Why Multimodal Learning?
Why_Multimodal_Learning.mp3Transcript: Throughout the majority of my tenure as a high school English teacher, traditional means of teaching and assessing student learning have been emphasized as being the best means of determining if students are meeting our state standards. By my definition, traditional means of teaching and assessing student learning in an English classroom consists of either multiple-choice tests, short written responses like constructed responses, or essays with clear, but rigid criteria. As each year passed, and technology became increasingly ingrained in our lives, students became less and less responsive to the traditional means of teaching and learning. My experience was much like what Tim Oldakowski describes when he states,
Transcript: Throughout the majority of my tenure as a high school English teacher, traditional means of teaching and assessing student learning have been emphasized as being the best means of determining if students are meeting our state standards. By my definition, traditional means of teaching and assessing student learning in an English classroom consists of either multiple-choice tests, short written responses like constructed responses, or essays with clear, but rigid criteria. As each year passed, and technology became increasingly ingrained in our lives, students became less and less responsive to the traditional means of teaching and learning. My experience was much like what Tim Oldakowski describes when he states,
Many of my students that first year admitted that they didn’t like to read, period. However, I noticed the literacy practices of students before, after, and in-between classes. They were texting. They were on their phones looking up information. They were talking about Facebook. They told me how they Googled everything that interested them. They frequently went to websites like YouTube and Funnyordie which revolve around short, created and re-mixed videos. They talked about Twitter. It was then that I realized that students didn’t dislike reading, rather that they were experiencing reading in multimodal ways. (70)
Many of my students that first year admitted that they didn’t like to read, period. However, I noticed the literacy practices of students before, after, and in-between classes. They were texting. They were on their phones looking up information. They were talking about Facebook. They told me how they Googled everything that interested them. They frequently went to websites like YouTube and Funnyordie which revolve around short, created and re-mixed videos. They talked about Twitter. It was then that I realized that students didn’t dislike reading, rather that they were experiencing reading in multimodal ways. (70)
This shift in the literacy practices of students led to a more noticeable shift in my teaching practices.
This shift in the literacy practices of students led to a more noticeable shift in my teaching practices.
For the first five years of my teaching, I taught in an urban high school with 77 percent of students on free and reduced lunch. Many of these students struggled as test takers, and excelled much more when completing projects. Next, I taught in a suburban high school with an extremely diverse population, including a large number of ESOL students, with about 62 percent of the school’s population on free and reduced lunch. I once again noticed that many students in general-level classes, excelled when completing projects, but struggled on standardized tests. Afterward, I moved to a less diverse suburban high school with about 38 percent of students on free and reduced lunch, and then a suburban high school with a mostly upper-class and middle-class population mixed in with 26 percent of students on free and reduced lunch. By this time, I had taught a mixture of general-level, gifted, and honors/accelerated students. The pattern of general-level students struggling on standardized tests while excelling when working on projects continued in these schools as well. The schools I have taught at span two Metro-Atlanta counties in Georgia.
For the first five years of my teaching, I taught in an urban high school with 77 percent of students on free and reduced lunch. Many of these students struggled as test takers, and excelled much more when completing projects. Next, I taught in a suburban high school with an extremely diverse population, including a large number of ESOL students, with about 62 percent of the school’s population on free and reduced lunch. I once again noticed that many students in general-level classes, excelled when completing projects, but struggled on standardized tests. Afterward, I moved to a less diverse suburban high school with about 38 percent of students on free and reduced lunch, and then a suburban high school with a mostly upper-class and middle-class population mixed in with 26 percent of students on free and reduced lunch. By this time, I had taught a mixture of general-level, gifted, and honors/accelerated students. The pattern of general-level students struggling on standardized tests while excelling when working on projects continued in these schools as well. The schools I have taught at span two Metro-Atlanta counties in Georgia.
My current school district provides state standards for teachers to focus on for each unit. These standards are divided into anchor standards and secondary standards. The anchor standards are the standards teachers are expected to focus on during instruction and assess at the end of the unit. The secondary standards are standards that the teacher may address as they are teaching the anchor standards.
My current school district provides state standards for teachers to focus on for each unit. These standards are divided into anchor standards and secondary standards. The anchor standards are the standards teachers are expected to focus on during instruction and assess at the end of the unit. The secondary standards are standards that the teacher may address as they are teaching the anchor standards.
