Moving Toward Visual Literacy

7/23/2019 Moving Toward Visual Literacy

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Moving toward Visual Literacy: Photography as a Language of TeacherInquiry

Mary Jane Moran & Deorah !" TeganoUniversity of Tennessee

#stract

This article presents one portrayal of the role of photography as a language of teacher inquiry. To inform teachers' use of photography, the first part of the

article presents a brief historical perspective of photography's role in the study of human behavior in the fields of visual anthropology, visual sociology,

photojournalism, and media literacy. The second part of the article includes three functional applications of photography in teacher inquiry:representational, mediational, and epistemological. The three functions are defined, and classroom examples and in-depth analyses of these functions are

provided to illustrate ho photography promotes inquiry-based classroom practices. These analyses include discussions of teachers' intentional focus or

mental lens, the importance of collective contexts of teacher study, the metacognitive processes of teacher inquiry, and the appropriation of s!ills in

teacher inquiry. "ach example demonstrates a progressively deeper analysis of ho photography can be used by educators to move the field of education

toard visual literacy. The examples are ta!en from preschool and early elementary-school classrooms, although the applications may be extended to thebroader field of education.

Introduction

#uring the past to decades in the United $tates, teacher inquiry has become a dominant focus of contemporary early

childhood teacher education programs %&ill, $tremmel, (u, )**+ &ubbard oer, )** /urnaford, (ischer, &obson,)**0 1oran, )**) (osnot, 02324. Teacher inquiry is characteri5ed by 6both ne and experienced teachers 7ho8 pose

problems, identify discrepancies beteen theories and practices, challenge common routines, dra on the or! of others

for generative frameor!s, and attempt to ma!e visible much of that hich is ta!en for granted about teaching and

learning6 %9ochran-$mith ytle, )**0, p. ;4. Teacher inquirers are classroom researchers ho engage in cyclic studies

of learning in context, dependent upon the use of tools %riting utensils, tape players, computers, and cameras4 and

records %audio and videotapes, transcriptions, field notes, children's or! samples, and photographs4 to help ma!e

teaching and learning visible. Through image-based research, 6a contemporary form of structured investigation6 %rosser,

0223, p. 4, teachers can learn to observe carefully, screening out nonseminal information as they develop discernment,

judgment, and decision-ma!ing s!ills. Teachers ho utili5e photography as an integral part of their classroom research are

positioned to develop competencies for using this visual language, as n other ords, developing visual literacy through

the language of photography is a part of current initiatives on teaching inquiry.

The study of photographs %and video4 of children's learning and classroom experiences is fast becoming central to the or!

of many ne and experienced early childhood teachers %?oldman-$egall, 0223 roject @ero et al., )**4. >n the first partof this article, it is our goal to slo don and step bac! for a moment to revie selected illustrations from visual

anthropology, visual sociology,0photojournalism, and media literacy. >n these fields here photography has played an

integral part in the study of human behavior over time, e can learn ho photography has contributed to these

researchers' and practitioners' thin!ing and practice and perhaps use their insights in our on or!.)>n the second part of

this paper, e describe the three interrelated functions of photography that may be used as an analytical frameor! for

ho photography contributes to the development of teacher inquiry. These are representational, mediational, and

epistemological functions. >n this second section, e include examples from preservice teachers and a master teacher that

illustrate ho photography can serve as a language of teacher inquiry in the field of early childhood teacher education.

$istorical Perspective: Photography as a Visual Language and %esearch Method

(rom decades of research and practice in the fields of anthropology, sociology, and photojournalism, theoretical,

conceptual, and practical understandings have emerged that can inform the use of photography as a language of

contemporary teacher inquiry. #uring the past 0;* years %since the invention of the photographic process4, sociopolitical

developments and technical advances have expanded the use of photography from staged family portraits to chronicles of

ars and post-ar humanism, and from studies of distant and unfamiliar cultures to contemporary everyday life in cities

and rural communities %/ateson 1ead, 02+) "dards, 022) n these studies, photography has also

been used to map geographic terrains and archeological digs chart societal life and record, catalogue, and identify

developmental milestones and emotional behaviors %9ollier, 022;4. 1oreover, photographs have been used as artifacts that

chronicle behaviors, places, and experiences, ma!ing photography a part of ethnographic methods %&arper, 02234 and

6critical visual methodology6 %Aose, )**04.

The notion that photography is a visual language %Bepes, 02++


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use of photography as a seminal part of teacher documentationin teacher inquiry. >t is an appropriate time, therefore, to

ta!e a brief loo! at fields outside education and learn from them, because teacher documentation, as inspired in particular

by the Aeggio "milia approach to early education, continues to dominate and exemplify the poer and promise of ma!ing

visible the learning and researching of teachers %roject @ero et al., )** roject @ero Aeggio 9hildren, )**04.

