Searching for Street's "Mix" of Literacies through Composing Video: Conceptions of Literacy and Moments of Transfer in Basic Writing

Authors

  • Crystal VanKooten Oakland University
  • Elizabeth G. Allan Oakland University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21623/1.8.2.3

Keywords:

literacy, video composing, multimodal, transfer, basic writing, first-year writing, pedagogy

Abstract

This paper examines three students’ multimodal composition experiences in Basic Writing where conceptions of literacy interacted with moments related to transfer across media. Extending Brian V. Street’s work on literacy and Rebecca S. Nowacek’s transfer theory to multimodal composition through video, we use analysis of ethnographic data to conclude that for some students, video facilitated both a robust conception of literacy as ideological and transfer across media. For others, external forces inhibited opportunities for transfer and reinforced a conception of literacy as autonomous. We close reflecting on how we might more usefully scaffold student learning for transfer and more complex conceptions of literacy.

Author Biographies

Crystal VanKooten, Oakland University

Crystal VanKooten is an associate professor of writing and rhetoric at Oakland University in Rochester, MI, where she teaches courses in first-year writing and digital media. Her research interests include multimodal composition and rhetoric, digital research methods, and transfer in first-year composition.

Elizabeth G. Allan, Oakland University

Elizabeth G. Allan is an associate professor of writing and rhetoric at Oakland University and director of the Embedded Writing Specialists program. She teaches first-year writing and upper-level courses in the professional and digital writing major. Her research interests include rhetorical ethnography, writing pedagogy and assessment, multimodal rhetorics, writing across the curriculum/writing in the disciplines (WAC/WID), and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).

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Published

2021-02-12

How to Cite

VanKooten, C., & Allan, E. G. (2021). Searching for Street’s "Mix" of Literacies through Composing Video: Conceptions of Literacy and Moments of Transfer in Basic Writing. Literacy in Composition Studies, 8(2), 39–59. https://doi.org/10.21623/1.8.2.3

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Crystal VanKooten, Elizabeth G. Allan

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