1 Using multimodal approaches
This resource invites you to consider some key questions about using multimodal approaches in teaching and learning. Teaching methods are often adopted unquestioningly; indeed, it is part of a teacher’s professional skill to be able to select, almost instinctively, suitable approaches. New technologies can be disruptive in both valuable and harmful ways, so we’d like you to reflect on some practical examples before embarking on planning your own project.
Hard to teach topics
Spend a few minutes jotting down bullet points in answer to these two questions:
- What, in your experience, is difficult to teach or learn in English at Key Stage 3?
- Select a couple of the aspects or topics you listed in answer to question 1. How do you think ICT could be used help teach these?
We’ll come back to your answers later.
Now watch the film Hard to teach – secondary English using ICT, http://www.teachers.tv/ video/ 34475 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] on Teachers TV.
In this programme, three teachers demonstrate and discuss how they use ICT in their classrooms. Two are at Key Stage 3 and one is with a Key Stage 4 class but you will readily appreciate how a similar approach would work at Key Stage 3.
If you wish, it is possible to download the video and watch it offline; it lasts 30 minutes in total, though you may wish to pause after each example and record your comments, perhaps watching the other sections at a later time.
We suggest that you base your responses to the questions which follow on at least two of the sections. If you don’t have access to video cameras and editing equipment, for example, the final example on filming trailers for Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde may be less relevant for your situation, though we hope you’ll have time to watch it and decide whether there are things to learn from the approaches there.
Reflection
Reflect on the teaching approaches used in each example and make a note of the effect of using ICT in that setting. Your reflection may take the form of both comments and questions. Here are some you might consider, though we hope you’ll have others as well:
- What contribution was made by each of the following – and how essential is that contribution?
- the technology
- the teacher
- the students
- How far could these approaches be used in your own teaching? What would you need in order to do so?
- Compare your reflections with the notes you made earlier on topics that are hard to teach.
- Have you seen examples of ways in which multimodal approaches can enhance teaching and learning in English?
- Which approach would you most like to try out in your own classroom?
Resources