Using Multiliteracies and Multimodalities to Support Young Children's Learning

Dr Marie Charles has experience as a teacher, researcher in formative pedagogy and race and inclusion and holds a PhD in Cultural Studies & Humanities. She is currently publishing on decolonisation and reframing the curriculum. Dr Charles is an author/researcher whose work demonstrates that she believes passionately in the development and empowerment of the learner (rather than measurement or grading) being at the centre of the education process – a belief that she carries into her teaching and consultancy practice. Professor Bill Boyle was Professor of Education, held the chair of Educational Assessment and Director of the Research Centre for Formative Assessment studies (CFAS) in the School of Education at the University of Manchester, UK from 1989-2014. During that period he conducted research for and advised the UK government′s Department for Education and Department for International Development. The CFAS is the oldest research centre(founded 1988) in the UK for supporting teachers, teacher trainers, schools and policy makers in using formative teaching, learning and assessment and is involved in supporting the development of formative assessment in UK and in many countries around the globe. Professor Boyle and his co-author, Marie Charles, publish their research work in academic and practitioner journals, present at international conferences and workshops, and design and support international developments in the pedagogy of formative teaching and in using learning assessments. Currently, they are working with colleagues in Russia, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Saudi Arabia and the USA on understanding, training and using formative strategies for more effective teaching and learning.

′This is a timely book that effectively challenges the current emphasis on a homogeneous approach to teaching, learning, and assessment in early literacy. It encourages us to engage with the real world complexity of young children’s learning and offers a series of rich and detailed examples of this in practice.′

• Using socio-dramatic play to support a beginning writerHow collaboration develops early years writing skillsThe importance of multimodality and multiliteracies in developing young communicatorsUsing Big Books as visual literacies to support emergent writersHow a guided group teaching strategy can support emerging writersAn analysis of a guided group’s story writingIntroducing Early Years children to the importance of non-fiction for their writing developmentThe integration of genres (narrative to non-fiction) within a formative pedagogyConcluding thoughts