Examining the Affordances and Constraints of Using Infographics … · 2018. 7. 10. · of...

ExaminingtheAffordancesandConstraintsofUsing

InfographicsinPre-ServiceTeacherEducation

by

LaurenFridman

AThesisSubmittedinPartialFulfillmentofthe

RequirementsfortheDegreeof

MasterofArts

in

EducationandDigitalTechnologies

TheFacultyofEducation

UniversityofOntarioInstituteofTechnology

April13,2018

©CopyrightbyLaurenFridman«2018»

i

Abstract

Infographicsareacommunicationtoolthatcanbeusedtosharelargeamountsofdata

inamoreaestheticallypleasingandcognitivelymanageableway.Theproductionand

consumptionofinfographicsencouragesthedevelopmentofmanyskillsthathavebeen

deemedascrucialforstudentstodevelopinschoolincludingdigitalliteracies,twenty-first

centurycompetencies,andmultimodality.Thisstudyaimedtoinvestigatehowfour

studentsinapre-serviceeducationprograminSouthernOntario,Canada,perceivedboth

theaffordancesandconstraintsoftheuseofinfographicsintheirteaching.Usingamixed

methodsapproach,Likert-styledata,alongwithin-depthcontentandmultimodalanalysis

ofinfographicartifactsandinterviewtranscriptions,thisresearchinvestigatedwhetheror

notinfographicscouldaidteachercandidatesintheirdevelopmentofdigitalliteracies,

twenty-firstcenturycompetencies,andmultimodalityskills.Additionally,throughthefour

phasesofthisresearchstudy,teachercandidateswereabletoexploretheiropinionsabout

infographicsandtheirpotentialfutureuseintheirteachingpractice.Thisstudyproposesa

newInfographicMatrixthatcouldbeusedbyeducatorstobetterembedthis

communicationtoolintotheirclassrooms.Throughtheconsumptionandproductionof

infographicstherewerepositiveimpactsthatresultedfortheteachercandidates,bothwith

regardstoprofessionaldevelopmentaswellaspersonalgrowthasalearner.Thisresearch

aimedtolessenthegapthatcurrentlyexistsinthisareaofeducationresearch,aswellas

offertheteachercandidatespedagogicallyimpactfulapproachestoliteracyeducationfor

usewiththeirfuturestudents.

Keywords:infographics,digitalliteracies,K-12education,pre-serviceteachereducation,

mulitmodality,twenty-firstcenturycompetencies,globalcompetencies,literacy

education

ii

Acknowledgements

Iwouldfirstliketothankmythesisadvisor,Dr.JanetteHughes.Herdoorwasalways

openwheneverIranintotroubleorhadaquestionregardingmyresearchorwriting.She

consistentlyallowedthisresearchtobemyownwork,butneverhesitatedtosteermein

therightdirectionwhenevershethoughtitwasrequired.Dr.Hugheswasaconstantsource

ofsupport,guidance,andinspirationthroughoutthisjourneyandforthatIamincredibly

grateful.

Second,Iwouldliketothanktheparticipantswhotookthetimeoutoftheirbusy

schedulestocompletemystudy.Itwasapleasurehearingyourinsightsintothisresearch

andlearningfromyouasyouprogressintoyourteachingcareers.Withoutyouthis

researchandthesiswouldnothavebeenpossible.Iwishyouallthebestofluckinyour

futuresaseducators!

Iwouldalsoliketothankmybrother,Michael,whoansweredeveryemail,phonecall,

andtextmessageIsent,regardlessofthetime,throughoutthethesiswritingprocess.

WhetheritwasregardinghowIwasconductingmyresearch,ifanideamadesenseto

someoneoutsidethefield,orifitwasjuststressinduced,heneverfailedtooffermethe

loveandinsightIrequired.

Finally,Iwouldliketoexpressmyprofoundgratitudetomymother,father,andBubs,

whohavestoodbymethrougheverystepofthismaster’sdegree.Also,toBrandon,who

camealongpartwaythroughmystudies.Theywereallaconstantsourceofencouragement

andlovethroughoutmyyearsintheM.A.andtheprocessofresearchingandwritingthis

thesisdocument.

Thisaccomplishmentwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutanyofyou.

Thankyou.

iii

Contents

Abstract..........................................................................................................................................................................i

Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................................................ii

Figures.......................................................................................................................................................................viii

Tables............................................................................................................................................................................ix

Appendices..................................................................................................................................................................x

1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................................1

1.1 Overview......................................................................................................................................................1

1.2 PreviousResearchandProblemAreas...........................................................................................4

1.3 ResearchGoal.............................................................................................................................................4

2 LiteratureReview.............................................................................................................................................5

2.1 Overview......................................................................................................................................................5

2.2 TermsofRelevance.................................................................................................................................6

2.2.1 DigitalLiteracies...............................................................................................................................6

2.2.2 TheProsumerMovementandParticipatoryCulture.......................................................7

2.3 RelevantThemes......................................................................................................................................9

2.3.1 Communication.................................................................................................................................9

2.3.2 StudentEngagement....................................................................................................................10

2.3.3 VisualizationandLearning.......................................................................................................11

2.4 ConsolidationofTopics......................................................................................................................13

iv

2.4.1 Multiliteracies.................................................................................................................................13

2.4.2 Twenty-FirstCenturyCompetencies...................................................................................16

2.4.3 MultimodalityintheDigitalLiteraciesEducation..........................................................19

2.4.4 InfographicsasaToolforCommunication........................................................................20

2.5 LimitationsandGapsinPreviousResearch...............................................................................21

2.6 ResearchQuestions..............................................................................................................................23

3 Method................................................................................................................................................................24

3.1 Design.........................................................................................................................................................24

3.2 Participants..............................................................................................................................................26

3.3 Context.......................................................................................................................................................27

3.4 Procedure.................................................................................................................................................28

3.4.1 Consent..............................................................................................................................................28

3.4.2 DataCollection...............................................................................................................................29

3.5 DataCollection........................................................................................................................................30

3.5.1 Overview...........................................................................................................................................30

3.5.2 PhaseOne:Pre-SurveyQuestionnaire.................................................................................31

3.5.3 PhaseTwo:One-on-oneInterview&Task........................................................................31

3.5.4 PhaseThree:TeacherCandidateCreatedInfographicArtifact................................34

3.5.5 PhaseFour:Post-ResearchInterview&Questionnaire...............................................34

3.6 DataAnalysis...........................................................................................................................................35

v

3.6.1 QuestionnaireResponses..........................................................................................................35

3.6.2 InterviewTranscriptions...........................................................................................................36

3.6.3 InfographicArtifacts....................................................................................................................36

3.7 ChapterSummary..................................................................................................................................40

4 Results.................................................................................................................................................................42

4.1 Overview...................................................................................................................................................42

4.2 PhaseOne:Pre-ResearchQuestionnaire.....................................................................................43

4.2.1 Phillip.................................................................................................................................................45

4.2.2 Luke....................................................................................................................................................46

4.2.3 Eric......................................................................................................................................................47

4.2.4 Jake......................................................................................................................................................48

4.3 PhaseTwo:One-on-oneInterviews&InfographicSortingTask.....................................49

4.3.1 Phillip.................................................................................................................................................50

4.3.2 Luke....................................................................................................................................................51

4.3.3 Eric......................................................................................................................................................53

4.3.4 Jake......................................................................................................................................................55

4.4 PhaseThree:TeacherCandidateCreatedInfographicArtifacts.......................................57

4.4.1 Phillip.................................................................................................................................................57

4.4.2 Luke....................................................................................................................................................60

4.4.3 Eric......................................................................................................................................................63

vi

4.4.4 Jake......................................................................................................................................................64

4.5 PhaseFour:Post-ResearchInterviews&OnlineQuestionnaire.......................................67

4.5.1 Phillip.................................................................................................................................................67

4.5.2 Luke....................................................................................................................................................69

4.5.3 Eric......................................................................................................................................................70

4.5.4 Jake......................................................................................................................................................72

4.6 ChapterSummary..................................................................................................................................73

5 Discussion..........................................................................................................................................................74

5.1 Overview...................................................................................................................................................74

5.2 EngagingintheConsumptionandProductionofInfographics.........................................75

5.3 ReadingandWritingofInfographicstoDevelopDigitalLiteraciesSkills....................79

5.4 CreationofInfographicsandtheIntersectionwithTwenty-FirstCentury

Competencies.....................................................................................................................................................81

5.5 TeacherCandidatesFutureUseofInfographics......................................................................83

5.6 EducationalImplications....................................................................................................................85

5.7 LimitationsandFutureResearch...................................................................................................87

5.7.1 Overview...........................................................................................................................................87

5.7.2 LimitedParticipantPopulation...............................................................................................88

5.7.3 TimeConstraints...........................................................................................................................88

5.7.4 InfographicsintheMainstreamEducationSystem.......................................................89

vii

5.7.5 FutureResearchConsiderations............................................................................................89

5.8 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................91

6 References.........................................................................................................................................................93

AppendixA–LetterofIntroduction&ConsentForms......................................................................107

AppendixB–Pre-ResearchQuestionnaire.............................................................................................111

AppendixC–One-on-oneInterviewQuestions....................................................................................113

AppendixD-InfographicsforRankingActivity……...……………………………………………………114

AppendixE-InfographicRankingQuestions……………………………………………………………….117

AppendixF-TeacherCandidateCreatedInfographics……………………………………………….....118

AppendixG-Post-StudyInterviewQuestions…....……..………………………………………………....122

AppendixH-Post-StudyQuestionnaire………...…………………………………………………………….124

AppendixI-WrittenThankYouLetter(Email)…………………………………………….……………..125

AppendixJ-TeacherCandidateRecruitmentEmail…………………………………………….………126

AppendixK-ResearchEthicsBoard(REB)Approval..………………………………………………….127

AppendixL-ResearchEthicsBoard(REB)Renewal…………………………………………………...128

AppendixM-Tri-CouncilPolicyStatementonEthics(TCPS2:Core)..……………………..…….129

viii

Figures

Figure1.VisualLearning.

Figure2.SummaryofNewPedagogies.

Figure3.FrameworkforGlobalCompetencies.

Figure4.5-ParagraphEssayStructurevs.InfographicStructure.

Figure5.SortingTaskInfographicA.

Figure6.SortingTaskInfographicB.

Figure7.SortingTaskInfographicC.

Figure8.DIYProductionMatrix.

Figure9.InfographicProductionMatrix.

Figure10.ConfidenceLevelsUsingTechnologyinTeaching.

Figure11.StudentEngagementinTraditionalLiteracyEducation.

Figure12.ScreenGrabofUpperSectionofPhillip’sInfographic.

Figure13.ScreenGrabofMiddleSectionofPhillip’sInfographic.

Figure14.ScreenGrabofUpperHalfofLuke’sInfographic.

Figure15.ScreenGrabofLowerHalfofLuke’sInfographic.

Figure16.Eric’sInfographic.

Figure17.ScreenGrabofUpperSectionofJake’sInfographic.

Figure18.ScreenGrabofMiddleSectionofJake’sInfographic.

ix

Tables

Table1.CaseStudyParticipantBackgroundData

Table2.DataCollectionProcedures

x

Appendices

AppendixA…………………………LetterofIntroduction&ConsentForms

AppendixB…………………………Pre-ResearchQuestionnaire

AppendixC…………………………One-on-oneInterviewQuestions

AppendixD…………………………InfographicsforRankingActivity

AppendixE…………………………InfographicRankingQuestions

AppendixF…………………………TeacherCandidateCreatedInfographics

AppendixG…………………………Post-StudyInterviewQuestions

AppendixH…………………………Post-StudyQuestionaire

AppendixI…………………………WrittenThankYouLetter(Email)

AppendixJ…………………………TeacherCandidateRecruitmentEmail

AppendixK…………………………ResearchEthicsBoard(REB)Approval

AppendixL…………………………ResearchEthicsBoard(REB)Renewal

AppendixM…………………………Tri-CouncilPolicyStatementonEthics(TCPS2:Core)

1

1 Introduction

1.1 Overview

Infographics,anincreasinglypopularcommunicationmedium,actasameansof

“takingcomplexideasandinformationandrepresentingtheminavisualformatthatis

clearlyandquicklyunderstood”(Thompson,2015).Thesearevaluablelearningtoolsas

theytakeacomplicatedsetofdataandconvertitintoamoremanageableanddigestible

biteforreaders.Peopletendtobedrawntoinfographicsastheycontainvisualizations,

coloursandimages,whichareappealingtoaudiences(Kos&Sims,2014).Infographics

servetobridgethegapsbetweenthevarietiesofmodesavailabletofostercommunication,

andtheirdigitalnatureenablesthegrowthofdigitaltoolskillsets.Althoughweare

consumingvastamountsofinformationviainfographics,particularlyintheonlinerealm,

thereisadearthofresearchregardingtheeducationalpotentialof“reading”andproducing

infographics,particularlyintheareaofliteracyeducation.

Images,icons,andgraphicshavebeenusedforcenturiestodescribeinformation.

Today,infographicsareutilizedintraditionalmediaplatformslikenewspapers,magazines

aswellasduringnewsbroadcastsandthroughoutsocialmedia(Smiciklas,2012).

Infographics,basedontheconvergenceofinformationandgraphics,areameansto

simplifyandsummarizecomplexinformationinanaccessibleanddigestiblemanner.The

purposeofinfographics,accordingtoReavy(2003)andLankow,Ritchie&Crooks(2012)is

toprovideaclear,andeasy-to-digestexplanationofinformationbeingsharedwiththe

2

reader.Awell-designedinfographicshouldclarifyinformationandpiqueinterestina

subjectareaaswellasencouragefurtherresearchonagiventopic(Siricharoen,2013).

Visualizationofinformationhasbeenanassettothemassconsumptionofmaterial

fromthemedia.Consumersofknowledgelooktoabsorbandengage

informationquicklyandefficiently,utilizingtheprocessingpowerofthe

visualsystemsinthebrain(Lankow,Ritchie&Crooks,2012)

compoundingwithinformationthattheindividualalreadyhasstored

(Trumbo,1999).Figure1emphasizesthecomingtogetherof

informationwiththepropertiesofgraphicdesigntoelicitbetteroverall

visuallearningandunderstanding.Whengraphicdesignelementslike

spacing,useofwhitespace,font,andcolourareconsidered,theartifactin

questionbecomesmorethoughtprovokingandthusmemorable,aidingintheabilityto

recallinformationfromthegraphic(Smiciklas,2012).Throughtheadoptionofinfographic

toolsintheclassroom,studentscanbegintoacknowledgetheimportanceofthesedesign

elementsintheirlearning,andcanusethemtoadopttheroleofproducerratherthan

consuminginformation.Byencouragingthedevelopmentoftheserequisiteskillsearlierin

theireducationaljourneys,studentswillcultivatemoremultiliteraciesskills(NewLondon

Group,1996;Cope&Kalantzis,2000;Unsworth,2001)thatwillaidtheminthebetter

understandingofmaterialfromliterarytexts.

Teachersarealwaystryingtofindnovelwaystoimprovetheirpracticeto

constantlyengagetheirstudents.Throughinfographicsstudentsareabletoexpresstheir

knowledgeandunderstandinginnewandinterestingways.Morespecifically,narrative

Figure 1: Visual learning

(Smiciklas, 2012)

3

infographicsareadesign-focusedmethodforstudentstoinformtheiraudienceinan

entertainingandillustrativeway.Narrativeinfographicsusegraphicelementsofdesign,

specificallystaticimageslikedrawings,charts,photos,orgraphics,tocommunicatespecific

informationinawaythatisimpactfulandmeaningfultothereader(Clark&Mayer,2011;

Lankow,Ritchie&Crooks,2012).Themultimediaimpact,proposedbyClarkandMayer

(2011),emphasizesthatpeopletendtolearnmoreprofoundlywheninformationis

presentedasbothtextandvisualswhencomparedtotextalone.However,itisimportant

todifferentiateusefulgraphicsfrom“chartjunk”(Tufte,2001),oranysortofgraphic

elementthatisunnecessaryordoesnotcommunicateinformationtothereader.

Withtheuseofinfographics,teacherscanutilizeskillstypicallyfoundinarts

educationtoenhancethelearningofstatistical-basedlearning(Davidson,2014),making

subjectslikemathandthesciencesmorecomprehensibletostudents.Thismayenable

teacherstointegratetheSTEAM(Science,Technology,Engineering,Arts,Mathematics)

movementintoaclassroom,ratherthansimplySTEM.Thesesubjectsoftenincorporatea

lotofdata,whichheremeansanymeasurableformsofinformation(Lankow,Ritchie&

Crooks,2012),whichareoftencomplexinnaturerelyingonanunderstandingofnumerical

knowledge.Inorderforinfographicstobeeffectiveastoolstoimproveliteracy,theyneed

toservethreemainfunctions;theyneedtobeappealing,understandableandmeaningful

(Lankow,Ritchie&Crooks,2012).Studentsshouldbeengagedbythelookofthe

infographic,abletocomprehendtheinformationbeingpresentedtothem,andthe

infographicshouldincreaseretentionbybeingmemorable.Theinteractivenatureofthe

inquiry-basedlearningenvironmentencouragesactiveinvolvementfromthestudentsand

thusworksintandemwithintroducingnewwaystoaccomplishnewliteracytasks,

4

includingreadingandcreatinginfographics.Infographicsenablethisactivethoughtand

productionofafinalartifactratherthanstudentsjustbeingreceiversofknowledge.By

encouragingtheinquiryprocess,studentscanformulateideasandconductresearchon

topicsthataremeaningfultotheminacurricular-basedandcuriosity-drivenassignment.

1.2 Previous Research and Problem Areas

Whilethereissomeresearchabouttheefficacyofinfographicswithregardsto

communication(Smikiclas,2012;Siricharoen,2013),researchintothepotentialof

infographicsinthefieldofeducationhasyettogainsimilarmomentum.Although

infographicsaregainingpopularitythroughtheireaseofdistributionandaccessibilityon

socialmediaaswellastraditionalmedia,alackofacademicresearchrelatedtotheir

potentialforstudentlearningandteachingmakesitmuchlesslikelythatinfographicswill

beusedinK-12classrooms.Minimalresearch(Kos&Sims,2014;Thompson,2015)could

befoundexaminingthebenefitsanddrawbacksoftheuseofinfographicsintheK-12

classroom.Thisstudyaimstobegintoidentifytheaffordancesandconstraintsof

infographicuseinthekindergartentograde12educationalsystems.

1.3 Research Goal

Thecurrentstudyinvestigatestheuseofinfographicswithteachercandidatesto

supporttheirlearningoftwenty-firstcenturyanddigitalliteraciesskills.Specifically,the

researchseekstoidentifyteachercandidateattitudestowardsusinginfographicsinthe

classroomandthepotentialforthiscommunicationtooltobeusedintheirfuturepractice.

5

2 Literature Review

2.1 Overview

Fromamoretraditionalstandpoint,literacyeducationusedtofocusonreadingand

writing,whichwereisolatedfromsocialprocesses(Gee,2000).Researchinliteracy

educationemphasizedtheinterconnectednatureoftheseliteracyrelatedskillsandthe

importanceofintegratingotherrepresentationalmeanstocreatedeepermeaning

(Bakhtin,1986;Gee,1996).WiththisparadigmshifttowardsaNewLiteraciesapproach

(Lankshear&Knobel,2003;Street,2003;Leu,Kinzer,Coiro&Cammack,2004;Albers&

Harste,2007,Knobel&Lankshear,2007),academicsandeducatorsarelookingfornew

methodstonotonlyteachthetraditionalandfundamentalliteracytechniques,butalso

engagethewidervarietyofskillsthatstudentsnowrequirebecauseoftechnological

advancesinindustryandtheworkforce.

Thefirstsectionofthisliteraturereviewwillfocusontermsofrelevance,including

digitalliteracies,alongwiththeproductionandconsumptionofmedia.Sectiontwowill

reviewtheroleofinfographicsthroughthethemesofcommunication,interpretation,as

wellasvisualizationandlearning.FromtheresearchconductedonNewLiteracies

(Lankshear&Knobel,2003;Street,2003;Leu,etal.,2004;Albers&Harste,2007;Knobel&

Lankshear,2007)thefieldhasexpandedtoincludetopicsincludingmultiliteracies,twenty-

firstcenturycompetencies,multimodalityinthedigitalliteraciesclassroom,aswellas

infographicsasamediumforcommunication,whichwillbediscussedinthefinal

consolidationsectionoftheliteraturereview.

6

2.2 Terms of Relevance

2.2.1 Digital Literacies

Inadigitalworld,itisimperativethatteachercandidatesdevelopdigitalliteracies

skills(Beazley,McLeod&Lin,2008;Judge&O’Bannon,2008;Lund,Furberg,Bakken&

Engelien,2014).Digitalliteraciesisdefinedasbeingabletousedigitaltoolsbutalsoadapt

theiruseinparticularcircumstancestomeettheneedsoftheuser(Eshet-Alkalai,2004;

Knobel&Lankshear,2007;Jones&Hafner,2012;Barton&Baguley,2014).Digital

literacies–includingcreation,construction,cultureandcognition–havebeenemphasized

ascentraltwenty-firstcenturyskillstobedevelopedbystudentsintheclassroom(Jewitt,

2008;Binkley,etal.,2012).Studentsneedtobeabletosuccessfullycommunicatethrough

multimodalmethodstoconveymeaning(Jewitt,2008),sothroughinteractingand

communicatingmultimodally,studentsarebeingbetterpreparedtobeadaptable

communicators(Dusenberry,Hutter&Robinson,2015).Byprovidingtheteacher

candidateswithanapproachtoencouragethistypeofcommunicationfromtheirfuture

students,theTCsarebeingsetupforgreatersuccessesintheirclassrooms.

