Beyond the Frame: Catalysing Educational Reflection through Sebastião Salgado's Photographs

The ongoing digital transformation has led to a dramatic increase in the production and circulation of visual content. This overwhelming abundance of images often results in passive and superficial consumption, stripping them of depth and meaning. In response to this phenomenon, visual education should encourage students to slow down when viewing images, teaching them to interpret, reflect upon, and critically engage with them. This contribution outlines a practical educational initiative for in-service teachers, highlighting the educational value of photography. Participants explored the artwork of Sebastião Salgado, focusing on his masterpiece “Genesis”, and discussed strategies for incorporating pictures into different educational settings. The workshop followed a structured methodology based on the cooperative learning technique 'Think-Pair-Share', which teachers can easily replicate in their own classrooms. In the first stage, teachers observed a selected image individually and wrote personal captions for it. In the second stage, they discussed their interpretations in pairs. In the third stage, they expanded the discussion into small groups, leading to collective reflections on how such imagery could be used in the classroom. A plenary session then enabled each group to share their insights, thereby reinforcing the collaborative nature of the process. A qualitative analysis of the follow-up questionnaire, which was administered approximately one year after the workshop, revealed various themes concerning the impact of the workshop on teaching practices. These themes included the value of photographs as physical objects, the effectiveness of using non-standardised, high-quality visual materials, and the effectiveness of a gradual, inclusive methodology to encourage reflection and learners’ participation. The workshop demonstrated how photographic images can foster critical thinking, aesthetic appreciation, and interdisciplinary learning in an educational setting. Salgado’s work was recognised as an invaluable resource for raising awareness of urgent global issues and developing students’ visual literacy. Engaging with powerful photographic narratives in a slow, reflective, and collaborative manner enables educators to guide students towards meaningful and transformative learning experiences, rather than merely passive image consumption.