Photography as a Visual Language

hotography is a visual language that shares some important characteristics ith verbal language-both communicative and

structural. Typically, teachers do not treat photography as a language. Aather, they often see a photograph as a truth, anobvious fact, and therefore a photograph does not require interpretation. Det, e propose that teachers reconceptuali5e

photographs as more than simply classroom records. >nstead, photographs hold the same subjective, interpretive potential

as ords hen teachers 6read6 photographs from an interpretive vie, here photographs are imbued ith meaning.

hotography is a dynamic representational system that uses signs to produce and communicate meaning-just as e do

hen e use ords to spea!. Eccording to the $iss linguist $ausserre, a sign has to elements, that ofsignifier and the

signified-ith signifier representing the form %in our case photographs4 and the signified representing the associated

conceptual understanding provo!ed by vieing a photograph-or its meaning %&all, 022=, p. 04. (or meaning to be

constructed, these to elements must exist in relation. &all notes that it is the relationship beteen form and meaning

that is 6fixed by our cultural and linguistic codes, hich 7in turn8 sustains representation6 %p. 04.

(rom this perspective then, photographs are culturally situated and consequently convey different meanings to different

vieers based on personal life experiences, !noledge, and perspectives. hotographs, li!e ords, are

both encoded and decoded ith meaning. The creator first encodes a photograph ith meaning or intention hen she

ta!es the photograph, and then 6it is further encoded hen it is placed in a given setting or context6 %$tur!en 9artright, )**, p. ;C4. (or example, as photographs are vieed, revieers decode or 6read6 the meaning. The 6reading6

of photographs therefore is subjective and partial %$!inningsrud as cited in "dards, 022), p. + n a

recent research project, the Aeggio-ugano Aesearch 9ollaborative %AA94 used photographs as a research tool to discover

the capacity of visual images to uncover, provo!e, and communicate beliefs and practices related to teaching and learning

%(u, ?oldhaber, Tegano, $tremmel, )***4. This multi-member collaborative as composed of teacher educators and

teacher practitioners ho spent nearly to years systematically reflecting on selected photographs of each participant's

early childhood program in order to anser the question: 6&o does an interpretative community find meaning in the

visual images selected to represent our adaptations of the Aeggio "milia approachF6 >n the analyses of the data collected in

this project, one finding included the participants' discussions and questions concerning the context of the photographs:


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embedded 6order6 ithin photography, it is up to the photographer to create it. The lac! of 6explicit relational indicators6

%1essaris, 0223, p. =;4 in this visual language means that the inquiring teacher must intentionally position photographs

%often lin!ed to textual information4 to convey a particular message. (rom this perspective, there is a 6double process of

construction6 %&amilton, 022=, p. 3;4 that includes both the 6choosing and framing6 of a photograph at a particular

moment in time and the selection of photographs 6from their original ordering and narrative contexts, to be placed

alongside textual information and reports in publication6 %p. 3C4. To an extent, some photographs have an implied order

%e.g., a chronology of a classroom event, a sequence of learning4, especially hen a teacher ta!es a photograph. >n this

case, she !nos hat preceded and hat folloed the clic! of the shutter. ater, hen the same teacher studies thephotograph %or a set of photographs4, the order %syntax4 is juxtaposed against her subjective meaning %semantics4 and

contextual interpretations %pragmatics4. >n other ords, the syntax, semantics, and pragmatics are not only located in the

photograph but, more so, in the mind of the teacher. This does not mean that a photograph cannot stand alone, but it does

mean that a single snapshot may not be adequate to portray the complex processes of teaching and learning that occur

everyday in children's classrooms.

This point is illustrated by arence-ightfoot's %02224 description of photographer #aoud /ey's+experience of creating

photographic meaning, meaning that is grounded in his curiosity and his need to 6go deeper6 and discover more %p. 0024.

Es a researcher, arence-ightfoot describes /ey's process of selecting and grouping photographic images to anser his

on artistic inquiry into ho to capture hat /ey called a 6more complex representation of human experience6 %p. 0C4.

arence-ightfoot says, 6he soon discovered that the images loo!ed more interesting hen he put them together, that

ith multiple pieces he as able to evo!e the 'complex relationship of time and psyche'6 %p. 0C4. Gne hallmar! of /ey's

artistry then is the 6ordering6 that permits the relationship among the photographs to emerge and that allos his

photography to convey a particular message. The language of photography then is structural, communicative, and also

generative.

Hust as spea!ers search for the right ord, teachers ho use photography as a language of inquiry search for the right

angle or ho closely the camera comes to the children or scene being photographed in order to convey a particular

message, for example. The camera angle and close shots, among others, have been labeled by media literacy expert

1eyroit5 %023C4 as 6para-proxemics6;hen they are used 6as 7a8 means of affecting the vieer's emotions or attitudes6

%1essaris, 0223, p. =+4. ara-proxemic devices and related decisions for how to photograph a classroom scene,

experience, or behavior are part of the teacher's complex construction of meaning, because they determine hat she may

intend to elicit in the vieer. These decisions, li!e the ordering or positioning of photographs, are deliberate acts of

selectivity.

