Theory and Practice of Visual Thinking Strategies in Upper Secondary Education
Theory and Practice of Visual Thinking Strategie sin Upper Secondary Education

Summary/Abstract: Visual representations are omnipresent in modern media and cultural life. In our globalized world, they represent important sources of information and, at the same time, powerful tools for manipulation. Images shape our perception, our views and our insights. Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a didactic-methodologi-cal concept that promotes the visual, cognitive and social competencies of learners by viewing age-appropriate pieces of art together. The aim of the present study is to investigate the possible effects of VTS on 16-year-old students (Upper secondary education in Austria) with specific regard to the development of critical thinking, participatory dynamics and interaction processes. Data from the written pre- and post-tests and videography were quantified and analyzed based on the deductive categorization of Critical Thinking Skills and on inductive categorization via open coding. A key finding of this project is that VTS has an impact on the critical-argu-mentative thinking skills of students in Upper secondary education. Moreover, the peer group’s discussion, which is led by a VTS facilitator, has a positive effect on the participation of “low-performing” and “high-performing” students.

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