Creating learning experiences and assessments that develop literacy skills in a meaningful way, is a chal-

lenge for all of us as educators. Herein I aim to introduce a learning experience that not only addresses
Australian Standards for Year Four English and History, but also fts within the framework of the Interna-
tional Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP). It is essential that we implement learning experi-
ences that acknowledge the multimodal nature of literacy learning. Tis document is designed not only
to share a creative and multimodal learning engagement, but also to discuss sound pedagogical practices
that facilitate multiple literacies as a means to think and learn.
Curriculum through literacies
Te learning experience assesses the following Australian Curriculum outcomes for Year Four
English: Language; Text structure and organisation, understand how texts vary in complexity and tech-
nicality depending on the approach to the topic, the purpose and the intended audience (ACELA1490),
Language Text structure and organisation; Understand how texts are made cohesive through the use of
linking devices including pronoun reference and text connectives (ACELA1491), and Language; Express-
ing and developing ideas; Incorporate new vocabulary from a range of sources into students own texts
including vocabulary encountered in research (ACELA1498) (ACARA, 2013a, pp.50-51). Additionally
the learning the learning experience also includes the Year Four Australian Curriculum History out-
comes, Historical Skills; Chronology, terms and concepts Use historical terms (ACHHS082), Historical
Skills; Explanation and communication; Use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and
digital technologies (ACHHS087), and Historical Skills; Historical questions and research; Develop texts,
particularly narratives (ACHHS086), (ACARA, 2013b, pp.28-29).
The Learning Experience
Foremost, it is important to know the overarching curricular goals of this
task. Te learning experience, will occur in the PYP Unit of Inquiry (UoI) Where
We Are in Place and Time. Students inquiries and learning will focus around the
units central idea, Human migration is a response to tensions, risks and opportuni-
ties (International Baccalaureate, 2009, p.32). As a framework, the PYP is fexible
and accommodates the Australian Curriculum outcomes for Year Four English.
Te creation of a Common Craf video about students family migration history is a learning ex-
perience that is deeply relevant and rich, and is a worthwhile task for Year Four students at Lincoln Com-
munity School to undertake. Tis learning experience design is based upon the guiding principles of Te
Knowledge Processes (Learning by Design). Making a common craf video meets the literacy needs of the
learners, as it blends and develops multimodal literacies.
Mark Smith s254336
Mark Smith s254336 Creating a Common Craf Video as a Multimodal Learning Experience

