“I can Read it, Imagine it, Understand it, and Enjoy it!” Techniques that Provoke and Engage the Imaginations of Adolescent Struggling Readers through Visualization.

Rose Mary Mautino
School of Education at Duquesne University

Wayne Brinda
School of Education at Duquesne University

Stefan Biancaniello
Duquesne University

Ruth Biro
School of Education at Duquesne University

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     Last modified: March 11, 2007
     Presentation date: 07/19/2007 1:25 PM in Coast Hotel Comox Room
     (View Schedule)

Abstract
Embracing Imaginative Education, the session introduces strategies developed by the Duquesne University Reading Clinic that activate the comprehension and visualization skills of adolescent struggling readers. Wilhelm (1997) wrote: “being able to create images, story worlds, and mental models while one reads is an essential element of reading comprehension, engagement, and reflection.” Burmark (2002) found: “There is a natural progression in the way we process information: first the image, then the words.” Reading should be more than decoding words (Alvermann, 2001).

As researchers, educators, and artists, the presenters blended their experiences of teaching reading with research on how the brain processes images. These new approaches of addressing adolescent literacy encourage excitement and support struggling readers as they travel beyond making meaning of text to forming Romantic and Philosophic Understandings of literature.

This interactive workshop presents alternative approaches of helping adolescents encounter multiple works of literature and reach deeper levels of comprehension. The Presenters will:
• Share information from a university study on visualization with struggling readers.
• Review latest brain research relevant to reading, imagery and cognition.
• Incorporate expert opinion and research on using supplemental images and art to enhance visual literacy.

Working in small groups, participants will leave with:
• Strategies to engage, enhance, and extend the use of mental imagery within comprehension tasks.
• Skill sets that employ imagery and visualization techniques to enrich student comprehension strategies.
• Models of professional learning experiences that prepare staff to more effectively implement mental imagery in Reading instruction.