Multiliteracies Pedagogy and Teacher Learning: Research Findings and: Research Findings & Professional Development Needs

Abstract: In this talk, I take a praxis-oriented approach to teacher learning around multiliteracies pedagogy. First, after briefly introducing key multiliteracies principles, I summarize research findings related to teachers’ understandings and applications of multiliteracies pedagogy in postsecondary language programs. This research base then serves as a point of departure for identifying teachers’ professional development needs. I conclude by providing an example of one professional development resource, developed in response to these needs, that is grounded in research and reflects the practical realities of teaching in multiliteracies-oriented language classrooms.

Bio: Kate Paesani (Ph.D., Indiana University) is Director of the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) and affiliate Associate Professor in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on literacy-based curriculum and instruction and foreign language teacher development, couched within the frameworks of multiliteracies pedagogy and sociocultural theory. Her work has appeared in journals such as Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Foreign Language Annals, L2 Journal, Language, Culture, and Curriculum, Modern Language Journal, and Reading in a Foreign Language. She is co-author of the book A Multiliteracies Framework for Collegiate Foreign Language Teaching (Pearson, 2016), and is co-editor of Second Language Research & Practice, the open-access journal of the American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators (AAUSC).