Theresearchtodateextensivelycoversthepedagogicalbenefitsofstudentsbeing

exposedtonotonlyoralandprintliterature,buttomultimodalworksaswell(NewLondon

Group,1996;Lankshear&Knobel,1998;Cope&Kalantzis,2000;Kress,2000,2003;

Knobel&Lankshear,2007;Hughes,2009).Regardlessofthisresearchthough,studentsare

stillunderusingthesedigitalliteraciesskillseventhoughmanyofthempossessthe

capabilitytodoso(Alvermann,2002;Gee,2003;Kress,2003;Hughes,2009).Withaccess

toonlinefreewarethatpromotesmultimodalcommunication,whetherthrough

7

infographicsorotherwise,studentsarebetterabletoputtheirdigitalskillstouse,bothas

creatorsandconsumersofonlinemedia.InARichSeam,theauthorsoutlinedhownew

pedagogiesencouragedteacherstoaddresslearninginanewlight,byusingtechnologynot

asasupplementtolearning,butasatoolthatispervasivetothelearningexperience

(Fullan&Langworthy,2014).TheirfindingsweresummarizedinFigure2.

Figure 2: Summary of new pedagogies (Fullan & Langworthy, 2014, pg. 3)

Likemanyauthorsresearchingdigitalmediaandeducation,FullanandLangworthy(2014)

recognizedthereachthatthesetoolscanprovidestudents.Withtheclickofabutton,

studentscanaddressreal-worldproblemsacrossavastarrayofaudiencesastheyextend

farbeyondthefourwallsoftheclassroom(2014).Educatorsandstudentsarenolonger

limitedbytheboundariesoftheclassroom,theyareabletoconsumeandproduce

knowledgeandcontentthathasaglobalimpactandreach.

2.2.2 The Prosumer Movement and Participatory Culture

WiththeexplosionofWeb2.0,theprosumermovementwasborn(Toffler,1980),

encouragingwebaudiencestonotjustpassivelyabsorbinformationfromtheonlineworld,

buttoactivelycontributetotheknowledgeeconomyaswell(Buckingham,2007b;

Greenhow,Robelia&Hughes,2009).Toffler(1980)describesthetermprosumerasthe

blurringofthelinesbetweenaproducerandconsumertomeetthegrowingdemandsof

8

theindividualbuyer.Asaprosumer,individualscouldproducetheirowngoodsand

servicestomeetthegrowingneedsoftheonlinemarket.Withtheaidoftechnology,

personalizationandremixingofexistingmediaandgoodswouldbecomemorereadily

availableandfeasiblefortheeverydaybuyer.Throughtoolslikewikis,blogs,videosharing

andsocialnetworkingsites,studentsareshiftingthefocusofliteracyeducationtowards

onethatismorecollaborativeandmultimodal(Jenkins,etal.,2009;Bloom&Johnston,

2010).

AccordingtoJenkins(1992),participatorycultureinspiredindividualstobecome

morefamiliarandinteractivewithtexts,especiallyinonlineenvironments,whichcombine

elementsofimage,words,video,andsounds(Hughes,2007).Thisrequiresthemtobeable

tonavigateliteratureacrossmultiplemodalities,usingmultipleskillsets.Thesemay

include,butarenotlimitedto,thecriticalanalysisandcreationofmultimodaltextsthat

incorporatevisual,textual,digital,dramatic,andnewliteracies(Albers&Sanders,2010).

Thecurrentresearchmadeitclear,thatmodern-dayliteracyiscreatedthroughan

interdependentrelationshipthatexistsbetweenmodes(gestural,textual,digital,visual,

musical),media(film,television,radio,written),andlanguage(movement,written,oral,

mathematics,coding)(Jewitt,2008;Albers&Sanders,2010).Throughmultimodal

instruction,educatorsneedtoplantheirprogramsinsuchawaythatnotonlyfostersthe

developmentoftheseskills,butalsoallowsstudentstheopportunitytointeractwithand

experiencesuccessfuliterationsthatfosterstheminthelearningenvironment.

9

2.3 Relevant Themes

2.3.1 Communication

Literatureinthefieldofeducationalreadyemphasizedtheimportanceof

multimodalcommunication(NewLondonGroup,1996;Kress,2000,2003;Nixon,2003;

Alvermann,2009,Albers&Sanders,2010;Hughes&Tolley,2010;Jocius,2013;Eteokleous

&Pavlou,2015),whilealsoexpandingtoincludevisualcommunication(Avgerinou&

Pettersson,2011;Matrix&Hodson,2014),alongwithdigitaland/oronlinecommunication

(Cope&Kalantzis,2000;Chandler-Olcott&Mahar,2003;Mills,2010;Cooper,Lockyer&

Brown,2013).Digitalmediaofferstheopportunityforstudentstocommunicatemore

effectivelywhencomparedtowhentheyidentifiedashavingdifficultywithtraditional

paper-basedwrittenassignments(Alvermann,2009).Throughtoolslikeinfographics,

authorsarechallengedtotakevastamountsofcomplexinformationandpresentitinaway

thatisconsumableandapproachabletotheaverageperson(Smiciklas,2012;Toth,2013;

Lyra,Isotani,Reis,Marques,Pedro,Jaques&Bitencourt,2016;Ozdamli,Kocakoyun,Sahin

&Akdag,2016).SinceWeb2.0hasprovidedtheaffordanceofmasssharingofcontentand

information,providingaudiences,whetherstudentsorthegeneralpublic,with

opportunitiesformoreappealingandefficientinformationprocessing,infographicsare

becomingawelcometoolforcommunication(Locker&Kienzler,2012;Toth,2013).

WithaccesstotheWeb,theabilitytocommunicateandsharecontentwithawider

audiencehasbecomemucheasierforindividualcreatorsandhasbecomeaculturalnorm

(Belk,2014).AsuserssiftthroughTwitterorFacebookfeeds,theyarelikelytocomeacross

aplethoraofinformationbeingshared(Leonardi,2017),whetherthroughtextualpostsor

embeddingcontentlikephotos,videos,andinfographics(Greenhow&Lewin,2015).This

10

multimodalexpressionhasforcededucatorsandstudentstoconsiderhowtobecome

betteratcommunicatinganddecodinginformationinthistypeofenvironment(Kereluik,

Mishra,Fahnoe&Terry,2013).Sincethesecompetenciesneedtobetaughtinthe

classroom,thisthesisworkstoidentifyspecificchallengesandskillsthatteacher

candidatesshouldimproveuponsothattheycanbettereducatestudentsintheirfuture

practice.

2.3.2 Student Engagement

Thereisanundeniablerelationshipbetweensuccessinthelearningenvironment

andengagementwithwhatisbeingtaught(NelsonLaird&Kuh,2005;Robinson&

Hullinger,2008;Chen,Lambert&Guidry,2010).AccordingtoMarks(2000),student

engagementcanbedefinedas“theattention,interest,investment,andeffortstudents

expendintheworkoflearning”(p.154-155).However,thedistinctiondoesnotstopthere,

researchershavefurtherbrokendowntheideaofengagementintocognitive,emotional,

andbehavioural(Fredricks,Blumenfeld&Paris,2004).Accordingtotheresearch

conductedbyFredricks,etal.(2004),cognitiveengagementinvolvestheeffortthat

learnersputintosuccessfullycomprehendwhatisbeingtaught,whichincludesskillslike

self-regulationandmetacognition.Emotionalengagementcentersonthelearning

experience,includingfeelingsofboredom,interest,andlevelsoffrustration.Finally,

behaviouralengagementreferstoobservablebehavioursincludingpresenceinthe

classroom,taskcompletion,andlevelsofparticipation(Fredricks,etal.,2004;Henrie,

Halverson&Graham,2015).Throughtheeffectiveuseoftechnologyinmeaningful

activities,likeinfographicproduction,teachersareabletoleveragestudents’interestsin

thesetools,andapplythattowardssuccessintheclassroom(Sadik,2008).

11

Today’sstudentsprovideaninterestingchallengeforteachers,inthattheyhave

grownupinasocietydominatedbyconstantengagement.Whetheritisthroughvideo

games,television,music,orotherwise,studentsarebeinginundatedwithcontent

throughouttheirday,soitisnotunreasonablethattheyhavesimilarexpectationswithin

theclassroomwalls(Prensky,2005).Whenitcomestotheclassroom,studentswanttobe

intellectuallystimulated;theywanttobechallengedbythetasksandinformationbeing

providedtothem(OISE,2011a).InastudyconductedbytheCanadianEducation

Association(CEA),theyfoundthatonly37%ofstudentsfeltintellectuallyengagedbywhat

theywerebeingtaughtintheclassroom(Dunleavy,Willms,Milton&Friesen,2012).

Dunleavy,etal.(2012)usedthreemeasurestoidentifyintellectualengagement:1)interest

andmotivation,2)effort,and3)qualityinstruction.Thereisacorrelationthatexists

betweenstudentengagementlevelsandteachingmethods,sowhenstudentsaretaught

withmultipletoolsandtechniques,theytendtolearnbetter(OISE,2011b).Itisclearthat

intellectualstimulationandengagementcontributetokeydevelopmentaloutcomesfor

students(Dunleavy&Milton,2010;Dunleavy,etal.,2012).Whenstudentsareemotionally

andcognitivelyengagedinwhattheyarebeingtaughtintheclassroom,theyareoften

moresuccessfulwiththeireducationaloutcomes.

2.3.3 Visualization and Learning

Ithasbeenshownthroughpastresearchthatmanystudentspreferhavingvisuals

embeddedintotheirlearning(Miller,2001;Vanichvasin,2014;Sousa,2017),with

Smiciklasestimatingthatasmanyas65%ofpeopleidentifywiththislearningpreference

(2012).Roughly50%ofthebrainisdedicatedtosomeform,eitherdirectorindirect,of

visualfunctions(Smiciklas,2012).Theneuralnetworkthatexiststosupportthevisual

12

systemisvastandisoneofthemostheavilyreliedonbythehumanbrain.Theneurons

responsiblefortheprocessingofvisualactivityaccountforapproximately30%ofthetotal

greymatterfoundinthebrain(Smiciklas,2012),whichalsoaccountsforthelargecapacity

forstorageandrecallofthevisualmemorysysteminthebrain(Sousa,2017).Words,

lettersandnumbersareallsymbols,whichrequiredecodingfromthebraintomakesense

oftheincomingdata.Thisdecodingprocessrequirestheunderstandingofthesymbol,how

thesymbolfitsintoalargerwordandthenhowthewordscometogethertoform

meaningfulsentences.ThisideacomesfromthepsychologicalCognitiveLoadTheory,

whichallowslearnerstofocusonvariousareasoflearningwithoutoverwhelmingthe

capacityofthebrain(Sweller,1988;Lyra,etal,2016).Thoughthisdoesoccurin

millisecondsformostpeople,theamountofmentaleffortrequiredforthistypeofdecoding

ismuchgreaterthantheprocessingofavisualimage(Smiciklas,2012).Additionally,

factorslikelettersize,caseusage,andfonthavelargeimpactsontheabilityofalearnerto

processtextualinput,makingthedecodingprocessmorementallydemanding,wherethe

variantsinimagesseemtohavelessofanoveralleffect(Pegado,et.al,2014).

Withthesefactorsinmind,itisclearhowinfographicscanbridgethegapsinthe

currentsystemoflearningforstudentswhoidentifywithmultiplelearningpreferences.

Infographicsbringtogethermultiplemodalitiesinhopesthatawideraudience,regardless

oftheirpropensitiesforlearning,willunderstandthem.Infographicsusetextand

illustrationsorimagestoinspirereaderstoretaintheinformationbeingpresentedbetter

(Lyra,etal.,2016).However,itisimportanttonotestillthatregardlessofthewaythat

studentsprefertolearn,infographicsacttoencouragegeneralvisualliteracyskill

developmentamongstalllearners(Thomas,Place&Hillyard,2008;Matrix&Hodson,

13

2017).Mostimportantlythough,throughtheuseofvisualsasasupporttool,studentsmust

showadeepunderstandingofthecontentastheyneedtocriticallyanalyzetheconceptsto

beabletoformulatevisualrepresentationsoftheinformation(Matrix&Hodson,2017),

continuingtofacilitatetheirtwenty-firstcenturyortransferableskills.

2.4 Consolidation of Topics

2.4.1 Multiliteracies

Amultiliterateindividualcanbedefinedassomeonewhoisabletoadapthisorher

understandinganduseofliteracytechniquesamongarangeoftoolsandtechnologies,

whilemaintainingsocietalandculturalresponsibility,andparticipatingasanactiveand

informedcitizen(Anstey&Bull,2006).Additionally,multiliteraciespedagogiesworkto

facilitatetheconstructivistorself-directedmodeloflearning(Borsheim,Merrit&Reed,

2008),empoweringstudentstoengageinliteracypracticesinarelevantandexcitingway.

Shareablemediaarticlestodaycapitalizeontheuseofnotonlytext,butalsovisual,digital,

andothermultimodalformatstocommunicatewiththepublic(O’Byrne,2014).A

multiliteraciesapproach(NewLondonGroup,1996;Unsworth,2001;Cope&Kalantzis,

2009)challengestheconstraintsoftraditionalmethodologiesforteachingliteracy,moving

awayfromsolelytextualapproaches.VanHeertumandShare(2006)suggestthattoday’s

teachersareengaginginaparadigmshiftwherebytheyareacceptingmultipleformsof

meaningor“dynamicrepresentationalresources”(p.252)thatarecontinually

reconstructedbyusersaspartoftheprocessoflearning.However,multiliteraciesdonot

simplyengagelearnersinmultimodalcommunication;theyalsogivetheseliteracies

meaningsinmultiplecontexts,suchastext,images,andfilm(Jacobs,2013).When

14

consideringtheemergenceofdigitaltoolsandreadingmethods,thewayinwhichreaders

receiveinformationisalsochanging(Hughes&Tolley,2010);thus,weneedtofind

meaningfulwaystoengagestudents.

AccordingtotheNewLondonGroup(1996),goodmultiliteracies-basedteaching

involvesfourmaincomponents;situatedpractice,overtinstruction,criticalframing,and

transformedpractice.TheNewLondonGroup(1996)suggeststhatsituatedpracticerefers

totheideaofframingstudentlearninginsociallyandculturallyrelevantideas.Overt

instruction,ontheotherhand,ishowstudentsdevelopanexplicitmetalanguageor

discourseforlearning.Gee(1991)explainedtheconceptofdiscoursesasthewaysinwhich

audiencescandevelopmeaningacrosstexts,includingthosefamiliarwiththecontentand

thosewhoarenewtoit.Criticalframinginspiresmeaningtothestudents’socialcontexts,

andtransformedpracticeisthemethodoftransferringandremixingthemetalanguageand

learnedcontent(NewLondonGroup,1996;Chandler-Olcott&Mahar,2003).Byemploying

thesefourconcepts,educatorsmitigatetheissueofculturallyirrelevantteachingand

pedagogy,astheyareabletoformulatelearningbasedonindividualstudentneedsand

socialpractices.

Withthisinmind,itisimportanttoenforceandidentifythedifferencesbetween

legitimateinformationandothermediathathavebeguntoblurthatlinethroughmedia

literacy,digitalliteracy,andcriticalliteracyeducation(Buckingham,2007b;Bloom&

Johnston,2010).AccordingtoMasterman(1985),medialiteracyormediaeducationcanbe

definedas“theknowledge,skillandcompetenciesrequiredinordertouseandinterpret

media”(p.36).Similarly,digitalliteracies“comprisesavarietyofcognitiveskillsthatare

utilizedinexecutingtasksindigitalenvironments,suchassurfingtheWeb,deciphering

15

userinterfaces,workingwithdatabases,andchattinginchatrooms”(Eshet-Alkali&

Amichai-Hamburger,2004,p.421).Finally,criticalliteracyconcernsitselfwith“teaching

learnerstounderstandandmanagetherelationshipbetweenlanguageandpower”(Janks,

2000,p.176).Withthesethreeliteracymodelsinmind,educatorsneedtofindawayto

bridgetheseideasandteachmoreholisticallytothetechnology-drivenstudent.

Additionally,studentsareconstantlydevelopingnewwaystointeractwithandleverage

onlinemultimediaspaces(Alvermann,2008;Moje,etal,2008;Jocius,2013)bothinand

outsideoftheschool-learningenvironment,so,teachersintoday’sclassroomsneedtobe

abletocreateauthenticlearningtasksthatencouragemeaningfulinteractionswith

technology(Sadik,2008),whilealsoteachingstudentshowtoappropriatelynavigatethe

growingonlinelearningenvironment(Jenkins,etal.,2009;Bloom&Johnston,2010)ina

safeandeducation-drivenway.

Technologyhasplayedapivotalroleinredefiningteachers’approachestoliteracy

teachingandlearning.Digitalliteraciesandtheacceptanceofmultiliteraciesisbecoming

embeddedintoteachingandlearningintheclassroom(Labbo&Place,2010;Cooper,

Lockyer&Brown,2013),withanemphasisoncreatingorproducingwithtechnologies,not

simplypassiveconsumptionfromthem.Bycreatingalternativecurricularprogramming

thatemphasizesthemulti-inmultiliteracies,educatorssetthestudentsupforsupporting

thefluidityofthewayinwhichliteracyistaughtandconceptualized(Jacobs,2013).With

regardstoteachercandidateeducation,themodelingofthesepedagogicalpracticesbetter

encouragestheiradoptionintheirfutureclassroom.Pre-serviceteachersareableto

engagewiththistypeoflearningduringtheirteachereducationprograms,whichgives

themarealisticideaofwhatisrequiredforthistypeoflearningandunderstanding

16

(Borsheim,Merritt&Reed,2008).Literacyhasthecapacitytobringstudentstoamore

holisticunderstandingoftheworldtheylivein,sobyencouragingteachercandidatesto

exploremultiliteraciesasapedagogytoimplementratherthansolelytraditionalreadingor

writing,wearebetterpreparingthemfortheirfuturepractice.

2.4.2 Twenty-First Century Competencies

Thetwenty-firstcenturybroughtseveralchangestothewaythateducatorslookat

pedagogy,especiallywiththeconstantevolutionoftechnology.Inlightofthesemore

technologicallycenteredperspectivesonlearning,thenotionthatstudentsarebeing

adequatelypreparedforthetwenty-firstcenturyworkforce,withappropriate

competenciescameintoquestion.Traditionally,theseskillsets,suchascriticalthinking,

multimodalcommunication,collaboration,andcreativity,havebeenlookedatineducation

assoftskillstodevelopalongsidethecurriculum,notastheirownentityforlearningand

understanding.Sincewearewellintothetwenty-firstcenturyalready,thisphrasehas

becomedated,soeducatorsaremovingtowardsusingthetermssuchastransferableskills

forlearning.However,theliteratureup-to-dateonthistopicusesthetermtwenty-first

centuryskills,soforthepurposesofthisthesis,theywillbereferredtoastwenty-first

centuryskillsaswell.TheOntarioMinistryofEducation(2017)definethesetwenty-first

centurytransferrableskillsthroughtheglobalcompetenciesframework,whichusesthe

categoriesillustratedinFigure3.

17

Figure 3: Framework for global competencies (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2017)

Throughtheseglobalcompetenciesandtechnologyintegration,studentsareableto

makedeeperandmoremeaningfulconnectionswiththeirlivedexperiencesoutsideofthe

classroomtothecurricularcontentbeingtaughtintheclassroom(Cramer,2007;Binkley,

etal.,2012).ThecompetenciesidentifiedinFigure2extendbeyondthosetraditionally

recognizedassoftskills,inthattheyareindustryrelevantandincludewaysofinteracting,

likethroughmethodsofcommunicatingandunderstandingalternativeperspectives,with

thewidercommunityandworld(Jenkins,Clinton,Purushotma,Robison&Weigel,2009;

Silva,2009;Partnershipfor21stCenturySkills,2011;NationalResearchCouncilofthe

NationalAcademics,2012).Theoverarchingconceptthenliesinwhatstudentsdowiththe

knowledgetheyareconstructing,asopposedtobeingabletoquantifyandassesswhat

unitstheycanretain(Silva,2009).

Twenty-firstcenturycompetenciesseemtostemfromtheideasproposedby

educationaltheoristswhoinspiredtheconstructivistmovement.Thisincluded,butwasnot

18

limitedto,JohnDeweyandLevVygotsky.Dewey(1938)believedthatthefoundationof

educationshouldbeexperienceratherthanjusttheory(Larson&NorthernMiller,2011;

Ültanir,2012),sobybuildingonlivedandlearnedexperiences,studentsshouldbeableto

developadeepergraspoftheconceptsbeingpresentedtothem.Inhis1938book

ExperienceandEducation,whenspeakingaboutthepurposeofschooling,Deweyclaims,“in

ordertoaccomplishitsendsbothfortheindividuallearnerandforsocietymustbebased

onexperience”(p.39).Deweyemphasizedthatstudentsshouldbeabletousetheir

interestsasastartingpointfortheirlearningaslongastherewasapurposetothe

investigationorlearning(Dewey1938;Mills,2010).Throughinterest-drivenprojects,

studentsidentifyapurposeforstudyrelatedtotheirareaofinterestandpursuestudyto

supportacurricularendgoal.Thoughhelivedbeforethemajorshiftsintechnologyand

learning,Dewey’sframeworkhelpedtodevelopproblem-basedandconstructivistlearning

thatisabigproponentoftwenty-firstcenturythinking.Vygotskyontheotherhand,

believedheavilyinthesocialcontextasadriverofknowledgebuilding(Liu&Chen,2010;

Schreiber&Valle,2013),especiallythroughhiszonesofproximaldevelopment(Vygotsky,

1978).Vygotsky(1978)spoketotheideathatstudentlearningdoeshaveacorrelation

withtheircurrentpsychologicaldevelopment,andbyteachingwiththesezonesof

proximaldevelopmentinmind;educatorswouldbeabletoengageineffectiveteaching.He

statedthat,“learningawakensavarietyofinternaldevelopmentalprocessesthatareable

tooperateonlywhenthechildisinteractingwithpeopleinhisenvironmentandin

cooperationwithhispeers”(Vygotsky,1978,p.90).Educatorsshouldthusbepushing

studentsjustoutsideoftheircomfortzonesinordertoencourageknowledgegrowthand

discoverythroughcollaborationwithcontentexpertsaswellasimportantarticlesor

19

productsforlearning(Mills,2010).DrawingonthelearningtheoryofVygotsky,students

areencouragedtocollaborateandparticipateincooperativecriticalthinkingtasks,which

maybetterpreparethemfortheneedsofthetwenty-firstcenturyworkforce.

