Teachers’ interpretations of texts-image juxtapositions in textbooks: From the concrete to the abstract

Abstract

The paper examined expert literature teachers' coping with a novel textbook, integrating literature with visual arts, which is a particular interdisciplinary case of text-image relations in textbooks. Examination was performed within the framework of teachers' responses to curricular changes and of theory regarding strategies of interdisciplinary instruction. Data regarding teachers' coping was collected via video recorded deep interviews and analysed qualitatively using the phenomenological approach. Findings revealed four phases of a recurring pattern of performance: (a) retrieving prior knowledge about texts, (b) cycles of processing and refinement (comprising comparing-identifying-matching, making meaning of elements in contexts, eliciting themes and deeply examining artworks' devices), (c) mindful evaluation of the juxtaposition, and (d) pedagogical reasoning. Four potential roles of the textbook visual artworks, for promoting literature learning, were inferred. The study shed some light on the involvement of teacher cognition and culture of teaching in the reading, evaluating, and adapting of novel curricula. A deeper understanding of the factors involved in the introduction of novel materials, examined from a cognitive perspective, may inform teachers' professional development and curriculum developers as well as promote implementations of curricular reforms.

Arts‐based responses to teaching poetry: a literature review of dance and visual arts in poetry education

“…The second theme, explicated in 11 articles, highlighted how arts‐based responses could affect existing curricula. The most prevalent manifestation was that dance and visual arts could enrich, expand and reinvent the poetry curriculum (Bryer et al, 2014; Coles and Bryer, 2018; Curwood and Cowell, 2011; Eilam and Poyas, 2012; Jusslin, 2019; McCormick, 2011). Regardless of whether the focus was on enrichment, expansion or reinvention, the commonality lied within changes that could become ‘default pedagogy’ (Bryer et al, 2014, p. 249) in the poetry classroom.…”

“…Regardless of whether the focus was on enrichment, expansion or reinvention, the commonality lied within changes that could become ‘default pedagogy’ (Bryer et al, 2014, p. 249) in the poetry classroom. An extension of the poetry curriculum was also evident in relation to interdisciplinary teaching across subjects (Callahan and King, 2011; Eilam and Poyas, 2012) and access to poetry outside the classroom (Archambault and Carlson, 2011).…”

“…This last theme, emergent in five articles, referred to teachers' disciplinary knowledge and how art forms have disciplinary similarities. A prominent trend was the question of what knowledge teachers need of different art forms to teach arts‐based responses (Batič and Haramija, 2015, 2018; Cowan and Albers, 2006; Eilam and Poyas, 2012). Teachers of poetry are often certified and trained in literary knowledge, but not necessarily other art forms.…”

“…The overall trend showed that using dance and visual arts in response to poetry enabled discussions and investigations about different elements of the poem (Coles and Bryer, 2018;Eilam and Poyas, 2012;Giovanelli, 2017;Jusslin, 2019;McCormick, 2011;Smith, 2019). It could contribute to sharpening students' awareness of details in the texts (Coles and Bryer, 2018;Eilam and Poyas, 2012), detect something partially hidden in texts (McCormick, 2011) and require close reading of texts with accompanying art forms (Batič and Haramija, 2015;Jusslin, 2019). Such articles were Articles published in English Articles published in other languages mostly framed within either literary theories (reader response theory and text-image relationships) or multimodal literacy theories (social semiotics and transmediation).…”

“…Presented arguments were that teachers need literary knowledge as well as adequate knowledge of the other art forms (Batič and Haramija, 2018). Consequently, there was an expressed need for language arts teachers to let go of possible fears of teaching other art forms (Cowan and Albers, 2006) while enhancing their knowledge about arts, which, in turn, was a prerequisite for successful implementation of arts-based responses in poetry education (Eilam and Poyas, 2012).…”