Dissertation committee:
Ευανθία Έλλη Μηλίγκου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης, ΕΚΠΑ, επιβλέπουσα
Αθανάσιος Μιχάλης, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης ΕΚΠΑ, μέλος
Ζαχαρούλα Σμυρναίου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης ΕΚΠΑ, μέλος
Γεώργιος Πασιάς, Καθηγητής, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης ΕΚΠΑ
Ευαγγελία Φρυδάκη, Καθηγήτρια, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης ΕΚΠΑ
Αντιγόνη- Άλμπα Παπακωνσταντίνου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης ΕΚΠΑ
Χρήστος Παρθένης, Eπίκουρος Καθηγητής, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
In the present PhD thesis it is attempted to plan, apply and evaluate a teaching strategy which is based on the use of visual art works within the framework of the subject of Language in Primary education. The thesis focuses on the written production of multimodal texts by the learners in the light of Grammar of Visual Design by Kress & Leeuwen (Kress, G.& Leeuwen, V.T., 2010). The main objectives of the strategy are firstly the development of visual literacy skills of the learners and secondly their ability of constructing multimodal texts, both in the direction of a multimodal literacy, which is based on the understanding of the relationship between visual and verbal literacy. This aim can be achieved by constructing concepts and by forming new texts, as suggested by the National Curriculum and the Interdisciplinary Common Framework of the Curriculum for primary school. The aim of this Framework is the linguistic development as well as the communicative competence in different contexts. One substantial goal of the research activities describe in the present thesis is the targeted professional development of the school teachers through their involvement in specific stages of the research procedure.
The selected research method was that of the educational action research. The action research was designed and conducted by the writer assuming the role of the “researcher teacher” (Stenhouse, L., 2003, σ. 179). During the data collection as well as the feedback in the self-reflection phases of the teaching practice evaluation (McNiff, J., Lomax. P., Whitehead, J., 2003) an other teacher of the school was involve in the role of “critical friend”(Stenhouse, L., 1975). During research the meetings/discussions were organised so as the critical friend and ten more school teachers could participate voluntarily. The aim of these meetings was twofold: First, the global understanding of the specific field individual aspects (Altrichter, H., Posch, P., Somekh, B., 2001) and second, the teachers engagement in active learning of new practices and bridging theory and practice. (Carr W., Kemmis St, 2002).
The data collection tools were the following: a) The teacher-researcher and critical friend’s personal journals b) The structured observation templates that were prepared by the researcher and completed by the critical friend during the teaching intervention c)The transcription files of the recordings during all the stages of the teaching intervention. d) The recordings of the meetings/discussions with the school’s teachers e) The worksheets that learners used f) The written texts learners produced during all the stages of the intervention activity.
The teaching strategy, consisting of 4 implementation stages, was implemented in 26 teaching hours in total. Stage A touched on the diagnostic evaluation of the learners’ written production. Stage B was relevant to: a)the concept of multimodal texts and b) the development of visual literacy through the Perkin’s systematic observation approach of visual works of art (Perkins, D, 1994), the works were chosen following certain criteria; and γ) the design of multimodal texts in the light of the Grammar of Visual Design by Kress & Leeuwen. Stage C was releated to the production of learners texts. Stage D deals with the final assessment of the learners texts, the evaluation criterion been the grammar of visual design by Kress & Leeuwen. According to Bonidis, this is a qualitative, methodological tool for the analysis of multimodal texts (Bonidis, 2004, p. 160).
Keywords:
multiliteracies, visual literacy, multimodal texts, language as subject, visual art works, grammar of visual design, action research, teachers professional development