2.4.3 Multimodality in Digital Literacies Education

Thereisevidencetosuggestthatreadingandwritingskillswhenconnectedwith

otherrepresentationalsystemshelpindividualscreatemeaning(Gee,1996;Kress,2003;

Buckingham,2007b;Mills,2010;Jocius,2013).However,theconceptofmultimodalityis

notnewineducation.Theblendingofmodessuchastext,images,hypermedia,sounds,and

gestures,hasimpactedthewayinwhichwecommunicate,bothinthephysicalandvirtual

worlds(Mills,2010;Walsh,2010).Teachershavebeenusingteachingtoolslikepicture

books,whichcombinetextualandvisualelementsinawaythatisameaningfulhybrid

betweenthetwo,whereasstudentsareconstantlyinundatedwithmultimodalmediawhile

perusingtheirsocialnetworkingsitesorexploringtheWeb.Theuseofmultimodality

enablesstudentstoconnectwithawideraudiencethroughtheuseofdifferentmeaning

makingdevices,andthislayeringofexperiencesencouragesadeeperconnectiontothe

contenttobeestablished(Williams,2014).

Conversely,thesuccessofmultimodalityisnotjustintheacquisitionofknowledge

bytheaudience;itisalsoaboutengaginginthecreationofmultimodalprojects.

Multimodality,whetherdigitalortangible,encouragesimagination,criticalthinking,

problemsolving,andcreativity(Albers&Harste,2007).Byparticipatinginmultimodal

creation,studentsarerequiredtomeaningfullyselectdifferentmodalitiestopurposefully

conveymeaningaboutatopic(Walsh,2010;Jocius,2013;Barton&Baguley,2014).Thisis

nottosaythattraditionalreadingandwritingpracticesarenolongernecessary;itis

20

simplynolongertheonlyoptionforcommunicatingintheever-evolvingweb-based

landscape.Onlineactivitiesrequiredifferentmodalitiesortypesofdigitalskills,ranging

fromscanningtext,designingofpagedisplays,andhypermedialiteracybuttheyalsooften

requirestudentstobeabletocompletetasksinvideoediting,soundcreation,orimage

manipulation(Godwin-Jones,2015).Studentengagementinthesetoolsisoftendrivenby

interestandexploration,butwithashiftinperspective,theseskillscanbeleveragedfor

classroomuse.

2.4.4 Infographics as a Tool for Communication

Likemanyvisualtools,infographicsoffercreatorstheopportunitytopresent

informationinawaythatreliesonbothvisualimageryandtextualrepresentation,butalso

requiresaudiencestobothinterpretanddecodewhatisbeingpresentedtothem

(Avgerinou&Pettersson,2011).Tufte(1983,1990,1997)andWurman(1989),through

theirworkinthefieldofgraphicdesign,offeredeffectiveuseofdesignprinciplesfor

informationdesignandproblemsolvingthatcanbeappliedtothistypeoflearningand

communication.Ithasbeenshownthatimagesareoftenmoreimpactfulwhentryingto

persuadeanaudiencewhencomparedtotextalone(Trumbo,1999;Griffin,2008;Green&

Myers,2010;Lazard&Atkinson,2015),sobyempoweringstudentstoengagein

multimodalartifactcreation,wearefosteringawidersetofliteraciesskills.Additionally,

theuseofimageryandiconographyencouragesamoreholisticandemotionalresponse

fromanaudience.Creatorsofvisualmediaoftenbankonthefactthatitwillelicitsome

familiaritybetweentheaudienceandthearticle(Avgerinou&Pettersson,2011)andwill

alsothatmayencouragememorystorage(Reavy,2003)makingthefinalproductmore

effectiveasacommunicationtool.

21

However,whileinfographicsarewidelysharedonlinethroughsocialnetworking

siteslikeTwitter,LinkedIn,andFacebook(Toth,2013;Albers,2014;Lazard&Atkinson,

2015),theyareoftennotcreatedwithmuchcontentfocus.Rather,theimportanceinmost

oftheseinfographicsistheabilitytogoviralandtheoverallvisualappeal(Albers,2014).

Oftentheyarevisuallypleasingwithaplethoraofclipart,fonts,andcolours,buttheylack

theinformationdensitythatwillactuallyeducateareaderonaspecificareaofinterest

(Albers,2014;Arslan&Toy,2015).Infographicsshouldbedesignedwithastrategyand

audienceinmind,thuspushingthecreationoftheartifacttoproduceaneffective

educationalexperienceforthereaderwithoutseekingoutadditionalresources(Toth,

2013;Arslan&Toy,2015).Bycreatingandsharinginfographics,studentswillbeableto

fosterthesecommunicationanddesignskills,whichwillpotentiallybecomevery

importantintheirfutureworkplaceandeducationalendeavours.

2.5 Limitations and Gaps in Previous Research

Amajorlimitationisthatcurrentliteraturedoesnotreallyacknowledgetheuseof

infographicsasacommunicationtoolinthetraditionalkindergartentogradetwelve

learningenvironment.Whileithasbeguntobeadoptedinotherindustries,likethe

business,journalism,andmedicalsectors,theuptakeofthistoolisstillunderinvestigated

inthefieldofeducation.Whilesomeresearchhasbeenconducted,itmostlyfocusingonthe

implicationsinhighereducationstudies(Vanichvasin,2013;Matrix&Hodson,2014;

Sudakov,Bellsky,Usenyuk&Polyakova,2014;Mendenhall&Summers,2015;Lyra,etal.,

2016;Ozdamli,etal.,2016),sothegapexistsinthestudyasitrelatestoK-12education

andcurriculum.Atthetimeofthecompletionofthisthesis,onlytwoarticlescouldbe

22

foundthatwerewrittenaboutworkwithinthekindergartentograde-twelvesystem

(Krauss,2012;Kos&Sims,2014).InKrauss’article,Infographics:Morethanwordscansay,

sheadvocatesfortheuseofinfographicsasacommunicationtool.Thearticlecontinuesto

outlineherfivestepstocreateaneffectiveinfographicaswellassomeprojectexamples

thatshewouldusewithintheclassroom(2012).Kraussdoesnotactuallyshareany

findingsasthiswascreatedasmoreofaresourceforteachersratherthananacademic

study.So,whilethisisahelpfultoolforteachers,itdoeslittletolessenthegapthatexistsin

academicresearchonthistopic.Kos&Sims(2014)ontheotherhandfocusedtheirstudy

onmiddleschoolstudentsinColorado.TheyimplementedaSTEM-CareersInfographic

Project(SCIP)with180gradeeightstudentsoverafour-weekperiod.Duringthis

intervention,studentschoseaSTEMcareer

pathandresearchedaboutitinorderto

createaninfographicaboutthecareerand

presentedittotheclass.Theresearchers

wouldprovidequestionsorpromptsfor

studentsduringtheresearchphaseifthey

feltitnecessary.Kos&Simsexploredthe

similaritiesofinfographicsandessaysand

outlinedthemthroughagraphicthatwas

sharedwithstudents(seeFigure4).The

researchersfoundthatinfographicsoffered

adiversewayofpresentingdataand

informationinawaythatwasdeemed

Figure 4: 5-Paragraph essay structure vs. infographic structure

(Kos & Sims, 2014)

23

preferabletothestudentsinthestudy.Additionally,studentsidentifiedasbeingmore

engagedandenjoyingthecreationprocessmorewithaninfographicwhencomparedtoa

traditionalessayassignment.

Theexistingresearchpropagatesthepotentialefficacyofthiscommunicationtoolin

theweb2.0universe,buttheactualapplicabilityandcurricularconnectionshaveyettobe

explored.Thisresearchprojectaimstobegintoreducethegapthatexistsinthisresearch

areaandencouragestudentstoutilizeamoremultiliterateandmultimodalapproachto

theirlearningexperiences.

2.6 Research Questions

Thisstudyinvestigatedthefollowingfourquestions:

1) Whataffordancesandconstraintsexistforteachercandidateswhoengageinthe

consumptionandproductionofinfographics?

2) Howdoesthereadingandwritingofinfographicshelpteachercandidatesdevelop

theirdigitalliteraciesskills?

3) Howdoesthecreationofinfographicsintersectwiththedevelopmentoftwenty-

firstcenturycompetencies,suchasmultimodalcommunication,creativeandcritical

thinking,collaboration,problemssolvingandculturalandglobalcitizenship?

4) Inwhatwaysdoteachercandidatesenvisionusinginfographicsintheirown

teaching?

24

3 Method

3.1 Design

Thisstudyemployedapragmaticapproachtomixedmethodsresearchutilizing

qualitativecasestudytechniques(Stake,2000)alongwithquantitativemethodologies.In

ordertobeselectedforthein-depthcasestudy,theparticipantshadtobecurrently

enrolledintheBachelorofEducationprogramataspecificUniversityinSouthernOntario

andcompleteallphasesoftheresearchstudy.AccordingtoCreswell(2014),pragmatic

researchemploysbothqualitativeandquantitativepracticestoprovideamoreholistic

viewandunderstandingofthedataandresearchquestions.Thisresearchphilosophy

emphasizestheimportanceofidentifyingarealworldproblemandfindingaplausibleand

practicalsolutiontosaidissue(Creswell,2014).Theprobleminthisresearchstudywas

whetherornotanalternativecommunicationmethod,infographics,couldbeusedasan

effectivelearningtoolforteachercandidatesenrolledinaninitialteachereducation

program.Throughmixedmethodsresearch,theresearcherwasabletoformulatefindings

thatwouldnothavebeenfoundbyusingeitherquantitativeorqualitativeresearch

independently(Creswell,2014).Additionally,themixedmethods,multi-phase,casestudy

approachenabledtheresearchertoworkmorecloselyandcollaborativelywiththe

participants,empoweringthemtosharetheirviewpointsandideas,providingricherdata

throughmultipleperspectives(Crabtree&Miller,1999;Baxter&Jack,2008).

Intermsofquantitativedata,apre-researchquestionnairewasadministeredonline

containingeightLikert-stylequestionstoassesstheparticipant’sknowledgeofthe

researchcontent,includingdigitalliteracies,technologyuse,infographics,andliteracy

25

education,toestablishabaselineforparticipants’understanding.Participantdemographic

datawasalsocollectedatthistime.InadditiontotheLikert-stylequestions,participants

alsocompletedaseriesofopen-endedqualitativequestionswheretheyexpandedupon

ideasunderlyingtheresearchquestions(AppendixB).Thesequalitativeresponseswould

actasaguidelinefortheone-on-oneinterviewsthatwouldfollowinphasetwo,andwould

alsobeusedinthefinalconcludinginterviewattheendoftheproject(phasefour).

Followingphaseone,theparticipantswereinvitedtocompleteapre-studyinterview

(phasetwo)toprovideadditionalqualitativedatathatwouldeithersupportorcontradict

theinformationprovidedthroughtheirquestionnaireresponses.Theanswerswere

comparedtothosereceivedfromtheonlinequestionnaireforsimilaritiesaswellas

disparities.Thesewereusedintheformulationofthequestionsforthephasefour

concludinginterviews.

Next,theteachercandidatesenteredtheparticipatoryphaseoftheresearch.Here

theywereaskedtouseanonlinefreewaretocreateaninfographiconthetopicoftheir

choosing.Theycouldinclude,asmuchoraslittleinformationastheyfeltwasappropriate,

tosupporttheirtopicandprovidetheaudiencewithathoroughenoughunderstandingof

thesubjectmatter.

Finally,participantswereaskedtocompleteafinalone-on-oneinterviewwiththe

researcheralongwithanonlinequestionnaire.Theinterviewfocusedonhowtheopinion

oftheparticipantevolvedoverthecourseofthestudy,aswellastouchingonthe

infographicthattheycreatedduringthethirdphase.Teachercandidateswereaskedabout

responsestheygaveduringphaseoneandtwoandhowthoseresponsessupportedor

26

challengedtheinfographictheycreatedinphasethree.Therewasaudioandvideo

recordingofthesephasefourinterviews,whichweretranscribedforlateranalysis

purposes.Theanswersprovidedinthefinalquestionnairewerecomparedtothosegiven

inthepre-researchquestionnairetoassessforgrowthandperspectiveshifts.

3.2 Participants

ThestudytookplaceprimarilyinauniversityinSouthernOntario,Canada,andalso

partiallyinanonlineindividualenvironment.TheonlineenvironmentincludedGoogle

formsforthepre-andpost-researchquestionnairesandPiktochart(Piktochart,2018)for

theinfographiccreationduringphasethree.Therewereatotalofnineteachercandidates

thatvolunteeredasparticipantsforthisstudy,fivemalesandfourfemales,rangingfrom23

to40yearsofage.Duringthecourseofinvolvementinthestudy,eachparticipantwas

enrolledinhisorherinitialteachereducationprogramineitherthePrimary/Junior(n=5)

orIntermediate/Senior(n=4)division.Primary/Juniorreferstoteachingkindergarten

throughgradesix,whereasIntermediate/Seniorconcentratesongradesseventhrough

twelve.Ofthenineparticipants,fourwereenrolledintheconcurrenteducationprogram

andtheotherfivewereapartoftheconsecutiveeducationstream.Thebackgroundsofthe

Intermediate/Seniorparticipantsvariedacrosssubjects,withthreecomingfromscience

undergraduatedegreesandonefromahumanitiesundergraduateprogram.

Oftheninestudents,fourofparticipantswereselectedforamorein-depthcasestudy

analysis,allofwhichhappenedtobemales.Theseteachercandidatesweretheonlyfourto

completeallofthephase-relatedtasks,sotheyofferedthemostcompletepictureofthe

impactofthestudy.Theparticipantsenteredthestudywithavarietyoftechnological

27

skills,noneofwhichwhoidentifiedashavingcompleteexpertiseintheirinfographic

creationabilities,thoughtheywerefamiliarwiththemedium.Theseteachercandidates

weregivenresearcher-selectedpseudonyms:Phillip,Luke,Eric,andJake.Toaccountfor

timeconstraintsonbehalfoftheteachercandidates’schedules,theresearcheroptedto

assignpseudonymsratherthanasktheparticipantstoselectthem.Thefollowingtable

(Table1)offersinsighttothebackgroundoftheparticipantswhowereselectedasthe

casestobestudied.

Table1.CaseStudyParticipantBackgroundData

ParticipantName

UndergraduateDegree

Age TeacherEducationStream

ProgramDivision

Phillip BachelorofArts 40 ConsecutiveEducation

Primary/Junior

Luke BachelorofArts(Honours)

23 ConsecutiveEducation

Primary/Junior

Eric BachelorofSciences(Honours)

23 ConsecutiveEducation

Primary/Junior

Jake BachelorofSciences(Honours)

23 ConcurrentEducation

Intermediate/Senior

3.3 Context

Thestudywasprimarilyconductedinaneducationalresearchlaboratorysettingin

SouthernOntario.Teachercandidatescompletedtheonlinetasksontheirown

technologicaldevices,allofwhichwereeitherMacBookorPClaptops.Teachercandidates

wereaskedtomeettheprimaryinvestigatorontwoseparateoccasionsatthelaboratory

locationtoconductone-on-oneinterviewsorcompletephaserelatedtasks.Eachin-person

28

meetingwasarrangedtobe30-minutesorlesstoaccountforthefactthattheteacher

candidateswerestillcompletingtherequirementsoftheirBachelorofEducationdegrees

andhadtoworkaroundtheirclassschedulesandassignments.Theonlineportionsofthe

researchincludedGoogleFormspre-andpost-researchquestionnairesandPiktochart

(Piktochart,2018).Thesecomponentswerecompletedontheirowntimeatalocationof

theirchoosing,inaccordancewiththeircourseworkandpracticumschedules,andwere

submittedtotheprimaryinvestigatorthroughemail.Participantswerealsoabletocontact

theresearcherthroughemailcommunicationwithanyquestionsorconcernsthroughout

thedurationofthestudy.

3.4 Procedure

Priortobeginningthisstudy,theprimaryinvestigatorsubmittedanapplicationfor

researchstudytotheUniversityofOntarioInstituteofTechnology(UOIT)ResearchEthics

Board(REB)andapprovalwasgrantedonFebruary2,2017,REB#14131(AppendixJ).Due

tothetimeconstraintsoftheteachercandidatesastheycompletedtheirBachelorof

Educationdegrees,theapplicationwasresubmittedforrenewal,whichwasapprovedon

January10,2018(AppendixK).Additionally,asarequirementofTri-Councilresearch,the

researchercompletedtheTri-CouncilPolicyStatement:EthicalConductforResearch

InvolvingHumansCourseonResearchEthics,whichwasgrantedonApril8,2016

(AppendixL).Withallofthesepre-researchstepscompleted,IreachedouttotheFacultyof

Educationstudentbodyforparticipantvolunteers.

29

3.4.1 Consent

Theresearcherattendedacohort-widelectureandpresentedtheresearchstudy

opportunitytotheentireteachercandidatepopulation.Atthistimethephasesand

requirementswereexplainedtotheteachercandidatesandthosewhowereinterestedin

participatinginthestudywereaskedtostaybehindtochatwiththeresearcherorreach

outviaemailcommunication.

Ninestudentsreachedouttotheresearcherandtheyweregivenconsentformsto

readandreview.Theconsentformsprovidedadetailedoutlineofthestudyandadvised

theparticipantsoftheirrightsandadvisedtheteachercandidatesthattheyhadtheability

towithdrawfromthestudyatanytime,regardlessofwhatphasetheywereat,withoutany

penalty.Thepotentialparticipantswereinvitedtoaskanyquestionsthattheyhadabout

theresearchprojectorconsentdocumentpriortosigninganything.Theresearcher

receivedinformedconsentfromeachteachercandidatewhowaswillingtoparticipatein

theresearchstudy(AppendixA).Allofthesignedconsentformswerecollectedandkeptin

asealedenvelopeuntilthecommencementofdataanalysis.

3.4.2 Data Collection

Datacollectionfollowedthestepsoutlinedbelow(Table2).Duetotherequirements

oftheteachercandidatesfortheBachelorofEducationprogram,thetimelineworkedwith

theirscheduleandtookplaceoverafour-and-a-half-monthperiod.

Table2.DataCollectionProcedures

Step Procedure Time

1 TeacherCandidatesreceive,fillout,andsubmitconsentforms PriortoStudy

30

2 TeacherCandidatescompletepre-surveyquestionnaire PriortoStudy

3 Researchertoreviewresultsofthequestionnaires PriortoStudy

4 One-on-oneinterviewswithTeacherCandidates&Sorting

Activity

Week1&2

5 Reviewandtranscribeaudio/videofrominterviews Week3&4

6 TeacherCandidatestocreatetheirpersonalinfographics Week5-10

7 Researchertoreviewtheinfographics Week11&12

8 Researcherformulatesfollow-upquestionsforthefinal

interviews

Week13

9 One-on-onefinalinterviews Week14–17

10 Transcriptionofthevideos Week18

3.5 Data Collection

3.5.1 Overview

Inordertoenhancereliability,validityandtoprovideamorethorough

understandingoftheparticipants’opinionsandknowledge,bothquantitativeand

qualitativedatawerecollectedandanalyzedforthefourphasesinthisresearchproject.

Questionsaskedinthepre-surveyaimedtodevelopabaselineunderstandingofthe

researchtopicspriortobeginningthestudy.Thisallowedtheresearchertocompare

participants’priorunderstandingswiththeirlearningastheyprogressedthroughthe

researchstudy.Theresearcherwasabletointerpretthevarietyofqualitativedatafromthe

31

open-endedpre-surveyresponses,transcribedandvideodatafromthephasetwoandfour

videos,aswellasderivemeaningfromtheteachercandidatecreatedinfographics.The

qualitativevalidityofthisstudywasreinforcedthroughthemultipleactivitiescompleted

bytheparticipantsandthediversityofdatacollectedfromthesephases.

3.5.2 Phase One: Pre-Survey Questionnaire

Quantitativedatawerecollectedthroughanonlinepre-surveyquestionnaire

composedofeightLikert-stylequestionsaswellastenopen-endedresponses(Appendix

B).Thepre-surveywasusedprimarilytoestablishabaselineofunderstandingofthe

teachercandidatesforthecontentoftheresearchstudy.TheLikert-stylequestions

concentratedontheteachercandidatescomfortlevelssurroundinguseoftechnologyinthe

classroom,preconceptionsofliteracyeducation,aswellastheiropinionsoninfographicsin

education.Theopen-endedquestionsfocusedontheparticipantsunderstandingofdigital

literacieseducation,twenty-firstcenturycompetencies,andinfographicsasaneducational

tool.Theopen-endedquestionsencouragedtheteachercandidatestoofferadditional

insightintotheirresponsesthatwouldprovideamoreholisticunderstandingwhenitcame

tolaterdataanalysis.TheLikert-styleratingscalewasemployedincollaborationwiththe

open-endedquestionsbecauseitisawaytorateteachercandidateoutlooks,observations,

andbeliefsaboutthetopicsinareliableandvalidway(Cohen&Manion,2000).

3.5.3 Phase Two: One-on-one Interview & Task

Followingthecompletionofthepre-surveyquestionnaire,theteachercandidates

wereaskedtocometotheeducationalresearchlaboratorytocompletebothaninfographic

sortingtaskinthestyleofaone-on-oneinterviewwiththeprimaryinvestigator.Each

32

participantwasprovidedwiththesamesetofthreeinfographicprintouts(Figure5,6&7,

forclearerimagesseeAppendixD)andwasaskedaseriesofquestionspertainingtothose

infographics(AppendixC&E).

