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?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- Reading and language arts methods course
Preservice Participants
Preservice Sample Size
24
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