ABSTRACT
In the West, multimodal teaching resources have existed since ancient times. The form they have taken, at any particular time, has reflected an interaction between available technology, pedagogical theory, the social uses of education and the current curriculum. Piecing together the available evidence, this chapter examines multimodality in classrooms at different historical periods and traces how multimodal elements in the contemporary classroom reflect earlier ways of promoting learning through different modes. It also draws attention to some less familiar instances of multimodality in education, artificial memory systems and corporal punishment. Until printing made instructional works available in the late 15th century, it appears that most teaching beyond learning letters was about being able to read or speak Latin in school. Wooden alphabet tablets and hornbooks were used to teach letters from the 13th century to the 17th century. The role of printing, in standardising the reproduction of images, is considered in rendering them useful as teaching resources. Various types of multimodal teaching and learning resources, and the pedagogic motivations behind them still resonate in the various digital and multimedia platforms of the contemporary classroom.
