Practices

Imago 2010
Comenius Multilateral Project
Institutions involved:
Thematic Field: Literacy
Sofia university Hl. Kl. Ochridski (Bulgaria), University Mozarteum Salzburg (Austria),
Panepistimio Thessalias (Greece), Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen (Germany)
Coordinating institution:
Amt für Lehrerbildung Hessen (Germany)
Key words: Literacy curriculum, Teaching skills, Digitalisation and literacy
Description:
The main goal of this project was to develop and test a European-style curriculum
for visual literacy for teachers and student teachers in pre-primary and primary
schools.
In the media age, children face reading literacy and visual literacy challenges even
at pre-school and primary school age. The development of broad literacy skills, which
go far beyond a purely text-based approach (e.g. critical and competent use of visual
material, coding and decoding of pictures) would therefore appear necessary.
However, school education has traditionally focussed primarily on the acquisition of
written language. The need for an "aesthetic literacy" remains mostly ignored.
The purpose of this project was therefore to develop, test and evaluate new
materials and curricula, where the use of symbols, images and texts can be
practiced and shared. The materials aim to develop elementary visual skills, evoke
interest in visual forms of expression, promote individual articulacy and help to
advance verbal and non-verbal linguistic skills in the form of best-practice examples.
The early years are critical in the development of language and reading skills. Working
with images is particularly appealing to children, promotes non-linear, lateral thinking
and can motivate for learning. Including (visual) literacy is particularly valuable in
language learning programmes for children from an immigration background.
Elementary and primary school teachers are given the necessary professional skills
and trained in visual skills and level-of-learning diagnosis in training sequences and
further training modules. The international comparison in the project gives an insight
into cultural differences and visual communication. The reference to three different
scripts (Latin, Cyrillic and Greek alphabets) makes this a particularly exciting project.
The results of the project have been published for practising teachers,
supplemented by publications for children. Articles intended for specialists and
teacher trainers have also been published.
Duration:
2008-2010
Webpage:
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/projects/public_parts/documents/comenius/acc_mes_fin
al_report_2007/com_mp_142381_imago2010.pdf
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