Theory Into Practice: A Seventh-Grade Teacher Assumes a Multimodal Approach to Language Arts Education

• In Event: Social Semiotics, New Materiality, and Multimodal Composing

Abstract

This qualitative and interpretive study examined what happened when Mr. Bergeron, a seventh-grade Language Arts teacher, introduced multimodal texts and concepts into an eight-week curriculum unit that prioritized modes of representation and communication beyond written and spoken language. The findings showed how Mr. Bergeron (a) made visible and explicit to students his multimodal approach to literacy education, (b) experienced moments of pedagogical wobble when he worried that students felt confused or were not finding work meaningful, and (c) enjoyed instructional flow as adapted and new literacy practices informed by theories of multimodality took shape. This study illuminated the challenges teachers new to theories of multimodality might face and suggested that teacher-researcher partnerships could help connect theory to practice.

Author

• Stephanie F. Reid, University of Montana - Missoula