Scenario pedagogy as a negotiated, multimodal approach to developing professional communication practices in higher education

The focus of this study is pedagogy - the 'how' of teaching. In particular, a negotiated and multimodal pedagogical approach which I have coined scenario pedagogy is of interest. Scenario pedagogy involves embedding an entire curriculum into a topical and authentic scenario, relevant to a particular group of students in higher education. The course in question is professional communication and the target group comprises senior and post-graduate accounting and other finance and information systems students registered in the commerce faculty. They are not communication students per se but register for a one-semester professional communication course towards their respective commerce degrees. In this study I examine how these students develop their professional communication practices using a wide variety of verbal and visual semiotic resources. Their selection of hybrid discursive, generic and modal resources are foregrounded at both draft and final product stage and include their communicative processes as well as the material artefacts they deliver in class. How students instantiate their meaning making and emerging identity as professionals-to-be is highlighted against a pedagogical framework of negotiated design. This framework combines a multiliteracies cum multimodal perspective which is underpinned by the notion of transformed practice. As pivotal elements of transformation - personally, collectively and societally - education and communication play significant roles, particularly in post-Apartheid South Africa still characterised by enormous socio-economic disparities and disadvantage.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

School of Education

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Grant, Terri

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Archer, Arlene

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10561

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10561