Photovoice as a Teaching Tool: Learning by Doing with Visual Methods

There has been a lack of research done on in-class teaching and learning using visual methods. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate an enriched teaching and learning experience, facilitated by a Photovoice project, in an Advanced Methodology class where sociology graduate students were exposed to various social research methods and methodologies. Students were asked to take photographs that would represent a research interest or a lived experience based in their own social world. The article weaves four students and the professor’s experiences to document the impact the Photovoice project had on each of them. Through this process, it was found that Photovoice is a successful tool for conducting research, teaching students to think critically, and introducing students to a new medium to create knowledge. Students experienced what it is like to be a researcher and a participant in a qualitative research project and discovered the overwhelming potential visual methods have to inform society about lived experiences.