>n the field of photojournalism, there are strategies for selecting and organi5ing photographs to create 6photo-stories6

% understand4 and generative %> have ne understandings4 ays.

Thus, for teachers, photography is poerful in its ability to portray complex meanings and practical in the ease of

manipulation of photographs as a language of inquiry.

The value of photography in teacher inquiry is to ma!e visible our questions, our in-depth study of children's learning, and

our challenge to illuminate and communicate discrepancies beteen theory and practice. >t is through continuous cycles of


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systematically creating, studying, and arranging photographs and ma!ing public and visible intended and shared meanings

that teachers engage in classroom research.

Photography as a %esearch Method

"arly in the )*th century, the use of photography as a research method by anthropologists as marginali5ed because it

lac!ed depth, descriptive, and explanatory value %"dards, 022)4. Then, in the 02+*s, ?regory /ateson and 1argaret

1ead, folloing 0* years of studying and riting about /alinese culture, began to integrate photography as part of an in-

depth process of observation. /ateson and 1ead's %02+)4 visual ethnography Balinese Character: A PhotographicAnalysis as created through a method of sorting, categori5ing, and cataloguing thousands of photographs in an attempt

6to present several perspectives on a single subject, or in sequences hich shoed ho a social event evolved through

time6 %&arper, 0223, p. )C4. These anthropologists repositioned and coupled photographs ith to types of text

%interpretative essays and annotated details4. /y juxtaposing images alongside detailed, ritten descriptions and analyses,

/ateson and 1ead used theory and !noledge of the field of anthropology to interpret, contextuali5e, and validate their

photographic data. This method made 6photography a respected tool in anthropological research6 %de /rigard, 022;, p.

)C4.

>t as this intentional lin!ing of photographs to text %informed by !ey theoretical, conceptual, and contextual constructs4

that mar!ed an important shift in elevating the significance of photographs from mere truth-valueCrepresentations toard

thoughtful representations ith valuable information, albeit data influenced by the subjectivities of the researchers. "ven

after the publication of this influential visual ethnography, photography continued to remain secondary in importance to the

ritten ord and to film in the field of anthropology until recently, hen all forms of visual representations from film and

photography to visual forms produced by the subjects of study %e.g., eavings, pottery, and art4 are no highly valued and

studied as 6visible cultural forms, regardless of ho produced them or hy6 %/an!s, 0223, p. 004.

The inclusion of cultural artifacts along ith photography has enabled anthropologists and more recently sociologists

%&arper, 02234 to further portray the complexity of behaviors in context. Through the creation of thic! descriptions

%?eert5, 02=4 or the layering of interpretations %?oldman-$egall, 0223, p. )4, photography has emerged as an integral

part of the study of signs and symbols that constitute research data and advances our understanding of events, behaviors,

and scenes in context.=(or example, hen does a specific gesture mean something, or in hat ays do particular

classroom routines that emerge ithin a group of children have meaning in that spaceF The creation of a thic! description

then is an attempt by the anthropologist, sociologist, or teacher to move beyond surface-level descriptions toard

interpretations, informed by more than one ay of seeing or illuminating a phenomenon. This can be accomplished

through the creation of a series of photographs andIor the coupling of photographs ith artifacts, transcriptions, and

explanatory text to reveal an in-depth, full-bodied, and contextuali5ed interpretation.

unctional #pplication: Three Interrelated unctions of Photography in Teacher

Inquiry

hotography, as one form of teacher documentation, functions in at least three primary ays: %04 representational, %)4

mediational, and %4 epistemological. These three functions often complement one another through the mechanical %ta!ing

photographs4, the metacognitive %studying photographs4, and the communicative %systematically using photographs4

aspects of photography as a language of teacher inquiry. These functions act in concert ith one another-sometimes at the

same time and sometimes across time. They are not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive, rather they constitute an

interpretive frameor! that has the potential for assisting teachers in navigating reflective processes and communicating

ith self and others.

>n this part of the paper, the representational, mediational, and epistemological functions are defined and classroom

examples %from preschool and early elementary4 are given to illustrate each. Elthough this discussion is separated by

function, the reader should !eep in mind that ta!en together these three form a larger, broader conceptuali5ation of

photography as a language of teacher inquiry. >t is through this conceptuali5ation and the ability to deconstruct

%understand the parts4 and reconstruct this frameor! %use in dynamic, transactional, personal ays4 that photography

becomes a language, a communicative tool for ma!ing visible teacher inquiry. Thus, these three functions have value forclassroom teachers as they %04 respond to the problem of movingaway from photographs as discrete, prescriptive, factual

records that limit classroom documentation and %)4 meet the challenge of moving toward a communicative,

transformative, and generative process of systematic and intentional study.

