COE Professional Framework Competencies: Icons and Infographics

For this assignment, in pairs we had had to create icons for the 11 competencies that JMU COE students need to be aware of and memorize. We then had to create an infographic poster in order to connect all the competencies. We used Photoshop for the entire project. In terms of connotation, every icon in and of itself was designed to tie to the theme of the individual competency. For example, a graphic of a file folder was used to represent the competency involving planning. The individual icons, their descriptions, and the graphic of the stick figure teacher work together to create the theme of instruction and teaching. The puzzle background is used to show that each individual piece ties together to make a complete, competent teacher. Each icon and phrase are kept a consistent size to reflect the message that each competency is equally important and they work together with each other. Our icons were shown to others and were able to be paired with their specific competencies.

In terms of the attributes of our graphic, we strayed away from using lines in our piece. We tried to incorporate them to group items together, but the result was not aesthetically pleasing. When just using lines around each icon and phrase instead of the opaque box we ended up using, the text was difficult to read and the images did not stand out as much. Each graphic is related to the backdrop because each "piece"/competency fits together with the others like with a puzzle. Although the puzzle background stands out, since the icons and text are on white, opaque backgrounds, they stand out also. Each item shares the "COE" blue that the logo has in order to unify each graphic. We used sans serif fonts since the poster will be printed and there will be little typography on the poster. We used consistent font throughout.

In terms of placement, we attempted to group competencies with similar themes together. Communicate, collaborate, and motivate are all ways that effective teachers must relate to others. Teaching content, reflecting, and assessing are all aspects of actually preparing and teaching lessons. The way instructors teach is influenced by how they value diversity, their views on effective pedagogy, and how they carry themselves. While both planning and technology should be involved in instruction. Even if the elements don't relate perfectly to one another, their separate groupings allow the information to be broken up in a way that it can be more easily memorized, preventing information overload. We also tried to align each graphic in rows and columns to form a border around the central image. By doing this, we hoped to give equal weight to each individual graphic.