RUNNING HEAD: MULTIMODAL LITERACY IN THE CLASSROOM

Multimodal Literacy in the Classroom

Monique Morin
10100751
EDUC 435

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What are some pedagogical approaches teachers employ to assist in the development
of multimodal literacy in the classroom?
This question is meant to inspire curiosity into how classrooms are viewing
literacy. Multimodality has been studied for many centuries, but with the rise of the
Internet it has become increasingly developed. As the Internet grows in popularity, it is
important for educators to study how this growth will apply to literacy and analyze if they
can harness any positive side effects that Internet usage might bring. Literacy is being
defined in a new way to include being literate, or knowledgeable, with videos and films,
songs, graphic novels, websites and many other emerging texts. A text is multimodal
when it includes two or more semiotic systems. The five semiotic systems are Linguistic,
Visual, Audio, Gestural and Spatial and can have a huge impact on literacy. Furthermore,
this overarching question is important because it provides the opportunity to raise other
thought provoking questions such as: Are there resources available for teachers to
implement multimodality in their classrooms? Why are certain teachers employing some
multimodal texts more than others? Are teachers familiar with the five semiotic systems
and have they passed on this comprehension to their students? Is multimodality being
used purposefully?
To answer the research question, data was collected from a two week observation
period at two schools. One week was spent at Saint Francis High School, while the
second week was spent at Dr. E.W. Coffin Elementary School. The data was collected
from within these schools, primarily through observation. Through informal interviews
and conversations with various staff members at each school additional data was
gathered. At St. Francis, there was the opportunity to explore different grade levels and

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subject matters each block and each day. Conversely, at Dr. Coffin every morning was
spent in a grade 1/2 split class and the afternoons were in a grade 5/6 split class. Different
scholarly articles on multimodal literacy will support the data.
Data Source
Field Notes

Notes from recollections of interviews and

conversations

Description
Observations of grade 1/2 class story time
Observations of French 20 writing period and
musical film study
Observations of the classroom libraries and
school libraries
Observations of video usage in class
Informal interview with Math teacher about
SMART Board usage
Informal interviews with secondary French and
English Language Arts teachers
Informal interview with elementary school
teachers about collaboration

Theme 1: Technology Usage

When discussing multimodal literacy and how it can be brought into a classroom,
generally educators will turn towards technology as a fresh new form of literacy. Many
teachers revert to using technologies like computers because not only are they are
relatively comfortable using them, but students are extremely skilled and interested in
them, so it makes for an easy substitute to original texts. In fact, the NCTE Executive
Committee (Ncte.org, 2014) states, students, even very young students, are often more
literate in the technical aspects of digital production than many of their teachers. The use
of the word literate is interesting in that quote, because it insinuates that students are
practicing literacy with technology such as computers, which they are! At both St. Francis
and Dr. Coffin, there was technology usage, however it was more prevalent at the
elementary school. Through a few informal interviews with English and French
Language Arts and Social Studies teachers at St. Francis, it was interesting to note that on

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written assignments students have the choice to write by hand or type on the computer.
Surprisingly about sixty percent of the students observed in a grade eleven French class
opted to write their paper by hand. In a grade ten Social Studies class that had multiple
laptops available to the students, most were not being used and a student commented that
they could not type, hence why they were not using one. From both examples, it is clear
that older students dissociate technology from education and sometimes are
uncomfortable using it. This proves that teachers need to consider students who do not
have the means to develop technological proficiency, and that teachers need to model
how to use technology to enhance learning. In the elementary school, students are
becoming literate with computers from a young age. In the grade 1/2 split class,
technology was everywhere. Students would manipulate the SMART Board to indicate
what task they would complete; they made short films on computers; they would
individually access their account on a website called Mathletics that offered math games
and activities. During these different tasks, the teacher would circulate, answering
questions and giving tips, helping the students develop their computer literacy. Another
way multimodality was observed in this classroom was when the class read a picture
book, watched a video version of the story then sang the song version of the story all
together. This demonstrated an understanding on the teachers behalf of the semiotic
systems, and how they can be used together. Michle Anstey and Geoff Bull (2010) state
that teachers and students need to understand how to select and use semiotic systems
effectively in a multimodal text. The difference between the students at each school and
their approach to multimodal texts involving technology reflects their knowledge and

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their teachers knowledge of the semiotic systems and how these systems enhance
learning.
Theme 2: Using Different Types of Texts
When discussing literacy and being literate, texts are one of the first things to
come to mind. However, the vast resources and types of text that exist are not common
knowledge. Graham and Benson (2010) argue the importance of helping students break
their concepts of literacy away from the printed page (p.93). In the schools observed, it
was exciting to find texts besides the standard novels and textbooks! In the classrooms
and libraries there were picture books, graphic novels, multi-lingual books and all the
traditional forms of literature. The beauty of these alternative texts is that they are
multimodal by nature, having multiple semiotic systems. Looking at graphic novels for
example, it is easy to see how the visual and linguistic semiotic systems are used.
However, analyzing the onomatopoeia and the images- how are the characters positioned,
what is the setting and what are the facial expressions- one can argue that the auditory,
gestural and spatial systems are used. Griffith (2010) expands on this idea saying,
graphic novels include elements of both print and visual in the creations of characters
that move through the narrative within sequential art panels that show the action and
characterization and help establish tone and mood(p.183). Such a rich text can enhance
literacy exponentially, yet it is uncommonly used in language arts classes. Furthermore,
Griffith (2010) persuasively states, graphic novels can provide teaching and learning
opportunities for readers, educators, and researchers (p.181). According to Anstey &
Bull (2010), a balance among the text types and the semiotic systems used must be
maintained. It is evident that both schools are offering the resources for teachers and