Figure 5. Sorting task infographic A

Figure 6. Sorting task infographic B

33

TheinfographicswerelabeledA,B,andC,forthepurposeofidentificationduring

dataanalysis.Thesethreeinfographicswereselectedbecausetheresearcherfeltthatthey

wouldillicitemotionalresponsesandabletobedissectedbyparticipants.InfographicsA

andB(Figures5&6)werebothgoodexamplesofinfographics,sotheresearcher

hypothesizedthattheteachercandidateswouldresonatewithoneofthose,findingsboth

positiveattributesandpotentialareasforimprovement.InfographicC(Figure7)was

selectedasanexampleofwhattoavoidwhencreatinganinfographic.Thisinfographicwas

meanttoillicitastrongnegativeresponseandallowstheteachercandidatestooutline

whatspecificallytheydonotlikeaboutitandofferwaysthattheybelieveitcouldbe

improved.Withthesethreeinfographicsselected,theresearcherwasinterestedtoseeif

andhowtheteachercandidateswouldtaketheirconstructivefeedbackfortheinfographics

Figure 7. Sorting task infographic C

34

provided,andapplyittotheonesthattheywouldcreateinphasethree.Eachinterview

andsortingtasktookthirtyminutesorlessfortheparticipantstocomplete.Thegoalofthis

taskwastogaugetheteachercandidates’currentlevelsofunderstandingastheypertained

toinfographicsthathadalreadybeencreatedforthem.Keythemesweretriangulatedfor

cross-casecomparison.ThisinformedtheresearcherinthecreationoftheInfographic

Matrix(Figure9)usedlaterinthestudy.Theseinterviewsandthesortingtaskwhere

audioandvideorecordedfordatacollectionandanalysispurposes.Theaudiowas

transcribedbytheresearcherandusedinthedataanalysis.

3.5.4 Phase Three: Teacher Candidate Created Infographic Artifact

Forthethirdphaseoftheresearchproject,theteachercandidatesweregiventhe

opportunitytoexploreanissuethattheywerepassionateaboutandcreateaninfographic

toteachanaudienceaboutthattopic(AppendixF).Theywereaskedtousetheonline

freewarePiktochart(Piktochart,2018)astheinfographicdesigntool,butweregiventhe

optionofseekingoutanothersoftwareiftheyhadsomethingthattheypreferred.The

teachercandidatesweregivennospecificguidelinesonhowtheyweretocreatetheir

artifact,onlythattheyneededtosticktotheirtopicofchoiceandexplainittoanon-

industryrelatedaudience.TheseweresubmittedelectronicallyasPDFdocumentstothe

researcherviaemailcommunication.Sincetheparticipantshadtobalancethecompletion

ofthistaskwiththeircoursework,theresearchergavetheteachercandidatesonemonth

tocompletethisphase.

35

3.5.5 Phase Four: Post-Research Interview & Questionnaire

Thefinalresearchphaseinvolvedtheresearcheranalyzingtheinfographicsthatwere

createdbyeachoftheparticipants.TheresearcherutilizedanInfographicMatrix(Figure

7)thatwascreatedforthepurposeofinfographicassessment.Thismatrixwasadapted

fromtheworkofKafaiandPeppler(2011)andtheirDIY-ProductionFramework.Once

theywereassessed,theparticipantswereinvitedtocompleteaone-on-onepost-research

interviewwiththeprimaryinvestigator.Atthistimetheywereaskedaseriesofquestions

pertainingtothestudyatlarge.Theseweremoregeneralquestionsandtheywereaskedto

allparticipants.Followingthegeneralquestions,thereweresomecreatedforeach

individualparticipantbasedontheinfographicthattheysubmittedduringphasethree.

BothsetsofquestionscanbefoundinAppendixG.Inthelatterhalfoftheinterview,

participantswereaskedaboutcommentsorinformationthattheyprovidedduringthe

phasetwointerviewsandhowthatwassupportedordifferentfromwhattheyproduced

fortheinfographictaskinphasethree.Finally,theparticipantscompletedanonlinepost-

researchquestionnairethatfollowedupwiththequestionsaskedinthepre-survey

questionnaire.

3.6 Data Analysis

3.6.1 Questionnaire Responses

Thepre-researchquestionnaireemployedbothquantitativeandqualitativedata

collectiontechniques.ThequantitativeresearchmethodswerefocusedonLikert-style

questionswhereasthequalitativequestionsweremoreopen-endedintheirnature.The

quantitativedatawereassessedandabaselinelevelofunderstandingwasdeterminedfor

36

eachoftheparticipantsinthestudy.Theseresultswerethencomparedtotheresponses

giveninthesurveysduringphasetwoandfour,tocheckforgrowthorchangesinteacher

candidateperspectivesoninfographicsinthelearningenvironment.Contentanalysis

(Krippendorff,1989,2004;Berg,2007)wasusedforthequalitativeresponsesduringthis

phaseoftheresearchprocess.Inordertogainamoreholisticunderstandingoftheteacher

candidateperspectives,thequantitativeandqualitativedatawerethenconsidered

togetherforafinalinterpretationoftheresults(Creswell,2014).

3.6.2 Interview Transcriptions

Inordertorespondtotheresearchquestions,contentanalysis(Berg,2007)was

usedontheinterviewtranscriptsfromphasetwoandfour.Contentanalysisisusedto

focusonthereplicablebutunobservabledatathatcanbeinferredduringinterviewsand

throughresearchartifactslikeimages,printedmatter,orsounds(Krippendorff,1989,

2004),whichissometimesoverlookedintraditionalquantitativeresearchstudies.

Responsesfromtheinitialinterviewwerecomparedtothosefromtheconcluding

interviewtodetermineiftheteachercandidatesexperiencedanygrowthorchangesin

theiropinionsontheefficacyofinfographicuseasacommunicationtoolaswellasdigital

literacyeducationinthetwenty-firstcenturylearningenvironment.Additionally,teacher

candidateswerequestionedabouttheirresponsestotheirpre-surveyquestionnaire,which

providedadditionaldataregardingtheefficacyoftheproposeduseforinfographics.

AccordingtoKrippendorff(1989,2004),throughcontentanalysis,theresearcherwasable

togainnewinsightsfromthepatternsthatemergedfromtheperspectivesbeingshared

duringtheindividualparticipantinterviews.

37

3.6.3 Infographic Artifacts

Contentanalysis(Krippendorff,1989,2002;Berg,2007)andmultimodaltextual

analysis(Hull&Katz,2006;Jewitt,2008)wereutilizedforthissectionoftheresearch.

AccordingtoJewitt(2008),“multimodalanalysisoffersawaytobroadenthelensof

educationalresearchandinvestigatetheroleofimageandnon-linguisticmodes”(p.258).

Forthepurposeofthisstudy,theemphasisofnon-textualmethodologiesintandemwith

linguisticcommunicationinfluencedthedecisiontoemploythistypeofanalysisforthe

teachercandidatecreatedartifacts.Byexaminingtheinfographicsfromamultimodallens,

thepoweroftheimages,graphics,andartisticchoices,becamemoreimportantinthe

overallunderstandingandconsumptionoftheartifact.Inordertoassessthetext

componentoftheinfographics,contentanalysis(Krippendorff,1989,2004;Berg,2007)

wasusedaswell.Whenconsideringhowandwhytheteachercandidatesmadethe

decisionstheydidwithregardstolanguage,theoverallefficacyoftheinfographicbecame

clearer.Throughcontentanalysis(Krippendorff,1989,2004;Berg,2007),theinfographics

wereassessedforspecificthemesorcodes.Withthesecodes,theresearcherwasableto

bettercomparetheteachercandidatesacrosscases.

Tosupportthemultimodaltextualanalysis,theresearcher,withtheguidanceofDr.

Hughes,createdaninfographicmatrix,adaptedfromtheworkofKafaiandPeppler(2011).

Kafai&Peppler(2011)usedtheparticipatorycompetencieswithregardstodo-it-yourself

(DIY)productionintheirframework,whichincludethetechnical,critical,creative,and

ethicalpracticesofproduction.Thefulloverviewoftheirframeworkofparticipatory

competenciescanbeseeninFigure8.

38

Figure 8. DIY production matrix (Kafai & Peppler, 2011)

39

ThematrixcreatedbyKafaiandPeppler(2011)didnotaddresstheneedsof

teacherswhowantedtouseinfographicsspecificallyintheirclassrooms,whichprompted

theresearchertocreateamatrixexclusivetoinfographiccreation(Figure9).The

researcher-createdmatrixfollowedtheleadofKafaiandPeppler(2011),using

participatorycompetenciesasawaytoorganizetheinformation.Thisnewmatrixfocused

onthreepracticesthattheresearcherfeltwereparticularlyapplicablewhenconsidering

infographiccreation:design,utility,andethics.Thedetailsandrationaleareoutlinedin

Figure9.

Competency Practices Definitions

Design Layout Westernlanguagesreadtoptobottomandlefttoright,thisshouldbeconsideredwhentheinfographicisdesigned(Lankow,Ritchie&Crooks,2012).Additionally,considerationsshouldbemadewhetherthegraphiciscreatedinportraitorlayoutposition.

HierarchyofInformation

Theinformationintheinfographicshouldreadfrommostimportanttoleastimportant,orinawaythatemphasizestheimportanceofspecificcontent.Thiscanbedonethroughuseoftextorothermodesofcommunication(visuals,audio,graphs,etc.).

Aesthetics Basicdesignprinciplesshouldbeconsideredastheycreateamoreappealingproduct.Font,colour,textsize,useofwhitespace,line,andvalueshouldbeconsidered.

UseofGraphicsandIcons

Thevisualsusedshouldengagethereadersandnotactasadistractionfromthepurposeoftheinfographic(Bateman,Mandryk,Gutwin,Genest,McDine&Brooks,2010).Thegraphicsshouldbeclearlyrelevantandrepresenttheinformationappropriately.Iconsandgraphicsshouldbeuniversallyunderstood(i.e.acheckmarktomeanyesorcorrect).

Utility Efficacy Theinfographicshouldbemadeinawaythatcommunicatesaspecificobjectiveorpurpose(Lankow,Ritchie&Crooks,2012).Additionally,itshouldgeneratecontentusingsmallchunksoftextwiththesupportofimages/graphics(Clark&Mayer,2011).

Communicative

Approach

Theinfographicshouldutilizeeitheranarrativeorexplorativecommunicationapproach(Lankow,Ritchie&Crooks,2012).Theinformationprovidedshouldreflectthechoiceofapproachfortheinfographic.

PointofView Thepurposeandtopicareclearlypresentedandconsistent

40

throughouttheinfographic.Theviewershouldbeabletofindthemainpointsoftheinfographiceasily.Thereadershouldbeabletoidentifytheobjectiveoftheinfographiceasily.

EntertainmentValue

Usegraphics/imagesthatsupportthetextandthatdonotdistractfromtheoverallmessage(Clark&Mayer,2011).Cognitiveloadshouldbeconsideredtomaintainthepurposeoftheinfographicwhilemakingitinterestingandengagingforthereader.

Audience Theinfographicwascreatedwithanintendedaudienceinmind,whichisreflectedinthecreation.

Ethics References Informationshouldbecitedappropriatelytocredittheoriginofthe“text.”

AccuracyofInformation

Informationshouldbepresentedinawaythatisnotmisleadingoramisrepresentationfromitsoriginalpurpose.Infographicshouldbeerrorfree.

Figure 9. Infographic production matrix

Whilecompletingthedataanalysisontheinfographicscreatedbytheteacher

candidates,theresearchercomparedeachoftheindividualinfographicstothematrix

(Figure9).Commentsandquestionswerewrittenforeachinfographic,andthesewere

usedintheformationoftheindividualizedquestionsforthephasefourone-on-one

interviewsattheconclusionoftheresearch.Resultswerecomparedacrossparticipantsto

seewherethereweresimilaritiesanddifferencesintheirperformanceandsuccesswith

thecreationoftheirinfographicartifacts.

3.7 Chapter Summary

Insummary,tobestaddressthequestionsguidingthisresearch,avarietyofdata

collectionmethodswereusedinthisstudy.Thesetoolsincludedpre-andpost-research

questionnaires,structuredone-on-oneinterviews,infographictasksrelatedtoboth

productionandconsumption.Inaddition,observationandtranscriptionswereusedwith

theintentionofallowingparticipantstoexpressthemselvesacrossavarietyofmodalities.

Keepinginlinewiththeliteraturethatdrovethisresearch,theefforttoexhibitmultimodal

41

teachingthroughoutthisstudywasastrategicchoicebytheresearcherinordertoshow

theapplicabilityofthesetoolsandmethodologiesfortheteachercandidatesintheirfuture

classrooms.Throughtheresearcherencouragingmultimodalcommunicationfromthe

participants,itwashopedthatteachercandidateswouldprovidericherandmoreall-

encompassingdatatobeanalyzedinthenextstepsofthethesisprocess.

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4 Results

4.1 Overview

Thisstudyfocusedonfourmainresearchquestions:

1) Whataffordancesandconstraintsexistforteachercandidateswhoengageinthe


2) Howdoesthereadingandwritingofinfographicshelpteachercandidatesdevelop


3) Howdoesthecreationofinfographicsintersectwiththedevelopmentoftwenty-


thinking,collaboration,problemssolvingandculturalandglobalcitizenship?

4) Inwhatwaysdoteachercandidatesenvisionusinginfographicsintheirown

teaching?

Theparticipantpopulationbeganwithasampleofnineteachercandidates(fivemale

andfourfemale)fromaSouthernOntarioBachelorofEducationprogram.Fourofthe

participantswereselectedforcasestudyanalysisforparticipationinthisresearchproject.

In-depthcasestudyresearchwasutilizedtostretchbeyondthelimitationsofstatisticsand

quantitativemeasures,anddelvedeeperintotheconditionsthroughtheparticipants’

perspective.Bynarrowingthefielddowntofourcases,theresearcherisbetterableto

triangulateforspecificthemesandcomparethemacrossparticipantsforamoreholistic

43

understandingoftheissuesbeingstudied.Onlyfourparticipantsfullycompletedallfour

phasesofthestudy,sotheirworkandresponseswereinvestigatedthroughoutthisthesis.

Theresultsofdatacollectionwillbediscussedwithregardstoeachindividualparticipant

andwillbesharedthroughtheirpersonalcasestudiesastheyprogressedthroughthefour

researchphases.

4.2 Phase One: Pre-Research Questionnaire

Thepre-researchquestionnairewasmadeupofacombinationofquantitativeLikert-

stylequestionsaswellasseveralqualitativeopen-endedquestions.FortheLikert-style

questions,participantsprovidedresponsestoquestionsabouttechnologyuseandtheir

understandingofliteracyeducationonascalefromonetoseven,onebeingnot-at-all,and

sevenmeaningverymuchso.Theopen-endedquestionsprovidedmorein-depth

responsesfortheresearchertobetterunderstandtheirviewpoints.Allquestionscanbe

foundinAppendixB.Thisphaseofthestudywascompletedbyalloftheinitialparticipant

volunteers.Thougheachparticipantcameintothestudywithadifferentacademic

backgroundandexperiences,theyallidentifiedascomfortablewithusingdigital

technologiesintheirclassrooms,with33.3%ofrespondentsclassifyingthemselvesas

incrediblyconfidentinthepre-researchquestionnaire.

44

Howeverstrongtheparticipantsfeltthattheywerewithrespecttodigital

technologies,theydidnotallidentifythesameconfidencewithinfographicproduction.

Twenty-twopercentofparticipantsclaimedtobeonlymoderatelyconfidentintheirability

tocommunicatethroughaninfographic.Additionally,allnineparticipantsrespondedthat

theyhadsomepreviousexperienceusinginfographicsintheirlearningjourney,mostly

acknowledgingthattheywerecompletedintheformofanassignmentduringtheir

BachelorofEducationcoursework.Onlytwoparticipantsoftheninementionedusing

infographicsintheirpracticumteachingexperiencespriortothebeginningofthestudy.

Whenaskedwhetherornottheyfeltstudentsenjoyedbeingtaughtliteracythroughmore

traditionalmethods,theanswersvariedbetweenparticipants(Figure11)withmost

responsescominginaroundtheneutralzone(3-5).

Figure 10. Confidence levels using technology in teaching

45

Figure 11. Student engagement in traditional literacy education

Regardlessofthefactthattheliteraturehasshownthattraditional,text-basedliteracy

educationandassessmentsmaynotbeeffectiveforallstudents(Buckingham,2007a;

Philip&Garcia,2013;Fullan&Langworthy,2014;Henthorn&Cammack,2017),the

teachercandidatepre-surveyresponsesshowedthattheyremainedunsureofwhetheror

notstudentsenjoyedthosemethodologies.Theteachercandidatesseemedreluctanttorely

ontheirpersonalexperienceswiththistypeofteachingandpreferredtofallbacktowhat

pedagogiesandpracticeswereusedonthemwhentheywerestudentsintheK-12system.

4.2.1 Phillip

Phillipcameintotheresearchstudywithabackgroundinthefieldofbusiness,with

hisshiftintoteachingbeinghissecondcareer.HisstudiesfocusedonthePrimary/Junior

46

divisionsofeducation.Heacknowledgedthatsharinginformationinadigitalformatwas

somethingthathewascomfortablewithandaskillthathehadreliedonduringhisinitial

careerinbusiness.Withthisbackground,Phillipwasclearinhissupportfortheuseofthis

typeofcommunicationtoolintheclassroomashefeltitalignedwithmanyoftheskillshe

sawintheworkplacethathewouldbeeducatingstudentstomovetowards.Most

importantly,inthepre-researchquestionnairehefeltthatinfographicsofferedteachersthe

opportunitytoreachawiderrangeofstudentsduetothemultimodalnatureofthetoolit

wouldappealtomorelearningstylesandpreferencesthantextbasedcommunication.

Withregardstohisownunderstanding,Phillipfoundinfographicstobeanappealing

communicationmediumbecausetheyare“easiertoreadandunderstand”thanmore

traditionalhandoutsorpresentations.Herankedhimselfasconfidentwithregardstohis

understandingofdigitalliteraciesandinfographicsasatoolforhiscommunication.

4.2.2 Luke

LukecameintothestudyasaBachelorofEducationcandidatefreshoutofhis

undergraduatestudies.Hewasamemberoftheconsecutiveeducationprogramwitha

focusonPrimary/Junioreducation.Lukecommentedthatdigitalliteraciesandtwenty-first

centuryskillsshouldnotbetaughtinthesamefashionascurricularcontent;ratherthey

shouldbefosteredthroughoutastudent’seducationaljourney.Hefeltthateducators

shouldconsiderdigitalliteraciesandtwenty-firstcenturycompetenciesasmorethanjust

anadd-ontolearning;theyshouldbefundamentalandconstantlyunderlinedinthe

classroom.Lukeidentifiedashavingusedinfographicsforseveralpurposes,bothwithin

andoutsideofthelearningenvironment.Priortobeginningthisstudy,Lukewasalready

47

utilizinginfographicsinhispracticumplacementswithstudentsasyoungasgradeone.He

mentionedthathisstudentscreatedinfographicsintheirscienceclassto“highlightthe

functionsofselectedorgansinthehumanbody.”

Whenaskedtodefinedigitalliteracies,Lukementionedtheimportanceofexercising

twenty-firstcenturycompetencies,andthatitwascrucialasaneweducatortoremain

currentintechnologyintegrationaswellastobeabletorelayinformationefficientlyand

effectivelytobothstudentsandcolleagues.Lukeemphasizedthatinfographicsencourage

studentstocommunicateusingpictures,symbols,andwords,whichwasaskillthatis

usefulforstudentsorlearnersatanygradelevel,includingthoseengaginginprofessional

development.

4.2.3 Eric

LikeLuke,EricwasacceptedtotheBachelorofEducationprogramrightafter

completinghisundergraduatestudies.Hewaspartoftheconsecutiveeducationprogram

withafocusinprimary/junioreducation.Ericidentifiedhimselfasbeingproficientwith

technology,sayinginthepre-researchquestionnaire“otherscometomeforhelpwhenit

comestotechnicaldifficulties.”Likehiscolleagues,hehadalsousedinfographicsbefore

enteringthisstudy,butunlikehispeers,hefoundthetasktobechallengingfroma

communicationstandpoint.Hewascreatingitforamathclass,andfoundthat“tryingto

findawaytobeconcisebutalsoexpansive”madeforaverydifficulttask,especiallyin

mathematics.However,healsoacknowledgedthathisonlyexperiencewithinfographics

wasasastudentandthathehadnothadtheopportunityyettousethemasateacher.Eric

wasclearinhisopinionthat“infographicshelpinlearningaboutatopicbymakingthedata

48

easytoextractandinterestingtothereader/viewer.”Hefurtherexpressedthat

infographicscouldbeanincrediblybeneficiallearningtoolastheycanactasa“great

steppingstoneforotherstogaininterestandknowledgeaboutatopic,”whichisimportant

forteachersintheclassroomsetting.

4.2.4 Jake

Jakeidentifiedhimselfasamemberoftheconcurrenteducationprogram,focusingon

Intermediate/SenioreducationinBiologyandChemistry.Unlikehispeers,hedidnot

immediatelyrecognizehimselfascompletelydigitallyliterate.Hisunderstandingofthe

definitionofdigitalliteracymeantthatanindividualmustbeabletousetheinformation

theyarefinding.Itwasnotenoughtosimplybeabletolocateitintheonlinerealm.

Accordingtohispre-researchquestionnaire,hefeltthathisskillsetwashighlydependent

ontheinformationthathewasworkingwithandthatitwasadefiniteareaofimprovement

forhimasbothalearnerandaneducator.Similartohiscolleagues,hehadused

infographicspriortothisresearchstudy,buthadverylimitedexperience,onlyhaving

createdonehimselfasaprojectduringhisBachelorofEducationstudies.Whenaskedin

thepre-researchquestionnaireabouttheprocessofcreatingtheinfographic,hesaid,“the

firsttimewasmoretimeconsuming”;however,healsorecognizedthatwithmorepractice

“theprocessbecomesmorenatural.”Thisbeingsaid,Jakebelievedthattheknowledgehe

hadindigitalliteracieswouldofferhimauniqueperspectivetodesigningandsharinghis

infographicartifactinthelaterphasesoftheresearch.

