Instructional design decisions about photographs as an educational intervention

Delivered through a range of media, in a variety of formats, visual representations are appearing in instruction to a greater extent than ever before. The upsurge of image-rich resources is related to widespread availability of digital images, and access to technology and software that assist in the creation and delivery of visual materials. Using a concurrent mixed methods study, 34 English-speaking instructional designers living in the United States with a minimum of two years experience in the field identified educational and visual attributes to consider when choosing photographs to complement instructional text. Participants provided rationale for their decisions. The results of this research study indicated the published image from one high school biology textbook was selected 57% of the time over alternative images. Five out of seven (71%) questionnaire items showed significance (p < 0.05) in frequency of images chosen. The study further indicated rationale for image choice spanned three themes: (a) linkage of rationale to the text, (b) use of art terminology to support image choice, and (c) interpretation of text/image combination. Findings of this study resulted in the development of two tools to assist in choosing photographs to accompany text, a list of educational and visual attributes, and a checklist of questions to consider. The study provided insights into the decision making process instructional designers undertake when integrating visual elements of a photograph and instructional principles to foster learning. The recommendations for future research will enhance the development of instructional design practices in combining imagery and words to create effective learning materials.