Photovoice for Shared Understanding and Meaning-Making Catherine L. (Walsh) Ramstetter, PhDc, MS, CSCS AAHE Strategies Poster Session 2009

In a diverse community, we can all come together to support a common goal.

A Community can be any combination of colors, ages, or sex. In a growing environment like the United States of America it's important to remember that.

Growing up is never easy.

“He was there for our first steps and we are there for his last”

people need to start worrying about all of the health issues going on around the world

Working as a community to be on the same page and work in the same direction.

Speaking from the church pulpit will help motivate people with the same social goals.

Put on a different face Put on a different face and you’re still the same inside.

healthy community = many generations

Communities need everyone’s care in order to grow and change

I am afraid for my kids’ future.

"Quick, simple, easy, and effective in killing germs"

"No matter how young or what ethnicity, health pertains to us all"

"Age does not define health"

It just makes me happy because the women are so joyous in the picture, not an emotion we often associate with elderly.

Meals on Wheels... a new meaning to a girls' night on the town. Volunteer your time to bring dinner to those who will appreciate it the most.

promoting places of peace... even in a time of war. Promoting health, promoting healing,

One too many. It's a lot easier to just call a cab!

Photovoice Elicitation Method SHOWED (Wang, 1999; Wallerstein, 1994): What do you SEE in this photograph? What is really HAPPENING in this photograph? How does this relate to OUR lives? WHY do these issues exist? How can we become EMPOWERED by our new social understanding? What can we DO to address these issues?

The Photo Project: Purpose Adapt Photovoice for Teaching Method: Support students working in communities Reflect on personal health and connection to/with health of the community Create awareness, understanding and empathy of others’ experience and perspective of health issues Construct/co-construct shared meaning about health topics, increasing understanding and application of content to personal life

Adaptation of SHOWED SHOW (Raider-Roth, 2008): What do you SEE? HOW does it make you feel? How does it represent your OWN experience with this topic? WHAT questions does it raise for you?

The Photo Project Used discussion board; leaders posted photos. All students followed these instructions: This is YOUR voice, YOUR opinion, YOUR take on the topic. The photo or picture is merely a starting point to demonstrate this. –What is the topic? in your own words, explain the issue. How does this picture (or pictures) explain the topic? –What is your position, experience or opinion about the topic? How does the picture (or pictures) demonstrate this? –How does the picture connect the topic to you and your life?

The Photo Project: Revised Each “community” (7-8 students) had two leaders who brought hard copies of their photos to class on a Monday, wrote their answers to the same questions as on-line project. Peers in class answered the SHOW questions in writing. Leaders led a community discussion of the photos and responses. The community selected one or more of the pictures that represented the topic and any aspect of it that they decided was important. They collectively wrote a statement explaining their selection. Community photos were the starting point for Wednesday.

Shared Understandings “…not only have I learned a lot about the community’s effect on various health topics, but I have also learned about how the individual is affected by these health issues. The one key thing about this class that I absolutely love and that has helped me is to be able to go over issues and discuss various topics within our small community. I think in doing this I have learned more than I would from any lecture, because I get to hear other’s perspectives about key issues instead of just straight facts.” (Student reflection)

Meaning-Making “There is no one single image of health. Health is dictated by those who raise us, as well as those who provide health services. We are constantly improving and learning better ways to take care of ourselves. There is a moral responsibility to our own health community, and the way our life styles affect others, because we are locked together in the human condition.” (mid-quarter reflection)

Lessons Learned Students practiced skills: copy and paste photos/pictures into documents, start discussion threads, attach files, and respond to postings. Communicated with each other about topics that were occasionally sensitive, and often political. On-line: a fun activity, helpful for establishing initial conversation and connection with topics and each other. In-class: created meaningful conversation and debate; connection with material and each other.

Lessons Learned “What do you Feel?” was an opportunity to reiterate the need to be emotionally connected to create understanding and/or action in response to an issue—of special importance to entice people to change behaviors. Students had focused discussions and stayed on-topic the whole class period On Wednesdays, when they saw what the other communities had selected, we had a short full-class discussion of their shared and varied meanings of topics, which led neatly into clarification and/or to increasing the depth and breadth of information.

Conclusion Using Photovoice as pedagogy: Supported students working in communities Enhanced student understanding and personal connection with topics Created awareness and understanding of others’ experience with topics Provided forum for discussion and shared meaning about health and need to act in community (mid- and end-of-quarter student reflections and course evaluations)