Secondary pre-service teachers’ visual literacy: instructional strategies in social studies

While visual literacy pedagogy in teacher preparation programs has been a recognized body of knowledge the past few decades, limited research centers upon secondary teachers who are responsible for integrating visual literacy into content instruction. This study explored how 32 secondary English language arts and social studies pre-service teachers (PSTs) utilized visual displays to teach content in their classrooms. PSTs were tasked with developing instructional strategies based on five commonly used visuals in social studies texts: photographs, images, maps, tables and flowcharts. Through a qualitative analysis of the PSTs’ prompts, three themes emerged: (1) teacher-led activities, (2) writing activities and (3) student-centered activities. Teacher-centred activities were more prevalent, with a majority of PSTs proposing lectures, guided prompts and activities involved comparing and constrasting elements of visuals. Writing activities included reflective writing and writing from a perspective of a historical figure. In contrast, only a few PSTs designed interactive, student-centered activities, such as using student-created visuals, student-lead discussions and student-created presentations. To foster active learners and critical consumers in the 21st century, we propose implications for teacher education programs to promote visual literacy.