%epresentational

The representational function of photography is about creating meaning-to depict and to symboli5e-through the use of

photographic language. &all %022=4 rites, 6representation connects meaning and language to culture6 %p. 0;4 that is to

say that representation %to depict or to symboli5e4 connects the interpretation %meaning4 and the photograph %language4

to the context %culture4. (or instance, hen a teacher uses the representational function of photography to depict or

symboli5e children's bloc! constructions, she connects her photograph of bloc! constructions and her on interpretation


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%that may be based on her intention to observe or on the meaning she associates ith the bloc! constructions4 to her

particular classroom, on a particular day, built by particular children %context4.

hotographs are not passive artifacts but instead represent active forms of meaning ith layers of potential interpretations.

$tur!en and 9artright %)**4 remind us that there are at least to elements that contribute to the construction of

meaning other than the creator of the photograph and the photograph itself: 6%04 ho vieers interpret or experience the

image and %)4 the context in hich an image is seen6 %p. +;4. (rom the time a teacher first ta!es a photograph, it has

meaning. hotographs are artifacts that 6suggest meaning through the ay in hich they are structured6 %"dards, 022),

p. 34 such as the choices made to select hat and ho to photograph and, concomitantly, hat as not selected to

photograph. nstead, it can be transformed or embedded in layers of others' interpretations hose vies are influenced by

their diverse experiences, !noledge, and the context in hich they are vieing the photographs. "dards %022)4

describes the process of building upon layers of interpretation as giving 6meaning6 for 6its original audience and for

subsequent generations of interpreters6 %p. 0)4. >t is in the actions of ta!ing, using, and interpreting photographs %ith self

and others4 that the range of meaning is expanded, ne questions considered and posed, and diverse representations

provo!ed.

There exists, perhaps, a general assumption that multiple perspectives are positive hoever, this is not necessarily true.

Aecall the earlier example of the Aeggio-ugano Aesearch 9ollaborative, in hich teachers and teacher educators met over

a to-year period to engage in systematic analyses of photographs. #uring early exchanges, the members of the group

ere directed to revie and respond to photographs submitted by individual members. >n these first exchanges, there

ere occasions hen different viepoints ere perceived as evaluative and even negative by those hose particular

photographs ere being analy5ed. This negative perception emerged from the dissonance beteen hat the photographerintended to represent and the subjective analyses of others. $ome members of the group ere uneasy about others'

perspectives being associated ith their pictures, because these multiple perspectives did not match hat the

photographer meant to represent. >n this scenario, multiple perspectives ere initially problematic but ultimately %because

the group stayed in relation and ere committed to the tas!4 became a poerful tool for generating and communicating

ne ays of !noing. Thus, hen teachers recogni5e that photographs have the potential to represent different

perspectives-even generate dissonance-then they reposition themselves to reconstruct their thin!ing. This position holds

the greatest promise for transforming ays teachers use the representational function of photography.

To examples of the representational function are included here. The first is from a junior-level preservice teacher %"laine34

as she begins her journey toard visual literacy at the simple level of matching her pictures to her pre-stated intent about

hat she anted to observe in a toddler classroom. >n this class assignment, she represented, through text, photographs,

and a or! sample, to children's ability to loo! at a bird and to dra the bird %(igs. 0-4. "xample ) demonstrates the

representational function at a more complex level hen photographs of a master teacher are shared and discussed ith a

novice teacher.

Example ! "laine rote her pre-stated intent to observe and photograph:

The intention of my observation is to observe children in an environment here they are participating in a curricular

domain %bird lesson4, to listen to the children's conversation that shos cooperation %social !noledge4, to atch the

children or! in a cooperative learning activity, and to observe children representing their !noledge..

"laine's photographs ere directed by her intent to observe.

"igure ! Bill-ee the bird!
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"igure #! $ason and %avid draw Bill-ee!

"igure &! $ason draws the bird's claw!

"laine's field notes chronicled the children's process:

The children observed /ill-ee the bird and then leaned closer to loo! and touch the feathers.

Et my prompt to examine the bird's cla, Hason called out, 6There are only three.6

> as!ed the children to dra the bird, and each chose a body part to dra.

Hason too! three of his fingers and placed them onto the paper and traced only three fingers. Then he called out,

6This is the bird's cla.6

Hason and #avid or!ed together, loo!ing at the bird, then loo!ing don at their papers to dra, then loo!ing at

each other's papers.


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"igures * + ,! Children work closely to paint over traced shadow lines!

Engie: That's o!ay because going off the lines is not the most important thing to me. $ee, in these other photographs

%(igures ;-C4, children have to negotiate or!ing alongside and on top of other children's earlier or!.

$o, hat > value is not so much the final product of the mural but more about ho these children learn to or! closely

together and see! one another out for help as they participate on a joint, shared project. > am mostly interested in ho

they learn to or! together, not hether the youngest in the group stays on a line.

isa: > see. G!ay, so staying on the line is not so important because he 71ichael8 is just years old.

Engie: Des, exactly. >t is not important to me that he stay on the line but that he feels a part of the hole project . and

that he develops an ability to stay focused on a tas!.

