Audience Matters: Multimodal Projects in Three International Case Studies

There is growing attention to student assessments designed to reach beyond the classroom, including assessments with an immediate or future audience. The role of audience, however, has not been examined in multimodal assessments across continents, institutions, disciplines, and teaching contexts. This article examines the impact on student learning of incorporating audience and awareness of audience in diverse settings through multimodal projects. These include a core assignment in an interdisciplinary, semester-long graduate class in the United States, a year-long capstone project for geography undergraduates in Northern Ireland, and a supplemental assignment for graduate and undergraduate biology students in Norway. This article investigates the impact of audience in multimodal student assessments across the three cases and concludes that it can positively influence student learning, motivation, and skill development.