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How can we take “early childhood learning with its focus on visual, spatial, tactile and gestural expression as an integral part aspect of the learning process” and create opportunities throughout the later school years to continue this practice of synaesthesia of expression?

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How can we take “early childhood learning with its focus on visual, spatial, tactile and gestural expression as an integral part aspect of the learning process” and create opportunities throughout the later school years to continue this practice of synaesthesia of expression?

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There is a lot of emphasis on tactile, spatial and gestural expression and meaning in young grades. I believe that we can continue to emphasize these literacies as students age and that it is "easier" than ever thanks to digital technologies like green screen, stop motion and video editing becoming more available and simpler to use.

One of the classes I volunteered in created Christmas themed stop-motion and claymation videos. Students remixed different known Christmas characters (like Santa Claus and Rudolph) with new characters and new situations. They collaboratively planned and wrote out their script. Next, they needed to create claymation or similar characters that could be used in their videos. This tactile work involved some Symbolisation (mentioned on p. 384) of the textbook. They couldn't always have a toy sleigh or a toy reindeer so they needed to make a similar object that would "stand in" for the one they were trying to represent.  They then acted out their videos and edited them before presenting the final product.

This class also did a green screen newscast based on the Canadian Fur Trade. The students studied newscasts, did research and wrote a script before creating a green screen video. Many fussed over angles and lining up shots just right. They also realized the importance of the body language of the "news anchor" who wasn't presenting. They didn't want that person to look too bored or distracted because it ruined the feel of their newscast.

I think that using a Multiliteracies approach and by learning some technical skills, we can more easily than ever integrate spatial, tactile and gestural learning into our classrooms.

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Meira G: Student Work Examples - Stop Motion & Claymation

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Can you give examples of opportunities in class to emphasize spatial, tactile and/or gestural meaning-making​ in your familiar context?

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Can you give examples of opportunities in class to emphasize spatial, tactile and/or gestural meaning-making​ in your familiar context?

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In grades 1 and 2 in Francophone schools in Alberta, students must participate in improvised puppet shows and/or reader's theatres. This was a chance for students to become involved in creating costumes (like masks and hats) and scenery as well as explore the effects of proximity and body spacing. I also did reader's theaters with fourth-grade students during one of my practicums and the students really enjoyed the experience.

I would often use role-playing in my classroom to help students make connections between their known experiences and the text we were studying; experience something from a new perspective; apply a new learning appropriately or creatively. I especially liked to have students act out situations in Health class. We would read a book like The Legend of Ninja, Cowboy, and Bear and have students create text-to-self connections that they would then improvise with a small group. Most of our students have experienced a similar kind of conflict (experiencing the known) and could maybe write or talk about it but may lack some of the vocabulary or the concepts around narrative storytelling to really deeply communicate their experience. By acting it out and working through it physically and verbally in a collaborative way (and through multiple repetitions), the students were able to sharpen their story and communicate emotions, feelings, and reactions that may have been lost otherwise.

I think that I could have taken this all a step further. I was really interested to read about Moodie's Body Talk project on pages 390 and 391 of the textbook. I found it really fascinating how she was able to explicitly teach her students certain visual and spatial grammar concepts that they were then able to appropriately and creatively apply to create more powerful representations. If I think about my reader's theaters, maybe I would have gone beyond just teaching my students to not turn their backs to the audience. One group had done Beauty and the Beast and we could have discussed the effect of body positioning and had the Beast be higher up than Belle in certain scenes. Another group has done the Fox and the Little Red Hen. In that story, the fox makes the hen spin so much that she gets dizzy and falls out of the tree. We could have discussed different ways to do that and the comedic effect it could have had. When we look at the sometimes "simple" projects, we can go and pull out a lot more learning and interest if we begin to see these a designers and explicitly teach this grammar to our students.

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The book trailer for the children's picture book: The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear.

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How does the spatial meaning of your professional workplace/classroom connect with​ the people who are interacting?

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How does the spatial meaning of your professional workplace/classroom connect with​ the people who are interacting?

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I taught for two years at a school that I had attended as a student. This is not a picture of my old classroom but it gives you an idea of how I had configured it. The classroom had previously been a computer lab and so there was a power bar that ran the length of the room and there were no windows in the room.

I had tried to create four distinct spaces in the classroom: a carpet area (with no carpet as there was no budget) for group lessons, a seating area with desks configured in different ways, a reading corner with bookshelves and bean bag chairs and a group work environment. I had chosen not to have a teacher's desk to save on space and make the room feel more egalitarian.

One of my favorite configurations for desks was creating small L or U shapes with four or five desks. I found that it made collaborative work and discussion much easier while also helping students remain on task and focused during individual work.

My students rarely sat at their desks and they were encouraged to work anywhere that they could be successful. They were responsible for making a choice that would allow them to complete the work that needed to be done. Since I had designed my classroom space with that kind of work in mind, my students naturally used different spaces for different tasks and based on their needs. Some students liked to be more alone and isolated to complete certain tasks so they would sit at a small table that faced a wall. Only two students could sit side by side at the table so distractions were limited. Others would put two milkcrate stools together to create a kind of chaise lounge that they would sprawl out on. Students would do centers with a partner in the group lesson area since they had more space. Many students would position themselves to see and have easy access to touch the word wall. All of these spatial elements were designed to help my young students develop independence and responsability for their learning and to help manage my workload as a teacher.