Critical questioning in and beyond the margins: Teacher preparation students’ multimodal inquiries into literacy assessment.

Abstract

This article explores the potential of using multimodal texts—particularly comics—as a way of engaging teacher education students in critical inquiry around literacy and ELA assessments. We describe a qualitative study into the use of a multimodal comics-form article within an ELA/literacy assessment course in an MEd program. Our findings suggest that teacher preparation students were able to effectively remix and play with both comics tropes and more traditional “academic” writerly discourses. The use of multimodal texts in teacher preparation helped students engage in dialogic and critical forms of inquiry around issues related to classroom practices and policies. We end by suggesting ways that English teacher educators can include similar texts and activities in their courses and teacher preparation programs.

Reference

Jacobs, K. B. & Low, D. E. (2017). Critical questioning in and beyond the margins: Teacher preparation students’ multimodal inquiries into literacy assessment. English Education, 49(3), 226-264.

Journal

English Education

Analysis

Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?

Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?

Research Approach

Qualitiative

Geographic Setting

northeast US

Institutional Context

University based

Certification Level

K-12

Programatic Focus

reading specialization

Research Location Context

Reading and language arts methods course

Preservice Participants

Graduate Students

Preservice Sample Size

Duration of Data Collection

Data Sources

Data Analysis Tools

Researcher Positionality

Research Questions

How might “dangerous conversations,” composed multimodally, invite teacher learners into iterative processes of learning and unlearning, and of uncertainty and reflection, in their inquiries into literacy assessment and professional identity?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes

How might comics tropes, when meaningfully brought into teacher preparation coursework, contribute to teacher learners’ critical consciousness?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes