Collaborative Composing in the Digital Dimension: An Investigation of Young Adolescents’ Multimodal Processes and Products

Abstract

An emerging body of research has demonstrated that multimodal composing is a complicated and multifaceted process which involves the coordination of semiotic, material, and interactional resources. This qualitative study explores how young adolescent students enrolled in an academic enrichment program used digital tools to respond to and analyze literary texts. Data sources included video and audio recordings of classroom interactions, students’ multimodal compositions, artifacts from the composing process, screen recordings, in-process and final student interviews, surveys, and instructional artifacts. Findings show that students navigated different composing identities, composing pathways, and moments of creative tension as they composed multimodal products. Through the in-depth analysis of students’ individual and collaborative processes and products, this study traces the material, personal, and interactional resources that students bring to collaborative composing—and presents a description of how students take on a variety of interactional roles in the creation of their joint work. This research also documents the pedagogical structures and conditions which may support and hinder students’ collaborative, multimodal composing.