A Comparative Study of Multimodal Approaches to Learning: To Support Children’s Learning in the Early Years

Multimodal approaches to teaching and learning within early years education support children’s diverse experiences and competencies. Within a multimodal process, different modes can communicate meaning in several ways. The Play and Learn through the Arts (PLA) programme and the Argyle project offer the opportunity to embrace the framework of a multimodal approach to children’s learning, though they have salient differences. This paper aims to explore the content of the PLA and the Argyle project as two practical examples which can be used to create a multimodal environment in early years settings. The discussion concludes with the significant contribution of the PLA programme to children’s learning using the arts as a teaching method through a child-led process within the multimodal framework; though the Argyle project presented the concept of multiliteracies which was also an important component for a multimodal environment. This paper can be useful to early years practitioners to explore different practical examples of children’s multimodal learning in everyday practice.