Visual Research Methods to Improve Teaching

Visual research focuses primarily on hu- man behaviour and on culture as subjects/ objects that inform visual representations, embodying the values and norms of a given society, organisation or group. However, research strands are also emerging, aided by increasingly sophisticated technologies, which make use of elements that are not necessarily related to a visual reference present in the real world, as relational and comparative constructs of non-visual data and conceptual representations of ideas. The expansion of data that are not purely visual constitutes a new and fascinating aspect of research, a transformation of the non-visual object into a visual object. Some recent research and systematic re- views that draw on Visual Research Method approaches offer a reflective basis for an analysis of the method that can be applied to teaching and learning processes. VRM is, in fact, a window onto social and edu- cational interactions, such as those that take place in a school classroom and it can be a pro-active method in educational research. Research based on video analysis provokes reflection and deepens awareness of the vi- sual elements under scientific analysis.