Dr Diane Mavers

  • Qualifications and position:
    • Lecturer in Contemporary Literacy
  • Faculty:
    • Faculty of Children and Learning
  • Department:
    • Culture, Communications and Media
  • Summary:
    • Diane's research interests are representation and communication studied from a social semiotic multimodal perspective. The main focus of her work is children's drawing and writing in the classroom. In her more recent projects, she has been investigating pedagogy and learning with whole-class technologies, in particular the visualiser.
  • Teaching:
    • Generic MA module 'Multimodality in the classroom' (module leader)
      MA in English Education 'Contemporary Issues in English Education'
      Tutoring MA English Education
      MPhil/PhD Research Training Programme 'Analysing multimodal texts'
      Sessions on MPhil Arts and Humanities, EdD MoE2, BEd BARP
      EdD supervision
      BEd Paper 5 supervision
  • Research Projects:
    • From object to visualiser to page
      (January – December 2007)
      This project investigated the technological affordances of the visualiser, how it is used by teachers in Key Stage 2 science, and the kinds of texts children made in response.
      Funded by the Centre for Excellence in Work-Based Learning for Education Professionals (WLE), Institute of Education

      Learning with visualisers in the early years
      (October 2008 – July 2009)
      With a particular focus on creative learning, this study investigates how visualisers are used in early years settings (nursery and reception classes).
      Funded by Barking and Dagenham Local Authority

      Teaching, learning and assessing literacy with whole-class technologies
      (May 2009 – April 2010)
      This follow-up project investigates how the visualiser is used in primary literacy teaching and assessment, and the texts children produce in response.
      Funded by the Centre for Excellence in Work-Based Learning for Education Professionals (WLE), Institute of Education
  • Postgraduate Research:
    • Diane research interests are:
      Social semiotics
      Multimodality
      Drawing
      Literacy
      Pedagogy and learning with whole class technologies (particularly the visualiser)

      Postgraduate researchers working with Diane are:
      Julie Greenhough 'Rethinking literacy: a multimodal analysis of the social literacies of pupils' online communication in secondary school'.
  • Professional Activities:
    • Editorial Board of the Journal of Early Childhood Literacy
  • Conferences/presentations:
    • Bezemer, J. and Mavers, D. (2009) 'Transcribing Video as Re-presentation', 1st International Visual Methods Conference, University of Leeds (September 2009).

      Mavers, D. (2009) 'Making meaning of and with visual and material resources in the primary classroom', Visuality / Materiality: Reviewing Theory, Method and Practice, University of Durham, London, (July 2009).

      Mavers, D. (2008) 'Semiotic work in the multilingual classroom: communicational interaction and representational design', plenary given at the Mediational Multilingualism Summer School, Jyväskylä, Finland (June 2008).

      Mavers, D. (2008) 'Re-designing texts: children's 'copying' in the elementary classroom', paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Conference, New York, USA (March, 2008).

      Mavers, D. (2007) 'Multimodal Design in the Representational Landscape of the Classroom', plenary given at the Designing the School of Tomorrow: Advanced Technologies in Education Symposium, 4th Educational Symposium, Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Athens, Greece (November 2007).
  • Personal Country Knowledge:
    • Representation, learning and pedagogy in the primary classroom (UK)
 

Contact details

Contact details

  • Email:

  • Address:
  • Culture, Communications and Media
    Institute of Education University of London
    20 Bedford Way
    London
    WC1H 0AL

  • Office Location:
  • Room 622
    20 Bedford Way, WC1H 0AL

Publications

  • Mavers, D. (2009) 'Student text-making as semiotic work', Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 9(2), 141-155.
  • Mavers, D. (2009) 'Teaching and learning with a visualiser in the primary classroom: modelling graph-making', Learning, Media and Technology 34(1), 11-26.
  • Mavers, D. (2009) 'Image in the multimodal ensemble: children's drawings' In C. Jewitt (ed.), Handbook of Multimodal Analysis. London: Routledge.
  • Mavers, D. (2007) 'Semiotic resourcefulness: a young child's email exchange as design', Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 7(2), 155-176.
  • Mavers, D. (2007) 'Investigating how children make meaning in multimodal maps', Reflecting Education 3(1), 24-28.
  • Kress, G. and Mavers, D. (2005) 'Social semiotics and multimodal texts' In B. Somekh and C. Lewin (eds), Research Methods in the Social Sciences. London: Sage.
  • Mavers, D. (2003) 'Communicating meanings through image composition, spatial arrangement and links in primary school student mind maps' In C. Jewitt and G. Kress (eds), Multimodal literacy. New York: Peter Lang.
  • Lewin, C., Mavers, D. and Somekh, B. (2003) 'Broadening access to the curriculum through using technology to link home and school: a critical analysis of reforms intended to improve students' educational attainment', Curriculum Journal 14(1), 23-53.
  • Mavers, D., Somekh, B. and Restorick, J. (2002) 'Interpreting the externalised images of pupils' conceptions of ICT: methods for the analysis of concept maps', Computers and Education 38, 187-207.
  • Somekh, B. and Mavers, D. (2003) 'Mapping learning potential: students' conceptions of ICT in their world', Assessment in Education 10(3), 409-420.