Fifth-grade students’ digital retellings and the Common Core: Modal use and design intentionality

Authors

Bridget Dalton, University of Colorado Boulder
Kristin H. Robinson, CAST, Inc.
Jason F. Lovvorn, Belmont University
Blaine E. Smith, University of Miami
Tara Alvey, Austin Peay State University
Elaine Mo, University of the PacificFollow
Paola Uccelli, Harvard University
C. Patrick Proctor, Boston College

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Elementary School Journal

ISSN

0013-5984

Volume

115

Issue

4

DOI

10.1086/681969

First Page

548

Last Page

569

Publication Date

7-2-2015

Abstract

Multimodal composing is part of the Common Core vision of the twenty-first-century student. Two descriptive studies were conducted of fifth-grade students’ digital folktale retellings. Study 1 analyzed 83 retellings in relation to the types and frequencies of modal use, such as image, sound, movement, and written text, as well as their retelling accuracy. Students composed within a scaffolded digital composing environment which comprised the PowerPoint authoring/presentation tool and a researcher-developed story frame. All students’ retellings included writing and visual design, 80% included animation, and 70% included sound. Retelling accuracy scores averaged 54%. Study 2 was conducted with a new group of 14 fifth-grade students who had previous digital retelling experience. The retellings included the same types of modal use, but at a higher level of frequency. In their retrospective design interviews, students expressed design intentionality and a metamodal awareness of how modes work together to create an appealing story.

Recommended Citation

Dalton, B., Robinson, K. H., Lovvorn, J. F., Smith, B. E., Alvey, T., Mo, E., Uccelli, P., & Proctor, C. P. (2015). Fifth-grade students’ digital retellings and the Common Core: Modal use and design intentionality. Elementary School Journal, 115(4), 548–569. DOI: 10.1086/681969
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/ed-facarticles/138

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License