Visual Literacy: Using images for Global Awareness and Student Engagement

We are researching the effect of using high-impact educational practices to introduce global awareness and cultural diversity, while teaching research skills and information literary in Freshman Composition classes. While working in groups, students research and analyze images that depict important historical, social, and cultural aspects of Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Laos, India, and the Solomon Islands. The basis for the research is material derived from an international detective novel set in one of the aforementioned countries. Data is gathered from a pre-test and a post- test that measure students’ understanding of using copyrighted material, as well as their self-reported awareness of their country of study