Multidimensional Meaning-Making: Adolescents Leveraging Visuals and Sounds in Their Multimodal Science Fictions

• In Event: 21.062 - MTCC Roundtable Session Six
  In Roundtable Session: 21.062-12 - Semiotics in Education: Roundtable Session

Abstract

This study examines the new and different ways culturally and linguistically diverse adolescents made meaning when creating digital multimodal science fictions about socioscientific issues. In particular, we present findings from a Design Based Research study involving multiple iterations of middle school students participating in an integrated STEM and digital literacies program. Data sources included 35 multimodal sci-fis and interviews with 54 student composers. By integrating social semiotics and sociocultural theoretical frameworks, we examine the affordances of non-texutal modes for students creating complex and multidimensional products. We illustrate how students leveraged visuals and sounds to concurrently extend their written narratives, convey affective dimensions, elaborate on science concepts, and infuse their identities.

Authors

• Blaine E. Smith, University of Arizona

• Maria Kolovou, University of Miami

• Shiyan Jiang, Carnegie Mellon University

• Hua Ran, University of Miami

• Juan Torralba, University of Miami

• Ji Shen, University of Miami