ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we propose a framework for the permeation of multimodal disciplinary literacy throughout all phases of science teaching and learning sequences. The core of the multimodal literacy infused science pedagogy (MLISP) framework is the role of multimodal representations as mediating tools for knowledge building. In the MLISP framework, flexibly adapted guided inquiry, inextricably linked with explicit induction of students into the representational practices of science, flows through all of the interconnected pedagogic relationships amongst the teacher, the student and the classroom community. A typical pedagogic cycle involves orientation to a scientific challenge, practical and/or textual investigation, negotiation of derived understanding leading to consensus and confirmation and then consolidation of learning with assessment and feedback occurring throughout. Integral to all phases of the cycle is multimodal representation critique and construction incorporating a shared metalanguage to facilitate explicit attention to the affordances of multimodal representations and development of students’ metarepresentational competence through teacher demonstration and scaffolding of student learning towards critical independent inquiry. The dimensions of the framework are referenced to classroom examples from the research literature and from our project, and they are illustrated in more detail in Chapters 7, 8 and 9 dealing with biology, chemistry and physics, respectively.