Es Engie recalls this exchange ith isa, she thin!s about both her original intent as ell as the meaning isa associated

ith the photographs. isa's questions and comments cause Engie to reconsider and or! to state clearly hat as most

important to her hen very young children joined ith older children in a shared, and sometimes demanding, project.

Engie notes,

Ko, > recogni5e that there is a ide range of interpretations %hen > share my photographs ith others4, and > no thin!

about isa's understanding as ell as my on. (or me, the photographs represent children's potentials and relationships,

not so much a narro s!ill such as staying on a line. >n fact, as e tal!ed, isa told me that she had thought > had pre-

dran the lines for the children and then the children ere simply tracing over them. $haring my photographs gave me a

chance to clarify that, no 7> had not done the or! for the children8, the children had done all the or! and to ma!e a

point that very young children are capable of not only draing details but negotiating roles and responsibilities for

completing a large-scale representation.

>n this final photograph %(ig. =4, children stop and ta!e a brea! from preparing to paint a paperhite mural, to revie

photographs from one of their earlier murals.

"igure ! Children revisit photographs of their earlier paintings!

Engie describes her interaction ith isa:

> explained hat the moment represented for me to isa. isa just thought that the children ere loo!ing at the

photographs out of general interest. /ut the children ere actually loo!ing at the photographs to recall hat they did

earlier to help them in their current or! 7ith the paperhite draing8. isa as not there and did not understand the

importance to me of the children using photographs as referents to guide their next steps in the process of a ne painting.

Mediational
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The mediational function of photography serves to lin! thought to action. >t is situated in the act of ta!ing a photograph.

The act of bringing the camera to the eye lin!s hat is in the mind to hat is happening outside, such that the camera is a

tool that connects hat one aims to record to hat is actually recorded in a photograph. 1oreover, the camera also

provides a lens to focus the teacher's attention-the lens mediates beteen the mind's eye of the teacher and the essence

of the teacher's intention. (or instance, hen a teacher sees something that he ants to record, he sets an intention.

9onsequently, the camera becomes a 6mind-guided6 %n the field of photojournalism, the gestalt of this mind-set is

referred to as 6picture-thin!ing6-6the photographer, then, first learns to see ith his camera and thin! ith his eyes6 %p.+4.

#uring this process, there are to related and concurrent actions underay. The first is the nonvisible yet deliberate

decision to act. This action is informed by hat is sometimes called the photographer's 6ga5e6 %9ruic!shan! 1ason,

)**, p. = $tur!en 9artright, )**, pp. =C-==4 or intent, such as his orientation to the study of children's learning, his

interest, or his mental lens. n this first example %(igs. 3-004, Engie is interested in learning ho one child teaches a second child to trace the

projected shado of a leaf in preparation to paint it. The teacher's ga5e or intent is clear in her mind. Engie directs the

camera lens on the faces and hands of the children hile including enough context %the projected shado of the leaf4 to

situate the image.

"igure .! A child points out the shadow lines of the flower to her peer!

"igures /-! A child assists her peer in tracing shadows in preparation to paint!

The deliberateness ith hich she ta!es this series of photographs is an example of ho the camera acts as her tool, the

mediator, beteen her desire to record this classroom interaction such that she may study it later, and her focused

attention in the moment. Engie later studies the photographs and revisits her understanding of ho -year-old children

appropriated s!ills in teaching their peers to first trace %ith their fingers4 the lines that they ould later paint ith a paint

brush. >n doing so, Engie has made visible the capacity and the potential of young children to 6teach6 their peers the s!ills

and processes of symbolic representation for her on and the children's metacognitive analyses, as ell as to

communicate this capacity and potential to parents and other teachers.

(or example, a senior-level preservice teacher reflected on her earlier courseor! and experiences in using the camera to

develop focused classroom observational s!ills. $he told her classmates, 6> don't just ta!e 7random8 pictures. > ait until >
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see the moment of learning that > have been aiting for. > plan a lesson and hen > document it, > !no hat learning >'m

trying to see ith the camera.6 This student describes her ability to anticipate the moment of learning on hich she

intends to focus. &er description reveals that she may be better 6prepared to engage in subsequent similar activities6

%Aogoff, 022;, p. 0;*4, even ithout a camera to alays mediate her focus. >n this example, the student is evidencing a

move aay from her dependence on the camera and is beginning to appropriate2both the tool %the camera4 and the

process of discernment about here to focus her attention.

The mediational function of photography is maximi5ed hen teachers participate in collective contexts of study. n these contexts, teachers search for congruency among hat is in their heads, hat

is being co-constructed ith others, and hat is represented and made visible by the teacher-photographer. >n this second

example of the mediational function, e begin ith an excerpt from a ritten reflection by senior-level preservice teaching

partners ynn and Baitlin:

Gur intent to observe as focused around the social construction of !noledge. Es e revieed and discussed our

photographs, e collaborated about the different types of learning that ere displayed through our documentation. ynn

noticed 7that8 many of the pictures shoed cooperative learning beteen the children. Baitlin shared her reali5ation that

the expressions on the children's faces shoed their high level of engagement. Es she loo!ed through the photos, ynn

reali5ed that Baitlin as right all of the children ere actively participating in the game. This shared understanding helped

us hypothesi5e that this type of activity resulted in increased engagement as ell as cooperative learning.. /y collaborating

as teaching partners, e strived to connect ith each other and understand our different viepoints.. This resulted in a

6meeting of the minds6 or intersubjectivity.