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students to explore different text forms, however it is not apparent if they are being
utilized or even advertised as available.
Theme 3: The Auditory Semiotic System
As mentioned above, the auditory semiotic system can sneak into texts, but that is
rare. Most commonly, the auditory system is found in music or accompanying videos. At
Dr. Coffin, teachers used music and videos to transition from one activity to another.
Although it was more of a classroom management technique, students were learning new
words, songs, rhymes and movements. This simple pedagogy succeeded in doing two
jobs at once while exciting the students for the next activity. At St. Francis, the grade
eleven French class was studying a musical. The teacher provided students with partial
lyrics, and then played a few songs while the students filled in the missing lyrics. This
practice required students to focus and brought together the auditory, linguistic and visual
semiotic systems. In an English class, the entire block was spent watching a movie and
students were not paying attention and were unengaged. Comparing the two classroom
techniques, it is clear to see the educational value of the first activity compared to the
latter. Fisher and Frey (2011) suggest that, too often, feature-length films are allowed to
play uninterrupted, inadvertently perpetuating the falsehood that comprehension is a
passive experience. Students associate watching a movie with a free period, however the
teacher could use the time to show small scenes to engage students in a discussion about
the characters tone, the sound effects and music used. This would open up an
opportunity to teach the students about the amazing power of the auditory semiotic
system. A grade ten Sports Medicine teacher played background music during class,
saying it helps the students to focus. Engaging the students auditory sense while they are

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using other semiotic systems during work time is an interesting idea; does this help
students focus? A hypothesis would be that when more than one semiotic system is
activating students senses, it helps engage the students and minimize any distractions.
There were many differences between St. Francis and Dr. Coffin. One of these is
that in the secondary classes teachers often just used two of the semiotic systems,
generally linguistic and visual. Contrarily, in the elementary classrooms, teachers
incorporated multiple, if not all, semiotic systems. Furthermore, multimodal literacy was
present in all the subjects in elementary, but in high school where each teacher teaches
one subject, there was a lower presence of multimodality. Teachers in classes besides
Social Studies or Languages classes spent little to no time developing students literacy
during the time of observation. This raises a question as to why is this happening, and are
teachers aware? At Dr. Coffin, there is collaboration between teachers of the same grade
level and teachers of different grades. They work together to invent creative, engaging
lesson plans and projects. By bouncing ideas off one another, they learn more ways to
make give their students multimodal rich education. Contrarily, at St. Francis,
collaboration only happens within each department. Also, there is stress placed on the
teachers and students to have successful diploma exam marks, which leaves no room for
creativity because if it will not be tested, teaching it is not justified.
It was surprising, yet very encouraging, to see students in grades 1 and 2
becoming literate with technology. Younger students are being taught that literacy is a
set of capabilities in the use and production of traditional texts and new communications
technologies, using spoken language, print and multimedia (Anstey & Bull, 2010). With

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this new definition of literacy burning in their minds, and a classroom full of
opportunities to expand their multimodal literacy, it is no surprise that students are
engaged and excited about learning! Students at Dr. Coffin are fortunate that their school
is rich in resources that provide them with full exposure to all five semiotic systems.
Knowledge of the semiotic systems is hugely important for developing students literacy.
This knowledge needs to come from teachers; however, school boards need to ensure
teachers have the opportunity to learn what the semiotic systems are and how they can be
applied. Then, and only then, can they successfully incorporate the systems into their
lessons and teach students about them.
One final observation that was mostly missing was students having opportunities
to produce multimodal texts. Students are exposed to multimodal texts, but there are few
chances for them to imitate these texts in their own creative way. As mentioned above,
teachers in high school are hesitant to play around with the curriculum, but this could
enhance the curriculum while increasing students engagement. If teachers could start
providing opportunities for multimodal productions at the elementary level, students
would develop proficiency with these productions that could transfer to secondary, where
it would be easy for secondary teachers to expect multimodal texts, knowing their
students already have a solid foundation to work upon.
The research question, What are some pedagogical approaches teachers employ
to assist in the development of multimodal literacy in the classroom, was the perfect
question to take into the field experience. It encouraged the observer to really examine if
multimodality is present in classrooms. Secondly, it pushed the observer to note how

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teachers are developing multimodal literacy, providing the observer with different
teaching practices that work well. Finally, the question helped spark informal interviews
with the teachers and hopefully generated thoughts with them about making their
classrooms stronger in terms of developing multimodal literacy. At the end of the day,
students are at school to learn, and teachers are there to ensure that learning is happening.
It can be easy to get caught up trying to build creative, multimodal, technology filled
lessons, but teachers need to ask themselves, What purpose does this activity serve and
will it benefit my students education? Multimodal literacy is summarized nicely in this
quote from William Kist (2005) who advises, Students should be able to both read
critically and write functionally, no matter what the medium (p.11).

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10

Anstey, M. & Bull, G. (2010). Curriculum & Leadership Journal | Helping teachers to
explore multimodal texts. Curriculum.edu.au. Retrieved 13 October 2014, from:
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/helping_teachers_to_explore_multimodal_texts,315
22.html?issueID=12141

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2011). Using Video and Film in the Classroom. International
Reading Association Website.

Graham, M.S. & Benson, S. (2010) A springboard rather than a bridge: Diving into
multimodal literacy. English Journal, 100 (2), 93-97.

Griffith, P. (2010). Graphic novels in the secondary classroom and school libraries.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(3), 181-189.

Kist, W. (2005). New Literacies in Action: Teaching and Learning in Multiple Media.
New York: Teachers College Press.

Ncte.org. (2014). Position Statement on Multimodal Literacies. Retrieved 18 October

2014, from: http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/multimodalliteracies