Early on in my career, I began to realize that incorporating multimodality in my classroom helped to increase student success and student interest. The learning was richer and students seemed more engaged. It was apparent that "When no connection is apparent between what students are asked to do and their experiences of the world, student responses to school tasks are often superficial" (Sosa 210). While I was unaware of the term "multimodality" and its association with my teaching philosophy, I understood its importance and it's connection to student success. This trend continued as I moved between schools. A large number of my students were often disengaged by the literature on its own, but were more engaged when multimodal components were involved and they felt they could relate to the material and the form of assessment they were given.
Early on in my career, I began to realize that incorporating multimodality in my classroom helped to increase student success and student interest. The learning was richer and students seemed more engaged. It was apparent that "When no connection is apparent between what students are asked to do and their experiences of the world, student responses to school tasks are often superficial" (Sosa 210). While I was unaware of the term "multimodality" and its association with my teaching philosophy, I understood its importance and it's connection to student success. This trend continued as I moved between schools. A large number of my students were often disengaged by the literature on its own, but were more engaged when multimodal components were involved and they felt they could relate to the material and the form of assessment they were given.
Everywhere I have taught, essays and tests have been given a higher value than projects. The argument for this has always been that students' results on essays and tests are more authentic and reflective of their mastery of the standards. This premise is reflected in Semire Dikli's assessment that "traditional assessment strategies are more objective, reliable, and valid. This is especially true for standardized tests and other types of multiple-choice tests. Alternative assessments, on the other hand, carry some concerns in terms of subjectivity, reliability and validity."(16). On the other hand, a person's "prior knowledge, one's goals for reading, access to specific reading strategies, and metacognitive monitoring of one's own understanding interact to influence comprehension" (Lee 273). This plays a large part in how a student performs on a test that largely relies on reading comprehension to determine a student's level of mastery. While one could argue that a national standardized test that is multiple choice is less subjective and more reliable, this would not hold true in the local classroom where the classroom teacher has control and can monitor the level of subjectivity, reliability, and validity of an assignment. Due to my viewpoint, I chose to investigate the following question: What are the benefits of multimodal projects as summative assessments in a suburban 21st-century classroom?
Everywhere I have taught, essays and tests have been given a higher value than projects. The argument for this has always been that students' results on essays and tests are more authentic and reflective of their mastery of the standards. This premise is reflected in Semire Dikli's assessment that "traditional assessment strategies are more objective, reliable, and valid. This is especially true for standardized tests and other types of multiple-choice tests. Alternative assessments, on the other hand, carry some concerns in terms of subjectivity, reliability and validity."(16). On the other hand, a person's "prior knowledge, one's goals for reading, access to specific reading strategies, and metacognitive monitoring of one's own understanding interact to influence comprehension" (Lee 273). This plays a large part in how a student performs on a test that largely relies on reading comprehension to determine a student's level of mastery. While one could argue that a national standardized test that is multiple choice is less subjective and more reliable, this would not hold true in the local classroom where the classroom teacher has control and can monitor the level of subjectivity, reliability, and validity of an assignment. Due to my viewpoint, I chose to investigate the following question: What are the benefits of multimodal projects as summative assessments in a suburban 21st-century classroom?
Works Cited:
Works Cited:
Dikli, Semire. "Assessment at a distance: Traditional vs. Alternative Assessments." The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology – TOJET, Vol 2, No. 3, 2003, pp 13-19.
Dikli, Semire. "Assessment at a distance: Traditional vs. Alternative Assessments." The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology – TOJET, Vol 2, No. 3, 2003, pp 13-19.
Lee, Carol. "Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Performance-based Assessment." The Journal of Negro Education, Vol 67, No. 3, 1998, pp 268 - 279.
Lee, Carol. "Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Performance-based Assessment." The Journal of Negro Education, Vol 67, No. 3, 1998, pp 268 - 279.
Oldakowski, Tim. "A Multimodal Assignment That Enriches Literacy Learning The Problem." Insight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, Vol 9, 2014, pp 70 -77.
Oldakowski, Tim. "A Multimodal Assignment That Enriches Literacy Learning The Problem." Insight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, Vol 9, 2014, pp 70 -77.
Sosa, Teresa, and Catherine D. Bhathena. “How Students Use Their Cultural and Linguistic Knowledge to Transform Literacy Goals.” The High School Journal, vol. 102, no. 3, 2019, pp. 210–27.
Sosa, Teresa, and Catherine D. Bhathena. “How Students Use Their Cultural and Linguistic Knowledge to Transform Literacy Goals.” The High School Journal, vol. 102, no. 3, 2019, pp. 210–27.