Image, imagery & illustration
A critical investigation using action research into how multimodality complements the teaching of the poetry anthology at GCSE
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21548063 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Isobel Richards (0000-0003-0707-6190, Comberton Village College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 142-162 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | English in Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0425-0494 • E-ISSN: 1754-8845 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/04250494.2025.2604494 |
| OpenAlex | W7152068752 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 19 |
In the “current climate of high stakes testing and accountability”, students’ authentic encounters with poetry can be limited by tensions between creative teaching and the constraints of meeting the criteria of examination syllabuses. This research explores whether working with an illustrated version of prescribed poems can lessen these tensions to embrace the visual nature of poetry and prioritise GCSE students’ aesthetic interpretations. Though multimodality has been a prominent development in pedagogy in recent years, there has been little educational research into how multimodality can be used with high-attaining students to develop and facilitate depth of understanding. However, the findings from this research with a high-attaining group were threefold: teaching with illustrations can enhance students’ understanding of the written texts; illustrations represent a shift in the concept of what it means to read; explicitly teaching students how to “read” multimodally can strengthen their critical and creative thinking skills
Action research · Educational research · Multimodality · Poetry · Power structure · Teaching method · Artistic and Creative Research · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Literacy, Media, and Education
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |