Implementing Photovoice in Your Classroom
Molly Taylor1, Richard Chapman1, Amanda Dailey2, Tammy Sellers2
1Virginia Commonwealth University
2Richmond Public Schools
Our Team
Molly Taylor:
PhD student in Educational Psychology at VCU
Graduate Research Assistant, Partnership for People with Disabilities
Richard Chapman:
Assistant Director for Disability Leadership, Partnership for People with Disabilities
Amanda Dailey:
Intensive Supports Mentor Teacher, Richmond Public Schools
Tammy Sellers:
Intensive Supports Mentor Teacher, Richmond Public Schools
Photo Activity
Take out your phone/laptop.
Pull up the last photo you took (if appropriate lol).
Discuss with your group:
What is this a photo of?
Why did you take this photo?
What does this photo say about you? Your experiences? Your preferences?
What is Photovoice?
Students explore their own preferences, needs, and experiences, while also exploring careers.
EXPLORATION
Researchers, teachers, families, and admin can learn more about their students and their transition assets and needs.
DATA COLLECTION
Students learn to communicate their preferences, needs, and experiences.
SELF-ADVOCACY
A research method and tool that promotes:
Project PEACE: Promoting Employment After high school through Community Experience or Project PEACE is a community-based capacity building project designed to increase the employment of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Research Setting: What is Intensive Support (IS)?
IS is an umbrella for programs that serve students identified under a category that has a lower incidence rate of identification and students that are significantly impacted by the characteristics of Autism. Due to the nature of the disability, these students require significant support to access learning. Intensive Support categories include, but are not limited to:
Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Blind/Visually Impaired
Intellectually Disabled
Multiple Disabilities
Autism
Our Photovoice Journey
Our Photovoice Questions
What are your employment goals?
What are your employment barriers?
Methods:
5, 1-hour sessions with 8 students ages 14-21 over the course of 4 weeks
Team Teaching: students attended a learning and application session
- Allowed for student engagement that fit into the class structure
Modified structure of sessions to meet the support needs of all students
Student Outcomes:
Students identified their strengths, preferences, and interests through a variety of transition assessments and inventories. .
Students explored a variety of career fields and employment opportunities
Students took photos of and communicated their employment experiences, preferences, goals, necessary supports, and strengths
Culminating event: student photo gallery
Our Photovoice Journey
Let’s take a look at some student photos!
Collect audience’s comments -
As you go around the room, there will be sticky notes available next to each photo.
Using the sticky notes, please leave questions, celebrations, and reactions next to student photos. Examples include:
“These pictures really show how much you love working outside. Me too!”
“I love your self-awareness, I agree, being comfortable in your job is so important!”
What questions would you like your students to explore using photovoice?
Have Richard lead this slide and the three of us can be adding post its to the jamboard (link here: https://jamboard.google.com/d/1myo60UkRC3rgpLzP3Bs6-CV8LJ8D7RKIIzn5HYObbdM/edit?usp=sharing)
Brainstorm Challenge
In your small groups, DRAW the following:
In the left column draw: What challenges do you foresee with implementing photovoice in your classroom?
In the right column draw: What tools/accommodations would you need to make photovoice successful given these challenges?
Activity: Pass out paper, draw line down the middle, have them label each side: challenges on one side, tools/accommodations on the other; have participate answer the questions in pictures (no words allowed). After about 5-8 minutes, either have everyone stand up in a circle (could be done at the table in small groups) and pass their paper around (like musical chairs), when the music stops, they will look at the drawings and interpret the answers.
Ready-To-Go Resources
Use the QR code to access:
Samples of our Photovoice lesson plans
Samples of worksheets and tools
Use the interest form QR code to have the instructional guide pdf emailed to you!
Go over pdf, highlight Unique tools that we used
A pdf copy of this presentation will also be available a few days after the conference.
Feel free to reach out!
Molly Taylor: taylorml9@vcu.edu
Richard Chapman: chapmanra@vcu.edu
Amanda Dailey: apalmi@rvaschools.net
Tammy Sellers: tsellers@rvaschools.net
Project PEACE: projectpeace@vcu.edu
Thank you for participating!
Funding disclosures:
Project PEACE was supported in part by grant number 90DNCE0004-01-00, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201.
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