49

4.3 Phase Two: One-on-one Interviews & Infographic Sorting

Task

Thesecondphaseoftheresearchprojectfocusedonallowingtheteachercandidates

toexpandonorclarifysomeoftheresponsesthattheygaveduringthefirstphase.This

wasdonefollowingthesortingtask.Thesortingtaskrequiredstudentstorankandassess

threeinfographicsprovidedbytheresearcher.Initiallyquestionswereaskedtothe

participantsduringthesortingtasktohelptheresearcherdevelopabaselineof

understandingforwhentheteachercandidatesmovedontothethirdphasewherethey

weregoingtocreatetheirowninfographicartifact.Theresponsestheygaveallowedthe

researchertomakeamendmentsandadjustmentstothematrixthatwouldbeusedinthe

analysisofthephasethreeartifacts.Forexample,afterphasetwo,theparticipants

mentionedtheimportanceofpresentinginformationinorderofimportance,likestatedin

thematrix,buttheyemphasizedthattheuseofmultimodalitywaskeyforsuccessful

communication.Thispromptedtheresearchertorewordthedescriptionofthe‘hierarchy

ofinformation’sectionofthematrixtoreflecttheneedformorethansolelytext-based

explanations.

Theparticipantswerealsotaskedwithaninfographicsortingactivity,usingthe

infographicsfoundinAppendixD.Duringthistasktheteachercandidateswereaskedto

ranktheinfographicsfrommosteffectivetoleasteffectiveandthenprovideaclear

explanationforwhytheymadethedecisionstheydid.Theseresponseswerethenused

duringphasethreeasapointforcomparisontotheartifactsthattheycreatedtosee

whetherornottheparticipantsfollowedthroughonimprovingontheparticipant

50

perceivedshortcomingsoftheinfographics,iftheyemployedtheelementstheyfeltwere

successfulinthisphase,oriftheydisregardedthementirely.

4.3.1 Phillip

Duringthesortingtask,Phillipdescribedhismethodforrankingtheinfographics

revolvedaround“easeofreading.”WiththisinmindheorderedthemAbeingthebest,B

havingsomeroomforimprovement,andCbeingtheworstoption.Comingfromthe

businesssector,heacknowledgedhisfamiliaritywithspreadsheets,andthatwhenhewas

presentedwithaninfographicinthelandscapeformat,likeinfographicA,hefeltmore

comfortableandthatitwasmoreeffective.Healsostatedthatculturaldifferencescould

influencehowpeoplereadaninfographic,whetherreadingfromlefttorightortopto

bottom,sothiswassomethingthathewouldhavetoconsiderashemovedintohis

professionalpractice.WhenitcametoinfographicB,herecognizedthattheuseofbright

coloursandcartoongraphicsstoodoutanddrewhimtolookatthatinfographic.Hesaida

downsidetothisinfographicwasthebackgroundcolour.Henoted,“thebackground,being

almostpeachcoloured,andthenthecoralandpinkshades,couldbetoomuchforsomeone

whoiscolour-blind.Hefeltthatthisdisabilitywassomethingthatmaybeoverlookedand

wasimportanttoacknowledgeandmakehisstudentsawareofiftheyweretocreate

infographicsorotherdigitalpresentations.Finally,henotedthatinfographicCwassimply

toobusyandoverwhelmingtolookat.

Inthephasetwointerview,Phillipnotedthatanelementofinfographiccreation

thatstoodouttohimwastheopportunityforthecreatortoengageinthedesignprocess.

Hecommunicatedthateaseofreadingofthefinalproductaswellasaestheticappealwere

51

criticalelementstotheoverallsuccessofaninfographic.Additionally,hefeltakeyareaof

infographicsuccesswasintheauthor’sabilitytokeeptheoveralldesignassimpleas

possible.Phillipmentionedthathewasreallyoverwhelmedbytheclutterthatappearedin

infographicC.HepreferredinfographicAbecauseitwas“reallychunkedout,everythingis

niceandclearandneat,nothingblendsinorbleedsintoeachother…itisveryeasyto

navigate.”Healludedtothemultimodalnatureoftheinfographicandthattherewasaneed

tolettheelementsoftheinfographicdothetalking,whetheritwasthroughgraphics,

charts,orothervisualcomponents.

AmajorconstraintthatPhillipacknowledgedwasthelackofopportunitiesfor

infographicuseduringhisownschoolingexperience.Hementionedtryingtousethemin

hisclassroompracticumexperiences,butusuallywasdoingsointheformofa

consolidationpiece.Hewastheonecreatingtheinfographics,nothisstudents.So,he

statedthathewouldliketoexplorethisasastudent-drivenactivity,ratherthansimply

anotherarticleforstudentconsumption.Moreover,hefoundthattherewasnotenough

guidanceonthecreationofhisinfographics:“thefirstinfographicswerejustreamsand

reamsofinformation,”but,throughreflectingonhiswork,hewasabletoimprovehis

abilitytocondensebutstillclearlycommunicateinformation.Hisonlyreportedexperience

involvingtheuseofinfographicsinhisBachelorofEducationcourseworkwasduringone

BachelorofEducationcourseassignment.

4.3.2 Luke

LukedifferedfromPhillipinhisopinionsduringthesortingtask,optingtorankthe

infographicsintheorderofB,A,C.Whiletheybothsharedsimilarfeelingstowards

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infographicC,Luke’sperspectivedifferedwithregardstotheothertwoinfographic

products.ConcerninginfographicB,Lukeappreciatedthemaincentralimagewithbreak

offpointscomingfromthatimage,makingitveryeasytonavigatewithoutbeing

overwhelming.HedidnotappreciatethenumericfocusofinfographicA,maintainingthat

itwashardtoidentifywhatthenumbersweretryingtotellhim.Additionally,thebase

colourwasdifficultforhim.Theresearcherlaterfoundoutthathewasred-greencolour

blind,andfeltthatmighthaveimpactedhisreception.Finally,likePhillip,hefelt

infographicCwastoomessyandconfusing.Fromthefontsizingtothecoloursinthe

legendbeingverysimilar,hewasleftunabletodecodeinfographicC.

Lukeacknowledgedthathispreferenceforinfographicsasacommunicationtoolin

theclassroomstemmedfromhisdesiretoteachandworkwithEnglishLanguageLearners

(ELLs).Hefeltthatinfographicswerenotonlymoreengagingforthispopulationof

studentsbutofferedmoreopportunitiesfortheselearnerstomakeconnectionstothe

materialbeingtaughtthroughtheuseofamoreuniversallyacceptedlanguagelikeicons,

andimages.Heoutlinedthatthemultimodalnatureoftheinfographicenableditto

“summarizeallofthosefindingsintosomethingthatisbothvisuallyappealingand

providesinformation”workingtotietheseelementstogetherforamoreholisticlearning

experience.AsLukeprogressedthroughthestudy,hecontinuedtouseinfographicsinhis

courseworkaswellaspracticumclassrooms.Hesawthepotentialgrowthopportunities

forhisstudents’twenty-firstcenturycompetenciesanddigitalliteraciesskills,especially

forthosewhodidnothaveEnglishastheirfirstlanguage.Heclosedwiththisfinalthought:

“Ithinkthere’smoreofareachwhenyou’reusinginfographicsthanimagesandwords

alone.”

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AmaindrawbacktoinfographicuseforLukewasthedifficultythatheforesawwith

properlysourcingthedatabeingusedinthefinalproduct.AsaPrimary/Juniorteacher,he

feltthatthismightbeaskillthatwastooadvancedforhisprospectivestudents.Whilehe

feltthattheycouldcompletetheotheraspectsofinfographiccreation,hefeltthatthe

referencingandethicalconsiderationsforthistypeoftaskmightbetoocomplex.In

additiontocreatingthecitationsbeingdifficult,hefeltthathisstudentswouldbe

challengedwhenitcametonarrowingdown“avastamountofsources”andhowto

“communicatethingsinasuccinctway.”Healsopointedouttheneedforstudentstoreflect

ontheworktheywereproducingandtrytoensurethat“theywerenotoverlapping

information”becausetheyweretryingtousedatathattheycollectedfromtwodifferent

sources.

4.3.3 Eric

EricchosetoranktheinfographicsinthesortingtaskinthesameorderasLuke,B,

A,C.HefeltthatinfographicBwasveryclear,usingafewlinestodrawthereader’seyeto

thedifferentinformation.Hesaid,“asateacherIlikethisonethemost,becauseithasallof

thevisualthings,itmakesiteasierforchildrentobeatleastinterestedinlookingatitin

thefirstplace.”Byvisualthings,Ericexpandedtomeanthemaincentralimage,clearlylaid

outbannerwiththetitleoftheinfographic,andlinestoleadthereadertovarioustextual

explanations.Herecognizedtheimportanceoftheaestheticsoftheinfographicandused

thatasapointforcommentingontheothertwoinfographicsaswell.Whenconsidering

infographicA,henotedthatasamath-mindedindividual,hefeltthisoneappealedtohis

learningpreferencethemost.Healsomentionedhisdistasteforthewordcloudbecausehe

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feltitwasmessyandineffectiveasavisualtool.HeimmediatelyidentifiedinfographicC,as

“theoneIhatethemost.”Ericwasquicklyoverwhelmedbytheamountofdatapresentin

theinfographicandfeltthattherewasalmostnoattemptmadebytheauthortocondense

theinformationintoamanageableamountforthereader.Heemphasizedtheimportance

ofnotoverloadingthereaderandhefeltthatinfographicCfailedinthatrespect.

Whenitcametoidentifyingtheaffordancesofinfographics,hereallyemphasized

theengagementlevelofinfographics.Duringthephasetwointerviews,Ericmentionedthe

potentialforengagingstudentsandauthorsthroughinfographicsasacommunicationtool.

Henoted,“youhavetocapturetheaudience’sattention…ifyouhaveaspecificaudiencein

mind,appealtothem.”Throughtheplanningprocess,herecognizedthatitwasnotonly

aboutcreatingsomethingthatwasmeaningfultohimselfasanauthor,butthatcaptures

theattentionandinterestoftheaudiencethattheinfographicisbeingsharedwith.He

thoughtitwasimportanttoteachstudentstobeawareofthepotentialpowerofnotonly

theinformationthattheyaresharing,butalsothewaythattheychosetodisplaythedata

wasjustasimportantasthecontentitself.Moreover,infographicsofferedteachersthe

abilitytoscaffoldlearningfortheirstudents.Herecognizedthatthoughinfographicsmay

workforsomestudentseasily,thereis“differentiation,somestudentsmightunderstand

andrelatetoinfographicsmorethanothers,”soitofferedanopportunityforstudentsto

collaborateandbuildtheirskillsasateam.Itallowedforstudentstohighlightdifferent

personalstrengthsorshortcomings,andworktogethertocreateaproductthatfulfilledthe

goalsthattheywerestrivingfor,whileworkingtowardsdevelopingalloftheirtwenty-first

centurycompetencies.

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Whencriticallyreflectingoninfographicsasateachingtool,Ericfeltthatthebiggest

constraintwastherequirementforstudentstocondenseandpresentcontentinthis

medium.Hisexperienceshowedhimthatwithstudents“there’seither,it’stoofocusedon

something,wheretheyaren’texpandingoninformation…orit’stoogiant,wherethereis

toomuchinformation.”AsaPrimary/Juniorteachercandidate,he,likeLuke,feltthiswould

beanareaofdifficultyforthestudentshehopedtoteachoneday.However,hesaidhe

wouldworkthroughthisbyprovidinghisstudentswithmoreexplicitguidelinestotryand

helpthemworkthroughtheresearchanddesignprocesses.

4.3.4 Jake

Jakecametothisphaseoftheresearchwithadifferentperspectivefromhispeersas

hewasateachercandidateintheIntermediate/Seniordivision,sohisperspectivereflected

theneedsofthatolderstudentpopulation.HeorderedtheminthesamewaythatPhillip

did,infographicA,B,C.HenotedthatinfographicAwastheclearestandmostneatly

organizedofthegroup.Jakelikedthattherewasanicebalanceofgraphicsandwordsto

effectivelycommunicateitsmessage.Whilehefeltthevisualappealwastherefor

infographicB,hedidnotlikehowitreliedsolelyontexttopropagateitsmessage.Hefelt

thattheinfographiccouldbenefitfrommorethoughtfuluseofpicturesorgraphstodisplay

thedatathatwasbeingshared.ForinfographicC,hestruggledtofindanymeaningor

purposetotheinfographic.Jakewasnotwillingtospendthetimetotryanddissectand

decodetheinfographic.Hefeltthatdefeatedthepurposebehindtheuseofthistypeof

communicativetool.

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AmainaffordancethatJakementionedwastheabilityforinfographicstoreinforce

digitalliteraciesskilldevelopmentnotonlyforstudents,butalsoforhimasateacheras

well.Heidentifiedthat“creatinganinfographicrequiredtheuseofresearchedand/or

priorknowledgetoconstructavisualthatcreatedanewperspectivetoconsiderthesame

topic,ornewapproachestosummarizeit.”Hefeltthatinfographicsallowedforthe

wideningofperspectives,bothfortheauthorandaudienceofthefinalartifact.Hefurther

wentontoexplainthatinfographics“allowstudentstoconstructknowledgeanditplaces

theinformationinthehandsofthestudentsallowingthemtousetheirownknowledge,

researchedknowledgeandareasofinteresttocreateauniquerepresentationofthetopic

athand.”Additionally,Jakenotedthatthroughtheuseofthesedifferentknowledgebanks,

authorsandconsumersareoftenmoreengaged,whichwouldlikelyincreasethecapacity

forlearning.

AnotherclearbenefitforJakewasthatthroughprojectsinvolvinginfographics,

teacherswereencouragingthedevelopmentofcriticalthinking,innovation,andcreativity

skills,whichwereallidentifiedbyJakeastwenty-firstcenturycompetenciestobetaughtin

theclassroom.Duringthephasetwointerviews,hestated,“creativity,innovation,where

theyaskyounotjustwhatisthetopic,buthowcouldyouorganizeitorhowcouldyou

classifyittomakeithavesomesortofmeaningbehindit.”Atthistime,Jakealsonotedthat

theseskillswereinherentintheuseofinfographics,whetherstudentswerecreatingthem

personallyorsimplyconsuminginformationfromthem.Hefeltthatstudentswouldbe

forcedtodrawontheirmetacognitiveskillsandreflectnotonlyontheworkstheywere

creating,butalsopotentiallyonthefinalproductsbeingpresentedtothem.

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InJake’sopinion,thebiggestconstraintforinfographicuseintheclassroomwas

accesstotechnology.LikeEric,henotedthathehadmorecontroloverthisissueduring

classroomhoursbut,whenconsideringaninfographicasastudytoolorhomework

assignment,hewasnotalwaysawareofwhetherornothisstudentswouldhaveequal

opportunitytoaccessthesetoolsathome.Additionally,sincenotallstudentshavethe

sameaccesstodigitaltools,hewonderedaboutwhethertherewouldbegapsin

technologicalunderstandingthatwouldrenderinfographicsuselesstosomestudents.

4.4 Phase Three: Teacher Candidate Created Infographic

Artifacts

Phasethreeoftheresearchstudywascompletedindependentlyoftheresearcher.

Theteachercandidateswereabletochooseatopicthatwasofinteresttothemandcreate

aninfographicforwhateverpurposethattheysawfit.Therewerefewguidelinessetbythe

researcherduringthisphaseinordertogivetheparticipantsfreereignonwhatthey

wouldproduce.Thiswasdoneinhopesofelicitingamoreauthenticandpurposefulfinal

productratherthanonethatwasprescriptive,liketheteachercandidatesmayhave

previouslyexperiencedduringtheirBachelorofEducationcoursework.Allofthe

participantswereencouragedtousetheonlinefreewarePiktochart(Piktochart,2018)for

thecreationoftheirinfographicartifacts.TheywereassessedagainsttheInfographic

Matrix(Figure9)createdbytheresearcher.

4.4.1 Phillip

Phillipchosetofocushisinfographiconencouragingchildren,specificallystudents,

tospendmoretimeoutside.Hisprojectwastitled,“TakeMeOutside”anditopensby

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askingthereader“doyourememberplayingoutsideuntilthesunset?”Hethenfollowsthis

withsomeveryeasytoabsorbstatisticsthatofferedsomeshockvaluetoelicitfurther

interestfromthereader(Figure12).

Figure 12. Screen grab of upper section of Phillip’s Infographic

PhillipcontinuedhisinfographicbyexplainingNatureDeficitDisorder,byoutliningthe

causesandeffectsthatthishasonchildren.Tofurtherdrivethisideahome,hethenlisted

tenreasonskidsneedfreshair.Whenconsideringthedesignportionoftheinfographic

matrix,hecreatedhisinfographicintheportraitlayout,allowingthereadertofollowhis

ideasinalogicalprogressiondownthepage.Phillipusedheadingstohelporganizehis

informationandprovideclarityofconceptsforhisreaders.Eachofthepanelsalternated

betweenanimageinvolvingtheoutdoors,liketreeswithabicycle(Figure12)orchildren

playingoutside,andeitherasoliddarkblueorwhitebackground,helpingtokeepthe

infographiclookingorganized.Phillipalsotriedtoappealtotheyoungergeneration

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throughage-relevanticons,liketheemojisusedbelowinFigure13.Theseemojishelpto

supportthetextbelowthembyprefacingtheemotiontobespokenaboutbeneath.

Figure 13. Screen grab of middle section of Phillip’s infographic

Whenconsideringtheutilityofhisinfographic,hechoseaclearcommunicative

approach,inthathewantedtotellareaderastoryabouttheissuehewaspresenting.Not

onlydidthesectionsofhisinfographicprovideconsumerswithastrongtakeaway

message,theyalsoinspiredfurtherconsiderationsforthereadertoreflectupon.Hispoint

ofviewwasclearinthechoiceshemade,bothwithtextualandimagechoices.Froman

ethicalperspective,Philliplistedthewebsitesheusedatthebottomoftheinfographicfor

readerstoinvestigatefurtheriftheysodesired.

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AttheconclusionofPhillip’sinfographicproject,thereaderhadbeenexposedtothe

ideasofwhychildrenshouldspendtimeoutside,whatandhowriskyplayimpactstheir

development,andPhillip’sideasforhowthismightimpactchildreninthefuture.Heclosed

offhisinfographicwithalistofthewebsiteswherehefoundhisinformation.Therewere

nogrammaticalorspellingerrorsfoundinPhillip’sinfographic.

4.4.2 Luke

Asaself-proclaimednatureenthusiastandTorontonative,Lukefocusedhis

infographicongrowingToronto’surbanforest.SimilartoPhillip,Lukedecidedthathis

infographicwouldbemosteffectivelysharedintheportraitlayout,wheretheinformation

wasreadfromtoptothebottom.Hisinformationwaspresentedinorderofimportance,

allowingthereadertofollowalongwhilemaintainingastrongunderstandingofthe

contentbeingshared.Hechosecoloursthatwereappealingtolookat,fontsthatwereeasy

toread,andmadegooduseofwhitespacethroughoutthedocument.Additionally,Luke

presentedinformationinsuchawaythatitguidedtheconsumer’seyethroughthe

infographicinawaythatensuredthereaderwasgettinginformationintheproperorderto

bebestunderstood.Additionally,thegraphicsthatLukeusedwererelevanttothetopic

beingcoveredandwellchosentoservethepurposesoftheinfographic.

ThetitleofLuke’sinfographicwas“EveryTreeCounts:GrowingToronto’sUrban

Forest.”Hisinfographicopenswithsomekeyfindingsaboutthecitycentreanditstree

populations,aswellassomegoalsthatwereoutlinedbythecitywithregardstogrowing

theirurbanforest(Figure14).

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Figure 14. Screen grab of upper half of Luke’s infographic

Followingthesestatisticsandthegoalsdeterminedbythecity,Lukeusedthelatterhalfof

hisinfographictooutlinetheimportanceofthistypeofdevelopmentinthecityforthe

Torontonianinhabitants.Hediscussedcombatingclimatechange,potentialhealthbenefits,

aswellassocialwealth.

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ItwasclearthroughouttheinfographicthatLukewasaddressingTorontonians,

includingparentsandeducators.ThisnarrativewaswellthoughtoutandLuke’spointof

viewwasclearandconsistentfromstarttofinish.Healsoboldedthemainpointsforease

ofreadership.Lastly,hechoseimagesandgraphicsthatworkedwithhisoverallcolour

story,anddistributedthemwellthroughoutthedocumenttoprovidetheconsumerwith

breaksfromthetext.

Figure 15. Screen grab of lower half of Luke’s infographic

InaccordancetotheethicalsectionoftheMatrix,Luke’sinfographicendedwiththe

URLforthewebsiteusedinthecuratingofinformationthatwassharedintheinfographic

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artifact(Figure15).Additionally,therewasonlyoneerrorfoundwithintheinfographic,

whichcouldhavebeeneditedpriortosubmission.

4.4.3 Eric

Eric’sinfographicwascreatedbasedonhisinterestsintheworldofgaming.His

infographicwasentitled,“YouareInvitedtoPlaySomeBoardGames.”Ericwastheonly

teachercandidatetochoosetousealandscapelayoutinthedesignofhisinfographic

artifact,andcontinuedwithhisthemebysettingupthegraphicasaboardgameforthe

readertomovethrough(Figure16).Althoughhisdesignwasvisuallyappealing,theoverall

intentionwassomewhatuncleartoreaders.Theinformationdidnotexhibitanyrealorder

ofimportanceandtheoveralltitledidnotreallyacttoclarifythisforreaderseither.

Figure 16. Eric’s infographic

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Eric’sinfographicusedbothimagesandwordstotryandcommunicatewiththereader,as

wellascolourtotryanddifferentiatethepiecesoftheboard.Aesthetically,thelayout

choicewaseffectiveandthetextwaseasytoreadonthebackgroundcolourheselected.