"igure #! Preservice teachers revisit and analy0e classroom photographs!

"igures & + (! Children learn to play a board game!

Lision %along ith speech4 has the distinction of being the most important means by hich e apprehend reality

%&aya!aa, 02++, p. 0*4, or in this case, realities, such that for each photograph there is not a single reality. The language

of photography is contextual, and therefore the 6vie6 is partial. The meaning of photographs is filtered through the

particular beliefs, values, and experiences of the vieer, resulting in a number of interpretations. The objective is not tohold onto our old ays of !noing, simply agreeing ith the perceptions of others, including that of the creator of the

photograph. Aather, 6to perceive a visual image implies the beholder's participation in a process of 7mental8 organi5ation.

The experience of an image is thus a creative act of integration6 %Bepes, 02++, p. 04. To experience an image ith others

means that e ill l i!ely change our minds about hat e originally sa in a photograph and consequently return to our

on classrooms ith nemental lenses that ill in turn direct and focus the very lenses located in our cameras.

Thus, once ta!en, photographs are used by teachers not only to ma!e children's learning visible but also to inquire about

their on ga5e. This mediational function is a metacognitive process because teachers have access to records created by

them that in turn help them thin! about their on thin!ing. >n this case, photographs provo!e questions and observations

such as, 6&o does one child teach another the strategy of first tracing a shadoed line in preparation to later dra and
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then paint itF6 or 6 do a better

job framing my photographs to record children's hand-use, their facial expressions, or nuances of their contemplative

glancesF6 The ansers to these questions mediate or guide teachers' inquiry. &ere, the aim is to use the language of

photography reflexively to discern hat matters to each of us in our study of children's learning, hat we are learning, and

ho e can more deliberately use photography to communicate our interests, our questions, and our evolving

understandings ith self and others.

'piste(ological

The epistemological function of photography is the use of photographs as a source of ne !noledge. Through individual

and collective study, reflection, and analyses of photographs, teachers access the epistemic potential innate to using

photography as part of the process of teaching. This epistemological process is propelled through teachers' participation in

creating and using photographs. Es such, teachers ho use photography as a language of inquiry have a chance to

continually construct ne understandings about children's learning and to better understand hat they ant to !no and

6ho they come to !no it.6 (or example, photographs free5e-frame moments in time so that teachers can later study

them more closely, ponder their original intentions, and construct ne !noledge as they return again and again to

challenge old ays of !noing.

>n this first of to examples, the photographs and reflective ritings of a senior-level preservice teacher dyad demonstrate

these teachers' epistemological understandings %(igs. 0;-024.


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"igure /! Children meet to revisit their solutions to the problem!

Es a teaching team, e differ in hat e might adapt if e ere going to teach this lesson again in the future. Gne of us

feels that e might allo more time to explore other solutions that ere not generated by the group. The other ould

prefer to introduce additional materials to the children ith hich to solve the problem such as figurines of people and

animals. This adaptation might assist the children ho ere having problems solving the problem in more abstract ays.

Through the language of photography, a disposition of inquiry is developed-to observe, to see and see again ith

discernment, and to construct meaning. These epistemic processes are initially and intermittently dependent upon the aid

of tools %cameras, lenses4 and signs %photographs4. Det the language of photography does not remain solely on the

external plane. >nstead, over time, it is li!eise appropriated and used mentally on one's personal or internal plane. (rom

this perspective, the construction of meaning develops both in the head of the teacher as ell as in her hands that is, in

the manipulation of the camera and in the adjustment of her lens as ell as in her rationale for hat to record. Et these

times, the teacher's conceptual constructs developed from so many photographs ta!en, so many conversations shared,

and so many ne understandings inform her decisions and beliefs about hat is important to photograph to her. $he is notonly photographing for the moment but also for broader purposes: her particular interests, her need to !no more, her

developing focus of inquiry. End these purposes are simultaneously re-informed by an individual teacher's conceptual

constructs.

>n this second and final example of the epistemological function, e once again consider a master teacher's use of

photography as she sets her sights on a question about children's understanding of measurement for hich she does not

have a ready anser. >t is spring, and outside the multi-age preschool classroom, Engie and the children have planted a

floer garden. Gn this day, six children go out together to explore the floers. Engie's goal as to determine hat the

children ere most curious about so that she could plan relevant follo-up activities to help them explore their questions

and observations. $he documented their interests not only by hat they said but 6ho long they stayed focused and ho

they explored an aspect of a floer and ho they oriented their bodies to the plants6 %(igs. )*-*4.

