RM Winter 2017 FINAL

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Reading Matters
Research Matters
Reading Matters | Volume 16 • Winter 2016 | |27|
the overlapping components of the theoretical framework.
Structural constraints and limited time resources, which
both fall outside of the knowledge domain for teachers,
acted as roadblocks to success and required the teacher to
use additional time and energy to overcome. School-level
administrative supports to recognize and prioritize multimodal
literacies in curricula may proactively address such barriers
alleviating responsibility of teachers to address the barriers.
Mrs. T. was child-centered in her actions. She introduced
and modeled each application prior to letting students use it
in groups or independently. Mrs. T. created directions for how
to use each app that included pictures and text. Most of the
pictures were screenshots of icons and screens in the app.
She purposefully had students practice using the app with
content from across the curriculums. For each project, Mrs. T.
created a project guide. The guide explicitly communicated
the students’ expectations for the project, provided a checklist,
and included instructional supports for students to organize
content. Mrs. T incorporated evidence-based practices, such
as graphic organizers, which allowed her to differentiate
supports for students with different learning needs (e.g.,
students with disabilities, English-learners). Once she created
these resources, she had them for future projects and was
able to edit and revise according to her students’ needs.
She explored the ample use of technology , but concluded
that it was best to purposefully use fewer apps that were
more versatile, thus allowing students to focus on learning
and communicating the content of the digital story- not
the app itself. Mrs. T. created a table that documented the
strengths and limitations of the apps that she used, allowing
her to make informed decisions when selecting which
application to use for which project. (something about
documenting and sharing with teacher and principal)
The formative design of this research allowed the researchers
to identified three major challenges, limited resources, structural
constraints, and overabundance of choice. We conclude that
appropriate resources including material items (e.g., devices
and apps) and non-material items (e.g., time, community
of learners) are basic needs for success. For example, Ms. T.
documented concern about the student/iPad rations and
this worried her. However, Ms. T. strongly believed in the
importance of multimodal literacies, so she addressed the
problematic ratio by incorporating iPad use into her centers.
While access to technology is essential to prepare students as
competent 21st century learners, mere access is not sufficient.
Teachers need knowledge, addressed in the TPACK framework,
and support, addressed through the formative design. For
teachers attempting to integrate instruction which fosters
multimodal literacy, we propose that teachers would benefit from
being a part of a multimodal learning community where they can
build knowledge and work through the obstacles together. This
recommendation supports teachers’ need for opportunities for
collaboration and reflective practices (e.g., Dewey, 1998/1933),
supporting professional developments (Connors, 2012) and
opportunities to use technology as a learning tool. School-
level administration can support teachers by prioritizing
shared time and space in a structured learning environment.
Limitations and Future Research
We recognize the limitations of case study for the purpose
of generalizability. The findings from this study; however,
contribute to scholarly discourse about how to support
implementation of multimodal storytelling in classrooms as
well as how to support teachers by building a community
of learners engaged in ongoing professional developments.
Future research may address how best to deliver professional
developments and support teachers’ learning communities.
By documenting the triumphs of multimodal storytelling
implementation, we recognized characteristics of our participant
that aided in the success of multimodal storytelling as judged
by the researchers and teacher; however, we did not document
the impact on student learning. Anecdotal evidence from the
teacher interviews suggested that the students enjoyed and
valued iPad time. Conversations with the teacher and stories she
shared indicated that students enjoyed the activities and looked
forward to using the iPad. Fostering a child’s love for learning is
fundamental to our jobs as educators and incorporating current
technology is a promising way to do that. Abundant data exits
documenting the relationship between motivation and learning
(e.g., Gambrell, Hughes, Calvert, Malloy, & Igo, 2011), therefore
we see the excitement to use the iPad as more than just a
novelty, but as a natural way to foster learning. Documenting
these relationships and student outcomes were beyond the
scope of this research. More research is needed to document
how teacher implementation of multimodal storytelling
translates to student learning and improved student outcomes.
Conclusion
The formative research followed one third-grade teacher at
an urban elementary school as she implemented multimodal
storytelling in her academically diverse classroom. This
current research shared a collective picture of how attributes
and factors coexist to promote or detract from successful
implementation of multimodal storytelling. The combination of
TPACK and formative design provided a powerful professional
development tool that allowed the teacher to expand her
technology, content, and pedagogy knowledge in a supported
learning community. This combination allowed for the successful
implementation. With the ultimate goal of student achievement,
we must first establish classrooms where teachers have drive,
resources, and supports, in efforts to build a classroom for
21st century learners. It is necessary that we foster learning
communities and professional developments that contribute
to transformative learning with technology (ISTE, 2016).