Abstract

Little is known about the levels of visual literacy or the predominant learning modality of undergraduate design students in Sydney, New South Wales. With a greater understanding of students’ visual literacy and predominant learning modality, educators may have access to useful information in respect to the development of appropriate teaching materials and strategies. According to Bleed (2005) visual literacy provides educators with “an opportunity to connect with learners and enhance the quality of their learning”, he believes that: “visual literacy deserves a significant focus in higher education” (p.10). This research focuses on investigating levels of visual literacy and predominant learning modality using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods including: a questionnaire and F-sort and Q-sort methodology. The participants for this experimental research study were first year undergraduate students studying design history, a core course in the Bachelor of Design degree. This research conducted, in a realistic teaching environment, used descriptive statistics in order to identify varying levels of visual literacy and the predominant learning modality of participants, and correlation was used to examine patterns of similarity or dissimilarity between levels of visual literacy and predominant learning modality. The findings suggest that visual literacy and learning modality vary among design students, providing educators with the impetus to incorporate a range of different teaching materials and strategies to enable and enrich the learning process.