Multimodal assessment of and for learning: A theory‐driven design rubric

Abstract

Given the changing nature of literacy, there is an urgent need to develop alternative ways of assessment in support of students' new literacy practices in the digital age. While emergent models of multimodal assessment are being developed in theoretical contexts, the study reported in this paper illustrates how multimodal theories can be realized in classroom practice. Seeking to address the needs of both literacy instruction and assessment, this study proposed a design rubric from the multiliteracies perspective to assess students' design of multimodal texts as a means to support assessable new literacy practices. Specifically, this research aimed to investigate how the design rubric as a formative assessment tool affects English learners' multimodal text production (in this case, presentation slides). The empirical results of this study reveal that the theory‐driven design rubric was useful for enhancing the students' understanding and awareness of the multimodal nature of presentation slides and led to improvement in their multimodal text production. The findings have important implications for scaffolding students' multimodal literacy by using formative assessment as one of the instructional approaches in multiliteracies pedagogy. Practitioner Notes The advent of digital technology brings about a re‐conceptualization of literacy. Today's students must be literate in both traditional printed texts and multimodal texts that are commonly associated with digital technology and multimedia. New literacy practices require teachers to develop new assessment practices. This paper offers valuable insights into literacy instruction and assessment. This paper presents a course design using action research that responds to the urgent need to develop alternative ways of assessment in support of students' new literacy practices in the digital age. This paper proposes a theory‐driven design rubric from the multiliteracies perspective to assess learners' multimodal text production. Implications for practice and/or policy Multimodal assessment allows teachers to help students build a metalanguage for understanding and describing multimodal texts. Literacy and language educators may consider adapting the proposed design rubric as a formative assessment tool to provide students with constructive feedback pertaining to the multimodality of texts. The proposed design rubric can also be used for peer review and self‐assessment.

Design and recognition of multimodal texts: selection of digital tools and modes on the basis of social and material premises?

“…We hope that this study can be used as an example of how this framework (cf. Selander and Kress 2010; New London group 2000; Hung et al, 2013;Sofkova Hashemi 2017;Huang and Archer 2017) can be used as a metalanguage for detecting and viewing design approaches to multimodal writing and assessment of multimodal texts in schools.…”

“…Finally, we organized the students' multimodal text productions to rubrics of design. We used the rubrics linguistic design, visual design and auditory design (New London Group 2000; cf Hung et al 2013;cf Sofkova Hashemi 2017) for describing and summarizing a complex and dynamic engagement with modes of communication in the log books, the written reports, and the oral presentations. We considered which digital tools were used and how texts in the log books, written reports, and oral presentation were designed.…”

“…These fields place text-making or writing in a multimodal framework, and emphasize the importance of focusing on both the practice in which the text-making occurs and on the text design process which takes place through a range of media and modes. They view text and even writing as multimodal, there linguistic, visual, auditory elements can be including in the composition (Edwards et al 2009;Edwards-Groves 2011;New London Group 2000;Hung et al 2013;Cope and Kalantzis 2015). Ivanič (2004) proposes also that people who discuss texts and writing are often doing so in discursively hybrid manner.…”

“…A text may, on one hand, be understood as a resource in any mode which carries meaning, and on the other hand, a resource that orchestrates various modes (for example images, writing, and speech) of meaning making (Kress and van Leeuwen 2006;Selander and Danielsson 2014). To large extent, students are more than ever taking part in all kinds of contemporary text-making (multiliteracies) activities (New London Group 2000), which can be understood as a wide range of literacy practices (Barton 2007) where students engage with multimodal texts (Jewitt 2008;Hung, Chiu and Yeh 2013;Cope andKalantzis 2015, Bezemer and. Within such literacy practices, students create texts using different digital tools and modes to represent experiences and knowledge (Jewitt 2008).…”

A Mixed Methods Exploratory Study of Digital Literacies in Higher Education

“…In her qualitative study with high school students Jocius (2013) references the difficulties in assessing multimodal class projects on responding to a book, The Kite Runner;and Hung, Chiu, and Yeh (2013) conclude from their research of a formative assessment rubric for students' multimodal projects, "there is an urgent need to develop alternative ways of assessment in support of students' new literacy practices in the digital age" (p. 400).…”