Obstacles to digital, multimodal pedagogy in rural high schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.33761Keywords:
Argument, Multimodality, Digital Tools, Professional Development, RuralAbstract
The author reports findings from two iterations of a formative experiment focusing on improving students' conventional and digital, multimodal arguments. The first iteration of this experiment occurred in a rural school district in the United Sates with an eleventh-grade English/language arts teacher, and the second iteration was implemented in the same school district, but in a different high school with both a ninth- and tenth-grade English/language arts teacher. The findings focus upon obstacles the teachers encountered while implementing an intervention that entailed elements of argument; digital, multimodal tools; and the writing process. These obstacles led the author to make six recommendations for the future professional development of rural teachers integrating digital, multimodal tools into conventional writing curriculum.
References
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Alvermann, D. E. (2011) Moving On/Keeping pace: Youth's literate identities and multimodal digital texts. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education 110.1: 109--128.
Andrews, R. (1997) Reconceiving argument. Educational Review 49.3: 259--269. doi:10.1080/0013191970490305
Applebee, A. N. and Langer, J. A. (2013) Writing Instruction that Works: Proven Methods for Middle and High School Classrooms. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Azano, A. P. (2015) Addressing the rural context in literacies research: A call to action. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 59.3: 267--269. doi:10.1002/jaal.480
Baron, D. E. (2009) A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and The Digital Revolution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Bezemer, J., and Kress, G. (2008) Writing in multimodal texts a social semiotic account of designs for learning. Written Communication 25.2: 166--195. doi:10.1177/0741088307313177
Birdsell, D. S. and Groarke, L. (2004) Toward a theory of visual argument. In Handa, C. (2004) Visual Rhetoric In a Digital World: A Critical Sourcebook (309--320). Boston: Bedford/St. Martins.
Bouck, E. C. (2004) How size and setting impact education in rural schools. Rural Educator 25.3: 38--42.
Bowen, T. and Whithaus, C. (Eds.). (2013) ‘What else is possible’: Multimodal composing and genre in the teaching of writing. In Multimodal literacies and emerging genres (1--13). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Bradley, B., Reinking, D., Colwell, J., Hall, L., Fisher, D., Frey, N., and Baumann, J. (2012) Clarifying formative experiments in literacy research. In P. Dunston, S. King Fullerton, C. Bates, K. Headley, and P. Stecker (Eds.), 61st Yearbook of the Literacy Research Association (410--418). Oak Creek, WI: Literacy Research Association.
Bruce, D. L. (2009) Writing with visual images: Examining the video composition processes of high school students. Research in the Teaching of English 43.4: 426--450.
Charmaz, K. (2014) Constructing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Colwell, J., Hunt-Barron, S., and Reinking, D. (2013) Obstacles to developing digital literacy on the internet in middle school science instruction. Journal of Literacy Research 45.3: 295--324. doi:10/1177/1086296X13493273
Colwell, J., and Reinking, D. (2016) A Formative Experiment to Align Middle-School History Instruction with Literacy Goals. Teachers College Record 118.12: 1--29.
Goh, D., and Kale, U. (2016) The urban-rural gap: Project-based learning with web 2.0 among West Virginian teachers. Technology, Pedagogy, and Education 25.3: 355--376. doi:10.1080/1475939X.2015.1051490
Graham, M. S., and Benson, S. (2010) A springboard rather than a bridge: Diving into multimodal literacy. English Journal 100.2: 93--97.
Graham, S., and Perin, D. (2007a) A meta-analysis of writing instruction for adolescent students. Journal of Educational Psychology 99.3: 445--476. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.445
Graham, S., and Perin, D. (2007b) Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools. A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Alliance for Excellent Education.
Graham, S., and Sandmel, K. (2011) The process writing approach: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Research 104.6: 396--407. doi: 10.1080/00220671.2010.488703
Gravemeijer, K., and Cobb, P. (2006) Design research from a learning design perspective. In J. van den Akker, K. Gravemeijer, S. Mckenney, and N. Nieveen (Eds.), Educational Design Research (17--51). New York, NY: Routledge.
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Hillocks, G. (2011). Preface. In Teaching Argument Writing: Supporting Claims with Relevant Evidence and Clear Reasoning (xv--xxvi). Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Hinkle, D. E., Wiersma, W., and Jurs, S. G. (2003) Applied Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Hocks, M. E. (2003) Understanding visual rhetoric in digital writing environments. College Composition and Communication 54.4: 629--656.
Howley, A., Wood, L., and Hough, B. (2011) Rural elementary school teachers’ technology integration. Journal of Research in Rural Education 26.9: 1--13. Retrieved from http://jrre.vmhost.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/26-9.pdf.
Hutchison, A., and Reinking, D. (2011) Teachers’ perceptions of integrating information and communication technologies into literacy instruction: A national survey in the United States. Reading Research Quarterly 46.4: 312--333. doi:10.1002/RRQ.002
Ivey, G., and Broaddus, K. (2007) A formative experiment investigating literacy engagement among adolescent Latina/o students just beginning to read, write, and speak English. Reading Research Quarterly 42.4: 512-545. doi:10.1598/RRQ.42.4.4
Jewitt, C., and Kress, G. (2010) Multimodality, literacy, and school English. In Wyse, D., Andrews, R., and Hoffman, J. (Eds.). The Routledge International Handbook of English, Language, and Literacy Teaching (342--353). New York, NY: Routledge.
Jiménez, R. T. (1997) The strategic reading abilities and potential of five low?literacy Latina/o readers in middle school. Reading Research Quarterly 32.3: 224--243. doi:10.1598/RRQ.32.3.1
Jocius, R. (2013) Exploring adolescents’ multimodal responses to The Kite Runner: Understanding how students use digital media for academic purposes. The Journal of Media Literacy Education 5.1: 310--325.
Johnson, J., Showalter, D., Klein, R. and Lester, C. (2014) Why Rural Matters 2013-14: The Condition of Rural Education in the 50 States. Washington, DC: Rural School and Community Trust. Retrieved from: http://www.ruraledu.org/user_uploads/file/2013-14-Why-Rural-Matters.pdf
Jones, L. A. (2010) Podcasting and performativity: Multimodal invention in an advanced writing class. Composition Studies 38.2: 75--91.
Knudson, R. E. (1992) Analysis of argumentative writing at two grade levels. The Journal of Educational Research 85.3: 169--179. doi:10.1080/00220671.1992.9944434
Kress, G. (2010) Multimodality. New York: Routledge. Lankow, J., Ritchie, J., and Crooks, R. (2012) Introduction. In Infographics: The power of visual storytelling (11--24). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Lee, H. (1960) To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Lenhart, A., and Madden, M. (2005) Teen Content Creators and Consumers. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/files/oldmedia//Files/Reports/2005/PIP_Teens_Content_Creation.pdf.pdf
Makel, M. C., and Plucker, J. A. (2014) Facts are more important than novelty: Replication in the education sciences. Educational Researcher 43.6: 304--316. doi:10.3102/0013189X14545513
Matthewman, S., Blight, A., and Davies, C. (2004) What does multimodality mean for English? Creative tensions in teaching new texts and new literacies. Education, Communication and Information 4.1: 153--176. doi:10.1080/1463631042000210944
National Center for Education Statistics (n.d.) Fast facts. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=158
National Center for Education Statistics (2012) The Nation’s Report Card: Writing 2011(NCES 2012–470). Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.
National Center for Education Statistics (2013) The status of rural education. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tla.asp
National Governors Association Center (NGAC) for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). (2010) Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Washington, D.C.: NGAC and CCSSO. Available at http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy
New London Group (NLG). (1996) A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Education Review 66.1: 60--92.
Newell, G. E., Beach, R., Smith, J., and VanDerHeide, J. (2011) Teaching and learning argumentative reading and writing: A review of research. Reading Research Quarterly, 46.3: 273--304.
Pappano, L. (2017, January 31) Colleges discover the rural student. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/education/edlife/colleges-discover-rural-student.html?_r=0
Purcell, K., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., and Friedrich, L. (2013) How teachers are using technology at home and in their classrooms. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.
