consumer growth/learning) and continuous improvement through constructive, substantive, measurable, and specific measurement.  The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) developed or updated the information literacy standards  (2022) that address information literacy standards specifically focused on higher education. In 2022, ACRL developed a companion document regarding visual literacy. Note that although this primarily focuses on higher education, the rationale and standards address P12 and the ongoing focus on 21st Century Learning Skills. After reading through the ACRL webpage and the standards*, it's important to research and understand what educators, education experts, and business leaders identify as 21st Century Learning Skills. Of course, there are lists of skills, but the P21 Website offers insight, resources, and research concerning the framework they've developed. It is an interesting idea to take the ACRL Visual Literacy Standards. Then, the P21 Framework (specifically Outcome or Standard 3 addresses Information, Media, and Technology Skills) to see where there are overlaps and consensus on how one might see great overlap in the learning outcomes. If you begin researching P21, you will see that they link back to the American Library Association (ALA), and ACRL is a subsidiary of ALA. It's comforting to see the overlap in mindset and information.

 (*Please note that there are a lot of terminologies when it comes to Standards. I see Standards as an overarching skill(s) to be met. One level down, there are Performance Indicators or Module/Lesson Objectives that ultimately lead to Individual Learning Outcomes or Objectives. As you look at your own content or industry standards, I am sure they have their own set of terms (e.g., Standards, Competencies, Objectives, Benchmarks, Outcomes, Indicators, etc.), but regardless of terminology, I believe it is more important to know the Standards, understand how they build on one another and how you will meet them to show student learning/growth. Don't stress about knowing "all the things!")

Now, open the ALA/ACRL webpage concerning the Visual Literacy Standards for Higher Education (yes, these are very applicable for P12), scroll down, and follow along...take it slow, and think about how we build student learning around a Standard, but more importantly, the value of the Standard(s) whether they be the ACRL Standards or your content standards for fourth-grade Math. 

For instance, look at the ACRL Standards, then locate Standards Three: The visually literate student interprets and analyzes the meanings of images and visual media.  This would be an overall course objective or standard that must be met for the student to pass the course. There are traditionally 4-6 overarching Standards (broad) for the course. However, this can vary depending on the subject matter. Next, see the four performance indicators below the Standard Three listing. These are module or lesson objectives that would be embedded in daily/weekly lesson plans as a way to show the student is meeting Standard Three. Lastly, look at the Learning Outcomes listed. For instance, under Standard Three, Performance Indicator 1, there is a Learning Outcome (c.) that identifies the subject of an image. This would be an item to be taught and measured on an assessment (multiple times) to show proficiency in meeting the Indicators, and this eventually the greater Standard. 

For those who are not in education, or even if you are, this task can seem a bit overwhelming or new. For those of us who have been or are currently classroom teachers, I apologize (we can all use a refresher when using a new set of standards). I know we are constantly bombarded with "how are you meeting the standard(s), and how does that standard help the student meet the needs of the standardized assessment(s)?" However, for most of you, the ACRL Standards are new. I personally believe they play a very important role in all facets of education, whether you are an educator, tech coach, instructional designer, etc., because they open our eyes and minds to a new way of presenting material(s) in our current digital age. 

References

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2015). Information literacy standards for higher education. Washington, DC: Author.
            https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/infolit/framework1.pdf

Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). (2022). The Framework for visual literacy in higher education. American Library Association.
https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/standards/Framework_Companion_Visual_Literacy.pdf 

Chen, X., Dipinto, V., & Newman, M. (2017). Teachers’ Visual Literacy Practices in Middle and High School Science Classrooms: NCE Research Residencies. Digital         
            Commons. https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/nce_residencies/10
International Society for Technology in Education. (2017). ISTE Standards: Educators. ISTE. https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-teachers
P21.org. (2015). Media Literacy - The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. [online] Available at: http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-framework/349 [Accessed 6 Dec. 2017].

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