More than Words: The Generative Power of Transmediation for Learning

Bharatanatyam and Mathematics: Teaching Geometry Through Dance

“…Bharatanatyam uses the different sign systems such as music, dance, and expression to convey the same message, which is transmediation of the sign systems . Transmediation is "the process of translating meaning from one sign system (such as language) to another such as pictures)" (Siegel 1995). This method of learning helps students construct knowledge not just by using text or language, but also through painting, dancing, singing, dialoging, and acting (Fauth 1990;Zakaria et al 2013).…”

Building Meaning Through Metaphor: Using the Arts to Deepen Understanding in Oedipus the King

“…(p. 6) But there are many students we don't reach through traditional methods, such as print or audio texts, who are very reachable using other methods. Siegel (1995) argued about the limitations of language, noting, "some evidence suggests that the central tendency toward verbocentrism in schools is limiting for students, as it reinforces the transmission model … position[ing] students as passive learners" (p. 456). Could this be the reason why my students weren't internalizing Oedipus the King the way I had hoped?…”

“…If I could get them in to the text deeper, then I would be on to something. I became hooked after revisiting Siegel (1995), who, citing the work of Goodlad (1984), said that students involved in the arts understand "what it means to create knowledge and meanings through different modes of representation," thus becoming exceptions to the traditional classroom paradigm of passivism (p. 457).…”

“…After creating a collage in a college course taught by Dr. Phyllis Whitin in response to Marilyn Nelson's A Wreath for Emmett Till (2005), I made a connection based on Suhor's (1984) work in Siegel (1995) that when students engage in classroom experiences in which they collage or write about pictures, i began to question my traditional delivery-reading/listening and discussing oedipus the King-and one that might not be as effective as i had originally thought.…”

“…According to Siegel (1995), when translating textual language, like Oedipus the King, to visual language, like a collage, they not only produce metaphors, but also do so openly, making the process visible (p. 472). She added, "Transmediation can be conceptualized as metaphor because in both cases the generative power of semiosis is intensified and made visible" (p. 472).…”