Interactions, intersections and improvisations: Studying the multimodal texts and classroom talk of six- to seven-year-olds

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between children's talk in the classroom and their multimodal texts. The article uses an analytic framework derived from Bourdieu's concept of habitus to examine how 6—7-year-old children's regular ways of being and doing can be found in their multimodal texts together with their talk (Bourdieu, 1977, 1990). The concept of pedagogic habitus is used to make sense of the teacher's regular ways of being and doing within the classroom (Grenfell, 1996). Improvisations upon these ways of being and doing were considered with reference to data collected over two years. In this article, the term `multimodal text' refers to panorama boxes created from shoe boxes to represent an environment such as the ocean or a jungle. The article concludes that it is important to pay attention to the interrelationship between the talk and the boxes to make sense of children's multimodal texts. The concept of improvisations upon the habitus provides an important context for this understanding.