| The main purpose of this research was to describe and understand how pre-service teachers interpret and analyze instructional visual materials through the investigation of their experiences of interpreting and analyzing instructional visual materials. The following issues related to the interpretation and analysis of instructional visual materials were also investigated: (a) intended meanings of visuals, (b) experiences and prior knowledge, (c) embedded cues, and (d) exposure time. Eight pre-service teachers from the target institution participated in this phenomenological research. Two interview meetings and one meeting of discussion of visual literacy and visual design principles were held respectively for each participant within four weeks in order to collect the research data. Four instructional visuals were presented to each participant for interpretation and analysis in the two interview meetings. In the discussion meeting, each participant's prior knowledge of visual literacy and visual design principles was stimulated. The discussion meeting took place in the week after the first interview. Each meeting took approximately ninety minutes.;The major research data source of the research was the interview transcripts. The observation data and artifacts were used as the supporting research data. The trustworthiness of the phenomenological research was examined. A phenomenological data analysis procedure was used to analyze the research data. Eight major themes and twenty-nine minor themes emerged from the participants' experiences of interpreting and analyzing the four instructional visuals. The eight major themes were: (a) perspectives of instructional visual materials, (b) interpreted meanings, (c) recognized elements of visuals, (d) patterns of viewing visuals, (e) prior experiences, (f) knowledge of visual design principles, (g) embedded cues, and (h) exposure time. Research implications were drawn from the research findings for instructional visual designers, teachers, and book editors. Finally, recommendations for future research were provided. |
