Module 10
Question: How can multimodal responses be assessed?
Question: How can multimodal responses be assessed?
It is crucial to provide other avenues for students to answer any type of question. With technology constantly changing, students are now able to use Web 2.0 tools (Google Slides, YouTube, Glogster, VoiceThread, iMovie, PowToon, etc.) to respond to a question in a creative manner. No longer should students be providing written answers to comprehension questions; rather, they should be able to demonstrate their learning using a different medium (e.g. instead of basic comprehensive book reports). Technology does not have to always be used - students can express their understanding by incorporating drama, art, music, speech, and sound. The driving question is how to assess multimodal responses? Multimodal literacy refers to meaning-making that occurs through the reading, viewing, understanding, responding to and producing and interacting with multimedia and digital texts (Walsh, p.213).
Assessment for multimodal responses is similar to inquiry - educators need to review formative and reflective assessment strategies. Teachers must work alongside students to create suitable criteria. This will allow students to remain focused and engaged - they are able to use the provided (ongoing) feedback and demonstrate higher-order thinking skills by allowing them to 'dive deeper' into an assignment. Thus, it is important for students to understand the goal and criteria for a multimodal assignment. Regarding formative assessment, the classroom teacher and students can create a rubric using familiar language. There must be a focus on the process for learning rather than looking at the final project. Class meetings can be held weekly; the teacher can assess students in small groups or as individuals. Multimodal activities ties nicely with British Columbia's new curriculum, specifically, the core competencies (communication, thinking, personal/social learning). Using the core competencies, students and teachers can easily create reflective assessment questions. In elementary, students can use "I can..", "I'm proud of..", "My best creative idea was..." statements while secondary students can provide in-depth reflective responses.
Multimodal assessment will review a student's literacy strategies (how students comprehend and decode) and other thinking strategies (their meta-cognition). Of course, students must be engaged in a variety of text formats, both print or digital. This also includes whether students can go online and use information that is available to help suit their needs. One avenue to showcase multimodal responses can be through a portfolio. Here, a teacher can monitor student growth and make any adjustments to their pedagogy to ensure that authentic learning is achieved.
Sample formative assessment checklist:
Assessment for multimodal responses is similar to inquiry - educators need to review formative and reflective assessment strategies. Teachers must work alongside students to create suitable criteria. This will allow students to remain focused and engaged - they are able to use the provided (ongoing) feedback and demonstrate higher-order thinking skills by allowing them to 'dive deeper' into an assignment. Thus, it is important for students to understand the goal and criteria for a multimodal assignment. Regarding formative assessment, the classroom teacher and students can create a rubric using familiar language. There must be a focus on the process for learning rather than looking at the final project. Class meetings can be held weekly; the teacher can assess students in small groups or as individuals. Multimodal activities ties nicely with British Columbia's new curriculum, specifically, the core competencies (communication, thinking, personal/social learning). Using the core competencies, students and teachers can easily create reflective assessment questions. In elementary, students can use "I can..", "I'm proud of..", "My best creative idea was..." statements while secondary students can provide in-depth reflective responses.
Multimodal assessment will review a student's literacy strategies (how students comprehend and decode) and other thinking strategies (their meta-cognition). Of course, students must be engaged in a variety of text formats, both print or digital. This also includes whether students can go online and use information that is available to help suit their needs. One avenue to showcase multimodal responses can be through a portfolio. Here, a teacher can monitor student growth and make any adjustments to their pedagogy to ensure that authentic learning is achieved.
Sample formative assessment checklist:
- content has correct style, meaning, conventions (similar to performance standards)
- what is the theme
- use of music or sound effects
- visually appealing - layout and structure
- graphics
Image retrieved from https://communicativecompetencefive.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/multimodal-response-paper-assignment-tutorial-and-resources/
References
Dalton, B. & Grisham, D. (2013). Love that book. In The Reading Teacher. 67(3), 220-225.
Walsh, M. (2010). Multimodal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice? In Australian of Language and Literacy. 33(3), 211-239.
Dalton, B. & Grisham, D. (2013). Love that book. In The Reading Teacher. 67(3), 220-225.
Walsh, M. (2010). Multimodal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice? In Australian of Language and Literacy. 33(3), 211-239.