Reigeluth, C. M., and Frick, T. W. (1999) Formative research: A methodology for creating and improving design theories. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional-Design Theories and Models, Volume II: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory (633--651). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Reinking, D., and Bradley, B. A. (2008) On Formative and Design Experiments: Approaches to Language and Literacy Research. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Reinking, D., and Watkins, J. (2000) A formative experiment investigating the use of multimedia book reviews to increase elementary students independent reading. Reading Research Quarterly 35.3: 384--419. doi:10.1598/RRQ.35.3.4
Russell, M., O'Dwyer, L. M., Bebell, D., and Tao, W. (2007) How teachers' uses of technology vary by tenure and longevity. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 37.4: 393--417. doi:10.2190/EC.37.4.d
Scherrer, J. (2014) The role of the intellectual in eliminating the effects of poverty: A response to Tierney. Educational Researcher 43.4: 201--207. doi: 10.3102/0013189X14528242.
Sewell, W. C., and Denton, S. (2011) Multimodal literacies in the secondary English classroom. English Journal 100.5: 61--65.
Skaar, H. (2009) In defence of writing: a social semiotic perspective on digital media, literacy and learning. Literacy 43.1: 36--42. doi:10.1111/j.1741-4369.2009.00502.x
Smith, M. W., Wilhelm, J., and Fredricksen, J. (2012) Oh Yeah?! Putting Argument to Work Both In School And Out. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Siegel, M. (2012) New times for multimodality? Confronting the accountability culture. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 55.8: 671--680. doi:10.1002/JAAL.00082
Stake, R. E. (2006). Cross-case analysis. In Multiple Case Study Analysis (39--77). New York: Guilford Press.
Steinbeck, J. (1937) Of Mice and Men. New York, NY: Penguin.
Toulmin, S. E. (1958/2003) The Uses of Argument. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Vasudevan, L., Schultz, K., and Bateman, J. (2010) Rethinking composing in a digital age: Authoring literate identities through multimodal storytelling. Written Communication 27.4: 442--468. doi:10.1177/0741088310378217
Yeh, S. S. (1998) Empowering education: Teaching argumentative writing to cultural minority middle-school students. Research in the Teaching of English 33.1: 49--83.
Albom, M. (1997) Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday.
Alvermann, D. E. (2011) Moving On/Keeping pace: Youth's literate identities and multimodal digital texts. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education 110.1: 109--128.
Andrews, R. (1997) Reconceiving argument. Educational Review 49.3: 259--269. doi:10.1080/0013191970490305
Applebee, A. N. and Langer, J. A. (2013) Writing Instruction that Works: Proven Methods for Middle and High School Classrooms. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Azano, A. P. (2015) Addressing the rural context in literacies research: A call to action. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 59.3: 267--269. doi:10.1002/jaal.480
Baron, D. E. (2009) A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and The Digital Revolution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Bezemer, J., and Kress, G. (2008) Writing in multimodal texts a social semiotic account of designs for learning. Written Communication 25.2: 166--195. doi:10.1177/0741088307313177
Birdsell, D. S. and Groarke, L. (2004) Toward a theory of visual argument. In Handa, C. (2004) Visual Rhetoric In a Digital World: A Critical Sourcebook (309--320). Boston: Bedford/St. Martins.
Bouck, E. C. (2004) How size and setting impact education in rural schools. Rural Educator 25.3: 38--42.
Bowen, T. and Whithaus, C. (Eds.). (2013) ‘What else is possible’: Multimodal composing and genre in the teaching of writing. In Multimodal literacies and emerging genres (1--13). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Bradley, B., Reinking, D., Colwell, J., Hall, L., Fisher, D., Frey, N., and Baumann, J. (2012) Clarifying formative experiments in literacy research. In P. Dunston, S. King Fullerton, C. Bates, K. Headley, and P. Stecker (Eds.), 61st Yearbook of the Literacy Research Association (410--418). Oak Creek, WI: Literacy Research Association.
Bruce, D. L. (2009) Writing with visual images: Examining the video composition processes of high school students. Research in the Teaching of English 43.4: 426--450.
Charmaz, K. (2014) Constructing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Colwell, J., Hunt-Barron, S., and Reinking, D. (2013) Obstacles to developing digital literacy on the internet in middle school science instruction. Journal of Literacy Research 45.3: 295--324. doi:10/1177/1086296X13493273
Colwell, J., and Reinking, D. (2016) A Formative Experiment to Align Middle-School History Instruction with Literacy Goals. Teachers College Record 118.12: 1--29.
Goh, D., and Kale, U. (2016) The urban-rural gap: Project-based learning with web 2.0 among West Virginian teachers. Technology, Pedagogy, and Education 25.3: 355--376. doi:10.1080/1475939X.2015.1051490
Graham, M. S., and Benson, S. (2010) A springboard rather than a bridge: Diving into multimodal literacy. English Journal 100.2: 93--97.
Graham, S., and Perin, D. (2007a) A meta-analysis of writing instruction for adolescent students. Journal of Educational Psychology 99.3: 445--476. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.445
Graham, S., and Perin, D. (2007b) Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools. A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Alliance for Excellent Education.
Graham, S., and Sandmel, K. (2011) The process writing approach: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Research 104.6: 396--407. doi: 10.1080/00220671.2010.488703
Gravemeijer, K., and Cobb, P. (2006) Design research from a learning design perspective. In J. van den Akker, K. Gravemeijer, S. Mckenney, and N. Nieveen (Eds.), Educational Design Research (17--51). New York, NY: Routledge.
Hayes, J. R., and Flower, L. S. (1980) Identifying the organization of writing processes. In L. W. Gregg and E. R. Steinberg (Eds.), Cognitive Processes in Writing (3--30). Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum and Associates.
Hillocks, G. (2011). Preface. In Teaching Argument Writing: Supporting Claims with Relevant Evidence and Clear Reasoning (xv--xxvi). Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Hinkle, D. E., Wiersma, W., and Jurs, S. G. (2003) Applied Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Hocks, M. E. (2003) Understanding visual rhetoric in digital writing environments. College Composition and Communication 54.4: 629--656.
Howley, A., Wood, L., and Hough, B. (2011) Rural elementary school teachers’ technology integration. Journal of Research in Rural Education 26.9: 1--13. Retrieved from http://jrre.vmhost.psu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/26-9.pdf.
Hutchison, A., and Reinking, D. (2011) Teachers’ perceptions of integrating information and communication technologies into literacy instruction: A national survey in the United States. Reading Research Quarterly 46.4: 312--333. doi:10.1002/RRQ.002
Ivey, G., and Broaddus, K. (2007) A formative experiment investigating literacy engagement among adolescent Latina/o students just beginning to read, write, and speak English. Reading Research Quarterly 42.4: 512-545. doi:10.1598/RRQ.42.4.4
Jewitt, C., and Kress, G. (2010) Multimodality, literacy, and school English. In Wyse, D., Andrews, R., and Hoffman, J. (Eds.). The Routledge International Handbook of English, Language, and Literacy Teaching (342--353). New York, NY: Routledge.
Jiménez, R. T. (1997) The strategic reading abilities and potential of five low?literacy Latina/o readers in middle school. Reading Research Quarterly 32.3: 224--243. doi:10.1598/RRQ.32.3.1
Jocius, R. (2013) Exploring adolescents’ multimodal responses to The Kite Runner: Understanding how students use digital media for academic purposes. The Journal of Media Literacy Education 5.1: 310--325.
Johnson, J., Showalter, D., Klein, R. and Lester, C. (2014) Why Rural Matters 2013-14: The Condition of Rural Education in the 50 States. Washington, DC: Rural School and Community Trust. Retrieved from: http://www.ruraledu.org/user_uploads/file/2013-14-Why-Rural-Matters.pdf
Jones, L. A. (2010) Podcasting and performativity: Multimodal invention in an advanced writing class. Composition Studies 38.2: 75--91.
