Research topic/aim Inspired by the question How can we as researchers and teachers bring about learning and teaching adventures? we will turn to a recent pilot study regarding possibilities and challenges in students’ production of multimodal degree theses within our teacher education in visual arts. When a group of students approached us with the question whether they could produce multimodal theses, instead of written ones, we said yes. Their idea coincided with our interest in developing approaches to knowledge production and knowledge representation that acknowledge, and take advantage of, the visual as a valid mode and of epistemological qualities in transductive and transformative processes (e.g. Kress, 2003; 2010; Huang & Archer, 2017; Selander & Kress, 2021).  

Theoretical framework Offering students the opportunity to explore forms of knowledge production and representation other than those traditionally found in an academic context, also introduce moments of risk and uncertainty (Biesta 2013). Together, we open up adventurous spaces of possibility that are more or less unexplored, e.g. regarding how students are thereby (re)positioned as active learning subjects. Performative theories about the various forms of knowledge, about the making of the student subject are also borrowed from Denzin (2003) and Dewsbury (2000) and are here put in relation to the various affordances and cultures of recognition (Selander & Kress, 2021) that students encounter.

Methodological design The data consists of five multimodal and digitally disseminated degree theses (using Research Catalogue as a platform) and conversations with the five students who produced them.  Expected conclusions/findings Preliminary findings suggest a number of positive effects, e.g. in relation to academic literacy, understanding of subject matter; while also implying some challenges in terms of workload and construing cohesion in the multimodal text. However, as a means to invite students to work from within their own desires, offering an understanding of differences (between forms of knowledge) as productive, and the courage to encounter unpredictability, we find this pilot project promising.  

Relevance to Nordic educational research The approach applied in this project appears as a possible first step towards a wider recognition of multimodal forms of knowledge representation in academia, while also indicating some issues that need further consideration.