Ericoutlinedseveraldifferentfactsaboutboardgamesaswellaspointingreaders

towardsotherresources,likeboardgamecafes,toexploreiftheywishtobecomemore

involvedintheboardgamecommunity.Thoughtheoverallobjectiveoftheinfographicwas

somewhatunclear,hischunkingofinformationdidmakeiteasytoread.However,since

thepointofviewisvague,readerswereleftwonderingwhytheinformationwasimportant

forthemtoknow.Finally,asforutility,Ericchosenottoaddanysortofreferencelistor

citationstohisinfographicandsomeerrorswerefoundinthetext.

4.4.4 Jake

Jakechosetocreateamoreteacher-targetedresourcethatwouldhelphiscolleagues

andothereducatorstobetterunderstandthepsychologybehindlearning.Hisinfographic

employedaportraitlayout,andwastitled,“CrackingtheLearningCode:TheMeaning

Network.”Jake’sinfographicaimedtotakemorecomplexpsychologicalconcepts,thatmay

havebeentaughtinundergraduatepsychologycourses,whichhefeltmanyteachersmay

nothavehadexperiencedintheireducationaljourney.Jakerecognizedtheneedtopresent

theinformationinafriendlyandvisuallyappealingway,throughtheuseofclearly

identifiabletitles,whilealsousinglanguagethatthelaypersonwouldunderstand.This

challengedhimtoevaluateandreevaluatetheterminologyhewasusingaswellasthebest

waytopresentthedatasohewouldnotoverwhelmhisaudience.Hisdataappearedtoflow

fromthemostimportantnearthetopoftheinfographic,throughtotheinformationthat

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mightbelessessentialforreaderstounderstandimmediately.Alongwithconsideringthe

useoffont,colour,useofwhitespace,andotherbasicdesignprinciplesoutlinedinthe

InfographicMatrix,Jakeutilizedlinestohelpbreakuptextandguidethereader.

Figure 17. Screen grab of upper section of Jake’s infographic

Hisinfographicfollowedaspecificcolourschemeaswellasusednumberstohelpleadthe

readerthroughtheinfographicinameaningfulorder.

Jake’sinfographicwasefficientinitsabilitytoclearlyoutlinethepurpose.Itopened

withasmallexplanationofwhatconsumerscouldexpecttolearnfromtheinfographic,to

enticereadersrightawayandgivethemaclearunderstandingofwhattheywereaboutto

read(Figure17).Thetextwasbrokendownintosmallchunksorparagraphs,sothatthe

readerwasabletoquicklyscanthroughtheinformationwithoutbecomingoverwhelmed

byquantity.Eachchunkoftextworkedtoexpandonthelastonetoprovideconsumers

withastrongerandmorecompleteunderstandingofthecontent.Additionally,Jakemadeit

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easytoidentifythemainpointsfromtherestofthetextasheboldedthemforeaseof

reading.

Jakeoutlinedtwoofthemainfunctionsofthebrain,attributesofthemeaning

network,adescriptionofwhatthemeaningnetworkwas,andfinally,howitrelatedtothe

fieldofeducationandeducators(Figure18).Whileheexplainedthesecomplex

psychologicalconcepts,Jakeutilizedlanguagethatwouldbeeasytounderstandforany

laypersonwithlittle-to-noexperienceworkingwithpsychologyterminology.The

informationwaswelldistributedthroughouttheinfographicandthepurposewasclearly

supportedbythetextandvisuals.

Figure 18. Screen grab of middle section of Jake’s infographic

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Jakeclosedhisinfographicoffwithalistofthewebsitesandorganizationsthathe

usedtofindtheinformationhesharedintheinfographic.Hedidnotformallycitethe

informationinhisinfographic,butmadetheresourcesavailableforconsumerswhowished

tofindmoreinformationonthetopic.Additionally,therewerenoerrorsfoundinthetext

inhisinfographic.

4.5 Phase Four: Post-Research Interviews & Online

Questionnaire

Forthefinalphaseofthestudy,theparticipantsreturnedtotheresearchlabwiththe

researchertoparticipateinafinalone-on-oneinterview.Thefirsteightquestionsforthis

interviewwerethesameforeveryparticipant.Thefinalquestionsvariedbasedonthe

responsesgivenduringphasetwoaswellasaftercontentanalysiswascompletedonthe

infographicartifactsthatweresubmittedtotheresearcher.Bothsetsofquestionsare

foundinAppendixG.Thiswasdonetogainamorecompleteunderstandingofthe

decisionsthattheauthorsmadewhilecreatingtheirinfographic.

Lastly,theteachercandidateswereaskedtofilloutanonlinequestionnairethat

focusedonasimilarsetofopen-endedquestionstothephaseonepre-research

questionnaire.Thisallowedtheresearchertocomparetheopinionsandgrowthforeachof

theparticipantsfromthebeginningofthestudytoitsconclusion.

4.5.1 Phillip

Inthepost-researchinterviewandquestionnaire,Phillip’sopinionsoftheefficacyof

infographicusedidnotreallychange.Hestated,“Istillthinkthatinfographicsarevery

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importantintermsofbeingabletodisplayinformationandhittingmultiplelearnersat

multiplestages.”Hisfocusremainedonthemultimodalnatureofinfographicsasastrength

oftheircommunicativepotentialintheclassroomenvironment.Henotonlyfeltthatthis

toolwasapotentialbenefitforlearners,hesawitasanevolutionofthecurrentcurricular

content,stating,“it’sanaturalextensionofalotoftheprojectsthatexistinalotof

curricula,whichisto‘createaposter’.”Hesawthisasawaytomeaningfullyutilize

technologytofacilitatelearning,notjustasawaytopushtechnologyintoexisting

educationalprogramming.

Phillipalsomentionedthathisexperienceintheinfographiccreationinthisstudy

forcedhimtodevelophispersonaldigitalliteraciesskills,includinghowto“focuson

contentandbeingconciseinmymessage.”Alongwithdevelopinghisdigitalliteracies

skills,hewasabletoseeanimpactonhistwenty-firstcenturycompetenciesaswell.He

said“italsohelpedmetobemorecreativewiththeoutput,”whichpushedhimoutofhis

comfortzonewithmoretraditionalcommunicationtools.Additionally,Phillipfeltthat

throughinfographiccreation,studentscouldbebetterencouragedtobesubjectiveand

considertheaudiencetheyareproducingtheinfographicfor.Thusitelicitedtheabilityto

seethroughothersperspectivesinawaythatPhillipdidnotthinktraditionalliteracy

assignmentsnecessarilydid.

Heexpressedthattheonlyconstrainttoeducatorengagementininfographicswere

“onlywhattheeducatorplacesontothemselves.”Phillipemphasizedthatregardlessofthe

studentlevel,grade,orsubjectbeingtaught,teacherscouldcraftanyassignment,whether

duringthelearningprocessorasconsolidation,intoaninfographic.Hefeltthatthelevelof

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complexityorlackofbuy-inforthetoolwasmorethefaultoftheteacherthanthe

infographic.

4.5.2 Luke

Inthepost-studyquestionnaire,Lukeacknowledgedthatwhilehisopinionsofusing

infographicsintheclassroomhadnotchanged,hefeltthatthroughtheresearchstudyhis

understandingofdigitalliteraciesandcommunicationthroughinfographicsimproved.

Specifically,henotedthatthroughtheinfographiccreationprocess,hefoundthatthe

activitychallengedhimtobetterlocateandsynthesizeinformation.Lukecommented,“I

thinkbuildingthatskillofsynthesizinginformationoraddingyourownspintothe

research,yourcreativeelements,itbuildsthoseskillsthatyouwanttoseeinyour

classroom,inyourstudents.”Heemphasizedthat,throughthistool,authorsareforcedto

reallydissecttheinformationthattheyarepresentingandworkwithittofindawayto

ensurethemostclearandeffectivecommunicationwiththeaudience.Ascommunicationis

atwenty-firstcenturyskilltobedevelopedintheclassroom,Lukesawinfographicsasa

seamlesswaytoencouragethisproficiencyfromhisstudentsinawaythatwasnon-

threateningtothestudents,especiallytheEnglishLanguageLearnerpopulation.

Secondly,Lukerecognizedthepotentialasaneducatortoemploytheprinciplesof

UniversalDesignforLearningthroughinfographics.Hefeltthatinfographicsoffered

studentsalevelofflexibilitythatmaynottraditionallybefoundintext-based

communicationtoolsinliteracyassignments.Hestatedthatinfographicscould“tievisuals

andtexttogether”inawaythatwasmoreaccessibletoawiderrangeofstudents.Healso

alludedtohowgoodchildren’sauthorsusedpicturesandwordstocommunicatewiththe

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learnerpopulation.Hementioned,thatlikewithpicturebooks,imagesandtextworkto

“incitecuriosityforfurtherlearning,”whichwasatwenty-firstcenturyskillthateducators

shouldstrivetoencouragefromstudentsregardlessofthesubjectbeingcovered.

Amaindrawbacktoinfographics,inLuke’sopinion,wasthathenoticedhewould

moreoftentakeaninfographicatfacevalue.Whethertheinfographichadreferencesor

not,hedidnotfeeltheneedtodelvedeeperintothesubjectthroughthesourcesprovided

atthebottom.Heclaimed,“I’mgoingtoconsumeitasvalid,notreallylookingintothe

backgroundofit,theresearchbehindit.”

Anotherconstraintthatheoutlinedinhispost-researchquestionnairewasthe

potentiallackofaccessthathisfuturestudentsmighthavetotechnology.Whilehecould

attempttoprovideequalaccesstotechnologywithinthefourwallsofhisclassroom,once

thestudentsleave,thiswouldbeoutofhiscontrol.Therewereoftencomputersavailable

duringschoolhours,whetherinthelearningcommonsoracomputerlab;hequestioned

whetherornottheaccesswouldbethesameoncetheschooldayends.Basedonthe

technologicalnatureoftheinfographicandtheneedforcomputerorInternetaccess,hefelt

thatthismightlimittheeffectivenessofthistoolintheclassroom,regardlessofwhetherit

wasforproductionorconsumptionpurposes.

4.5.3 Eric

Ericbeganbyillustratingtheabilityofinfographicstoencouragecriticalthinking

andproblemsolvingfromtheauthoraswellastheaudience.Fromacreator’spointof

view,hefeltitwasreallyimportanttoreflectonwhatwasbeingsharedandthemethods

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bywhichthedatawascollected.Hefoundhimselfreflectingduringthecreationprocessby

asking,“whichinformationisrelevant?HowdoIfindthatdata?”Hewouldthenreworkthe

informationhehadcollectedorhewouldsearchformore.Thisnavigationoftheweb

involvedcriticalthinkinganddigitalliteraciesskillsthathefeltwereunderlinedinthe

infographiccreationprocess.Hedidnotneedtoexplicitlybetaughttheseskills,orhaveit

pointedoutthesethatcriticalthinkingordigitalliteraciesskillswerebeingused,itwas

inherentinthecreationofhisphasethreeinfographic.Withthisinmind,heacknowledged

thathewouldprobablyuseinfographicsforevidenceoflearningfromhisstudentsbecause

therewereclearmetacognitiveopportunitiesforstudentstoexpresstheirknowledge.

Fromanaudience’sperspective,therewasananalysisthatmustbecompletedwhen

readingorconsuminganinfographic.Hesaidthatreadersshouldlookforelementslike

referencing,andmorespecificallywhatwasbeingreferenced,beforetrulyacceptingthe

informationbeingpresented.

Ontheotherhand,oneofthemainconstraintsthatstruckEricwasthepotential

ethicalimplicationoftakingimagesandgraphsoffoftheweb.Whileheacknowledgedthat

throughproperreferencing,theauthorwasattributingtheinformationtoitssource,he

questionedwhetherornotthatwasstillsufficientforsomethingthatwascopyrighted.

Withthatinmind,Ericfeltthatthestudentswouldneedsomeproficiencyinonlinedesign

softwareorwithtraditionalvisualartsskillstocreatethevisualelementsthatwouldbe

usedintheinfographic,whichmaybetoofarbeyondthegradelevelsofthestudentshe

wouldlikelybeteaching.

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4.5.4 Jake

WhileJakefeltthatthisresearchstudywasagoodopportunitytotrytodevelopsome

newskillsetswhileinhisstudies,headmittedtonotreallyventuringtoofaroutofhis

comfortzonewhenitcametocreatinghisfinalinfographicartifact.Duetothetime

constraintsandrequirementsofhisBachelorofEducationcoursework,hestucktousing

toolsandsubjectmatterthatwerefamiliartohim.Jakeacknowledgedthatheusedalotof

resourcesthatwerebuilt-intotheinfographictoolPiktochart(Piktochart,2018)anddid

notreallysearchveryfarpastwhatwasimmediatelyavailablethroughthatsiteaswellas

thesearchengineGoogle.

ThemainbenefitthatJaketookawayfromhisparticipationinthisresearchwasthe

potentialforthistooltoengagelearnersinanon-traditionalliteracy-basedtask.Hefelt

thatinfographicsprovideda“uniquewayforstudentstobringinformationtogether”while

meaningfullyincorporatingtechnologyintothelearningprocess.Heassertedthatthrough

infographiccreation,studentswerelearningdigitalliteraciesskills–includingcritical

thinking,innovation,andproblemsolving–inordertocreatethebestfinalproductthat

theycould.Throughtheprocessofgatheringandsortingofdata,studentswereengagingin

thesecriticalcognitivethinkingtasksthatencouragedeeperlearningofthecontent.They

thenhadtotakewhattheyhadlearnedanddisplayitinacreativeandmeaningfulwaythat

areaderwouldbeinterestedinconsuming.

However,Jakewastheonlyparticipanttoacknowledgethathefeltinfographicswere

notthe“bealltoendall”toolforcreatingandthinkingaboutinformation.Unlikehispeers

whoweremorereadytoimmediatelyengageintheuseofinfographicsinthelearning

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environment,Jakerecognizedthatinfographicsare“atypeofdigitaltechnologythat

studentscanusetocreativelybringtheirinformationtogetherinawaythat’smore

engagingorvisuallyappealing,”buthealsobelievedthattherewereothertoolsinan

educator’srepertoirethatcouldperformsimilarfunctions.Jakerecognizedtheeducational

potentialforthetoolthoughandassertsthathemayofferitasanoptionforstudentsto

chooseforthesubmissionofcourseprojects.Thisway,studentswhoareinterestedinthe

communicationmediumareofferedtheopportunitytoexplorethem,butiftheyaremore

interestedinanothermodality,hewouldbewillingtolettheminvestigateandcreatethat

instead.

4.6 Chapter Summary

Thischapterservedasacompilationoftheresearchresultsthatwerefound

throughoutthefourphasesofthestudy.Analysisofthepre-studyquestionnaire,the

videosoftheinfographicsortingtask,thetranscriptionsfromtheone-on-oneinterviews,

andtheteachercandidatecreatedinfographicartifacts,wereallincludedasuseabledata.

Thedatafromeachphaseoftheresearchactedtoexploretheresearchquestionsproposed

atthebeginningofthechapter,todeepertheunderstandingofthepotentialfor

infographicsasacommunicationtooltobeusedbytheteachercandidatesintheirfuture

practice.Throughin-depthcasestudyanalysis,participantvoicescouldbeexploredand

theirgrowthandperspectiveshiftswereevidentthroughouttheirparticipationinthe

study.Inthefollowingchapter,theresultswillbediscussedingreaterdetail.

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5 Discussion

5.1 Overview

Thepurposeofthisresearchstudywastoexaminetheimpactoftheuseof

infographicsasanalternativecommunicationtoolforteachercandidatestoconsiderfor

useintheirfutureclassrooms.Ashighlightedintheliteraturereview,therehadbeenlittle

researchintotheaffordancesandconstraintsforuseofinfographicsinkindergartento

gradetwelveclassrooms;therehadbeenresearchconductedthroughseveralpost-

secondarystudies(Vanichvasin,2013;Matrix&Hodson,2014;Sudakov,etal.,2014;

Mendenhall&Summers,2015;Lyra,etal.,2016;Ozdamli,etal.,2016).Thisstudyinvolved

participantsfromaBachelorofEducationprograminSouthernOntario,andexploredtheir

opinionsandparticipationinrelationtoinfographicuseintheirfutureteaching.Four

researchquestionswereaddressed:

1. Whataffordancesandconstraintsexistforteachercandidateswhoengageinthe


2. Howdoesthereadingandwritingofinfographicshelpteachercandidatesdevelop


3. Howdoesthecreationofinfographicsintersectwiththedevelopmentoftwenty-


thinking,collaboration,problemsolving,andculturalandglobalcitizenship?

4. Inwhatwaysdoteachercandidatesenvisionusinginfographicsintheirown

teaching?

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Thischapterwilldiscussthefindingsofthisstudyastheyrelatetotheresearch

questions,andwithinthecontextoftheresearchcollectedfortheliteraturereview.

Specifically,thediscussionwillfocusontheresearchconcepts:1)Engaginginthe

consumptionandproductionofinfographics;2)readingandwritingofinfographicsto

developdigitalliteraciesskills;3)creationofinfographicsandtheintersectionwith

twenty-firstcenturycompetencies;and4)teachercandidatesfurtheruseofinfographics.

Thediscussionwillalsoaddresstheeducationalimplications,limitationsofthisstudy,and

potentialconsiderationsforfutureresearch.

5.2 Engaging in the Consumption and Production of Infographics

Theteachercandidatesreportedbothaffordancesandconstraintsofengaginginthe

consumptionandproductionofinfographics.Whiletheyfoundmanybenefitstotheiruse

intheclassroom,(i.e.higherlevelsofengagement,meaningfultechnologyintegrationinto

literacy-basedsubjects,andthereinforcingofbothtwenty-firstcenturyanddigital

literaciesskills),theyalsoacknowledgedsomeveryimportantdrawbacks.Themain

constraintofinfographicusewasbasedonaperceivedlackofmeaningfulprofessional

developmentwiththeuseofdigitaltoolsintheclassroom.

Theteachercandidateswereallquicktoidentifythefactthatstudentstendtobe

moreengagedintheclassroomwhentherewasmeaningfulincorporationoftechnology

intothelearningexperience.Thisfindingalignedwellwiththeresearchbeingconducted

withregardstostudentengagementintheclassroom.Theliteraturemadeitclearthat

therewasarelationshipthatexistedbetweenstudentacademicsuccessandtheir

engagementlevelsintheclassroom(NelsonLaird&Kuh,2005;Robinson&Hullinger,

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2000;Chen,Lambert&Guidry,2010).However,theliteraturedidnotstopatjustbasic

engagementlevels.Sadik(2008)reinforcedthatwhentechnologywasusedeffectively

duringthelearningtasks,studentengagementwasalsoincreased.Liketheparticipants

mentioned,theywereabletoseethattheirstudentsweremoreinterestedintask

completion,andinLuke’scase,studentswerecompletingextra-curricularresearchand

presentingitintheformofaninfographicbecausetheirinterestslayoutsideofsimply

whatwasbeingcoveredintheclassroom.Thisbehaviouralengagement(Fredricks,etal.,

2004;Henrie,Halverson&Graham,2015),moreeasilyunderstoodasobservablestudent

activity,appearedtotheteachercandidatesasbeingincreasedthroughtheuseofthis

learningandcommunicationtool.

Inadditiontothepotentialgainsinengagementlevelsthrougheffectivetechnological

useintheclassroom,theteachercandidatesmostlyagreedthattheuseofinfographics

throughthisresearchstudyhelpedthemtofurtherdeveloptheirprofessionalpractice.

Theyviewedtheconsumptionandproductionofinfographicsasawaytochallengetheir

understandingofeducation-relatedtechnologytools,aswellaskeeptheirtwenty-first

centuryskillsup-to-date.Theresearchhighlightedthatstudentswereconsistentlyfinding

novelwaystointeractwithandleveragetechnologiestosuittheirinterestsandneeds

(Eshet-Alkali,2004;Knobel&Lankshear,2007;Alverman,2008;Moje,etal,2008;Jones&

Hafner,2012;Jocius,2013;Barton&Baguley,2014),sothenextlogicalstepwouldbeto

haveteachersdothesame.Sincestudentsareexpandingtheirunderstandingofthe

technologicalworld,teachersshouldbesimilarlyencouragedtoensurethattheyarealso

remainingcurrentandeffectiveintheirpractice.

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Theresearchalsoshowsthateventhoughstudentsareexploringthesetoolsand

developingthesecompetencies,theyareunderutilizingthisknowledgeandunderstanding

whentheystepintotheclassroom(Alvermann,2002;Gee,2003;Kress,2003;Hughes,

2009).Thiswasamajorconstraintfortheparticipantsbecausetheycouldseethe

educationalbenefitofthesedigitaltools,likeinfographics,intheclassroom,butfeltthat

teachersdidnotreceiveenoughprofessionaldevelopmenttofeelcomfortableusingthem

intheirdailypractice.So,whilethereissomeexplorationofthesetypesoftoolsinthe

BachelorofEducationprogram,itseemedthattheteachercandidatesinthisproject

wantedmoreopportunitiestoutilizethesetoolsduringtheirtimeasstudentsinteacher

education.Theteachercandidatesmentionedbeingshownthesetypesoftoolsduringtheir

timeintheprogram,buttheydesiredmoreopportunitiestocreatedigitalartifactsand

meaningfullyinteractwiththetoolsbeingpresentedtothem.Allbutoneparticipanthad

onlyusedaninfographicforoneassignment,inoneclassasapartoftheirlearning,and

manyidentifiedtheneedformoreexposureandtimetoinvestigatethesetoolsfor

themselvesandtheirstudents.

Teachers’currentcomfortwithusingtraditionalteachingmethodsalsocameupasa

topicfordiscussioninthisresearch.Theteachercandidatesrecognized,likeKos&Sims

(2014),thattherearemanyunderlyingsimilaritiesbetweenaninfographicandother

formsofcommunication,suchasessays.Infographicshavethepotentialtoofferstudentsa

morediverseandexcitingwaytopresentinformationinawaythatissimplynotpossible

withamoretraditionalfive-paragraphessay(Kos&Sims,2014).Phillipagreedwiththis

notionwhenhesaid,“anessayisreallyboilingdownsomeone’sthoughtsintoaslittleas

threeparagraphs,withanopeningandconcludingstatementbeingmade.Aninfographic,

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it’sthesamething,youaretakingaperson’sideabutnowrepresentingitmultimodally.”

