No abstract

This exploratory case study considered the opportunities for print literacy learning within multimodal ensembles that featured art, singing and digital media within the context of an intergenerational programme that brought together 13 kindergarten children (4 and 5 years) with seven elder companions. Study questions concerned how reading and writing were practised within multimodal ensembles and what learning opportunities were afforded to the children while the participants worked through a chain of multimodal projects. Data were collected through ethnographic tools in the Rest Home where the projects were completed and in the children's classroom where project content and tools were introduced and extended by the classroom teacher. Themes were identified through the juxtaposition of field texts in a multimodal analysis. The results indicate that the multimodality of the projects and the reciprocal intergenerational relationships forged in and through text-making afforded children opportunities to improvise and refine their print literacy practices as part of multimodal ensembles. The study is designed to contribute to the nascent, yet growing, body of knowledge concerning print literacy practices and learning opportunities as conceptualized within multimodal literacy and intergenerational curricula.

This exploratory case study examined the affordances of singing as a multimodal literacy practice within ensembles that featured art, singing and digital media produced in an intergenerational programme that served a class of kindergarten children and community elders. The programme that was set up by the study in collaboration with a rural school and elders' organisation saw participants meet one afternoon a week for most of a school year. Study questions concerned the meaning making and relationship‐building opportunities afforded to the participants as they worked through chains of multimodal projects. Data were collected using ethnographic tools in an elders' home where the projects were completed and in the kindergarten where project content and tools were introduced to the children and extended by the classroom teacher. Themes were identified through the juxtaposition of data in relation to the literature and study questions. Results indicate that singing provided opportunities for participants to form relationships and make meaning as a group while combining modes. Study findings foreground the communicative power of singing and suggest how singing, when viewed through a multimodal lens, might be a potent tool for multimodal literacy learning.

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Visual methods are increasingly being developed and used in early childhood research. The literature strongly suggests the affordances of visual methods; still, such methods are not unproblematic. Through a critical reading of literature pertinent to visual methods in early childhood research (i.e., involving children from birth to age 8), including multimodal </span><span>literacy literature, this paper offers six discussion points to </span><span>promote critical conversations among educational researchers </span><span>about visual methods. The points pertain to the de nition of </span><span>visual methods, their potentialities in early childhood research, children’s rights and participation in research, authenticity and </span><span>children’s voices, methods for interpretations of visual texts </span><span>elicited from children, and ethics and assent. Aggregated, the points suggest the need for the enactment of critical, dialogic relationships between methods and methodologies, adults and children, and researchers and research participants. </span></p></div></div></div></div>

No abstract