Multimodal literacy learning opportunities within a grade six classroom literacy curriculum: constraints and enablers

Engaging Multiliteracies Learning

“…Overall, there arose a distinction between teachers who saw multiliteracies as part of a cultural ecology for teaching in the classroom, and those who understood multiliteracies in fragmented aspects as either being a strategy or a way to include diversity as 'part' of curriculum, which served to be 'enough' in their reflection of learning and assessment. Similar themes have been found in the literature on the use of multimodal literacy pedagogy as discussed in research by Loerts [8]. In her research, multimodal literacy was seen as something to be negotiated into teaching for engagement purposes.…”

“…In her research, multimodal literacy was seen as something to be negotiated into teaching for engagement purposes. The literature also documents the use of multimodal literacy as "a means to a print-centric end" [8]. This does not mean that print is not valuable, but it must be conceptualized within multiple modes of communication -each of which is considered equal in importance within a multimodal literacy framework.…”

“…This was indicated in her comment where she said she struggled with "…how to make learning authentic while still being responsive to the curriculum." This is a common conundrum which was referenced by many participants and is not exclusive just to first year teachers [8].…”

“…The research literature indicates that print-based literacy learning is still dominant in many classrooms [8,11]. These tensions spill over into teacher education programs as theory does not always translate into practice for helping teacher candidates feel "more confident of their ability to deal with multimodal materials" [8] This reshaping of the communicational landscape is in part a response to the findings of the NLG [1]. The authors suggest that global and linguistic diversities fuel the variety of texts people use to communicate.…”

“…This landscape is more multimodal in nature [2], reflecting the need to provide an expanded understanding and application of literacy and the media through which we communicate. Recent research indicates educational policies and standardized testing in Ministry guidelines for Ontario focus on print-based texts [8]. Cummins [9] questions the effectiveness of multiliteracies within various educational systems from schools through to the Ontario Ministry of Education.…”