Multiliteracies in ELA Classrooms

1 response so far ↓

• TMD // Jul 17th 2013 at 7:00 pm

  Dear Samantha, Katrina, Zlatina, and Dominic,

  As I mentioned in class, I found the process your group followed in constructing this “Pirdle” to be complex and fascinating. Of all the projects, this one spoke most to the limitations of assessing student work with little or no knowledge of process. Each time I wandered by your group I found you engaged in rich discussions about the poem and its potential representations. There was, as you note in your write up, a lot of trial and error, and a lot of discarding of ideas that, although meritorious, didn’t meet your collective vision. Your process reminded me of the comment by Ridley Scott in relation to the production of Thelma and Louise about a particular day of shooting in which 45 storyboards were presented for a single shot.

  It seems the focus on product in classrooms combined with disciplinary fragmentation and the influence of standardized testing means that students rarely have time to linger with their ideas, to explore and discard. Instead, they are pressed to produce with maximum speed; there is no place left for trial and error, for pondering, for play. If I recall correctly, in his statement Ridley Scott also likened the creative process involved in film making to competition, play, and gaming. Thinking about today’s conversation, would you say your process potentially reflected a game-like learning process? In terms of your own learning (rather than assessing the potential for your own classrooms), was the project worthwhile?

  Finally, you note, “Another challenge that arose was the inherent difficulty in finding an appropriate image for several key words/ideas that were not nouns . . .” In your estimation would such an activity be useful for ESL learners?

  Thanks again for your efforts — I look forward to participating in your project on Friday!

  Best regards,

  Teresa

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