fyi : back issues
Winter Issue 2002-LITERATURE then and now
Unspeakable Meanings
The role of visual imagery in reading comprehension
By David Whitehead
Unspeakable images of jumbo jets slamming into the World Trade Towers
on September 11, 2002 are seared into our minds and bear tragic testament
to the role of visual imagery in memory, cognition and emotion. Those
images represent, literally, more than words can say. In the context of
language and literacy education they remind us that no matter how skilfully
the print media reports events, reading is not exclusively verbal; readers
also image
.
In the context of teacher librarians developing effective mainstream teaching
and learning practice (see Mary Manning, FYI, 2002, 6, 1; Dr Ross J. Todd,
FYI, 2001, 5, 4) visual mental imagery can be used to promote higher order
thinking.
There is nothing new about visual imagery. Ancient philosophers such as
Aristotle believed that all cognition involved imagery, and Renaissance
scholars and educators gave imagination a central place in their worldview,
introduced pictorial imagery and emphasized concreteness in literacy learning.
More recently research has shown that visual imagery can enhance readers’
recall and comprehension (Sadoski & Paivio, 2001).
The instructional role of visual imagery in reading comprehension has
great intuitive appeal, because most of us see 'pictures in our head'
as we read. Although we have begun to document the role of mental imagery
in reading comprehension, research findings have generally failed to find
their way into curriculum documents, resource materials and our teaching.
If teacher librarians are to focus on tools for knowledge construction
that contribute to learners' goals, they may well need to consider the
role of visual imagery in assisting learners to process and reflect on
what they know.
Recent evidence suggesting that reading is not exclusively verbal is overwhelming.
For example, in 1989 Long, Winograd and Bridge reported that most readers
image spontaneously. Long et al., using a poem, a story and two factual
texts, asked students to read, pause and think-aloud about what was happening
in their heads as they read. They found that 11 year olds imaged spontaneously
at more than 60 per cent of the think-aloud stop points.
The following year Sadoski and Quast (1990) reported that spontaneous
visual imagery supports reading comprehension and is related to deeper
levels of comprehension. Of particular interest was their finding that
visual imagery was consistently related to readers' affective response
to text, and that visual imagery was a good predictor of long-term recall.
Other research suggests that the use of visual imagery helps readers predict
and monitor their comprehension (Sadoski and Paivio, 2001). Together this
research suggests benefits may accrue from the use of texts that evoke
imagery, and from teacher librarians and students using visual imagery-based
reading comprehension tools (Whitehead, 2001).
But, as in any instructional context, the benefits of using visual imagery
tools are not shared equally. A study by Whitehead (1997) revealed individual
difference in readers' ability to image. Some readers reported that it
was easy for them to generate clear and vivid images.
For example, while reading Black Beauty one reader said:
My images are . . . really life-like pictures, like I was looking outside
. . . really clear, like, I like horses and I could picture my horse standing
there in the doorway, really clear . . .
Note that in this report there is an element of emotion 'I like horses'
and that the image is linked to a direct experience 'my horse'.
In contrast, other readers responded they could not image, or that their
images were hard to maintain, dull and hazy. Co-incidentally, readers
who reported as poor imagers tended to be poor spellers.
During the same study, some readers reported that they could move and
control their images. These readers were active comprehenders and appeared
to manipulate their images as a means of constructing new understanding.
Their use of images, or imagery thinking, involved them in panning across
images, zooming in on details and zooming out from an image to appreciate
the wider context. They also reported rotating objects within their image
and moving 'the mind's eye' to 'inspect' their visual images. This ability
to manipulate images allowed the readers to examine what they knew, and
to predict. In contrast, other readers reported they could not maintain
their images long enough to examine or manipulate them.
Some text types seem to evoke images more readily than others –
I have yet to generate an image in respect to anything obtained from my
lawyer or the Inland Revenue Department. Since the seminal work of Paivio
(1971) we have understood that highly descriptive concrete texts are easier
to image than abstract texts. For example, 'truck' is easier to image
than 'compassion', although in an ironic twist, our understanding of compassion
and other abstract concepts may be dependent on the formation of visual
images. For example, Miller (1984) showed how the entire progress of 20th-century
physics was a creative interplay between mental imagery and language.
The effect of imagery on reading comprehension
Visual images are central to meaning making. For many readers they are
'. . . the actual sort of things that tell the story' or as one reader
stated, '. . . when you see pictures in your head you get the meaning
of the book better.'
Images of the jumbo jets of September 11 rarely remain disconnected from
other images and feelings. No one who saw those television images can
forget the falling bodies and desperate faces. Images, like verbal language,
are associated.
As one reader stated:
The word mud (in a story about a cave) reminded me of a sludge pit on
my cousin's farm . . .
There is little doubt that the imagery associated with reading literature
can be a pervasive and memorable.
As one child stated:
I can go back to exactly the same picture when I read the same word (that
evoked the image) . . . it stays in my head and you read and get the same
picture.
These pervasive and memorable qualities allow readers to literally 're-view'
text, to continue the special affect of reading quality literature.
As one child put it:
If I put my book down and go to sleep I can still picture most of the
pictures that I pictured all the way through the book . . .
This spontaneously recurring imagery, which is engaged most easily during
periods of deep relaxation, provides readers with a means of reflecting
on what they know. This reflection, or critical comprehension of text,
is captured in the following word level response.
The author's text stated:
The cat pushed its way out of the bag.
The student responded (after imaging):
In my picture (an image) the cat struggled. I would have used struggled.
This reflective and critical response extends to descriptive text at the
paragraph level.
After reading about
the same cat another student stated:
My picture [an image] was better than the description in the book. The
cat in my head had a bent tongue.
This report suggests the reader was able to manipulate her image, that
is, engage in imagery thinking. In this case, she was able to zoom in
on her image of the cat and notice the bent tongue.
An important characteristic of these reports is the student’s use
of images, that is, imagery thinking. While generating a still image may
enhance ones satisfaction and recall of text, the deliberate use and manipulation
of visual images marks a defining tool of a constructively responsive
reader.
While most readers image spontaneously, imagery can be deliberately induced
while reading. Further, teachers can guide student's use and manipulation
of their images as a way of enhancing meaning.
As part of an on-going research project, students are being taught how
to use visual imagery thinking tools as a means of enhancing their reading
comprehension. The teaching central to this research is aimed at helping
readers identify the types of text likely to evoke imagery (those that
use concrete/descriptive/metaphoric language), the places in narrative
texts likely to evoke these different types of image (for example, story
climax), and the concepts in text that may become more meaningful through
the use of visual imagery tools (abstract concepts). They are also being
taught to use visual imagery tools, independently.
Before readers reach this level of independence, teachers involved in
the research are providing them with opportunities to practice imagery-thinking
tools in the context of Guided Reading lessons, and Reading to and thinking
with lessons. These imagery-thinking tools include:
R. I. S, Mv & Mt,. S. (read, image [still, moving and melting], and
share)
R. I. S, Mv & Mt,. S. E. (read, image [still, moving and melting],
share, and evaluate)
R. I S, Mv & Mt,.M. S. (read, image [still, moving and melting], manipulate
and share)
R. I. S, Mv & Mt,. M. D.S. (read, image [still, moving and melting],
manipulate, draw and substantiate)
R. I. S, Mv & Mt,. W.S. (read, image [still, moving and melting],
write and share)
The use of these imagery-thinking tools is
demonstrated below with a text about Atomic Energy (see Appendix A), chosen
because it linked to the class science topic at a Year 8 level and because
of its abstract content; the text describes objects and events that were
unfamiliar to readers and unavailable to direct inspection. The teacher
used a Guided Reading approach.
Before reading, the teacher:
-Selected an instructional
level text.
-Wrote specific learning outcomes.Prior to reading the students were involved
in:
-Discussing concepts and previewing the content and text structure.
-Revising the use of imagery while reading (previously modelled to the
whole class).During and after reading, the students and the teacher were
involved in:
-An instructional dialogue that included the use of the imagery thinking
tools described above.Lesson closure involved students in a discussion
about the effects of imagery thinking tools on comprehension, and an exercise
where they applied imagery thinking to an authentic problem.
The visual imagery tools and lesson moves used by the teacher were:
Paragraph one (see Appendix A)
-Thinking tool R.I S,. S. (read, image [still], and share)Students read
paragraph one and were asked to ‘make a picture in their head that
didn't move' of image mousetraps and ping-pong balls. Students then shared
the content of their still images with a partner and then other members
of the group.
Paragraphs two and three
-Thinking tool R.I Mv,..S. (read, image [moving], and share)Students read
these paragraphs and were asked to 'make a picture in their head that
moved'. Students then shared the content of their moving images with a
partner and then other members of the group.
Paragraph four
Thinking tool: R.I Mv,.M.D.S. (read, image [moving], manipulate, draw,
substantiate)
Students read the explanation of an atomic bomb, then were asked to make
a moving image representing the explanation. They were then asked to image
the particles moving as they would in a chain reaction. Next, they were
asked to draw their understanding of a chain reaction. During discussion
about their drawings students substantiated from the text, and compared
the text explanation with their images.
Paragraph five
Thinking tool: R. I. S. E.(read, image, share, evaluate)
Students read paragraph five silently. They then selected one part of
the text to image. They then shared their image with a partner, and finally
evaluated the completeness of their image, and their partner's image,
by re-reading the text.
Paragraph six
Students read this paragraph silently and recalled the content as part
of a group discussion. Finally, students were given the Atomic Energy
text with illustrations and asked to compare their images with the artist's
illustrations.
