The Lens of the Multiliteracies Theory

November 25, 2020

The multiliteracies theory is a term coined in the mid 1990’s by the New London Group, and includes a pedagogical framework comprised of four parts: situated practice, critical framing, overt instruction, and transformed practice. Multiliteracies theory arose as a new definition of literacy in response to linguistic diversity in classrooms. Many students are bilingual, and some students speak localized English outside of school and are unfamiliar with standard English and grammatical structures appropriate to school (Olthouse, 2013, p 247). A need for a different view of literacy in the interest of equity was brought up and remains a relevant venture for educators, and multimodal tools and pedagogy through the lens of the multiliteracies theory are excellent solutions to both accommodate and challenge all types of learners.

In one article I will review (Olthouse, 2013), the author imagines three example cases that describe how the multiliteracies theory would work in classrooms at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels. In each example study, unconventional teaching strategies are used: video games in a third-grade classroom, original playwriting in a sixth-grade classroom to study Shakespeare, and a summer reading book club in high school. The author explains how teachers would plan situated practice, critical framing, overt instruction, and transformed practice in each of these situations. In the elementary example, students played educational video games and their teacher created a closed social network that mimics online game discussion boards for her class to use collaboratively (p 251). The simple integration of video games into class activities would capture students’ attention, but it would not be enough to engage them academically and encourage critical thinking. The overt instruction and critical framing facets of the multiliteracies theory address this; the teacher in the example points out how video games have many of the same features as text, including thesis, characters, plot, and setting, as well as invites students to consider questions about whether or not video games can accomplish a purpose bigger than entertainment (p 251). Prompting students to ask deeper questions about the tools they are using and how they connect to the rest of the world are the key to successfully engaging and challenging students with an academic purpose.

The second article I will review is a study of the multimodal work of 27 seventh-grade gifted students. The article focuses on the process of revision in writing, and the way it prompts them to analyze their work. The study postulates that revision is at the heart of quality writing, and the focus is teaching revision via multimodality as a way to serve all students, but especially gifted students or students that otherwise need challenging. The students in the study wrote original stories, and then incorporated multimodality by creating drawings, paintings, sculptures, or incorporating photography, among many other things. The revision process in this writing project took the form of transmediation, which is defined as translating a work into a different medium. The students first wrote their stories, then revisited and analyzed them, seeing how they could do better work. Some students then created three-dimensional artworks to go along with it, which prompted them to revise their stories after noticing how the point of their stories could be clearer. The author noted that transmediation “offered students deeper insight into their thinking, which allowed them to reflect about how the story unfolded, creating a clearer overall picture” (p 146). Through the lens of the multiliteracies theory, teachers created a project that helped students “develop greater chances for learning via risk-taking” (p 147). Students that need to be challenged in reading and writing can learn to take risks and revise their work, and through the “transformed practice” aspect of the multiliteracies theory, can use a different way of thinking to deepen their knowledge.

Below I have attached a video that explains and expands on the multiliteracies theory published by the Illinois College of Education. Mary Kalantzis and Bill Cope talk about how they have reframed and expanded upon the traditional multiliteracies theory. I have also included a link to their website, which features in-depth graphics.