Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of history teachers’ visual usage level on high school students’ visual reading skills. This qualitative research, consisting of two stages, was carried out using a holistic multi-case study design. In the first stage, 19 history teachers were observed in the classroom and their visual usage status in history lessons was determined (Aslan, 2015). Among these 19 teachers, a total of 4 teachers, 2 experts, and 2 novices, were determined according to their visual usage levels, and the second stage of the research was conducted with their students. The study group consisted of 92 high school students who agreed to participate in the study on a voluntary basis among the students of the teachers identified in 4 high schools. The data required for the research was gathered via “Visual Reading Level Form” which developed by the researchers. Visual Reading Level Form aims to determine the visual reading skill levels of the participants in related sub-skills such as; estimating time and space, identifying persons, events and symbols, recognizing propaganda, understanding the message, and the historical importance of visual. According to research findings, in almost all sub-skills determined in this study, the students of the expert teachers were more successful than the students of the novice teachers. This shows that teachers’ higher levels of visual use precipitate an increase in their students’ visual reading skills.

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