Media Literacy in the US

Media literacy education is not as advanced in the US as in several other English-speaking areas such as Great Britain, Canada, and Australia. Despite decades of struggle since the 1970s by individuals and groups, media education is still only reaching a small percentage of Americans. While some major inroads have been made, such as getting elements of media literacy included in most of the 50 state's educational standards and the launching of two national media education organizations, most teachers and students in the United States still have never heard of media literacy. In this paper, we first set forth some models of media literacy, delineate key concepts of critical media literacy, and then examine some of the most active organizations in the United States and differences in their goals and pedagogy

Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English

Since 2003, RTE has published the annual “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English,” a list of curated and annotated works reviewed and selected by a large group of dedicated educator-scholars in our field. The goal of the annual bibliography is to offer a synthesis of the research published in the area of English language arts within the past year for RTE readers’ consideration. Abstracted citations and those featured in the “Other Related Research” sections were published, either in print or online, between June 2020 and June 2021. The bibliography is divided into nine sections, with some changes to the categories this year in response to the ever-evolving nature of research in the field. Small teams of scholars with diverse research interests and background experiences in preK–16 educational settings reviewed and selected the manuscripts for each section using library databases and leading scholarly journals. Each team abstracted significant contributions to the body of peer-reviewed studies that addressed the current research questions and concerns in their topic area

Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English

Since 2003, RTE has published the annual “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English,” and we are proud to share these curated and annotated citations once again. The goal of the annual bibliography is to offer a synthesis of the research published in the area of English language arts within the past year that may be of interest to RTE readers. Abstracted citations and those featured in the “Other Related Research” sections were published, either in print or online, between June 2019 and June 2020. The bibliography is divided into nine subject area sections. A three-person team of scholars with diverse research interests and background experiences in preK–16 educational settings reviewed and selected the manuscripts for each section using library databases and leading empirical journals. Each team abstracted significant contributions to the body of peer-reviewed studies that addressed the current research questions and concerns in their topic area

Open Forum on Critical Media Literacy

This will be an open forum to discuss critical media literacy with the goal of exploring ideas, concerns, and goals. My hope is that this will lead to networking and generating theoretical as well as practical connections. For this to be successful it will need some structure. I propose we begin with group agreements and then I am happy to facilitate the group to assure that no one person dominates and everyone has the opportunity to pose questions and discuss their concerns

Preparing Educators to Teach Critical Media Literacy

Today’s youth are immersed in a world in which media and technology have entered all aspects of their lives and society, yet few teacher education programs are preparing teachers to help their students to critically understand the potential and limitations of these changes. It is crucial that new teachers learn how to teach their K-12 students to critically read and write everything, from academic texts to social media. This means that schools of education responsible for training the new wave of teachers must be up-to-date, not just with the latest technology, but more importantly, with critical media literacy theory and pedagogy in order to help teachers and students to think and act critically, with and about, information communication technology (ICT), media, and popular culture. Unfortunately, there are few teacher education programs anywhere in the world that are teaching this (Hobbs, 2007). Even in Canada, where media literacy is mandatory in every grade from 1-12, most new teachers are not receiving media literacy training in their pre-service programs (Wilson & Duncan, 2009). At our university we created a course on teaching critical media literacy for new teachers in 2012, and since then, about 150 teacher education students have taken this four-unit class each year in order to earn their State Teaching Credential. More than half of the students are people of color and nearly 75% are women. The course has been highly popular with students, receiving consistently strong scores on the end-of-quarter student evaluations. Many students have commented about applying lessons and ideas from the class immediately in their classrooms or student teaching. One student reflected in an anonymous course evaluation, “This was an amazing, thought-provoking and fun course with the perfect balance of theory and practice. Every night we left with practical lessons to try with our class, and a solid knowledge of the theory and readings behind them” (EIP, 2012)

