Multimodal composition and assessment: a sociocultural perspective. Issue 1 (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Silseth, Kenneth; Gilje, Øystein
• Is Part Of: Assessment in education. Volume 26:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 26
• Page End: 42
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Formative assessment -- summative assessment -- multimodal composition -- interaction analysis -- sociocultural theory; Educational tests and measurements -- Periodicals; Education -- Evaluation -- Periodicals; 371.26
• DOI: 10.1080/0969594X.2017.1297292
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0969-594X

Abstract

Abstract: In this article, we examine how assessment is enacted and negotiated in a school project that involves multimodal composition. The case is a project on advertisement in which lower secondary students collaboratively composed multimodal commercials about various products and topics. The theoretical framework is based on sociocultural perspectives on learning and assessment, and video data of classroom interaction are subjected to detailed analysis. The findings document the consequences of decoupling production and assessment practices. The analysis show that written texts and multimodal texts have different statuses in the project because of how they are assessed and that this has consequences for students' participation as learners. In addition, the analysis shows how students position themselves differently towards resources that are intended to help them in summative assessment situations. We discuss issues that teachers may reflect upon when planning and executing multimodal composition in schools.