Teaching, Learning, and Assessment of Multimodal Digital Academic Numeracy Practices

Abstract

Texts, including digital texts, in quantitative disciplines are constructed multimodally using written language, images such as information graphics (charts, maps, or diagrams), and mathematical notation. The reading and writing of these texts often require sophisticated academic numeracy practices. Lecturers in disciplines such as law and the humanities, which may not appear to be quantitative in nature, make implicit assumptions about the academic numeracy practices of their students. Quantitative disciplines, such as engineering and the sciences, also make complex academic numeracy demands on students, for which traditional mathematics courses do not always prepare them adequately. This chapter focuses on meaning making through writing and information graphics in a first-year multimodal academic numeracy course as part of a social science degree in a South African university. A component of this course develops and assesses academic numeracy through digital tutorials, the use of which encourages the alignment of teaching, learning, and assessment. The examination of the course enables a better understanding of the extent to which these students’ multimodal academic numeracy practices are aligned with those expected in higher education and the extent to which the academic numeracy course fulfills its normative and transformative affordances. The findings will inform the way in which multimodal academic numeracy courses, including digital tutorials, can be developed, which is important in a developing country such as South Africa, where there is a great need to increase diversity of both access and success in higher education.