Double Entry Journal #2

Multimodal Literacies: An Introduction written by Jennifer Sanders and PEggy Albers was a very interesting reading and I must say that it was very difficult to pull just 3 quotes from this text.

Since this was a PDF and you can not actually copy the test, I took a screen image of text and have entered it into my blog.

QUOTE 1



I really liked what this quote had to say. It explains how complex multimodal learning really is and how often it is used in one's daily life. Through this quote we are able to see how multimodal texts are incorporated into both our lives and the lives of our students. It also gives us ideas for a variety of ways to use these multimodal texts to created a learning environment which is engaging, interesting, and stimulating for the student.


QUOTE 2



This quote is very interesting and precise on our current "change" in education. Through education we are always looking for different ways that we can increase student engagement and learning. In addition to student participation we are always trying to improve literacy as this is one of the biggest struggles that our education system faces. Without being literate how can one truly succeed in the education system? Literacy in itself is a struggle but when you combine the complexities of multi-modalites if becomes an even larger struggle. So why are we as educators welcoming this struggle? Well, the answer is quite simple - these multi-modalties allow us to reach all of our students through a variety of teaching standards. We are able to address our each one of our students modalities of learning and effectively teach each student with the help of multi-modalites. These multi-moalites also give us more "room" and allow the students to use a wider variety of creative critical thinking skills when completing assignments. Even though this "new" way of teaching is difficult and complex - it is improving the education system!

QUOTE 3



This quote sums up my idea of the importance of multi-modality instruction. Both the teacher and the student are provided the opportunity to be more creative and find more enjoyment in the learning process. One of the most important thing a teacher must realize - is that the lesson must be interesting or intriguing to the students in some way. The more a student is interested in a lesson the more engaged they will be thus learning a great deal more than if they are simply doing the lesson for a grade. If we can create a more engaging lesson in which the students are able to gain a deeper understanding of the concept we might create an environment in which the students successfully learns the material and is able to retain the material longer than for the completion of a test. We might be able to instill a life long learning process in the student. If you combine this idea with the importance of literacy - we are creating a way that makes literacy more interesting and fun for the student - thus making the student want to learn and become more literate. In my opinion this is a win win situation.

Connection to Teaching Practice

I am a strong believer in teaching all modalities of learning through one complete lesson. Not every student in your class learns the same - therefore you must provide a variety of instructional methods so that each student has the chance to learn the material and be successful. At times I question how many of these "high school drop-outs" are really the victims of unsuccessful teaching strategies. How many of those students were visual learners in an environment where the instructional method was lectures. How many of those students where tactile learners. Is this were our problem lies in our educational system. It has been researched and proven that students learn better and retain more information when all modalities of learning are addressed in the instructional technique. In my instructions I try to include an video, audio, and "hands-on" approach so that all students are learning the material at the same rate. In addition this tends to decrease the behavioral problems and reduce repetition of concepts.