Abstract:

As part of a wider study into language and communication in trades teaching in New Zealand, in this paper, we discuss the visual literacy demands of trades’ course material with specific reference to automotive and auto electrical teaching texts. Starting with a comparative overview of the way in which visual elements are integrated into trade’s texts across four trades, carpentry, automotive technology, plumbing and fabrication, we then take a more detailed look at the way in which connected imagery and multiple representations of ideas (including the use of analogy) are used in teaching the auto-electrical part of the automotive trade. The analysis of the use of visual elements in these texts draws on the frameworks developed by Kress and van Leeuwen (1996), Dimopoulos, Koulaidis and Sklaveniti (2003) as well as the conceptual framework developed by Ainsworth (2006) on the use of multiple representations in science and science related texts.

In the study, ten booklets used in trades teaching comprising 1235 images in 162,352 words were analysed and the use of images in these texts compared with data collected from classroom observations as well as from the interviews of 25 tutors in the four trades at the beginning of the study. From the analysis of the data, it was found that while the visual density of the trades teaching texts was similar to that found in lower secondary school (around 7.0 to 7.5 images per 1000 words) by Dimopoulos et al.(2003), the nature of the visual images used was markedly different, relying on more conventional, analytical and formal imagery than found in the lower secondary science texts. Interestingly, some texts included hybrid images that combined conventional analytical diagrams with informally drawn components, as well as integration of photographs and drawings to demonstrate the use of tools, particularly measuring devices.

Many images in the texts were connected to each other to either explain the function of a component or the steps in a procedure. Multiple representations were used in the description of both abstract concepts (the action of an inductor in a circuit), as well as processes (changing gear represented by both a drawing of the gearbox as well as a graph). These multiple representations of electrical concepts included the use of analogy to explain abstract electrical concepts and explain the function of various electrical components. Often analogies were generated by tutors and made up an important part of teaching.

References:
[1] Ainsworth, S. (2006). DeFT: A conceptual framework for considering learning with multiple representations. Learning and Instruction, 16(3), 183-198.
[2] Dimopoulos, K., Koulaidis, V. and Sklaveniti, S. (2003). Towards an Analysis of Visual Images in School Science Textbooks and Press Articles about Science and Technology. Research in Science Education, 33, 189-216.
[3] Kress G.R. & van Leeuwen T. (1996). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. London: Routledge.

Keywords:

Visual literacy, multiple representations, automotive technology, trades education.