Literacy in the 21st century is not confined to communication based on reading and writing only print texts. New literacies include multimedia projects and multimodal texts, which include visual, audio, and technological elements to produce all types of products. The writing classroom, in particular, should reflect these social and technological changes in communication. It is critical for writing teachers to understand that literacies are historically, socially, culturally, and developmentally situated and to adapt as they change. By teaching multimodal composition, they may help students learn about effective writing that can appeal to various audiences and serve specific practical purposes and specific real-world contexts. The theoretical background of the study is a social semiotic theory that concerns how people communicate using semiotic resources in a particular setting. The semiotic resources, which are actions, artifacts, and materials, are not fixed but are transformed by the sign-makers' choices. Aligned with this social semiotic theory, multimodal composition draws on diverse semiotic resources such as image, music, actions, and so forth. The use of these resources is always influenced not only by personal interests but also by interpersonal and institutional power relations. Teaching multimodal composition is a response to needs in an age of digital communication and to changing semiotic environments. The purpose of the dissertation is to determine how Korean secondary English teachers understand and assess multimodal composition in the era of new communication. Framing the study are questions that ask teachers what they think and say about teaching and assessing multimodal compostion in their writing classrooms, and about barriers or challenges to their doing so. Korean secondary English teachers working for public schools in metropolitan areas were recruited for this multiple case study to examine their attitudes toward and understanding of multimodal composition in the test-oriented culture of Korea. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were conducted, and documents were collected to triangulate interview findings. South Korea is chosen as the research site because schools most prioritize high-stakes standardized tests, and teachers (also students and parents) gauge success by test scores. As a result, teachers primarily rely on direct instructions via lecture to provide skills and knowledge to ensure that students will succeed in the high-stakes tests. However, ongoing technology outside of school has transformed ways young people generate, communicate, and negotiate meanings via diverse texts. If the primary goal of education is to teach students life-long skills needed in society, it is a responsibility that the schools and teachers recognize social changes and promote individual learning needs. Therefore, this study explores teaching and assessing practices in the context of Korean English classrooms and suggests a new direction reflecting social changes and changing student needs for the era of new communications. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2015. / April 14, 2015. / literacies, multimodal composition, teacher perception, writing / Includes bibliographical references. / George Boggs, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Pamela Sissi Carroll, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Alysia Roehrig, University Representative; Barbara Foorman, Committee Member; Kathy Froelich, Committee Member; Shelbie Witte, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253031 |
| Contributors | Ryu, Jung (authoraut), Boggs, George Lovell (professor co-directing dissertation), Carroll, Pamela S. (professor co-directing dissertation), Roehrig, Alysia D. (university representative), Foorman, Barbara R. (committee member), Froelich, Kathy S. (committee member), Witte, Shelbie (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Education (degree granting college), School of Teacher Education (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (152 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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