Multimodality:

observing and documenting

with video in nursery
Kate Cowan
“Come on, let’s run!” called Charlie, setting off through project. For instance, I was asked by four-year-old
the twisting paths of the woodland with a group of several Zack, “Do you want to see my magic trick?” and was
other three- and four-year-old children following him close instructed to wait at a particular place where paths
behind. During the weekly woodland visits I coordinated intersected. He ran out of sight, behind dense brambles,
as a Nursery teacher, some children repeatedly chose along a winding pathway, before reappearing where he
to run fast and far, through prickly pathways, across the began. Back in the classroom, he also drew his magic
wide open grass, and to the very edges of the woods. trick and the routes his friends had taken, explaining,
However, the attention of the accompanying practitioners “That’s me, and that’s me, and that’s my magic trick.
and parents tended often to focus on children engaged in That’s Joey’s magic trick and that’s Martha’s magic
quieter, more settled exploration, with a suggestion that trick” (Fig. 1). In his running and his drawing, Zack
these other children were “just running” without real focus communicated sophisticated understanding of a complex
or purpose. Amidst concerns that the children might get natural environment, showed knowledge of the differing
lost, get hurt or run away, and with practical difficulties perspectives of runner and watcher, played with the idea of
as to how to observe something so fast-paced and disappearing and reappearing as illusion and represented
far-ranging, the children’s movement-based exploration his “trick” graphically. Far more than “just running”, Zack’s
posed several challenges. Yet the children ran with skill, movement and mark-making can be understood as
enthusiasm and absorbed persistence. Could this be important aspects of literacy, comprising ways he made
an important act of meaning-making worthy of closer and expressed meanings in his woodland exploration.
attention? If so, how might practitioners and researchers
recognise, value and interpret it? Drawing upon this If we are to acknowledge that early literacies
woodland project and my research analysing video take forms beyond language, then the
recordings of child-initiated play in Nursery, I suggest ways pressing question for practitioners and
video offers possibilities for observing and documenting researchers alike is what can be done to
young children’s communication beyond language. support, recognise and value these?

Expanding literacy Observing with video

It is increasingly recognised that language is just one In exploring this question, my research has
means of communication among many, and that privileging involved returning to the Nursery School
reading, writing and speech in education risks ignoring where I formerly taught to closely analyse the
the many complex ways young children create signs and ways children communicate through multiple
make meaning in other modes. Motivated by their interest, modes in their play. Using a small handheld video
and using what is available, children engage in social camera, I recorded a range of child-initiated play
sign-making (Kress, 1997), drawing upon multiple modes episodes, such as role-play, running games, construction Figure 1: Zack’s
which might include movement, gaze, gesture, facial play and computer play over one week. Video offered “magic trick”
expression, mark-making and use of objects, as well as particular possibilities for observing and interpreting play
language. The multimodality of young children’s literacy by creating a fine-grained, detailed, real-time record which
has been researched in relation to a range of activities, could be watched repeatedly and in different ways.
including drawing (Mavers, 2010), model-making (Stein,
2003), construction (Pahl, 1999), role-play (Wohlwend, Video analysis enabled a close and detailed focus on
2011), movement (Hackett, 2014), gesture and gaze children’s communication in multiple modes, supporting
(Flewitt, 2006), calling for a broadened perspective on insights into the complex organisation of play which is
communication and learning, “where not only language but often fast-paced and seemingly chaotic, such as the
also images and physical activity can be viewed as socially running games described at the start of this article.
organised, sign-making activities and as key components Close multimodal analysis of such games revealed how
in the construction of meaning” (Flewitt, 2006, p.27). sophisticated messages like “chase me” and “truce”
were subtly communicated and interpreted by children
Examples of the many modes children use to represent through their direction, speed, movement around objects,
and communicate were abundant during the woodland gesture, posture and gaze as well as language. This

6 Early Education Journal No 74 Autumn 2014

approach also helped to make visible children who u Use this close re-watching to focus particularly
found it difficult or preferred not to speak, recognising on the ways children communicate in non-
the ways modes such as facial expression, gaze and verbal modes, for instance through their posture,
manipulation of technology were used to invite, negotiate facial expression, gaze and body movement,
and sustain play frames with others (Cowan, 2014). in addition to or in the absence of talk.
u Consider using these video recordings as part of digital
In this research, the representation of video became documentation, to sustain projects and share insights
a particular interest. Experimenting with different into learning with parents and other practitioners.
transcription styles, such as written descriptions, video
stills, timelines and maps, highlights that different forms The possibilities seem rich and exciting for using video
of representation will differently re-present the to observe and document. As well as expanding literacy
original encounter, and that consideration of to consider young children’s communication in multiple
how researchers and practitioners document, modes, using video to recognise young children’s
as well as flexibility in documentation styles, communication capacities beyond language might
is important for how we generate and make also help to develop a more respectful, empowering
available different insights into learning. and inclusive means of understanding meaning-
making in its many forms, and in its rich complexity.
New technology available for documenting
children’s learning offers exciting new Kate Cowan is a full-time PhD student at the
possibilities in terms of what and how we Institute of Education, University of London
document, with some mobile applications now
permitting the embedding of video clips directly References:
into digital documentation portfolios. Although current Cowan, K. (2014). Multimodal transcription of video:
Early Years Foundation Stage assessment guidance Examining interaction in early years classrooms.
encourages a range of forms including the use of video Classroom Discourse 5 (1) pp. 6-21
(Standards and Testing Authority, 2014), exemplification Flewitt, R. (2006). Using video to investigate preschool
material is not provided, calling for further consideration classroom interaction: Education research assumptions and
of what video might specifically offer in relation to more methodological practices. Visual Communication 5. pp. 25-50.
traditional written and photographic observations. Hackett, A. (2014). Zigging and zooming all over the place:
There is also clearly a need for settings to ensure that Young children’s meaning making and movement in the
video is used sensitively, responsibly and ethically. museum. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 14 (1) pp. 5-27.
Kress, G. (1997). Before Writing: Rethinking the
Suggestions for practitioners Paths to Literacy. London: Routledge.
Digital devices for recording video are increasingly Mavers, D. (2010). Children’s Drawing and Writing: The
affordable, portable, high-quality and easy to use, and Remarkable in the Unremarkable. London: Routledge.
are becoming available in more and more education Pahl, K. (1999). Transformations: Meaning Making in
settings. What follows are some suggestions as to Nursery Education. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books.
how video might be used to focus on multimodal Standards and Testing Agency (2014). Early Years Foundation
aspects of young children’s literacy in nursery: Stage Profile – Handbook. Available online, accessed 25th
July 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/
u Try using digital devices (eg. cameras, tablets) to early-years-foundation-stage-profile-handbook-2014
record video observations in the classroom, particularly Stein, P. (2003). The Olifantsvlei Fresh Stories Project:
if the children are engaged in play which is difficult Multimodality, Creativity and Fixing in the Semiotic
to capture through writing or photographs. Chain. In Jewitt, C. and Kress, G. (Eds.) Multimodal
u Choose an interesting section of the video to Literacy. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 123-138.
re-watch in different ways, for instance with or Wohlwend, K. (2011). Playing Their Way into Literacies:
without sound, sped up or slowed down, with Reading, Writing, and Belonging in the Early Childhood
colleagues or the children themselves. Classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.