Comparing+Peer+Reviewed+Articles

Compairing Peer Reviewed Articles on Working Memory and Assessing Visual Literacy
Gary Woolley asserts that constructing enhanced mental models of text assist learners who have good decoding and poor comprehension skills. When decoding is not automatic, information “chunking” is conscious rather than automatic and comprehension is compromised.

To use the technique of mental modeling, learners are depending on the availability of their working memory. Learners who link verbal and visual processes can alleviate load on working memory and as well as being more engaged with a story. In contrast to the phonological “loop”, the visuospacial “sketchpad” is able to simultaneously display multiple mental images.

When introducing any reading strategy, the working memory may initially experience strain. Woolley suggests that students who develop a ritual of discussing visualizations before, during, and after reading text develop deeper mental constructs. Illustrations assist less experienced readers to integrate their background knowledge with their mental models. Drawings also reinforce mental models, and are dependant on the richness of the descriptive text. Manipulations link words to objects and help learners to develop visual representations.

In short, Woolley asserts that mental imagery and builds flexible representations, aiding comprehension. Discussing visualizations, inferencing, semantics, and concept mapping may further augment imaging because they necessitate mental links with past experiences. Understanding time order and causal connections are also helpful in understanding the “gist” of a story. Simultaneously combining a number of reading strategies in a collaborative setting seems to be the key to successful comprehension. Hypothesizing, self questioning and self explanations also assist with metacognitive awareness.

John Callow’s sees today’s learners creating and discussing writing, speech, visual images, and electronic and interactive media. Therefore, students need a framework for understanding these “texts” including concepts and language. As little specific research is available on assessing multiple literacies, Callow attempts to define what features of multimodal texts are important and how educators could evaluate learner understanding. Assessment in the form of questions and dialogue will assist students and plan literacy instruction.

Words unfold in a sequence while an image unfolds “all at once,” requiring different skills for constructing meaning. Visual grammar or metalanguage provides a foundation for understanding visual texts in a multiliteracies environment. Each text has three dimensions: the affective (expressions and personal engagement), compositional (using conceptual metalanguage), and the critical (ideological critique: clarity and effectiveness). The interplay between the visual and written dimensions also is key. “The Australian state of Queensland’s Education Department states that all assessment within multiliteracies environments “needs to be embedded in authentic learning experiences, be continuous and formative, and be summative and systematic” (Hayes, Mills, Christie, & Lingard, 2006).

Both authors conclude that student-made visual responses and discussions are important as well as giving learners a variety of processing tools. Woolley includes only written text as “reading.” He further postulates that students must get into the habit of self regulating by linking visual and visual process to free up working memory. Woolly does not describe assessment guidelines. Callow does not specifically mention the role of the learner as an inquirer when stating that focused, ongoing, teacher-lead assessment is a critical component of multimodal learning. Rather, Callow believes developing the metalanguage is highly important for student reactions to text. He is innovative in suggesting that authentic texts, including student work be used in assessment.

//Show Me: Principles for Assessing Students' Visual Literacy//. Callow, J. The Reading Teacher, May 2008. [|Show_Me_Assessing_Visual_Lit.pdf] From the International Reading Association

//Developing Reading// //Comprehension: Combining Visual and Verbal Cognitive Processes//. Gary Woolley. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol.33, 2010. [|Combining_Visual_Verbal.doc] From Questia