Knudson, R. E. (1992) Analysis of argumentative writing at two grade levels. The Journal of Educational Research 85.3: 169--179. doi:10.1080/00220671.1992.9944434
Kress, G. (2010) Multimodality. New York: Routledge. Lankow, J., Ritchie, J., and Crooks, R. (2012) Introduction. In Infographics: The power of visual storytelling (11--24). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Lee, H. (1960) To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Lenhart, A., and Madden, M. (2005) Teen Content Creators and Consumers. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/files/oldmedia//Files/Reports/2005/PIP_Teens_Content_Creation.pdf.pdf
Makel, M. C., and Plucker, J. A. (2014) Facts are more important than novelty: Replication in the education sciences. Educational Researcher 43.6: 304--316. doi:10.3102/0013189X14545513
Matthewman, S., Blight, A., and Davies, C. (2004) What does multimodality mean for English? Creative tensions in teaching new texts and new literacies. Education, Communication and Information 4.1: 153--176. doi:10.1080/1463631042000210944
National Center for Education Statistics (n.d.) Fast facts. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=158
National Center for Education Statistics (2012) The Nation’s Report Card: Writing 2011(NCES 2012–470). Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.
National Center for Education Statistics (2013) The status of rural education. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tla.asp
National Governors Association Center (NGAC) for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). (2010) Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Washington, D.C.: NGAC and CCSSO. Available at http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy
New London Group (NLG). (1996) A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Education Review 66.1: 60--92.
Newell, G. E., Beach, R., Smith, J., and VanDerHeide, J. (2011) Teaching and learning argumentative reading and writing: A review of research. Reading Research Quarterly, 46.3: 273--304.
Pappano, L. (2017, January 31) Colleges discover the rural student. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/education/edlife/colleges-discover-rural-student.html?_r=0
Purcell, K., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., and Friedrich, L. (2013) How teachers are using technology at home and in their classrooms. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.
Reigeluth, C. M., and Frick, T. W. (1999) Formative research: A methodology for creating and improving design theories. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional-Design Theories and Models, Volume II: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory (633--651). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Reinking, D., and Bradley, B. A. (2008) On Formative and Design Experiments: Approaches to Language and Literacy Research. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Reinking, D., and Watkins, J. (2000) A formative experiment investigating the use of multimedia book reviews to increase elementary students independent reading. Reading Research Quarterly 35.3: 384--419. doi:10.1598/RRQ.35.3.4
Russell, M., O'Dwyer, L. M., Bebell, D., and Tao, W. (2007) How teachers' uses of technology vary by tenure and longevity. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 37.4: 393--417. doi:10.2190/EC.37.4.d
Scherrer, J. (2014) The role of the intellectual in eliminating the effects of poverty: A response to Tierney. Educational Researcher 43.4: 201--207. doi: 10.3102/0013189X14528242.
Sewell, W. C., and Denton, S. (2011) Multimodal literacies in the secondary English classroom. English Journal 100.5: 61--65.
Skaar, H. (2009) In defence of writing: a social semiotic perspective on digital media, literacy and learning. Literacy 43.1: 36--42. doi:10.1111/j.1741-4369.2009.00502.x
Smith, M. W., Wilhelm, J., and Fredricksen, J. (2012) Oh Yeah?! Putting Argument to Work Both In School And Out. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Siegel, M. (2012) New times for multimodality? Confronting the accountability culture. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 55.8: 671--680. doi:10.1002/JAAL.00082
Stake, R. E. (2006). Cross-case analysis. In Multiple Case Study Analysis (39--77). New York: Guilford Press.
Steinbeck, J. (1937) Of Mice and Men. New York, NY: Penguin.
Toulmin, S. E. (1958/2003) The Uses of Argument. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Vasudevan, L., Schultz, K., and Bateman, J. (2010) Rethinking composing in a digital age: Authoring literate identities through multimodal storytelling. Written Communication 27.4: 442--468. doi:10.1177/0741088310378217
Yeh, S. S. (1998) Empowering education: Teaching argumentative writing to cultural minority middle-school students. Research in the Teaching of English 33.1: 49--83.
Published
2018-09-24
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How to Cite
Howell, E. (2018). Obstacles to digital, multimodal pedagogy in rural high schools. Writing and Pedagogy, 10(1-2), 297-321. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.33761