Engie recalls the day,

Et first, > too! many photographs to study their pure explorations. > then began to focus on their questions, and >

audiotaped their conversations. > ondered hat they anted to !no and ho to help them investigate it through theirexperiences and later through their study of photographs of their experiences. > listened for their questions.

"igures #3-#&! Children explore flowers in the garden!

That morning, among the observations posed by the children, $usan and #anielle noted, 6it's too little,6 meaning that they

could not measure the height of the tall lilies ith their 0)-inch ruler. >t as this problem, first posed by $usan and later

explored by #anielle, that most caught Engie's attention. Engie anted to !no, 6 give her a longer measuring tool or, instead, ait and encourage her to continue to figure out her

on solutions to the problemF6
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"igures #(-#,! %anielle extends the ruler with her hand and arm to measure the lily!

Teacher: 'll sho you. >t's )*: 0, ), , +, ;, C, =, 3, 2, 0* buds. >'ll ma!e my hand go up.

Teacher: Gh, > see you are connecting your hand to the ruler for the rest of the floer's height. can't dra on my arm.

Teacher: G!, ho can e !no ho long your arm isF

Engie reflects on her process:

> studied the photographs and transcriptions over and over. > as confused. Et first, > didn't !no hat #anielle meant

about ho she as using her arm to help her measure. > !ept photographing her as she tal!ed to me about ho she ould

extend the ruler ith her arm to ma!e a long enough tool to measure the lilies.

Engie as not only photographing for the moment but also for broader purposes. >n the moment, Engie used the

photographs to help #anielle revisit her strategies of inquiry for determining ho to measure a tall floer ith a ruler that

as shorter than the floer. Gn a broader level, Engie further developed her on focus of inquiry through her study andguidance of #anielle's cycle of inquiry.

Engie continues:

Es #anielle tal!ed to me, she used to ords %much and old4 that aren't usually used to describe height. > !ept as!ing her

7clarifying8 questions because hile > believed she understood hat shemeant, > as still confused.

Danielle: et's count again.


13/16

"igures #-#/! %anielle studies the height of the plant!

Engie goes on to say:

ater, > read over the transcriptions and loo!ed again and again at the photographs, ordering and re-ordering them,

arranging them alongside her transcribed ords. > began to understand that she used the ords 6old6 and 6much6

interchangeably to describe units of length. mean is that hen #anielle first used the ords old and

much, she understood her meaning but > didn't, until > studied my photographs and her ords ith her.

The next day, Engie invited #anielle to revisit the series of photographs in order to help Engie clarify exactly ho #anielle

conceptuali5ed extending the ruler %using her arm4 to measure the lily. >n these photographs, Engie rechec!s her

interpretation of #anielle's thin!ing about measurement %(igs. *-)4. Es they loo!ed at the photographs together, Engie

read #anielle's ords to her. #anielle as able to restate her thin!ing to Engie and confirm Engie's original hypothesis.

Engie says, 6> learned that she had a far more sophisticated understanding of measurement than > !ne, and > used this

to plan other measuring activities for her.6

"igures &3-! Angie and %anielle revisit photographs of measuring the lily!

(rom here, Engie as able to create subsequent classroom tas!s using manipulatives to continue to test #anielle's thin!ing

strategy in another context %(ig. -;4.

"igures &&-&*! Angie presents %anielle with a new counting task back in the classroom!

Through the coupling of transcriptions ith photographs and by sharing these ith #anielle, Engie decoded the information

and constructed ne understandings about #anielle's problem solving. 9oncurrently, Engie appropriated this strategy

%studying photographs ith text and sharing it ith others4 to refine and expand her repertoire of inquiry practices-even as

she engaged in the metacognitive process of recogni5ing hat she anted to !no and ho she came to !no it. That is,

there comes a time hen focusing the camera lens, manipulating photographs, and reading transcriptions become a

mental gestalt of actions that occur in the head of the teacher, ith increasingly less reliance on the actual tools or actions

themselves.
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Thus, the epistemological function of photography contributes to teachers' !noledge about and processes of learning

through inquiry. hotography ma!es visible the metacognitive processes of teaching and learning. The acts of focusing

attention to capture images of classroom moments, manipulating photographs, studying transcripts, and developing

interpretive meanings and text are processes that encourage the development of metacognition in teachers. These

processes are made visible through the act of documentation and are appropriated by teachers hen inquiry becomes a

habit of mind, even ithout the presence and manipulation of tools and documents.

)oncluding %e(ar*s

hotography as a language of inquiry is therefore generative and communicative-generative because through photography

teachers construct ne understandings and are more prepared to engage in subsequent similar activities and

communicative because photography conveys and provo!es meaning. Thus, photography can be a poerful research tool

for educating students and teachers in the construction and co-construction of !noledge about the processes of teaching

and learning and as ell, photography is one ay to ma!e visible these same processes.