Closure to this lesson was in the form of a discussion about the effects
of imagery thinking tools on their comprehension of the text.
As an application exercise the following day, readers were involved in
recalling their visual images (which was not a problem) and using their
drawings from the R.I Mv.M.D.S. (Read, Image [moving], Manipulate, Draw,
Substantiate) tool to write an explanation of either a controlled or uncontrolled
nuclear reaction.
Reflection
At the IASL conference in New Zealand, Dr Ross Todd argued that it was
necessary for teacher-librarians to develop mainstream teaching and learning
practice. The use of visual imagery tools by teachers and
students has demonstrably positive effects on reading comprehension. I
believe imagery thinking should be prized not only because it leads to
attractive destinations, but also because the journey itself is satisfying.
For maximum benefit I believe that the explicit teaching of imagery thinking
tools should be systematically infused into teaching. This might require
us to further develop our focus on process as content. It might require
us to consider the role of the teacher-librarian in facilitating the scope
and sequence of reading comprehension tools the school has decided would
further students' reflective and critical comprehension. Visual imagery
tools would serve the more general aims of developing independent life-long
readers and ensuring better learning outcomes for our students.
I don't believe that literature which is designed to engage our emotions
should be subject to instructional procedures that suppress emotion and
a love of books. In many respects an emotional capacity is an absolute
necessity for the functioning of rational behavior. Imagery, as an integral
component of our non-verbal capacities, supports unspeakable meanings
and emotions. It can result in idiosyncratic responses that allow readers
to problematise or literally 're-view' texts in a critical sense. For
this reason alone it should have a place in literacy and learning programmes
that focus on knowledge construction and human understanding.
Appendix A
Atomic Energy
Paragraph 1
Imagine a large hall. The floor is covered with mouse-traps, all set.
Sitting on the spring of each mousetrap is a ping-pong ball.
Paragraphs 2 and 3
Some of the mousetraps are very touchy. After a while, one goes off by
itself. Bang! It flips a ping-pong ball up. Down it comes. Bang! It sets
off another mousetrap, which flings another ping-pong ball in the air.
The first ball is still bouncing. The two balls come down.
Bang . . . Bang . . . BaBaBaBaROAR! The air is filled with flying ping-pong
balls and exploding mousetraps! You have an uncontrolled chain reaction'.
Paragraph 4
An atomic bomb works in a similar way. Atoms are the building blocks from
which everything is made. Some atoms, like those of uranium, are unstable,
or 'radio-active'. They tend to break up. When they do they 'spit out'
tiny particles and release energy. If these flying particles crash into
other unstable atoms, those atoms also may be broken up, sending out still
more particles and more energy. This is a nuclear chain reaction. If enough
unstable atoms are packed close together, the reaction builds up so fast
and the release of energy is so great that you have an atomic explosion.
Paragraph 5
Imagine the hall again if you took out most of the mousetraps and reset
the others and set them out. This time, each ball that is sprung in the
air will bounce around for a while before it finds a new mousetrap to
set off. Some of the balls will loose their energy and come to rest without
setting off any mousetraps at all. If the reaction does start to build
up and up, you could control it by laying trays of treacle around the
floor to 'soak up some of the energy'. By bringing in or taking away some
of the trays, you could keep the chain reaction steady until almost all
the mouse traps had been sprung.
Paragraph 6
That is what scientists try to do in a controlled nuclear reaction. In
a nuclear power reactor, there are tubes of uranium pellets that produce
the chain reaction, and control rods that will soak up radiation. The
operators move these rods in or out to control the speed of the reaction.
The heat energy given off as the unstable atoms break up is used to boil
water and make high-pressure steam. The steam drives turbines, which can
turn generators and make electricity, or turn a propeller shaft to drive
a nuclear-powered ship.
References
Long, S. A., Winograd, P. N., & Bridge, C. A. (1989). ‘The effects
of reader and text characteristics on reports of imagery during and after
reading.’ Reading Research Quarterly, 24, p.353-372.
Millar, A. I. (1984). Imagery in scientific thought: Creating 20th century
physics. Boston, MA, Birkhauser.
Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. New York, N.Y., Holt,
Rinehart, & Winstone.
Sadoski, M., & Paivio, A. (2001). Imagery and text: A dual coding
theory of reading and writing. Mahwah, N.J., Lawrence Erlbaum.
Sadoski, M., & Quast, Z. A. (1990). ‘Reader response and long-term
recall for journalistic text: The role of imagery, affect, and importance.’
Reading Research Quarterly, 25, p.256-272.
Whitehead, D. (2001). Top tools for literacy and learning. Auckland, Pearson
Education.
Whitehead, D. (1997). The visual imagery ability questionnaire: Its design
and validation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato.
David Whitehead is a lecturer at the University of Waikato, Hamilton,
New Zealand. He will be one of the keynote speakers at SLAV's November
22nd conference. Contact him at davidw@waikato.ac.nz