frameworks
FRAMEWORK 1
THE WHAT
A PEDAGOGY OF MULTILITERACIES
THE NEW LONDON GROUP
1996
The New London Group (1996) presents a pedagogical approach that emphasizes the use of various modes of representation (modalities) and the promotion of multiliteracies. The authors identify these modalities as different ways of making and expressing meaning, and multiliteracies as one’s ability to interpret information expressed via these various forms (beyond traditional models of language alone). In total, they present six design elements or modes in the meaning-making process: linguistic meaning, visual meaning, audio meaning, gestural meaning, spatial meaning, and multimodal patterns, which consist of dynamic relationships between the first five modes. A seventh mode, tactile design, is presented by Kalantzis and Cope (2010).
THE WHY
Integrating the use of various modalities in one’s teaching practice creates a complex and rich experience that is better aligned with the diverse learning needs and social behaviors of today’s modern learners (New London Group, 1996). The associated promotion of multiliteracies resulting from multimodal teaching is reflective of the learning outcomes and skills needed for today’s knowledge-based economy, such as meta-cognitive and metalinguistic abilities (New London Group, 1996).
FRAMEWORK 2
THE NEW TEACHER
​& THE NEW STUDENT
KALANTZIS & COPE
2010
THE WHAT
Kalantiz and Cope (2010) express the need to nurture a new breed of learners who must be active in creating content as they develop their literacy skills and gain knowledge, rather than passively receiving and accepting prepared content. This constructionist approach will need to involve a new sort of teaching professional, with the new teacher forgoing more traditional content delivery practices and instead acting as a designer of learning environments that better encourage students to be their own knowledge producers, comfortable with “drawing upon a range of available knowledge sources” - utilizing various modalities - in the pursuit of deeper understanding (Kalantiz & Cope, 2010, p. 204).
THE WHY
This multimodal teacher-as-designer approach is important in addressing learner diversity, increasing engagement, and providing meaningful learning experiences. Kalantzis and Cope (2010) emphasize this new teacher as essential in accommodating the learning needs of modern learners and suggest an inseparable relationship between teachers and student development where the promotion of multimodalities by teachers, our target audience, increases the multiliteracies of their students.
FRAMEWORK 3
THE PROBLEM SPACE
OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
TURVEY AND PACHLER
2016
THE WHAT
Turvey and Pachler (2016) present professional development and research as a problem space in education and one that should be routinely problematized in relation to learning technologies. They explain how teachers are pivotal in any intervention involving learning technologies and that any call for the renewal of pedagogical designs with learning technologies needs to foreground teachers as active agents of pedagogical change. Meaningful integration of new approaches and technologies, therefore, can become essential areas for teachers to grow in.
THE WHY
Because teachers play an essential role in the learning design process, it is imperative that they receive the support needed to be able to include new approaches that effectively aid in the development of the 21st century learner. As Web 2.0 tools are now prominent within the learning process, the area of teacher professional development and research in multimodal approaches and learning technologies is one that supports the new learner. Gaining support with and through key concepts, various multimodal tools and examples, adaptable lesson plans, as well as areas to share experiences and provide feedback will be helpful for teachers to learn and grow pedagogically.
REFERENCES
Kalantzis, M. & Cope, B. (2010). The teacher as designer: Pedagogy in the new media age. E-learning and Digital media 7(3), 200-222.
New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review. 66(1), 60-92.
Turvey, K., & Pachler, N. (2016). Problem spaces. In N. Rushby & D. W. Surry (Eds.), The Wiley Handbook of Learning Technology (pp. 113-130): John Wiley & Sons.