“the Visual Code”: Educating in an Age of Visual Culture

Noam Topelberg, Jonathan Ventura

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Over the past two decades, we have been witnessing a veritable revolution in the ever-expanding visual
and material culture studies. As a result of technological advances, visual texts have become the most
common carriers of information and meaning as well as shapers of people's perception of reality
throughout the world. To keep up with these current and future changes, new tools of visual literacy and
critical thinking are needed for teachers and educators. We argue that implementation of such tools in
teacher training programs, across all disciplines, is extremely important and can be used as catalyst to
foster critical thinking processes and promote active and relevant teaching and learning. Moreover,
with our unique approach, we offer a much-needed innovative perspective towards new and expanding
visuo-material disciplines ranging from the myriad venues of design, through architecture to visual
communication.
Our study presents a tool developed for Design and Visual Culture curriculum taught in more than 250
high schools in Israel. This tool, we call "The Visual Code" aims to cultivate skills of deciphering visual
codes through diverse visual texts. Our approach surpasses the classic and somewhat redundant focus on
Art History and allows a much broader understanding of our visuo-material surroundings, ranging from
smartwatches, through buildings and urban settings, to websites, apps, and digital service platforms.
We suggest observing this rich world through three prisms, suitable for different types of training:
semiotic observation, suitable for teaching an training students, teachers (on and pre-service) and pupils
of all disciplines; hermeneutic understanding, triggering deeper observation, suitable for those specifically
engaged in visual studies, such as art and design; and in-depth phenomenological interpretation suitable
for practitioners, experts, and researchers in the various fields of art and design. During our research,
qualitative questionnaires, and activity, as well as visual content analyses will be used in classrooms,
teachers’ development courses as well as some academic courses to evaluate the impact of this tool on
classroom discourse and learning processes.
Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationEducation and New Developments
EditorsMafalda Carmo
Place of PublicationLisbon
PublisherinScience Press
Pages115-119
Number of pages5
Volume1
ISBN (Print)9789893510636
DOIs
StatePublished - 24 Jun 2023
EventInternational Conference on Education
and New Developments
- Lisboa, Portugal
Duration: 24 Jun 202326 Jun 2023
https://end-educationconference.org/2023/

Conference

ConferenceInternational Conference on Education
and New Developments
Abbreviated titleEND 2023
Country/TerritoryPortugal
CityLisboa
Period24/06/2326/06/23
Internet address

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