Multimodal Literacy Scale: A Study of Validity and Reliability

Problem Statement: Most structures of the texts individuals encounter today are multimodal, in which written, visual, and auditory elements are used together. Students who spend most of their time on social networks or playing various computer games gain experience in multimodal environments. As a part of teacher training, it is important that teachers who prepare students for life and set an example have multimodal literacy skills by keeping up with advancing technology. Purpose of Study: The study, carried out in Turkey, researches whether or not the multimodal literacy skills within the formal training prospective teachers receive are limited. A scale that aims to measure the multimodal literacy skills of teachers is developed. Method: Designed in a survey model, the scale aimed to develop a multimodal literacy scale for prospective teachers. The validity and reliability studies of the scale were conducted on 392 prospective teachers. Findings and Results: At the end of EFA, we identified that the scale had a 3 factored structure, which explains 52.63% of the total variance. As a result of the CFA conducted, consistency index values were identified and the 3 factor structured scale, recognized as made up of 17 items, was verified as a model. In order to determine the reliability of the scale, we calculated the Cronbach Alpha internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficients. In light of the values obtained, the scale was concluded as reliable and valid. During the studies of item analysis, corrected item-total correlation of the items within 3 factors was calculated and the t-test was used to determine if these items discriminate the 27 % of the upper groups and the 27 % the lower groups. These results can indicate that the items in the scale have a high validity rate, and it can discriminate between students with regard to their capabilities of multimodal literacy. Conclusions and Recommendations: A scale designed to measure the multimodal literacy skills of teachers who will play a big part in the education of upcoming generations was developed. With this, we can identify multimodal literacy skills during their undergraduate education, whereby we can identify the prospective teachers who do not have such skills and they can then be trained in this respect. Keywords : Multimodal literacy, scale development, validity, reliability