Graffiti as a Didactic Tool: Promoting Students’ Critical Thinking, Creativity and Social Awareness | Chapter 5 | Walls That Teach: Graffiti, Education and the Pedagogy of Resistance

 

Graffiti is now widely understood to be a powerful way to communicate, using both images and words to express complicated ideas. In educational settings, graffiti can allow students to understand and create messages that show who they are, what they care about, and their creative abilities. Social semiotics helps uncover the underlying structures and visual elements of graffiti, allowing teachers and students to analyse how meaning is constructed through images and symbols. Additionally, the symbolism in graffiti encourages discussions about students’ culture, identity, and perspectives on the world. In the context of subversion, Graffiti, often seen as a form of rebellion, has the power to question established rules, standards, and beliefs. The objective of this study is to examine the potential of graffiti as a didactic tool to enhance students’ critical thinking, creativity, and social awareness within educational settings. This research explores the potential of street art as a teaching method in literature classes, focusing on its meanings, symbolism, and challenging nature. Using theories about signs and challenging norms, the study looks at how street art can improve students' ability to think critically, be imaginative, and understand social issues. The research, carried out in Gweru urban, involved interviews with high school students and teachers, and the information gathered was analysed to identify key themes. The results show that street art offers a space for important expression, encourages involvement and imagination, and promotes thinking about social and cultural issues. One challenge observed was that students sometimes focused more on how the art looked than on its underlying meaning. However, the study found that providing clear guidance and support can make teaching with street art more effective. Based on these findings, the research suggests that educators regularly include activities based on street art in their literature lessons. This could be a valuable way to develop students' critical thinking, creative skills, and awareness of their role in society. Effective strategies include guiding students to analyse the meaning of the art, encouraging group interpretation, facilitating creative projects, and holding discussions about the context of the art. Assessment methods could include reflective writing, group presentations, analytical papers, and projects. Overall, this study emphasises the positive impact that street art can have on literature education. It demonstrates how it connects creative expression with critical thinking and social awareness. These findings offer practical advice for teachers, curriculum developers, and policymakers who are looking for new ways to improve teaching and learning.

Author(s) Details

Jones Maeresera
University of Technology and Arts of Byumba, Rwanda.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-47485-01-5/CH5