FRAMEWORK A gap in the literature pertains to researching learning activities that actively engage students with visual media (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 2014). This paper addresses this gap by introducing inquiry graphics methods (Lackovic, 2020), which are visual media that are used to support research questions or teaching-learning interactions. Students in any international context enabled to engage critically with concepts and their own contexts through visual representation. In this paper, an actor-led approach provides researchers and “students-as-research partners” with opportunities to co-create learning activities and contribute their own multimodal, reflective artefacts. These artefacts consist of participant or student-selected visual media combined with reflective narratives, collectively forming what has been termed inquiry graphics (Lackovic, 2018; 2020; 2024; Lackovic and Olteanu, 2023). The inquiry graphics method is adaptable to various educational research and practice goals and contexts mindful of equitable participation in research and education, acting as a vehicle for critical reflection for social justice. METHODS The paper will present three variations of inquiry graphics methods application, considering different visual media. Method 1 - Using photographs Using photographs in research methods is well established within approaches such as photo elicitation (Harper, 2002) or photovoice (Sutton-Brown, 2014). I will present a model that embed photographs as methodological tools that allow students and student-as-participants the necessary agency in choosing and creating multimodal artefacts to represent their subconscious thinking, experiences and knowledge (Lackovic, 2020). Methods 2 - Using videos Inquiry graphics can be “videos for reflection” for teacher trainees and in teacher professional development to enhance student experiences. Videos can be analysed as part of teacher professional development that aims to understand knowledge building processes as they unravel. This example will comment on how videos can act as the mentioned research and reflection tools (Lackovic, 2018). Method 3 - Using GenAI (generative artificial intelligence): image-generating AI Finally, the rise of GenAI provides many exciting new opportunities for visual and multimodal research, including challenges and ethical dilemmas. I will comment on an ongoing international project that explores how GenAI can support multimodal methods. CONCLUSION The paper will wrap up the three models, and comment on a few evidence-based learning outcomes, stemming from a series of research studies that applied the method. Overall, it will consider how this method is an actor-led method, where actors are both learners and research-participants, which is particularly important in different global context and learning environments that involve global learners such as online programmes.

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