Heemphasizedtheneedtobetterunderstandthemessagetheauthoristryingtogetacross

andcommunicateitinawaythatismoreengagingforthereaderthantextalone.Lukealso

agreednoting,“we[theauthor]haveathesis,whichistheideawewanttogetacross…then

you[theauthor]haveyourmainpoints,whichhavesub-pointswithintheirsubheadings

andthosecanbedemonstratedthroughpicturesandwords.”Herecognizedthatthereis

stillamainidea[thethesis]thatneedstobesupportedbytheinformationprovided

throughouttheinfographic.Thedataisjustbeingpresentedinawaythat“makesitmore

engagingandaccessibletoEnglishLanguageLearnersandmorestudents.”Jakealsoagreed

thatthereweresimilaritiesbetweenthecommunicationtools.Hearticulatedthat,“an

infographicallowsstudentstotakethatsortingandclassifyingofinformationevenfurther

thananessaywouldbecauseyouforcethemawayfromthefive-paragraphstructureand

towardsdifferentwaysofpresentinginformation.”Asascienceeducator,hesawthe

benefitofteachingstudentstocommunicateandexploreideasinamultitudeofformats.

Eric,however,didnotagreewithhispeers.Hefelt,“thereisabigdifferencebetweenan

essayandaninfographic,it’sinthewayyoucondenseyourinformation.”Hefeltthatthere

wasmoreroomforstudentstoelaborateandexplaintheirthoughtsthroughanessay

formatratherthanthroughaninfographic.Ericbelievedthatinfographicswerebetterused

tohighlightkeypointsaboutatopic,whereasessaysweremoreeffectiveinallowing

studentstoreallyexplaintheirunderstandingofatopic.

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5.3 Reading and Writing of Infographics to Develop Digital

Literacies Skills

Theteachercandidateswereunanimousinidentifyingthatmultimodalityand,more

broadly,digitalliteraciesskillsdevelopment,werekeytakeawaysfromthisresearchstudy.

Theyalsorecognizedthatorganizationandethicswerecriticalabilitiestoconsideranduse

intheirpracticumplacementsandfutureprofessionalpractice.Throughtheinterviews

thattheyparticipatedinandtheinfographicartifactstheysubmitted,itwasclearthattheir

opinionsdidnotalwaysmatchwhattheparticipantsactuallyputintopractice.

Thebenefitsofusingmultimodalworksintheclassroomhavebeenextensively

researchedinthefieldofeducation(NewLondonGroup,1996;Lankshear&Knobel,1998;

Cope&Kalantzis,2000;Kress,2000,2003;Knobel&Lankshear,2007;Hughes2009),so

thefactthattheteachercandidatesrecognizeditsimportanceisnotsurprising.The

participantsfeltthattheycouldinvestigatedifferenttopicsonadeeperlevelwhenthey

wereabletoexplorethemthroughnotonlywords,butalsoimages,videos,graphicdata

representation,andaudio(Mills,2010;Walsh,2010;Jocius,2013;O’Byrne,2014).Mostly,

theyagreedwiththeliteratureinthatthroughmultimodalrepresentation,thestudents,

andtheythemselves,wouldbebetterpreparedfortherequirementsoftoday’sworkforce

(Dusenberry,Hutter&Robinson,2015)byengagingindeeperlearningofthecontentbeing

presentedinthismultimodalfashion(Gee,1996;Kress,2003;Buckingham,2007b;Jewitt,

2008;Mills,2010;Jocius,2013;Williams,2014;Dusenberry,Hutter&Robinson,2015;

Matrix&Hodson,2017).Moreover,throughmultimodaleducationandcommunication,

teachersareencouragingstudentstodevelopintobettercommunicators(Jewitt,2008;

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Binkley,etal.,2012),whichwasanideathatalloftheparticipantsagreeduponand

mentioned.Alloftheteachercandidateswereclearintheirsupportoftheimportanceof

multimodalcommunication,whichalignedwiththeliterature(NewLondonGroup,1996;

Kress,2000,2003;Nixon,2003;Alvermann,2009;Albers&Sanders,2010;Hughes&

Tolley,2010;Jocius,2013;Eteokleous&Pavlou,2015)aswellaswhattheywerebeing

taughtintheirteachereducationprogram.

Moreinterestinglywasthateventhoughtheteachercandidatesallidentifiedboth

ethicsandthecondensingofinformationasimportantconsiderationsfordigitalliteracies

educationandinfographiccreation,thiswastheareathattheyseemedtostrugglewith

mostwhenitcametoputtingtheoryintopractice.Twooftheparticipantsadmittedthat

thefinalinfographicthattheycreatedprobablycontainedtoomuchinformationforthe

laypersontowanttoconsume.Whiletheyusedappropriatelanguageandvisualsin

attemptstoreachawideraudience,assuggestedbyLyra,etal.(2016),theamountofdata

waspotentiallygoingtoappearoverwhelmingtoareader.Furthermore,theparticipants

emphasizedtheimportanceofnotmisrepresentingdatathroughthewaytheauthor

choosestopresentit,whichalignednicelywiththeresearchconductedbyEshet-Alkali&

Amichai-Hamburger(2004)withregardstomanipulationofinformationtosuitaspecific

purpose.

Fromadigitalliteraciesstandpoint,theteachercandidatesallidentifiedproper

attributionofinformationandreferencingashighlyimportantskillstoreinforceinthe

classroom.Theimportanceofteachingstudentstheabilitytoidentifyfalse,biased,and

irrelevantdataandbeabletoeliminatethoseassourcesforknowledgesharingintheir

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infographicswasclear(Eshet-Alkali&Amichai-Hamburger,2004).Regardlessofthis,the

participantsadmittedtosometimesacceptinginfographicsastrueatfacevalueandnot

investigatingdeeperintothevalidityoftheinformation.Anotherareaofcontentionforthe

participantswaswhetherornotimagesshouldbesourcedattheelementaryschoollevel.

However,likeKafai&PeppleralludetointheirDIYProductionFramework(2011),

referencingalloriginalworksbyproperlycitingthecreator,regardlessofwhetheritistext,

videogames,cartoons,etc.,isanimportantpractice(Perkel,2008).So,whiletheteacher

candidates’intentionswerenottoplagiarizeoriginalworks,itseemstoremainacommon

misconceptionthatonlytextualworksmustbereferenced.Thiswasafindingthatrevealed

itselfduringtheclosinginterviews,astheparticipantsacknowledgedtheiroversightinthis

area,butalsorecognizedthattheyfeltthatitwasagreyareaasfarastheirunderstanding

ofacademicethicswereconcerned.Lukementioned,“forthepurposesIusedreferencing

for,Ithinkthatit[listingwebsiteURLs]wouldbeenough”,whileEricsaid,“IthinkIcould

havebeenmoreformalinmycitations.”Whiletheinstinctsandpreviouseducationofthe

teachercandidatesallowedthemtorecognizetheimportanceofreferencingintheir

projects,itwasinterestingtoseehowtheirresultsdidnotlineupwiththeseethicalbeliefs.

5.4 Creation of Infographics and the Intersection with Twenty-first

Century Competencies

Theliteraturethatiscurrentlyavailableclearlyhighlightstheimportanceof

developingstudents’twenty-firstcenturyskills(Jenkins,etal.,2009;Silva,2009;

Partnershipfor21stCenturySkills,2011;NationalResearchCounciloftheNational

Academics,2012;OntarioMinistryofEducation,2017),throughmeaningfuluseof

technologyintheclassroom(Sadik,2008;Fullan&Langworthy,2014).Theteacher

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candidatesbelievedthatcommunication,criticalthinking,creativity,andinnovationwere

thecompetenciesthatweremoststronglyreinforcedthroughtheproductionand

consumptionofinfographics.

Themosteasilyidentifiabletwenty-firstcenturyskillthatcanbetaughtthrough

infographicconsumptionandproduction,asacknowledgedbytheparticipants,was

communication.Infographicsofferstudentstheopportunitytomakecomplexinformation

approachable,interesting,andmeaningfultoaudiences(Smiciklas,2012;Toth,2013;Lyra,

etal.,2016;Ozdamli,etal.,2016),whichtheteachercandidateparticipantsfeltwas

accuratelyrepresentedthroughtheirexperienceswithinfographicsasatoolfor

communication.Throughthecreationofaninfographic,authorsarerequiredtoconsider

notonlywhatinformationisbeingpresented,butalsohowtodosointhemost

aestheticallypleasingway.Theparticipantsrecognizedthatsincestudentsspendsomuch

oftheirlivesintheonlineworld,itwasimportantforeducatorstoacknowledgethe

opportunitythatdigitaltoolsofferformoreeffectivecommunication,whichissupported

byresearchconductedbyAlvermann(2009).Finally,theparticipantsaswellasthe

literature(Belk,2014),mentionedhowmasssharingofinformation,whetherasaphoto,

textualpost,orinfographic,hasbecomeaculturalnormformanystudents.Withthisin

mind,teachersshouldbeteachingstudentshowtodecodemultimodallysothattheyare

preparedtonavigatetoday’sonlinecommunicativeenvironment(Kereluik,etal.,2013).

Thenextcompetencythatwascleartoteachercandidateswastheneedforauthors

andaudiencesaliketoengageincriticalthinkingskills.Individualswhoarecreating

infographicsneedtocriticallyanalyzetheinformationthattheywantpresentedsothat

theycanrepresentthoseconceptsinamultimodalway(Matrix&Hodson,2017).Thiswas

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anelementofinfographicproductionthatalloftheparticipantsidentifiedassomething

thatmaybedifficultfortheirstudents.Phillipacknowledged,“itisreallyabout

understandingtheimpactonnon-verbalorvisualcontentontheirinfographics,notputting

picturesforthesakeofputtingpictures.Thereneedstobeameaningbehindit,a

purposefulconnection.”Ericidentifiedhowstudentsneedto,“makesurethatthe

informationyou[thestudent]hasisconciseandrelevantandpin-pointedtoacertain

materialthatyouwanttoshow.”Theteachercandidatesrecognizedtheneedsfortheir

studentstohavestrongcriticalthinkingskills,andnotedhowitextendspastsimply

readingtextoffofapage.However,theartifactsprovidedinphasethreeoftheresearch

showedthatitwasanelementofdifficultyforsomeoftheparticipantsaswell.Luke

mentionedhiswillingnesstotakeaninfographicatfacevalue,recognizingthathewasnot

puttinghiscriticalthinkingskillstouse.Thiswassomethingthathebecamemoreawareof

throughthephasesofthisstudyandidentifiedasapersonalareaforgrowthbytheendof

hisparticipationinthethesis.Researchshowsthatmultimodalityencouragesthe

developmentofthesetypesofcriticalthinkingskills(Albers&Harste,2007),butthe

participantsoutlinedthisasapotentialareaformoreeducationtobeprovidedtoteachers

sothattheycanbebetterpreparedtoassisttheirstudents.Theyacknowledgedtheneed

formeaningfulselectionofmodalitiestoconveymeaning,whichisalsosupportedby

research(Walsh,2010;Jocius,2013;Barton&Baguley,2014).

5.5 Teacher Candidates Future Use of Infographics

Theideathatthroughengagingwithinfographicsasacommunicationtool,they

wouldbepotentiallyreachingawidervarietyofstudentsresonatedwiththeparticipants

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inthisstudy.Throughthemultimodalnatureofthetool,theteachercandidatesfeltthatthe

useofimages,text,video,audio,andothermodalitieswouldappealtothestudents’varying

learningpreferences,andthuswouldprovideamoremeaningfullearningexperience.Eric

noted,“asateacherevaluatinganinfographic,yougetanideaofwhatstudentsvaluethe

most…theygettochoosewhattheypresent,”whichmaygivestudentsagreaterfeelingof

autonomyintheirlearning.Researchineducationandliteracyhasextensivelyshownthat

theconnectionofrepresentationalsystemsaidsinthemeaningmakingprocess(Gee,1996;

Kress,2003;Buckingham,2007b;Mills,2010;Jocius,2013).Byencouragingourstudents

toengageintheseprocessesatayoungerage,andprovidingthemwithchancestodevelop

andusetheseskillsintheirlearning,weareworkingtoimprovetheirunderstandingof

literacyasitextendsbeyondsimplyreadingandwritingtraditionalprinttext.

Anotheraffordancethattheteachercandidateswerequicktoacknowledgewasthe

potentialforinfographicstoencourageSTEAMeducationintheclassroom.Whether

workingfromamultimodalitystandpointorencouragingstudentstousethedesign

processwhileworking,theyarebeingtaughttoengageintheirliteracyeducationinaway

thatissometimesabsentfromthetraditionallearningenvironment.STEMeducatorsare

oftentaskedwithprovidingtheirstudentswithampleamountsofdata,sobyempowering

themtoaddresstheA[arts]inSTEAMeducation,theyarebetterabletotacklecross-

curricularteachingwhilealsosupportingliteracydevelopmentfortheirstudents.By

elicitingthisdesignthinkinginsubjectsthatarenottypicallylinkedtoengineering,

studentsarebeingtaughttoutilizethetwenty-firstcenturycompetenciesthatweare

teachinginwaysthatareeffectiveforlearning.Theseskillscanalsobereimaginedtobe

moreindustryrelevantandspecificlateronintheircareers.

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Aninterestingwaythattheteachercandidatesenvisionedusinginfographicswasfor

evidenceaslearningandevidenceoflearning.PhillipandJakerecognizedtheeducational

potentialfortheuseofinfographicsasaconsolidationtool,whetherasastudytoolfor

studentstouseorasasummaryattheconclusionofaunit.Theybothacknowledged

havingusedinfographicsforthispurposepreviously,andfeltthatthiswasanapplicable

andefficientwayofnotonlyusingthistoolintheirclassroom,butalsotointroducetheir

studentstomultimodalcommunicationforcreationlateronintheirlearning.LukeandEric

ontheotherhandsawinfographicsasatooltogaugewherestudentswereinthelearning

process.Theyrecognizedtheaffordancesthatthismultimodalcommunicationtoolcould

offereducatorsinrelationtokeepingtrackofstudentunderstandingandprogress

throughoutaunitofstudy.

Alloftheteachercandidatesemphasizedthattheywouldbeusinginfographicsin

somefashionintheirfutureclassrooms.LukeandPhillipnotedthattheywerecurrently

usingthemasacommunicationtoolintheirteaching.Ericcommentedthathefeltthat

infographicswouldbeagoodalternativewayforstudentstoshowtheirlearningof

curricularcontent.Finally,Jakebelievedthatinfographicscouldbebeneficialwhenpaired

withalargerresearchproject,orasadirectteachingtooltointroduceconceptsinhis

scienceclassroom.

5.6 Educational Implications

Infographicshavepotentialasacommunicativetoolinkindergartentogradetwelve

classrooms.Infographicssupportdigitalliteracieseducation,twenty-firstcentury

competenciesdevelopment,multimodalthinkinganddesign(Lankow,Ritchie&Crooks,

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2012;Siricharoen,2013;Lazard&Atkinson,2015;Polman&Gebre,2015;Thompson,

2015).Theyleveragestudents’interests,andcapitalizeontheeffectiveuseoftechnologyin

theclassroomenvironment.Infographicsareabletoteachaplethoraofskillstostudents,

butwithoutteacherswhoarewillingtoengagewithandlearnhowtoleveragethesetools,

studentswillbelimitedtoonlyafewwaysofcommunicatingtheirlearningand

understanding.Educationwillcontinuetorelyontraditionalassessmenttoolslikeessays,

tests,andfinalexaminations,which,asresearchhasshown,arenotthemosteffectiveor

authenticmethodsofcommunicatingunderstandingandknowledgeacquisition

(Buckingham,2007a;Philip&Garcia,2013;Fullan&Langworthy,2014;Henthorn&

Cammack,2017).

However,whiletheyareaneffectivetoolforliteracyengagementand

communication,infographicscannotentirelyreplaceotherteachingtechniquesand

pedagogicalstrategies.Forexample,whileinfographicsinherentlyteachsimilarskillsasa

traditionalessay,learninghowtowriteaproperessayiscurrentlyarequirementofpost-

secondaryinstitutions,maintainingitsrelevanceinthekindergartenthroughgradetwelve

classrooms.Thoughthisnecessitystillexists,theteachercandidatesacknowledgedthe

potentialimpactthatinfographicscouldhaveonstudentengagementandtheirabilityto

communicateinformation.Unlikewithanessay,wherestudentswriteforsomeonewhois

familiarwiththecontent,aninfographiccanbeaneffectivecommunicationtoolfor

someonewithabsolutelynoexperiencewiththeinformationbeingpresented.Thisforces

studentstoreallyreconsiderhowtheyaresharinginformationwithaconsumer,andwhat

isthemosteffectivemodalitybywhichtosharethisinformation.

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Lastly,technologyintegrationisapedagogicalconceptthatisembeddedintothe

teachereducationaccreditationguidelinesinaccordancewiththeOntarioCollegeof

Teachers(OCT).AccordingtotheAccreditationResourceGuide(2017),toteacheffectively

withtechnology,teachercandidatesneedtonotonlyunderstandhowtorepresentideas

andcurricularcontent,butalsohowtoleveragethetoolstoimproveandfacilitatethe

learningprocess.Throughearlyintroductiontotechnologytools,likeinfographics,teacher

educationprogramscouldbetterprepareteachercandidatesfortheirfuturepractice.

5.7 Limitations and Future Research

5.7.1 Overview

Whileeveryeffortwasmadetoensurethatthisstudywascompletedinanethically

soundandvalidstudy,therewereafewlimitationstotheresearchthatwererecognized.

Futureresearchshouldconsiderhowandwhentobetterengagewiththeteacher

candidatepopulations.Consideringthisstudytookplacewhiletheteachercandidateswere

currentlycompletedtheirin-classlecturesandassignments,theirattentionwasmore

focusedontheircoursework.Inadditiontothis,theparticipantshadlimitedtimetogain

experiencewiththeonlineinfographiccreationplatformastheyhaddeadlinestomeetfor

theirBachelorofEducationstudies.Lastly,thecurrentlevelofacceptanceandutilizationof

infographicsintheclassroommadepracticaluseofinfographicsdifficultfortheteacher

candidates.Regardlessofwhetherornottheywantedtousethesetoolsintheirpractice,

theywererequiredtofollowtheleadoftheirassociateteacherswhomayhavebeenless

willingtowelcomenewtechnologiesandpedagogiesintotheirclassrooms.These

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limitationsallaffectedtheoutcomesofthisstudyandshouldbeconsideredforfuture

researchpertainingtothispopulationorsubjectofstudy.

5.7.2 Limited Participant Population

Asthisstudytookplacewhiletheteachercandidateparticipantswerecurrently

enrolledintheirteachereducationprogram,thetimecommitmenttotheresearchstudy

becameasecondaryconcern.Asaresult,thestudylostsixparticipantsbythetimethefinal

phaseofdatacollectioncame.Thoughthedatacollectedfromthefourfinalparticipants,

theadditionalperspectivesfromtheotherteachercandidateswouldhaveledtoricherdata

analysisandcomparison.Additionally,itisimportanttonotethattheonlyparticipantsto

finishthestudyweremale.Theselectionofonlymenforcasestudycomparisonwasnot

intentional,andwasthusnotrepresentativeoftheentireteachercandidatepopulationin

thiscohort.Giventhesampleforthisstudywasteachercandidatesinateachingrole,the

resultscannotbegeneralizedforitssuitabilitywithyounger,lessexperiencedstudents.

Additionalresearchwouldberequiredtotakeplacewithintheclassroomenvironmentto

testthevalidityandefficacyofinfographictoolswiththestudentpopulation.

5.7.3 Time Constraints

Anotherconstraintfortheteachercandidatesinthisstudywastheamountoftime

thattheyhadtodedicatetothedifferentphasesoftheresearch.Participantsreported

duringthepre-andpost-studyquestionnairesthattheyhadlittlefamiliaritywiththe

infographictoolPiktochart(Piktochart,2018).Theywereinvitedtofindaninfographic

creationplatformthattheyweremorefamiliarwith,buttheyallchosetousePiktochart

(Piktochart,2018),astheyfelttheydidnothavethetimetodedicatetolocatingand

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learninganewtool.Withmoretime,theparticipantsmayhavebenefitedfromtinkering

morewithPiktochart(Piktochart,2018)orbeinggivensomeprofessionaldevelopmenton

thebestpracticesforuseofthisfreewareplatform.Sincetheparticipantshadboth

courseworkandpracticumplacementsthroughoutthecourseofthestudy,theyhadto

dividetheirattentionandfocusontheirstudies,ratherthanfullyattendtoparticipatingin

thestudy.Theresearcherworkedtoensurethattheteachercandidatesfeltthattheyhad

theappropriateamountoftimetoproducetheirbestinfographic,whichdidprolongthe

completionoftheproject.

5.7.4 Infographics in the Mainstream Education System

Anothersignificantlimitationtothisresearchisthecurrentacceptabilityand

usabilityofinfographicsinthemainstreamclassroom.Sincethereisstillaplethoraof

researchbeingconductedintheareasofmultimodaltechniques,newliteraciesand

assessmentofthesetypesofdigitalcommunicationmethodologies,teachersmaynotbe

currentlywillingtoengagewiththistypeofliterarypractice.Sincethisstudyreliedonthe

useofteachercandidatesasparticipants,theydidnothavefullautonomouscontrolover

howtheywereteachingandassessingtheirlessonsintheclassroom.Withthisinmind,

severalteachercandidateswereencouragedtousemoretraditional,paper-based

assessmentandcommunicationtoolsintheirpracticumplacements.

