Paper, Pencil, and Crayons:
A Case Study in Building Visual Literacy Skills for College Students
Pamela Wicks and Meg Bero
Aurora University, USA
Abstract. A case study approach involved students enrolled in a sophomore-level visual communication course who struggle to construct a three-dimensional artifact using Photoshop. The students could not create a sense of depth needed for an effective composition. They did not understand how to translate their ideas to the landscape they were designing on a two-dimensional plane. Two case studies took place at a museum housed on the campus of a small liberal arts university in the Midwest. Students took part in a unit on composition in art, which was proposed to see how theory and practice worked when using the tools in the Photoshop program. This case study used the method of observation, analysis of documented student comments, student scores, and data collected from assessment reports to determine if learning occurred. Students met in the museum where they worked on creating visuals that started with the creation of three-dimensional displays, continued with blind contour drawing, and finished by creating art with construction paper. Overall, the unit served as a way to increase the learning experiences of the students in the Visual Communication class by providing them access to real pieces of art. They also learned the skills of observation and interpretation of art as a method needed to understand the construction of visuals.
Keywords: Hands-on learning, museum artifacts, Photoshop, three-dimensional, visual literacy,