Mark Smith
Student Number: s254336
Paper 2: Word Count 2483
ETL411: Charles Darwin University
1
The Learning Experience cont.
Students will explore and inquire into the
major reasons behind periods of migration in
their familys history. Afer teacher modelling,
students will create a Common Craf video to tell
their familys story. Tey will create a script and
pictures in order to demonstrate their under-
standing of the concept of migration. Students
will celebrate their success at the conclusion of
the unit when they present their constructed
Common Craf videos to their parents and the
other Year Four class in an open forum in the
schools library. At this event, students will assess
their video along with their peers using a col-
laboratively developed grading rubric aligned to
Australian English and History Outcomes. Final-
ly, students will refect on the concept of causes of
migration.
What is a Common Craft video?
Common Craf videos are short animation of a
topic. For a video to be created, a written script has
to be produced along with pictures representing
main points of the topic. Te process involves the
recording the script being read out, while pictures
are into a placed into a frame.
(Fogle, How to make a common craf style video)
CLICK TO LINK TO VIDEO
Analyzing the design elements:
Meaning-making through authentic learning experiences
Reference: Students are the creators. Teir own family members and their stories are central to the crea-
tion.
Interaction: Students will view this learning experience as purposeful and it will capture their interests
as they are connecting with their parents and other relatives in their mother tongue about their families
migration history.
Students are also making connections when working with their peers as they collaborate to flm.
Additionally, the audience for their video will also be their peers at the conclusion of the unit.
Composition: Students interview family members to discover reasons behind migration in their own fam-
ily. Tey communicate their understanding to their peers and their family members through the creation
of a Common Craf video. Teir video is composed of the oral and visual telling of this story.
Context: Te video being created is to be presented at the grade-wide Migration Forum, during which
students will explore issues surrounding migration. Creating a special event and a specifc audience brings
authenticity to the experience.
Purpose: Students are inquiring about and exploring their own familys history make connections to the
UoIs central idea that human migration is a response to tensions, risks and opportunities.
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Establishing a need for a multimodal literacy approach
Why is creating a synaethetic learning environment good for all?
Kalantzis and Cope state that providing and supporting multi-literacies has been the shown to be
a powerful way to promote the efective inclusion of students (2012, p.354). Additionally, they argue that
all representation and communication is intrinsically multimodal (p.184) Tis learning experience is
designed to encourage the naturally fuid process of mode shifing.
As students gather information from their families, reciprocal communication will allow oral
and aural modes of meaning. Trough interview questions in English or their mother tongue, students
interpret their family members responses representing meaning by recording notes as they creating
written meaning. While creating the script based upon their families responses, students are simultane-
ously working to create written and visual meaning. During the recording of the Common Craf Video,
students are required to work with a partner. Partners will be making aural and gestural meanings as the
partner presenter reads the script and communicates timing as pictures are placed down onto the place-
mat recording area. As students work with the digital media to create their video they take part in the
design and redesign processes of meaning, providing them powerful learning opportunities. Troughout
this whole process synaesthesia (mode shifing) is occurring (Kalantzis and Cope, 2012, p.185).
How does this learning experience integrate multiple modes of meaning?
One constant in our classrooms is the wide variety of preferred methods of learning. Te com-
mon craf video is an example of Universal Design for Learning, whereby the learning experience is de-
signed for a heterogeneous group of students and is able to meet diferent learner needs (Ralabate, 2011).
Te Common Craf video covers spatial, linguistic, and body kinaesthetic intelligences, as identifed by
Gardner (1993, pp. 6-12). Tis leads to diferentiation, the ability of the teacher to meet the diverse learn-
ing needs of students.
How does this learning experience address multiple intelligences?
Identifying Literacy needs specific to our learning Community
Within our classes here at Lincoln, language diversity is the norm. Using my class as an example,
of twenty-four students fourteen countries are represented. Half of the class speak English as their second
language. Tree-quarters of students are multilingual; six students can speak three or more languages.
All students are at diferent stages of acquisition. Tis task allows for confdence building, as it allows stu-
dents to demonstrate their content knowledge visually, a mode they may be more comfortable in, while
continuing to build upon and transfer between their oral, aural and written skills. Students also beneft
from the extended practice of listening and speaking.
Allowing students to engage with the content in their mother tongue also takes into consideration
Jim Cummins assertion that as language learners move from competence in social language to develop-
ing academic language, learners should continue to be supported in their primary language (Kalantzis
and Cope, p.312).
Addressing the needs of English Language Learners
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Avoiding Parrots
Nobody wants a room full of parrots. As such, this task takes into consideration Vygotskys Stages
of Cognitive Development (Kalantzis and Cope, 2012, p.313) which provide a clear progression for stu-
dent learning. Vygotsky argues, learning needs to ease children through complex thinking and towards
conceptualisation. Gradually, complex thinking transforms itself into conceptual thinking (Kalantzis and
Cope, 2012, p.313). With the aid of the teacher, students are loaded with necessary skills to complete the
task. Creating a common craf video requires students to conceptualize their thoughts and thinking, and
reconceptualise it by creating a script to be read out and pictures produced to accompany the script.
Keeping in the zone of proximal development: Support and Extension
Some of my students, including three students who access learning support, will require addi-
tional support and will need to be guided through the inquiry using the Kath Murdoch Inquiry Model
(2010) and learning experience. Additionally, within the class many students are accustomed to a more
didactic pedagogical approach when learning. Tis group of students will require additional support
to build their capacity to undertake their own independent student inquiry. Trough varied levels of
scafolding teachers can ensure that students will be working in the zone of proximal development as
proposed by Vygotsky (Kalantzis and Cope, 2012, p.313), where the productive relationship of pseudo
concepts is a process at work. With the support of the teacher, students will borrow language and skills
to produce the required work. For students who are more able, diferentiation occurs, and they will
work with a greater degree of independence to produce the task than those who require a more guided
attention.
Determining a sound pedagogical approach
Te pedagogical approach is determined in many ways by the PYP line of inquiry. Te overarch-
ing concept that students should understand is that Human migration is a response to tensions, risks
and opportunities. Te inquiry method of PYP lends itself to an authentic literacy approach. In order to
move students from their existing understandings to this larger concept I chose a learning experience
that is mostly experiential and conceptual in nature. Students will begin their inquiry by looking at their
existing understandings and experiencesexperiencing the known. Trough interviews, research, and
sharing of ideas amongst peers, they will then venture to experience the new. From all of these experi-
ences, students will then be asked to conceptualize by naming and fnally, with theory.
Te direct teaching of concepts, the transmission of received generalisationis impos-
sible and fruitless. A teacher who tries to do this usually accomplishes nothing but empty
verbalism, a parrot-like repetition of words by the child, simulating a knowledge of the cor-
responding concepts but actually covering up a vaccum.
(Kalantzis and Cope, 2012, p.312)
Mark Smith s254336
Mark Smith s254336 Creating a Common Craf Video as a Multimodal Learning Experience

