ABSTRACT

While literacy research in the area of multimodality includes a range of communication modes, the combination of the visual and verbal modes is arguably the most common multimodal text form used in classroom contexts from posters, charts and information texts to picture books and graphic novels. Assessment of students’ understanding of visual and verbal modes as well as their combined meanings is a growing area of literacy research. Using data drawn from a larger case study, this article focusses on 11 middle years students (Grade 6) as they read then discussed a range of features from the award-winning picture book The Watertower by Gary Crew and Steve Woolman. This picture book includes visual and verbal intersections, where the meanings of each mode may be equivalent to each other, augment each other or at times apparently offer divergent or contradictory meanings. With a focus on assessing students’ multimodal knowledge, comprehension and visual metalanguage, the study utilized assessment strategies which included discussion, questioning and a visual text making activity. The findings are discussed in terms of the suggested guidance for planning effective multimodal assessment strategies in the classroom.

摘要

尽管多模态领域的扫盲研究包括多种沟通模式，但视觉和言语模式的结合无疑是教室环境中最常见的多模态文本形式，从海报，图表和信息文本到图画书和图画小说。评估学生对视觉和言语方式及其综合含义的理解是扫盲研究的一个增长领域。本文使用从较大的案例研究中获得的数据，重点研究了11位中年级学生（6年级），他们在阅读后讨论了屡获殊荣的图画书《水塔》中的一系列功能。由Gary Crew和Steve Woolman撰写。这本图画书包括视觉和言语交汇处，其中每种模式的含义可以彼此等同，彼此补充或有时显然提供不同或矛盾的含义。为了评估学生的多模态知识，理解力和视觉元语言，该研究采用了包括讨论，提问和视觉文字制作活动在内的评估策略。将根据建议的指导原则对调查结果进行讨论，以指导在课堂上规划有效的多模式评估策略。