>n this article, e attempt to situate photography in teacher education ithin the broader frameor!s of visual

anthropology, visual sociology, photojournalism, and media l iteracy. (or educators in the digital age, photography is an

effective and rich resource that expands both the tools %riting utensils, computers, tape recorders4 and the records %field

notes, or! samples, transcriptions4 that e use in our classrooms to include cameras and photographs. n this article, e chose specific examples from preschools and early

elementary schools to illustrate each of these functions. Elthough the examples are ta!en from early childhood classrooms,

e believe that the information presented here has application to the broader field of education, precisely because of its

inherent adaptability to cultural contexts. Es educators learn to use photography to construct ne understandings and to

convey meaning in classroom contexts, it is our hope that this article provides one means by hich they may begin to

articulate their use of photography as both a generative and a communicative language of teacher inquiry.

+otes

0. Lisual anthropology and visual sociology are more recent, secondary variations of the larger fields.

). f the

goal of teacher inquiry is to pose hypotheses and generateIanaly5e data, then these arguments may also hold true for teachers engaged in classroom

research. &oever, teacher inquiry does not typically aim to prove or disprove a theory or to ensure that there is only one truth represented in a

photograph. Aather, inquiry-oriented practice is a cyclical process from hich teachers pose problems, questions, reflections, and challenge prior ays of

thin!ing and practicing, as they represent and re-represent the extraordinary in the ordinary learning lives of teachers and children.

3. Ell participants' names have been replaced ith pseudonyms.

2. articipatory appropriation is a 6process by hich individuals transform their understanding of and responsibility for activities through their on

participation..6 Es a result, they are then better prepared to engage in similar types of activities in the future %Aogoff, 022;, p. 0;*4.

0*. ?randpa said that he gre up in a house here there ere 0) feet and 0 tail.


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/an!s, 1arcus. %02234. Lisual anthropology: >mage, object and interpretation. >n Hon rosser %"d.4, 7mage-based

research: A sourcebook for 8ualitative researchers %pp. 2-)4. Ke Dor!: Aoutledge(almer.

/ateson, ?regory, 1ead, 1argaret. %02+)4. Balinese character: A photographic analysis %Lol. )4. Ke Dor!: Ke Dor!

Ecademy of $ciences.

/urnaford, ?ail (ischer, Hoseph &obson, #avid %"ds.4. %)**04. 1eachers doing research: 1he power of action through

in8uiry %)nd ed.4. 1ahah, KH: "rlbaum."# +;+ 0=*.

9ochran-$mith, 1arilyn, ytle, $usan . %)**04. /eyond certainty: Ta!ing an inquiry stance in practice. >n Enn ieberman

ynne 1iller %"ds.4, 1eachers caught in the action: Professional development that matters %pp. +;-C*4. Ke Dor!:

Teachers 9ollege ress. "# +;+ )*;.

9ollier, Hohn, Hr. %022;4. hotography and visual anthropology. >n aul &oc!ings %"d.4, Principles of visual

anthropology %)nd ed., pp. );-);+4. Ke Dor!: 1outon de ?ruyter.

9ollier, Hohn, Hr., 9ollier, 1alcolm. %023C4. 9isual anthropology: Photography as a research method %Aev. ed.4.

Elbuquerque: University of Ke 1exico ress.

9ruic!shan!, >ona, 1ason, Aachel. %)**4. Using photography in art education research: E reflexive inquiry.7nternational

$ournal of Art and %esign Education4 ##%04, ;-)0.

de /rigard, "milie. %022;4. The history of ethnographic film. >n aul &oc!ings %"d.4, Principles of visual anthropology %)nd

ed., pp. 0-+4. Ke Dor!: 1outon de ?ruyter.

"dards, "li5abeth %"d.4. %022)4.Anthropology and photography .,3-/#3. Ke &aven, 9T: Dale University ress.

(osnot, 9atherine T. %02324. En8uiring teachers4 en8uiring learners: A constructivist approach for teaching. Ke Dor!:

Teachers 9ollege ress.

(u, Lictoria A. ?oldhaber, Heanne Tegano, #eborah n Hon rosser %"d.4, 7mage-based research: A sourcebook for

8ualitative researchers %pp. )+-+04. Ke Dor!: Aoutledge(almer.

&aya!aa, $. >. %02++4. The revision of vision. >n ?yorgy Bepes, ;anguage of vision. 9hicago: aul Theobald.

&ill, ynn T. $tremmel, Endre H. (u, Lictoria A. %)**+4. 1eaching as in8uiry: 6ethinking curriculum in early childhood

education. Ke Dor!: Ellyn /acon.

&ubbard, Auth $hagoury, oer, /renda 1iller. %)**4. 1he art of classroom in8uiry: A handbook for teacher-

researchers %Aev. ed.4. ortsmouth, K&: &einemann.

Bamii, 9onstance. %)***4. 5oung children reinvent arithmetic: 7mplications of Piaget's theory %)nd ed4. Ke Dor!: Teachers

9ollege ress."# +;3 0).

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