Talked Images: Examining the Contextualised Nature of Image Use

Abstract

This article describes the uses of video data analysis in studying processes of meaning construction of disciplinary concepts in a biology class. We highlight the contributions of video data analysis, oriented by an interactional ethnographic approach, to understanding how visual representations of biological concepts were talked into being (Dixon & Green, 2005). We demonstrate how the video data records supported the development of a topic-oriented study of language use in a biology classroom that (a) acknowledges the local historical processes and (b) makes visible the indexed nature of language use in the classroom and its implication for constructing opportunities for learning scientific concepts. This study was developed in a high school classroom of a Brazilian public school attended by working-class students.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was partially funded by Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa, Brazil. We thank Adail S. Rodrigues, Jr., for revising a first draft of this article and the editors for their thoughtful questioning. The text benefited from their attention. Remaining limitations are entirely the responsibility of the authors.

Notes

¹The teacher's conceptual mistakes are not an object of this study. However, we need to consider that what she said implies a misunderstanding because it is not possible for a vegetable to generate energy. The energy is partially transformed by it, turning the light energy into chemical energy.

Freitas, C. A. (2002). Imagens faladas: Estudo da dinâmica discursiva, uso e interpretação de imagens em aulas de biologia [Talked images: Studying the discursive dynamic, uses and interpretation of images in a Biology Classroom]. Unpublished master's thesis, Faculdade de Educação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil [School of Education, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil].