Communicating like an artist: Disciplinary literacy instruction in elementary visual arts

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how preservice teachers constructed meaning of the disciplinary literacies instructional practices in visual arts. Using social constructivism and social constructionism lenses, we combined directed content analysis and the writing process as analytical tools to understand our data. Five findings emerged-preservice teachers: (a) utilized instructional practices to teach comprehension with the complex texts of visual arts; (b) supported students' academic knowledge gaps in visual arts; (c) taught the academic vocabulary unique to visual arts; (d) used customized literacy strategies unique to visual arts; and (e) included instructional spaces for the inquiry process. We assert that in socially constructed environments, preservice elementary teachers can realize disciplinary literacy instruction in visual arts.