Stephanie Hook

B. Gleason

Theories and Models of Literacy

11/12/13

Research Paper Proposal: Concept Imagery for the Classroom

Sources:

1.)  Bell, “Imagery and the Language Processing Spectrum”

2.)  Lindamood, “The Roles of Concept Imagery, Phoneme Awareness, and Symbol Imagery in Cognitive Modifiability”

3.)  Carruthers, “Language in Cognition”

4.)  Enns, The Thinking Eye, The Seeing Brain: Explorations in Visual Cognition

5.)  Piaget, “Cognitive Precursors to Language”

6.)  Gardner, Disciplined Mind: What All Students Should Understand

7.)  Hirsch, “Cultural Literacy”

Questions:

What is Concept Imagery?

Who developed the Concept Imagery methodology?

What research has been done?

What type of student typically receives this kind of instruction?

How can concept imagery be utilized in mainstream classrooms to help cultivate more connective comprehension in students?

What educational standards necessitate greater focus on alternate modes of teaching conceptual material?

Topic:

An individual’s foundational and ever expanding cultural knowledge is supportive (some would even argue, essential) to the development of strong literacy skills.  This foundational knowledge and the strong literacy skills that correspond to it are intrinsic to an individual’s strong performance in academics settings.  However, students often struggle to retain information presented to them in the classroom and are resistant to the rote memorization methodology employed ad nauseam in mainstream schools. Focusing on concept imagery, however, can make school easier for most students. Teaching in a way that stimulates students’ concept imagery is highly effective for both teachers and students.

By using imagistic language and visual components while presenting lessons in science and the humanities, educators can help students build a visually-based schema of information and ideas that they will retain longer and utilize more critically than lessons they have simply memorized.  Without this type of cognitive development, students often have trouble reading for understanding: they read and then re-read over and over, they forget important facts, have trouble identifying relationships and contrasts between concepts and have trouble thinking critically about the information. They simply recall the information as it was transmitted to them, as rote facts. Their foundation in cultural, historical and scientific literacy will remain shaky as long as educators rely solely on the idea that education is transmission and reception based, and not understanding based. Instruction focused on concept imagery helps foster an education based on understanding. When someone sees something, they can understand it more deeply.  

Why:

There are many learning differences represented in the average American classroom.  So much so that expecting all student to receive and retain every imperative lesson on culture, history and literature is not only unrealistic, it is impossible.  Concept Imagery on the other hand is a concrete way in which all students can engage visually (albeit at different levels of proficiency) with their school texts and lessons.  Creating visual representations of important historic and cultural facts helps to build imagistic scaffolding upon which each student can build upon and draw from without knowing but simply by picturing.  This mental schema is imperative for students to comprehend challenging, abstract concepts, for example, the span of time.  When educators focus on fostering a mental time-line visually within each of their students, pupils can then utilize that imagery for factual recall and critical reflections on subjects such as history, global studies and cultural development.

            Conceptual and cultural background knowledge is imperative for students to build upon in order to develop complex understanding and to be able to critically process new information.  However mainstream classrooms often utilize a rote memorization strategy in order for students to receive and add to this foundational knowledge.  Applying concept imagery techniques in the classroom helps students to build an enduring schema of cultural, historical and political imagery that students retain, add–to and draw–from throughout their academic, and social experiences.

Challenges:

A primary challenge of this paper will be highlighting the focus of my discussion to the uses of concept imagery in a mainstream classroom. It has already been demonstrated as highly useful in Special Education classrooms and remediation settings, however I would like to argue that cultivating strong concept imagery in every student, no matter their ability level, is highly beneficial and a valuable pursuit for educators.  Also, it will be an interesting challenge to find resources and research documentation beyond those of Nanci Bell and Phyllis Lindamood – who are my primary sources at this point.