My ways of thinking about visual have not changed much over the course. Prior to entering the course, I was a fan of using visuals in my classes, having students make visual arguments, and having discussions about the privileging of the texts over visuals.  A core part of my composition class is a visual analysis and visual argument. I encourage my students to utilize visuals in their essays and to critically engage with visuals that they encounter online. A significant part of the course that has impacted my approach to teaching  and composing is the heuristic. Prior to this course I never thought of heuristics as being used for both analysis and production.

Heuristics have always been a tool to analyze or breakdown an object. I have begun to think about and use heuristics to further develop and clarify my ideas. I was very interested in the model heuristic we used in class. The levels of language for visual interpretation ( iconic, cultural, and theoretical) has forced me to think about how visuals function on these different levels. I have also started to utilize this for analyzing and constructing texts. I have used this to aid my development of theoretical frameworks for written assignments. I have found this to be very useful in clarifying the connections between my theoretical lens and the iconic language.