Disciplinary Literacies In The Arts: Semiotic Explorations of Teachers’ Use of Multimodal and Aesthetic Metalanguage
Publication Name
International Journal of Education and the Arts
Abstract
Effective arts learning requires the development of important literacies. While investigation of discipline-specific literacies has filtered the literature, it is unclear if these literacies are acknowledged, understood, and/or taught. In this paper, we share the classroom discourse of two arts teachers in early and middle years across visual art and music—to determine how discipline-specific literacies are used and taught. Findings show that these teachers intuitively and consistently share age-appropriate arts-literacies and use semiotic metalanguage with their students to express and make meaning through arts practices. With contemporary research in the field of literacy consistently acknowledging the diverse ways we communicate and the importance of creative thinking and aesthetic-artistic reasoning, it is critical that classroom data, such as shared in this paper, is considered for future curriculum development. We conclude by recommending strategies and considerations for arts teachers when planning and implementing arts literacies to improve students’ applied understanding.
Open Access Status
This publication is not available as open access
Volume
23
Issue
8
First Page
1
Last Page
22