4
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Determining a sound pedagogical approach cont.
Te following applies Vygotskys Stages of Cognitive Development to the Common Craf learning experi-
ence:
Mark Smith s254336
Mark Smith s254336 Creating a Common Craf Video as a Multimodal Learning Experience

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Te role of the teacher is to assist the learners inquiry and provide support as he/she synthesises
his/her knowledge and understanding. All throughout the process the teacher will undertake formative
assessment to help learners develop their literacies.
Students use the assessment rubric as a guide to determine what points of growth they need
to achieve throughout the learning process. From the outlined explanation of events undertaken to
construct a common craf video, it is evident that the process of design, and redesigning will occur all
throughout the process of up to the fnal publishing. Even when students are self-assessing using a stu-
dent/teacher created class summative assessment rubric for the construction of the Common Craf video,
the process of design and redesign will be occurring. Students will take away knowledge and understand-
ing of what should occur next time when they undertake similar learning experience.
Assessment
Even though learning is predetermined by the units central idea focus, the learning experience
resonates with our students for a variety of reasons. Firstly, students create their meaning and take own-
ership for their own learning to occur in the unit of inquiry, for which the common craf video is based.
Secondly, Year Four students at LCS are young, but they are experienced international travellers. Tey
have a strong connection to and prior knowledge of why migration occurs from country to country.
Last, the learning experience is a way for students to connect with their extended family and provide an
opportunity for students to use their mother tongue.
Te use of the creation of a common video as a learning experience is rich synaesthesia learning
experience. All through the stages of production student will have to switch modes to develop meaning
and understanding through the process of design and redesign, this heightens the ability of students to
develop necessary literacies and gain a deeper understanding of the concepts explored. Te process of
design and redesign are built into the learning experience as to enable students to deliver a fnal produc-
tion piece refecting their skill development. Students will be continuously assessed throughout by the
use of formative assessments as to enable the learner to develop their literacies to the fullest degree. At
the conclusion of the learning, students are assessed using Australian outcomes for the specifed areas.
Conclusion
Even though learning is predetermined by the units central idea focus, the learning experience
resonates with our students for a variety of reasons. Firstly, students create their meaning and take own-
ership for their own learning to occur in the unit of inquiry, for which the common craf video is based.
Secondly, Year Four students at LCS are young, but they are experienced international travellers. Tey
have a strong connection to and prior knowledge of why migration occurs from country to country.
Last, the learning experience is a way for students to connect with their extended family and provide an
opportunity for students to use their mother tongue.
Te use of the creation of a common video as a learning experience is rich synaesthesia learning
experience. All through the stages of production student will have to switch modes to develop mean-
Mark Smith s254336
Mark Smith s254336 Creating a Common Craf Video as a Multimodal Learning Experience

6
ing and understanding through the process of design and redesign, this heightens the ability of students
to develop necessary literacies and gain a deeper understanding of the concepts explored. Te process of
design and redesign are built into the learning experience as to enable students to deliver a fnal produc-
tion piece refecting their skill development. Students will be continuously assessed throughout by the use
of formative assessments as to enable the learner to develop their literacies to the fullest degree. At the
conclusion of the learning, students are assessed using Australian outcomes for the specifed areas.
Conclusion cont.
ACARA Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013a).
Te Australian curriculum: English. Retrieved on 30th January 2013 from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au
ACARA Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013b).
Te Australian curriculum: History. Retrieved on 30th January 2013 from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au
Fogle, E. (Producer). (2010, April 13). How to make a common craf style video [
Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCl1zoxs3Zo
Gardner, Howard. (1993). Multiple intelligences: Te theory in practice.
New York: Basic Books. pp. 6, 89, 12.
International Baccalaureate. (2009). Making the pyp happen: A curriculum
framework for international primary education. (Revised Edition ed.,pp. 1-63).
Cardif: International Baccalaureate Organization.
Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2012). Literacies. (1 ed.). Cambridge UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Murdoch, K. (2010). An overview of the integrated inquiry planning model. Retrieved from
http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/uploads/media/murdochmodelforinquiry2010.pdf
Ralabate, P. (2011, August 30). Universal design for learning: Meeting the needs of all
students. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2011/110830/
Universal-Design-for-Learning--Meeting-the-Needs-of-All-Students/
References
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