Multimodal Meaning

Multimodal meaning is the use of multiple “modes”, forms of transmitting information such as written, visual, musical etc., in the same package.

When explaining the role of multi-modal meaning in the context of the education system, Kalantzis and Cope point out, in their chapter on Learning and New Media, that :

“Our times require us to move beyond the handwriting book or the word processor. Instead, our learners should be working in the twenty first- century world of web communications. This is a pedagogical imperative as well as a practical one, so students can represent their meanings independently and simultaneously in different modes – written, oral, visual, audio and dataset. Each mode complements the other – the diagram and the text, the oral and the written explanation, manipulable data and its synthetic summary. Each can say the same kinds of things as the other, and is also an irreducibly different mode of representation.”[1]

Visual Learning

Visual learning, sometimes referred to as spatial learning, “is a way of learning which is associated with images”[1] It is a type of learning style.

Visual learners mind map, source: https://www.thestudygurus.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/learning-styles-mind-map.png

Multimodal learning and meaning-making is beneficial to a variety of different learners. Watch this short video to learn about the different styles of learning:

This update focuses on visual learning in particular but may make references to other forms of learning.

Multimodal forms of information and the visual learner

Because mutli-modality can provide such a rich variety of different forms of explaining information, it a multi-modal piece of information is likely to be far more accessible to a variety of different learning styles.

The ability to display information through charts, graphs, diagrams and mind maps in addition to what can be found in the traditional text book is a result of the multimodal way in which we express ourselves and explain information in the internet era. The multi-modality enables visual learners’ ability to consume and efficiently ingest the information they receive.

Multi-modality and other learners

One of the brilliant things about multimodal learning is that it promotes inclusivity for non-traditional learners. In the past, learners who did not comprehend information in the traditional textbook and lecture model were excluded from reaching their learning potential. With multimodal explanations of information, all types of learners can intake information in a manner in which they find accessible.

[1] http://study.com/academy/lesson/visual-learning-style-definition-characteristics.html

[1] Pg. 378, David Scott & Eleanore Hargreaves, The SAGE handbook of learning (2016).