Abstract

To understand the representation and communication from a multimodal perspective challenges the hegemony of the written code for learning and places prominently the role of other semiotic systems to construct meaning. This movement is part of what is known as multi-literacies. This perspective has been incorporated into Chilean educational policies and teachers are expected to dominate its foundations and implications for school learning, including these principles in teaching. The purpose of this paper is to present the foundations of multimodality and review some of the challenges and possibilities offered to teachers faced with the task of teaching every student in the classroom. The theoretical basis include social semiotics, which indicates points of convergence with other theoretical theories such as a sociohistorical approach and socio-cultural learning. Among the challenges we highlight, the need to understand the semiotic potential of the variety of semiotic resources used in teaching, to better understand the characteristics of these resources and the representation of the world and communication that they allow. Among the contributions of multi-modality, we consider an enrichment of the definition of reading and writing, as well as the applicability of these notions to adapt and enrich the curriculum and the knowledge about teaching, all these being important considerations for teacher training.