5.7.5 Future Research Considerations

Futureresearchshouldconsidertheimportanceofmultimodalityandinteractive

mediaasatoolforclassroomuse.Bygivingstudents,andteachers,theopportunitiesto

presentinformationinawaythatisnotonlyinformative,butvisuallyappealingwillmake

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theconsumptionofinformationmoreengagingforaudiences,regardlessoftheirprior

knowledgeonthesubject.Withincreasedattentiontotheuseofthesetypesoftoolsinthe

learningenvironment,wearebetterabletoprepareourstudentswiththeskillsthatare

requiredinthetwenty-firstcenturyworkforceaswellasthewidercommunity.

Additionally,reachingouttotheassociateteachers(AT)thatareoverseeingthe

teachercandidateparticipantsandincludingthemintheresearchcouldbebeneficial.This

maygivetheteachercandidatesmorefreedomtoexploretheuseofthesemultimodaltools

intheclassroom.Byincludingtheassociateteachers,they[theATs]wouldpotentiallyfeel

betterpreparedtohavethesetoolsutilizedwithintheclassroom,empoweringtheteacher

candidatestoexplorethetoolsmoredeeply,providingricherdataandpracticum

classroomexamplesfortheteachercandidatestoreport.

Finally,futureresearchshouldconsideremployingasimilarinterventionin

kindergartentogradetwelveclassrooms.Whilethisstudyprovidedsomeinsightsinto

teachercandidates’opinionsontheaffordancesandconstraintsofinfographics,employing

themwithastudentpopulationmayprovideinterestingandpotentiallypedagogically

impactfulresults.Throughresearchwiththeteachercandidates,itseemsthatinfographics

wouldbeanincrediblyusefultooltouseintheclassroom,butgettingactualkindergarten

throughgradetwelve-studentfeedbackwouldbeanimportantperspectivetoconsideras

well.

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5.8 Conclusion

Thepurposeofthisstudywastoexploretheaffordancesandconstraintsof

infographicsuseasitpertainedteachercandidatesandtheirfutureclassroompractice.

Thiswasaccomplishedthroughasmall-scale,casestudyprojectinvolvingfourteacher

candidatesduringtheirtimeintheirBachelorofEducationprogram.Throughthetime

spentcompletingthefourphasesofthisresearchstudy,teachercandidateswereableto

exploretheirperceptionsofinfographicsasacommunicationtoolandtheirpotential

futureuseintheclassroomenvironment.

Thisresearchstudyencouragedteachercandidatestoparticipateintheinvestigation

andcreationofinfographicstoexploreatopicofinteresttothem.Theresearch

emphasizedtheimportanceofstudentsdevelopingtheirdigitalliteraciesskills(New

LondonGroup,1996;Lankshear&Knobel,1998;Cope&Kalantzis,2000;Kress,2000,

2003;Knobel&Lanskhear,2007;Hughes,2009),twenty-firstcenturycompetencies

(Jenkins,etal.,2009;Silva,2009;Partnershipfor21stCenturySkills,2011;National

ResearchCounciloftheNationalAcademics,2012;OntarioMinistryofEducation,2017),

andpointstotheadvantagesofinfographicsasacommunicationtool(Clark&Mayer,

2011;Krauss,2012;Lankow,Ritchie&Crooks,2012;Smiciklas,2012;Siricharoen,2013;

Kos&Sims,2014).So,thisstudyexploredthoseconceptsastheyrelatedtoinfographics

usewithprospectiveteachers.

Attheconclusionofthisstudy,itisproposedthatinfographicscouldhelpteacher

candidatestobettereducatetheirstudentswithregardstodigitalliteracies,multimodality,

andtwenty-firstcenturycompetencies.Interactionwithinfographicsduringtheirpre-

92

serviceteachereducationprogramprovidedtheteachercandidateswithadditionalinsight

intopedagogicallyimpactfulwaysofincorporatingtechnologyintotheirpractice.

Additionally,throughtheuseoftheresearchercreatedInfographicsMatrix,itishoped

thatin-serviceteacherswillbegintorecognizethepotentialofthiscommunicationtool.By

startingwiththeMatrix,teacherscoulddeveloprubricsorotherassessmentmethodsthat

wouldallowtheirstudentstouseandlearnwithinfographics.Byoutliningthekeyfeatures

foreducatorstolookfor,theInfographicMatrixactstobridgethegapinin-serviceteacher

understandingofinfographics,andencouragetheirexplorationanduseasatoolinthe

classroom.

Itcanbesuggestedthattheuseofinfographicsasatoolforcommunicationisa

pedagogicalstrategythatisworthfurtherinvestigation.Astheshiftcontinuestowards

technologyuseandmultiliteraciesdevelopmentinthekindergartentogradetwelveschool

system,itisimportantthatresearcherscontinuetoinvestigatepedagogicallymeaningful

andacademicallyengagingwaystoimplementthesetoolsintheclassroom.Digital

technologiesofferopportunitiesforteacherstoreimaginetheirteachingandlearning

environments.Throughacceptanceandinvestigationofthesetoolsduringteacher

candidates’timeinpre-serviceeducation,itishopedthattheywilladoptandsharetheir

pedagogicalknowledgewiththeirpeers,colleagues,andfuturestudents.Thisway,

educatorsarebetterabletoencouragerelevantskilldevelopmentintheirstudentsto

preparethemfortheworldtheywillenterwhentheygraduatefromtheK-12education

system.

93

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Appendix A: Letter of Introduction & Consent Forms

LETTER OF INTRODUCTION

My name is Lauren Fridman, and I am a graduate student at the Faculty of Education at

the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). With the approval of the UOIT

Research Ethics Board [REB #14131, approved on February 2, 2017], I am about to begin my

thesis research. The focus of this project is to investigate the impact of reading and creating

infographics with beginning teacher candidates (TCs). Information graphics, referred to more

commonly as infographics are a type of visual that blends data and design, which helps

individuals, groups, and organizations more clearly communicate complex messages to their

target audiences (Smiciklas, 2012). The primary goal is to explore the affordances and

constraints of both consuming and producing infographics and determining whether/how these

TCs might use this relatively new form of multimodal communication/expression with their future

pupils. Infographics allow students/creators to express their understanding through multimodal

methods, allowing the development of a wide array of skills including traditional literacy as well

as 21st century competencies such as digital literacies.

It is projected that the information that comes from this research will be used for the

development of future lessons, which may raise the awareness and increase the likelihood of

implementation of infographics and similar communication tools in Ontario classrooms. Data

results will also be presented as a graduate level thesis.

I invite you to participate in this study. All participants will be able to explore this

relatively new communication tool. Participants will also be required to create a project that

exhibits their understanding of an issue of personal importance to them (e.g. Mental Health, The

Truth and Reconciliation Commission, etc.) in the form of an infographic. Your participation

would involve the following: (1) completion of a 15-20 minute online pre-survey; (2) a ranking

activity at the Faculty of Education of pre-created infographics; (3) submission of your own

infographic artifact based off of your topic of interest to the primary investigator; and (4) a 15-20

minute 1-on-1 interview with the primary investigator following the submission and analysis of

the participant-made infographic. Data will be collected at different times throughout the course

of the study. However, data collected will only be used for analysis and reporting from those

participants who have provided consent. The primary investigator will take unobtrusive

108

observation notes during the sessions. These notes will be shared with the participant prior to

any publication to ensure accuracy of information.

Participation in this research project is completely optional and there will be no academic

penalty for not participating. The following methods will be used for data collection:

• Participants will complete a pre-study questionnaire to assess their understanding and engagement with current digital tools as well as infographics more generally. The questionnaire will take roughly between 15-20 minutes to complete. Analysis will be conducted based on the responses provided by participants, and the findings will be used for discussion purposes later on. These responses will also be used as a baseline for tracking participants’ views of infographics and 21st century competencies change and/or develop over the course of the study.

• The PI will collect participant data through observation notes and audio/video recording. • The PI will collect data through 1-on-1 interviews with selected participants at the

beginning and conclusion of the study to track any changes in perspective as well as to gain a better understanding of those perspectives identified through observation. Interviews will take place in the UOIT Faculty of Education.

There are very limited risks for participating in this study. Participants may be standing or

sitting for extended periods of time. To mitigate this risk, frequent breaks are suggested.

Participants may withdraw from the study at any time without penalty and can choose

not to answer specific questions by saying, “pass” in any interview setting. If, during any of the

above activities, you decide not to participate, you can stop the activity by approaching the

researcher and indicating that you wish to withdraw from the study. You will be notified if any

activity or discussion is being taped and will have the opportunity to object. The information

provided will be accessible only to the researcher and her supervisor. Each participant will be

assigned a pseudonym once the data has been collected and any images or videos where the

participants are visible will be altered to obscure the faces. Any names present on participant

work will be removed prior to publication.

The tapes and transcripts, as well as all other data collected will be stored securely with

the researcher. By consenting to participate, the participant does not waive any normal legal

rights or recourse.

Your signature on the consent form indicates that you have read this letter, understand

its contents, and agree to participate in this research study. If you have any questions regarding

the study or experience any discomfort related to the study, please contact the researcher

Lauren Fridman at [email protected].

109

Any questions regarding your rights as a participant, complaints or adverse events may

be addressed to the Research Ethics Broach through the Ethics and Compliance Officer –

[email protected] or 905.721.8668 ext. 3693.

Thank you for considering participation in this research study.

Lauren Fridman

CONSENT FORM

Participant Concerns and Reporting:

If you have any questions regarding the study or experience any discomfort related to the study,

please contact the researcher Lauren Fridman at [email protected].

Any questions regarding your rights as a participant, complaints or adverse events may be

addressed to Research Ethics Board through the Ethics and Compliance Officer –

[email protected] or 905.721.8668 x. 3693.

This study has been approved by the UOIT Research Ethics Board REB #14131 on February 2,

2017.

Participant:

I have read the Letter of Introduction – Request for Consent relating to the above titled project, I

understand the proposed research and my questions must be answered to my satisfaction.

I understand and consent to the following (please check each item you understand and agree

to):

¨ I have the right to withdraw from the study at any time if I do not feel comfortable and I understand that the information collected is for research purposes only and no personal identifiers will be used.

¨ If I withdraw, my information will not be used in the research and will be destroyed. ¨ Participation is entirely voluntary and that choosing to participate or choosing to

withdraw from the study will have no negative consequences for me. ¨ Data will be collected through field notes and audio/visual/photo recordings. All notes

and interview transcripts will be shared with participants for verification before any findings are analyzed and disseminated. I can choose to withdraw my contributions or clarify items with no negative consequences.

110

¨ I understand that there are limited physical risks involved in this study. ¨ I understand that I will be instructed through each step of the research project and that I

have the right to pass and not share one or all of the projects I create. There will be no negative consequences if I choose not to share.

By signing below, I give my consent for participation in the research study.

I give consent to be recorded (audio/video/photo):

I give consent to be audio-recorded only:

I give consent to be video-recorded only:

I give consent to be photographed only:

I give consent to the secondary use of data:

I give consent to participate in the focus groups:

I give consent to participate in the interviews:

Full Name (please print): _____________________________

Signature: _____________________________

Date: _____________________________

Email: __________________________________________________________

Note: Please return this document to Lauren Fridman in the STEAM 3D Makerspace

Lab (room 415) by March 31, 2017. If you cannot make it to the lab to return the

document, please arrange a meeting with Lauren through [email protected]. A

photocopy of this document will be made so that you can retain a copy for your records.

Researchers Name: Lauren Fridman

Signature: _____________________________________

Date: ________________________________

111

Appendix B: Pre-Research Questionnaire

1. Whatdoestheterm“Literacy”meantoyou?Howwouldyoudefineit?

2. Whatdoestheterm“DigitalLiteracy”meaninyourownwords?

3. Wouldyouconsideryourselfdigitallyliterate?Explain.

4. Whatdoyouidentifyas“21stcenturycompetencies”thatshouldbetaughtinthe

classroom?Howcanyoubesurethattheseareaddressedinyourfutureclassroom?

5. Haveyoueverusedaninfographicbefore? Yes/No

a. Ifyouansweredyestotheabovequestion,whatwasthecontext?

b. Whatwastheprocesslikeforyou?

c. Haveyoueverusedtheminaneducationalsetting?(i.e.readingone,

critiquingone,creatingone).

6. Howmightaninfographicfitintothedigitalliteracydefinitionyouusedabove?

7. Howmightaninfographicencourageliteracydevelopmentinschool?Howmight

infographicsenhancetheteaching/learningprocess?

8. Howconfidentdoyoufeelinyourabilitieswithinfographicsandrelatedtools?How

doyoufeelyoucurrentunderstandingofdigitalliteracieswillimpactyour

successesinthetasksinvolvedinthisstudy?

LikertScaleQuestions

Iamconfidentusingdigitaltechnologyinmyteaching1234567

Iamdigitallyliterate1234567

Myteachingpracticeincludes21stcenturycompetencies1234567

112

Studentsenjoylearningliteracywithtraditionalmethods1234567

Multiplecommunicationmethodsareavailableforstudentstoexpresstheirunderstanding

inliteracyclassrooms1234567

Iamcomfortableusinginfographics1234567

Ienjoyusinginfographicsinmyteaching1234567

Infographicscouldbeusedtoteachliteracytostudents1234567

Ifyouhaveanyquestions,commentsorconcerns,pleaseoutlinethemhere.

113

Appendix C: One-on-One Interview Questions

Thankyouforparticipatinginmystudyandforagreeingtoparticipateinthis

interview.Justtoremindyouofafewthings--youmaywithdrawfromthestudyatany

timewithoutpenaltyandyoucanchoosenottoanswerspecificquestionsbysaying,“pass”.

Ifyoudecideyoudonotwanttoparticipate,youcanstopme(theinterviewer)byletting

me(theinterviewer)knowyoudonotwishtoparticipateanylonger.Youcanchoosewhat,

ifany,oftheinterviewyouwouldliketobeincludedinthestudy/datacollection.Any

informationyouindicatecanbeincludedwillbeaccessibletotheresearchteam(myself

andmysupervisor)onlyandkeptinasecurelocation(withtheprimaryinvestigator).

Pseudonymswillbeassignedtoeveryparticipant.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Intheinterviews,Iwillfollowupwithparticipantsonimportantandnote-worthyitems

thathaveemergedintherankingactivityandfromthepre-surveyquestionnaire.ItemsI

anticipateexpandingoninclude:

• Individualtechnologyuse/21stcenturycompetenciesand/orskillsgained

• Lessonslearnedfromtheinfographicmakingprocess(intra-personallessons

learned,subject-specificlessonslearned,etc.)

• Specificexamples/detailsregardinghowinfographicsmightbenefitlearningand/or

encourageengagementintheliteracylearningprocess

• Subject-specificexamplesofhowonecouldintegratetechnology,infographics

and/or21stcenturycompetenciesinhis/hercurrentorfutureclassroom(s)

114

Appendix D: Infographics for Ranking Activity

Infographic A

115

Infographic B

116

InfographicC

117

Appendix E: Infographic Ranking Questions

1. Why did you rank the infographics in the order you did?

2. What stood out to you about infographic A?

3. What stood out to you about infographic B?

4. What stood out to you about infographic C?

5. What would you say are the most important things to consider when creating or sharing

an infographic?

6. How would you improve the infographic you ranked lowest?

7. What are some areas of infographic creation that you think students will have trouble

with?

8. What are some areas of infographic creation that you think students will enjoy or thrive

at?

9. How do you think infographics encourage the development of digital literacies skills?

10. How do you think creating infographics intersect with the development of 21st century

competencies (collaboration, communication, inquiry skills, problem solving, etc.)

118

Appendix F: Teacher Candidate Created Infographics

Phillip

119

Luke

120

Jake

121

Eric

122

Appendix G: Post-Study Interview Questions

General Questions:

1. Has your opinion of using infographics changed over the course of this study? 2. What affordances do you perceive for the use of infographic production and

consumption? 3. What constraints do you perceive for the use of infographic production and consumption? 4. How do you think creating infographics help to encourage digital literacy skill

development? What about learning from them? 5. Do you believe that infographic creation encourages 21st century skill development

(multimodal communication, creative and critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving and cultural and global citizenship)? If so, how?

a) What specific skills do you think students gain through the production and consumption of infographics?

6. How do you see yourself using infographics in your own teaching? Have you used them in your teaching since beginning this study?

7. Do you feel that the infographic teaches similar skills as a traditional essay? If so, how?

Individual Questions:

Phillip 1. In our initial interview, you mentioned the importance of referencing data. I notice that

you listed the websites at the bottom of the infographic, do you think that is enough? a) Should you be using proper APA/MLA style referencing? What about in-text

citations? 2. You mentioned in our interview that the length could be a factor for readers continuing or

skipping your infographic, do you think that your infographic was an appropriate length? 3. Do you feel that you had too much text in your infographic?

Luke:

1. In our initial interview, you mentioned the importance of referencing data. I notice that you listed the websites at the bottom of the infographic, do you think that is enough?

a) Should you be using proper APA/MLA style referencing? What about in-text citations?

2. Do you feel that you had too much text in your infographic? b) Could you have better spread out or broken down the text too make it easier to

absorb?

Eric:

1. Do you feel that your text to image/graphic ratio was appropriate? 2. Who was the target audience for your infographic? Do you feel there was a way you may

have been able to clarify this further?

123

3. What was the purpose of the infographic you created? Do you think this was clear based on the information you presented?

4. In our initial interview you mentioned the importance of legitimate data, why do you feel this way?

a) I noticed that you did not make any references in your infographic, was all the information from memory or should you have sourced the material in the infographic?

b) Do you feel that images should be sourced as well? 5. Do you think that collaboration can only exist person-to-person, or is there an element of

collaboration that exists person-to-technology? Explain. Jake

1. We discussed digital citizenship as a key 21st century skill to be developed by students, part of that includes sourcing data. Do you think it is important to use APA/MLA citations in an infographic? What about in-text citations?

a. What about in-text citations? 2. Do you think the length of your infographic was appropriate? Why or why not.

124

Appendix H: Post-Study Questionnaire

1. Whatdoestheterm“literacy”meantoyou?Howwouldyoudefineit?

2. Whatdoestheterm“digitalliteracy”meaninyourownwords?

3. Hasyouropinionofusinginfographicsintheclassroomchangedoverthecourseof

thisstudy?

4. Howmightaninfographicencourageliteracydevelopmentinschool?

5. Howmightinfographicsenhancetheteaching/learningprocess?

6. Whatbenefitsdoyouseeintheuseofinfographicsintheclassroom?

7. Whatconstraintsdoyouseeintheuseofinfographicsintheclassroom?

8. Howdidcreatinganinfographichelpyoudevelopyourdigitalliteraciesskills?

9. Doyoubelievethatcreatinginfographicsinvolvestheuseof21stcenturyskills?If

so,how?(Pleasebeasspecificasyoucan).

10. Howdoyouthinkyouwilluseinfographicsinyourfutureteaching?

11. Hasyouropinionofthiscommunicationtoolchangedatalloverthecourseofthis

study?Ifso,how?

12. Isthereanyfurtherinformationyouwouldliketosharewithmeaboutthestudy?

125

Appendix I : Written Thank You Letter (Email)

Dear_________________________,

Iwouldliketothankyouforparticipatinginmystudy.ThroughyourparticipationIhave

learnedalotaboutinfographics,theiruseineducationandhow21stcenturycompetenciesarepresentinourfutureteachers.Theaggregateinformationcollectedmaybeusedinfutureinfographicresearch,andIwillbecompletingmythesiswiththisinformation.

SinceItoldyouatthebeginningofthestudythatyouwouldbeabletoreadalltheinformationcollectedonyouduringthestudy,pleasefindacopyofallthesedocumentsattached.Theinformationinthetranscriptisverbatim,withtheonlychangesbeingthatyournamehasbeenremovedandreplacedwithapseudonym,ashaseverythingelsethatmightidentifyyou.Ifthereisanythinginthetranscriptthatyoubelieveisincorrectorifyoumayhaveadditionalcommentstomake,pleasesendbackarevisedcopyofthetranscript.

Ifyouhaveanyfurtherquestions,concernsorcommentsaboutthedatacollectedorhowitwillbeused,[email protected].

Anyquestionsregardingyourrightsasaparticipant,complaints,oradverseeventsmaybeaddressedtotheResearchEthicsBoard,UOIT,throughtheResearchEthicsCoordinator-researchethics@uoit.caor905.721.8668x.3693".

Thankyouagainforyourtimeandparticipation,

LaurenFridman

126

Appendix J: Teacher Candidate Recruitment Email

My name is Lauren Fridman, and I am a graduate student at the Faculty of Education at

the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). With the approval of the UOIT

Research Ethics Board [REB #, approved on **** date], I am about to begin my thesis research.

The focus of this project is to investigate the impact of reading and creating infographics with

beginning teacher candidates (TCs). The primary goal is to explore the affordances and

constraints of both consuming and producing infographics and determining whether/how these

TCs might use this relatively new form of multimodal communication/expression with their future

pupils.

I invite you to participate in this study. All participants will be able to explore this

relatively new communication tool. Participants will also be required to create a project that

exhibits their understanding of an issue of personal importance to them (e.g. Mental Health, The

Truth and Reconciliation Commission, etc.) in the form of an infographic.

Your participation would involve the following:

1. Completion of a 15-20 minute online pre-survey; 2. A ranking activity at the Faculty of Education of pre-created infographics; 3. Submission of your own infographic artifact based off of your topic of interest to the

primary investigator; and 4. A 15-20 minute 1-on-1 interview with the primary investigator following the

submission and analysis of the participant-made infographic.

The tapes and transcripts, as well as all other data collected will be stored securely with the

researcher. By consenting to participate, the participant does not waive any normal legal rights

or recourse.

If you are interested in participating in this research study, please email [email protected]

with your name and whether you are a P/J or I/S Candidate.

Thank you,

Lauren Fridman

127

Appendix K: Research Ethics Board (REB) Approval

128

Appendix L: Research Ethics Board (REB) Renewal

129

Appendix M: Tri-Council Policy Statement on Ethics

(TCPS2: Core)

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