Joyful Multimodal Composition Series
The Joyful Multimodal Composition Series is an interactive, three-part summer series designed for NCTE members who are interested in infusing joy into their English language arts curriculum to turn ELA learning into an inspiring and life-changing experience.
Cohosted by NCTE and its Assembly on Computers in English, this series will provide a deep dive into Joyful Literacies in Secondary English Language Arts, published by NCTE in 2025. A joyful literacies pedagogy is about creating spaces of “deep fun” and belonging in which to engage students in deep intellectual work. The book offers a lively guide for English language arts educators who want to infuse joy through units, lessons, and activities that make students feel seen and heard, and that lead to authentic and empowering intellectual inquiry.
Participants in the summer webinar series will learn about, brainstorm, co-create, and develop multimodal, digital, and joyful activities or projects to implement in their classrooms. Each session will build on knowledge gained and discussions from the prior sessions, with a culminating workshop where participants will turn inspiration into concrete, classroom-ready plans.
NCTE is pleased to offer a 30% discount on Joyful Literacies in Secondary English Language Arts through June 30. Use code JOY26 at checkout!
Certificates of attendance are available upon request here.
Registration will close 90 minutes prior to each event.
The events in this series are free to NCTE members. Not an NCTE member? Join today!
Session 1: Grounding the Work & Mapping the Possibilities
Monday, June 22 | 3:00 p.m. ET
Attendees will:
- Learn from authors of Joyful Literacies who will share what it means to move from singular “literacy” to plural “literacies”; discuss the specific framing of joy, play, and multimodality as rigorous academic practices, not just “fun” add-ons; and highlight examples of multimodality from the book or from their classrooms.
- Brainstorm together, describing a multimodal, digital, joyful activity or project they already do with their students or consider something they could do in the future.
- Co-create shared resources representing multimodal, joyful ideas for the classroom.
Register today!
Chris Goering, NBCT, is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Arkansas where he prepares future English teachers and doctoral students to act on the world for good. An NCTE member since 1998 and former chair of the English Language Arts Teacher Educators, he’s currently chair-elect of the University of Arkansas Faculty Senate.
Holly Sheppard Riesco earned her PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Arkansas in 2024 and currently works as a secondary English teacher. Her research focuses on multimodality, joyful literacies, social justice, and student agency and action in secondary ELA. Her most recent teacher-centered work, Joyful Literacies in Secondary English Language Arts, was published by NCTE.
Session 2: Joy in Practice: Spotlighting Multimodal Composition
Monday, July 13 | 3:00 p.m. ET
Attendees will:
- Learn from Karis Jones and Scott Storm who will showcase Fandom Transformation Projects, which invite youth to create multimedia artifacts to move pop culture communities toward justice.
- Participate in open dialogue with the presenters and other attendees around how Karis and Scott’s work might be adapted for their own teaching contexts.
Register today!
Karis Jones, PhD, is an assistant professor of English education at Baylor University. As a literacy scholar, learning scientist, teacher educator, and community organizer, her research relates to issues of equity in literacies learning and writing across disciplinary, fandom, and gaming spaces. She and Dr. Scott Storm coauthored the book Fandoms in the Classroom: A Social Justice Approach to Transforming Literacy Learning. She is cofounder of the initiative #HackYourStack (https://bit.ly/hackyourstack1) and winner of the 2025 ELATE National Technology Leadership Initiative (NTLI) Fellowship. She has been a member of NCTE since 2017.
Scott Storm, PhD, is an assistant professor of literacy in the School of Education at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He is a former high school teacher with 15 years of experience designing, founding, and sustaining urban public schools. He is the recipient of the 2025 NCTE Promising Researcher award and, with Dr. Karis Jones, is coauthor of the book Fandoms in the Classroom: A Social Justice Approach to Transforming Literacy Learning. Storm has been a member of NCTE since 2009.
Session 3: The Implementation Workshop
Tuesday, July 28 | 3:00 p.m. ET
Attendees will:
- Work independently or in small groups to remix an upcoming activity, lesson, or unit they plan to teach and begin designing a multimodal component using a shared design template prepared by the facilitator.
- Share their working drafts with the larger group for feedback.
Register today!
Johnny Allred, an assistant professor of English education at Brigham Young University, studies and teaches about digital literacy and technology integration in secondary English classrooms.