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The dancer 
Joyce Here! I am currently in the Bachelor of Arts in Education Majoring in English Language and I also take Art and Math
previous posts Multimodality, 'reading' and literacy Multimodal Pedagogies in the Language and Literacy... Youth Participation in Shaping the Textual Landscape i overlooked... Critical Reading in Everyday Life Hybridity and Diversity The Futures of Literacy Some thoughts on Semiotics... Flower past February 2009 March 2009 links .:Aishah:. .:Alen:. .:Bee Bee:. .: Haliah:. .:Hui Ling:. .:Ivan:. .:Kai Ling:. .:Marie:. .:Mei Chen:. .:Natalie:. .:Nazeha'a:. .:Pavani:. .:Sangeetha:. .:Shariffah:. .:Syazwani:. .:Zoie:. .:Jess:.
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Thursday, March 26, 2009 ( Teaching Multiliteracies in the English Classroom @ 11:00 PM ) (A) Anthony Browne’s Voices in the Park. This story presents the four different perspectives of the same incident through a wealthy mother, her lonesome son, an out-of-work father, and his bubbly daughter. (B) I find this book extremely useful to teach pupils to think critically. Through the four different characters, readers are given the opportunity to hear each character’s voice and perspective, thus they are made aware of each character’s attitude towards another and piece together the disconnected understandings of the visit to the park. The illustrations that accompany the text complement it and effectively reflect the personalities of each character. Issues such as gender, class and prejudice are explored in a clever and interesting manner and as teachers, we can extend it through discussion with our pupils. We can discuss these issues within the context of the story and later, expand it to the Singapore context. Furthermore, the story is presented with multiple perspectives and this allows readers to decide for themselves whose voice is the most credible. (C) Pupils might not be able to pick out all the critical nuances immediately as they might not be used to reading from a critical perspective. Thus, it is necessary for teachers to scaffold them with questions to lead them in. If possible, teachers could also start with simpler texts like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty and discuss gender stereotypes (women tend to be portrayed as the weaker sex in contrast to the prince who saves them) before moving on to this Voices in the Park. 2 comments ( Multimodality, 'reading' and literacy @ 10:59 PM ) “the affordances of new technologies reconfigure the multimodal aspects of reading and writing in ways that are newly significant for reading” (C.Jewitt, 107). This line made a lot more sense after the activity we did in class and here are some of my thoughts. I view countless of website on a daily basis (I’m sure all of us do) but I have never thought about my reading path. Indeed, the images presented in the websites are a critical tool to get me interested to want to go on reading. I make sense of the images and decide if it is worth my time and effort to continue reading or viewing the website. There are countless of websites on the worldwide web and as a viewer, simply by a click of a button, I’m in a totally different space. Thus, visuals are an extremely important feature to capture the viewer. 0 comments Wednesday, March 11, 2009 ( Multimodal Pedagogies in the Language and Literacy Classroom @ 11:56 PM ) Indeed, Language and Literacy education aims to empower students and provide them with a platform for the articulation of their ideas. However, educators must understand the cultural and social backgrounds of their students and how it affects (advantaged or disadvantaged) them. With this knowledge, educators can better incorporate pedagogies that aid in meaning making into their teaching. Furthermore, educators must learn to realise and understand that “learners can be offered a choice of silence in the same vein as a choice to speak” (Stein, pg. 109). Silence in the classroom is usually less valued than articulateness and eagerness to participate in classroom discussion. This silence, normally associated with the lack of knowledge or clarity, is generally frowned upon. However, silence does not necessarily indicate ignorance or disinterest in the lesson. I find myself guilty of having such notions about silence too. In the classroom, the vivacious and eloquent students tend to receive more attention and are “expected” to “perform” during assessments. However, the students who are more passive and restrained are more likely to be forgotten. According to Stein (pg. 109), this silence should not be spurned as it is “participatory, affirmative, and productive rather than oppositional and resistant”. I have not looked at it from this perspective and it was a great revelation (a very strong word? Yes, it opened my eyes to a whole different view) for myself. Before, I viewed silence as a mere demonstration of deference and respect towards the teacher. When I was a student, we were expected to keep quiet and absorbed everything the teacher said. Challenging or questioning the teacher was discouraged as it displayed a lack of respect and parents would tell their children, “Just listen. Your teacher is right.” However, due to the changing education landscapes, talk is now encouraged and in turn, relegating silence. Thus, through the implementation of multimodal pedagogies into our teaching framework, silence would be valued as “a mode of communication [that] has the materiality of sound without volume” (Stein, pg. 109). This silence serves to include and not exclude or threaten thus allowing “a positivity and presence of being.” 