I have taught first year composition in a traditional classroom for four semesters and
I know one key truth: As much as students hate to write, they hate to read even
more. I often notice on my teaching evaluations that the lowest marks are often
given to the question dealing with the class reading material. This is a sad
but expected realization for any composition teacher working today. However
there are many remedies for this common plague that infects our classes. One of
which is multimodal texts. Scott Warnock in his book Teaching Writing Online discusses that a major advantage of
multimodal texts is “to create a different kind of ‘reading’ experience for
students” (62). If that means that students would enjoy the experience more, I
am on board with anything.
In fact, this week was my first experiment with multimodal
texts. In concordance with a discussion on cognitive biases and ethical
citizenship, I had my students either listen to or read the transcript of the
first episode of the popular podcast Serial entitled “The Alibi”. I started by
having them think about whether they would automatically assume someone killed
their former significant other if they were convicted of doing so by a court of
law at the end of the class before our discussion was held. Most of them said
there was not enough evidence, but some said that they would stand for the
judgment that the court brought forth on the hypothetical defendant.
The next class had a conversation about cognitive biases,
some of which they were not aware of. After that, we discussed the first
episode of Serial in regards to biases and ethical citizenship. Some of the
main areas for discussion include the reliability of witnesses, the ethics of
law, and the ethics of journalism. It was a very lively conversation,
especially since they only had to listen to the first episode for homework.
Some students assumed that Hae pushed Adnan to kill her because she was being
abusive to him. Others thought that the “Alibi Girl” was doing it for the fame
that came with being associated with an infamous murder. Needless to say, the
discussion portion of this experiment was a success.
The next components happened after class. The first involved
a metacognitive journal about their reading experience. In my composition
classes, they have a weekly journal based on certain prompts. This week’s
journal focused on their comprehension and reaction to “The Alibi”. Based on the
journals that have been turned (I will post later about the others), most of
them really enjoyed it. Some of them even mentioned that they enjoyed it due to
the fact that they were able to listen to it instead of reading it. I only had
one person who was ambivalent on it because she said that she was a type of
person who needs to see the case solved, not in the process of being solved.
The final component to the Serial assignment was a “quiz”.
This “quiz” was simply a writing prompt asking them to discuss an ethical issue
discussed within the Serial episode. The few that have been turned in have been
interesting. Some quizzes have focused on the lack of episode required to find
Adnan guilty. Others have focused on the reliability of the star witness for
the prosecution, Jay. I look forward to reading the rest of their quizzes.
Overall, I would say that my first experiment with
multimodal reading texts was a success. I look forward to doing more activities
like this, especially if my classes react this well to it. But, I would preface
that working with multimodal texts can be disastrous at times. Scott Warnock
even discusses this by saying, “For some of us, the move to multimodality may
come with growing pains, simply because we haven’t always been trained to think in those terms as teachers”
(62-63). But, I strongly urge any teacher, regardless of format, to try multimodality
at least once. It can work really well and will have your students actually
enjoy the reading!
Works Cited
Warnock, Scott. Teaching Writing Online: How and Why.
Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2009. Print.
Wow, that sounds like a great idea for a multimodal activity. Like so many authors have been saying, we live in a technological age. It's extremely difficult to confine students to just a physical book, pen, and paper. This is a side note, but I loved how you engaged the aural and interpersonal learners with the visual learners. Sometimes it's hard even with multimodality to not elevate the visual learners above the others. Also, this is a really great critical thinking activity (like in chapt 9 of TWO). Let us know what other brilliant multimodal activities you come up with!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't even thought about aural learners versus visual learners. I will have to remember that for next time I do something like this.
DeleteYour application of multimodal reading in your class is so fascinating. You choose a debated topic for students, and let students read or listen the related transcript. Some students like visual reading, while some may not. Offering the way of listening as an alternative for reading is a good example for me to learn from if I can be an English teacher in the future. What' s more, the quiz after discussion is a good exercise for composition class, where students can develop their ideas in previous discussion more comprehensively and remove their fear in boring writing. As a result, their passion in writing can be enhanced. I also read your following reflection on the experiment, and I am so happy for you that most of your students love the multimodal reading. Your expectation that the trying can not be fully successful is insightful as well. In a word, your application is a good guide for composition class, and I do looks forward to see more following results about it!
ReplyDelete-Qin Qin
Teaching itself is an experiment because no class is the same. Some classes will like learning about Serial and others won't. You just have to be willing to take a risk and try something new. If it succeeds, you can bask in the rewards. If not, it was a learning experience.
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