Name: The Power of Picturebooks
Rating: 4.73469 (49 reviews)

Discover how picturebooks reflect societal values

Picturebooks are powerful pedagogical resources in educational and home settings.

On this four-week course from The University of Waikato, you’ll be introduced to the history and characteristics of the picturebook format and how they depict societal values.

Develop your textual and visual analysis skills

You’ll explore the powerful combination of text and image, delving into the role that visual language can play in meaning-making.

Then, this course will guide you through the learning potential of the picturebook, specifically focusing on raising awareness of social issues, cultivating empathy, and working toward social justice.

Explore the importance of language hierarchies in bilingual picturebooks

Bilingual picturebooks reflect the status of languages in society and can be used to support awareness of languages and language learning. On this course, you’ll learn to analyse picturebooks by considering their purpose and audience.

Learn from education experts at The University of Waikato

Sitting among the top 3% of universities worldwide, The University of Waikato is committed to delivering a world-class education and research portfolio.

The two educators that will guide you through this course are both award-winning tertiary teachers who bring a strong background in both content and online pedagogy.

What topics will you cover?

An introduction to picturebooks and their history.
Picturebook illustrations and visual analysis.
Investigating languages in bilingual picturebooks.
Exploring social issues depicted in picturebooks

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Describe key features of picturebooks and their historical development
Identify and apply visual analysis techniques in picturebook illustrations
Investigate and discuss the presentation of languages in bilingual picturebooks
Reflect upon a range of social issues which are depicted in picturebooks

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for teachers working across all levels of education. It may also be of interest to parents as well as authors and publishers working in children’s literature.

What software or tools do you need?

For this course, you’ll be invited to gather a range of picturebooks, either in print and/or ebook format.

Who will you learn with?

Nicola Daly

I am a sociolinguist who teaches children's literature to tertiary learners. I have a particular interest in multilingual picturebooks.

Dianne Forbes

I work in teacher education and digital learning at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. I am an online learning enthusiast, and an experienced teacher.

Who developed the course?

The University of Waikato

Sitting among the top 3% of universities world-wide, The University of Waikato prepares students to think critically and to show initiative in their learning.

Established
1964
Location
Waikato, New Zealand
World ranking
Top 380Source: QS World University Rankings 2021

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