Abstract:
Visual literacy is defined as competencies that enable an individual
to understand, interpret, use, generate, and evaluate visual images
or messages. The role of visual literacy in teaching mathematics
is to enhance learners’ understanding of complex concepts,
accommodate their needs, promote their logical and critical thinking,
and develop their communication skills. To develop learners’ visual
literacy, teachers need to use meaningful teaching styles and
strategies in mentoring and guiding their learners, giving them
sufficient opportunities to engage in meaningful tasks. This study
therefore aimed to answer the research questions regarding what
mathematics teachers’ understanding of the role of visual literacy
in mathematics teaching is; and how their instruction in terms of
teaching styles and strategies facilitated the development of visual
literacy. A two-part conceptual framework was used: the first part
focuses on teachers’ styles and strategies and the second part on
the integration of different visual media with text during instruction.
This article reports on an explorative case study conducted with three
Form 2 (second year of secondary school) mathematics teachers
who were required to facilitate visual literacy in their classrooms.
The data were collected through classroom observations and
semi-structured interviews and a deductive analysis approach was
implemented. The study revealed that a teacher-centred teaching
style and direct instruction as teaching strategy dominated all three
teachers’ instruction. Information was provided to the learners in
the form of demonstrations through the use of still media, and
oral explanations, with inadequate opportunities for learners to
engage in encoding and decoding visual information. We make the
recommendation that teacher training programmes should focus
on how teachers can use various teaching strategies in a learnerand teacher-centred style, but also how visual media can be made
and effectively used by both the teacher and learners to develop
their visual literacy.
