Subject: Reading For Pleasure, Graphic novels, Non-fiction
Synopsis: Dual coding is a popular cognitive theory in which images are used alongside text to enhance understanding and retention.
Alyssia Chapman
Creative Learning Services
Librarian’s view:
Alyssia Chapman, Library Development Officer at Creative Learning Services, looks at how this theory applies to graphic novels and illustrated non-fiction, and how it can be used to support reading for pleasure and empower young readers.
| What is ‘dual coding’ and how could it help our young readers? For several years, educators have been using dual coding theory to improve knowledge retention in students of all ages, particularly at KS3 and KS4. Although it sounds fancy, ‘dual coding’ is simply the act of decoding meaning in two ways; through written text and through images simultaneously. An example of this might be that GCSE English students remember the themes in Macbeth by associating them with symbols, e.g. a crown = ambition. Research shows that: “By presenting concepts in both words and images, students process information through two cognitive channels – verbal and non-verbal – improving their ability to retain and recall key ideas.”(i) This theory gained traction when I was teaching around 2017. Soon knowledge organisers combining key text and linked images became extremely popular in secondary schools across the UK as a way of ensuring that students had key course information in both verbal and non-verbal forms. Many revision guides had been dual coding for years, and in SEND settings, symbolised social stories were already a tried and tested provision. But the theory of dual coding doesn’t seem to be prevalent when we talk about reading for pleasure, and I think that it could make a difference. Students often cite memory as a barrier to reading for pleasure. I have had students tell me they do not enjoy reading because they can’t remember characters or plot easily and therefore find themselves disengaged a few chapters into a text. When I visit schools to deliver booktalking sessions, I always include at least one graphic novel, and I preface my introduction of it by briefly explaining how dual coding works. Many students will have heard parents, teachers and sometimes even librarians claim that graphic novels are not a valid choice of reading material, so to learn that graphic novels are actually scientifically proven to improve your ability to retain and recall ideas can be pretty empowering. Empowering young readers is exactly what we should be doing; giving them the advocacy to choose their own reading material is key in creating a positive reading culture. This is something we know to be true and is a big part of the National Literacy Trust’s ‘Go All In’ campaign for the National Year of Reading. The theory of dual coding can also be applied to illustrated non-fiction, a format which makes up 14% of the Carnegie Medal for Illustration nominations this year. By allowing students another way of decoding meaning in a text, through images and illustrations, the text becomes more accessible and allows for quicker engagement. Another aspect of the ‘Go All In’ campaign is the idea that young people require a more instant form of reward from their reading because of the way technology has trained them to expect instant gratification. “Reading doesn’t seem to offer the immediate, social rewards that motivate us today,” says Yelena Gaufman, Chief Strategy Officer at Fold7. “It’s seen as slow, solitary, and studious in a world that values speed, status and spectacle.” (ii) By introducing young readers to graphic novels and illustrated non-fiction, we can tap into this need for immediacy and harness it to encourage reading for pleasure. Both formats can also be shared more easily amongst a group of students. This is unlikely to sound like a new idea to anyone working with books and young people who are already using graphic novels and illustrated non-fiction to engage readers. However, when we can apply a popular cognitive educational theory to this method, it allows us to validate those young readers who might have been told that they need to pick something else because books with pictures are not for them. So, the next time someone tells you that graphic novels don’t count, whip out your dual coding theory and prove them wrong. |
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- Creative Learning Serviceshttps://sls-uk.org/author/creative-learning-services/
- Creative Learning Serviceshttps://sls-uk.org/author/creative-learning-services/
- Creative Learning Serviceshttps://sls-uk.org/author/creative-learning-services/
- Creative Learning Serviceshttps://sls-uk.org/author/creative-learning-services/
- Creative Learning Serviceshttps://sls-uk.org/author/creative-learning-services/
