Using a Social Semiotic Approach to Multimodality: Researching Learning in Schools, Museums and Hospitals

The aim of this paper is to show how a substantive area of social research –learning– can be investigated using a multimodal social semiotic approach. We apply the approach to three different institutions – a school, a museum and a hospital, illustrating key concepts and addressing issues around pedagogy and technology in contemporary society. We sketch out a theoretical lens, a social semiotic ‘gaze’, introducing key concepts and using data excerpts taken from a number of different research projects. The paper illustrates how a social semiotic perspective on multimodality can illuminate learning by attending to multimodal designs for learning, to multimodal signs of learning, and to social and technological changes and their effects on pedagogy and curriculum.

Jeff Bezemer, Sophia Diamantopoulou, Carey Jewitt, Gunther Kress and Diane Mavers (2012). Using a Social Semiotic Approach to Multimodality: Researching Learning in Schools, Museums and Hospitals. MODE WORKING PAPER 1. Read it on NCRM EPrints.