2 comments ( Youth Participation in Shaping the Textual Landscape @ 10:31 AM ) I think most importantly, we have to get the students to explore the “categories” present in our society. They also need to identify the labels and stereotypes that are associated with these particular “categories” and decide if they have factual basis or are mere hearsay. However, before they get started on exploring these “categories”, I would ask them to list their identity on a piece of paper. They are to pen down their personal views about themselves as well as their interests. After which, they are to put it aside and not look at it. Then, they would identify the “categories” present in Singapore’s society. With these “categories”, they would be asked to share the stereotypes and views of the people who belong to each individual “category”. After which, they will identify the category that they have been made to believe they belong to. With these information, they are to answer the following questions, 1) How do you fit into this category? 2) How are you a misfit? 3) Compare the identities you have written about yourself with those of the “category” others have put you into. How different are you? I believe that through this exercise, they would have a better understanding of themselves and recognise that they are individuals not subjected to the views of this world. 0 comments Sunday, February 22, 2009 ( i overlooked... @ 6:53 AM ) 0 comments Thursday, February 19, 2009 ( Critical Reading in Everyday Life @ 8:38 AM )  http://www.kfc.com.sg/latestpromo/kfcvalue.aspCoding Competence – How do I crack this? This is a poster from one of Singapore’s most popular fastfood restaurant KFC. This poster is an advertisement for their new promotion, the “Ultimate Value Box”. The food items in the box occupies the central position of the poster and takes up about 50% of the poster space. The name of the promotion or the set meal, “Ultimate Value Box” is placed at the top left hand corner of the poster in an “exploding” font and in a slightly smaller font size on the meal box. The caption “Irresistible Value!” occupies ¾ of the top portion. The price is also given equal visibility as the caption, being the same size. However, the original prize and items included in the set are considerably smaller in font size. This poster employs the use of multimodality, making use of visual images and words to advertise for the promotion. Semantic Competence – What does this mean? The main purpose of an advertisement is to sell a product or a service. In this case, KFC’s advertisement is selling their latest set meal. All the products served in this meal are their regular menu items, now repackaged to sell at a better value. The image of the set meal is placed at the centre of the poster for greater saliency. The meal looks appetising and has a substantial portion. The salience of the image is further enhanced through the words as they seem to jump out from the box. The use of the lexis, “ultimate”, “irresistible” and “value” seems to imply that this is a “must-have”. Pragmatic Competence – What do I do with this, here and now? The reader will have to first ask themselves if it is truly a valued purchase. (Would it be more valuable to purchase the Shrooms Burger Meal and add a one-piece chicken, using member’s discount?) Critical Competence – What is this text trying to do to me? In whose interests? The text is trying to sell me the set meal. It is convincing me that this meal is valued for money and this is probably one of the best promotions. It is cheaper than purchasing the food items separately. Although it is cheaper, it does not compromise on quality and portion thus is it the “ultimate value”. The use of bright cheery colours and lines reminds one of fireworks and confetti, also helps to excite the reader and gives one a “WOW” feeling. It is definitely in the interest of KFC to have this promotion and entice readers to purchase a set. This will result in an increase in sales and profits. However, the advertisement seems to be in the interest of the reader. It is cheaper than before (savings of almost $3), packaged differently (one can now have a burger and chicken which they didn’t have before) and substantial enough to fill one’s stomach. Critical Reading with Sec 2 Students I will get the students to form groups of 4. Through group work, students can challenge each other, thus facilitating deeper understanding and discussion. There are two activities which I am thinking about. The first explores different promotion advertisements from different restaurants in Singapore at the same time. The second looks at advertisements from the same restaurant but from different countries, Singapore vs USA. First Activity: I will give them a series of 3 promotion advertisements by 3 different fastfood companies and get them to discuss the following questions: http://www.kfc.com.sg/latestpromo/kfcvalue.asp http://www.bon-food.com.sg/promotions/promotions.aspx# http://www.mcdonalds.com.sg1. What is the purpose of each of the individual advertisement? Are their purposes similar? 2. Who are the target customers of the advertisements? 3. Look at the layout of each poster, how are they similar or different? 4. From the layout of the poster, what are their makers trying to communicate? 5. As readers, what are some of the information you are receiving? 6. Do the advertisements successfully communicate their intentions to you? Explain. 7. Which advertisement do you think is most appealing? 8. Pick one advertisement that you think is the weakest. What changes would you make? Explain. After which, each group will present their answers to the class and introduce their ‘new’ poster. The other groups will have to ask questions, comment or give feedback. Teacher will facilitate a discussion if there is no feedback from the class. Second activity: The students will compare two advertisements. One of which is the original KFC Singapore advertisement and the second, from KFC USA. The students will also discuss the above questions. http://www.kfc.com.sg/latestpromo/kfcvalue.asp http://www.kfc.com/menu/bigbox.asp 3 comments |