Wordless picturebooks and their potential for literacy development in diverse classrooms

Facts

Contact person:: Robert Walldén
Financer:: Malmö universitet
Responsible at MaU:: Robert Walldén
Project members at MaU:: Robert Walldén

Chrysogonus Siddha Malilang

and Petra Marti Tanaka
Collaborators :: Malmö stad
Time frame:: 19 August 2024 - 11 January 2026
Faculty/department:: Faculty of Education and Society

Department of Culture, Languages and Media
Research environment :: Disciplinary literacy and inclusive teaching
Research subject:: Didactics

Language and Literature

Project description

The project aims to explore and highlight the didactic potential and possible teaching methods for wordless picturebooks together with teachers, librarians, and students in Malmö. The research question is: What opportunities do wordless picturebooks offer to stimulate students' linguistic participation, creativity, and critical thinking? The project is conducted within ULF: Education, Learning, and Research, in collaboration between schools and academia.

Wordless picturebooks are characterized by their lack of text while having rich visual language and challenging themes. They utilize the narrative power of images in a way that can bridge linguistic and cultural barriers while opening up for imagination and creative expression. With these qualities, wordless books can be advantageously used in teaching younger and older students.