Teaching Teachers Critical Media Literacy

Today’s youth are immersed in a world in which media and technology have entered all aspects of their lives and society, yet few teacher education programs are preparing teachers to help their students to critically understand the potential and limitations of these changes. It is crucial that new teachers learn how to teach their K-12 students to critically read and write everything, from academic texts to social media. This means that schools of education responsible for training the new wave of teachers must be up-to-date, not just with the latest technology, but more importantly, with critical media literacy theory and pedagogy in order to help teachers and students to think and act critically, with and about, information communication technology (ICT), media, and popular culture. Unfortunately, there are few teacher education programs anywhere in the world that are teaching this (Hobbs, 2007). Even in Canada, where media literacy is mandatory in every grade from 1-12, most new teachers are not receiving media literacy training in their pre-service programs (Wilson & Duncan, 2009). At our university we created a course on teaching critical media literacy for new teachers in 2012, and since then, about 150 teacher education students have taken this four-unit class each year in order to earn their State Teaching Credential. More than half of the students are people of color and nearly 75% are women. The course has been highly popular with students, receiving consistently strong scores on the end-of-quarter student evaluations. Many students have commented about applying lessons and ideas from the class immediately in their classrooms or student teaching. One student reflected in an anonymous course evaluation, “This was an amazing, thought-provoking and fun course with the perfect balance of theory and practice. Every night we left with practical lessons to try with our class, and a solid knowledge of the theory and readings behind them” (XXXX EIP, 2012)

Critical Media Literacy and Climate Change

For years, environmental problems in the US have been represented in mainstream media as issues of universal vulnerability, as if everyone were affected equally by the environmental dangers. This hid the fact that low-income neighborhoods, especially communities of color, have been impacted with far worse consequences of environmental hazards than middle and upper class areas. The other trope too often repeated in the media, is the notion of universal responsibility; the idea that we are all equally responsible for the environmental damages. While it is important that everyone contribute to improving the environment, it is also essential that corporations, governments, and non-sustainable economic practices and ideologies be held responsible for the majority of the harm they are causing to the environment. In this presentation we will use critical media literacy pedagogy to explore the historical context of portrayals of environmentalism in relation to current media messages about climate change and environmental justice. The better people can learn to deconstruct media messages and dominant ideologies, the more prepared they will be to construct their own media messages that can challenge the dominant myths and promote socially just alternatives for a more sustainable and healthier planet

EDUCAÇÃO PARA A LEITURA CRÍTICA DA MÍDIA, DEMOCRACIA RADICAL E A RECONSTRUÇÃO DA EDUCAÇÃO

Neste artigo, exploram-se as bases teóricas da educação para a leitura crítica da mídia e analisam-se diferentes abordagens a serem empregadas em seu ensino. Ao combinar estudos culturais com pedagogia crítica, defendemos uma discussão em defesa da alfabetização crítica da mídia, que vise a ampliar a noção de alfabetização, incluindo uma ampla variedade de formas de cultura midiática, informações e tecnologias da comunicação e novos meios de comunicação, além de aprofundar o potencial da alfabetização para analisar criticamente relações entre os meios de comunicação e as audiências, a informação e o poder. Utiliza-se uma abordagem multiperspectivista, tratando de questões de gênero, raça, classe e poder, para explorar as inter-relações entre a alfabetização midiática, os estudos culturais e a pedagogia crítica. Nossa versão de alfabetização digital integra análise e produção e visa a dar poderes aos alunos para que tenham plena participação em sua sociedade. Assim, essa visão promove a democracia radical e a justiça social

EDUCAÇÃO PARA A LEITURA CRÍTICA DA MÍDIA, DEMOCRACIA RADICAL E A RECONSTRUÇÃO DA EDUCAÇÃO

Neste artigo, exploram-se as bases teóricas da educação para a leitura crítica da mídia e analisam-se diferentes abordagens a serem empregadas em seu ensino. Ao combinar estudos culturais com pedagogia crítica, defendemos uma discussão em defesa da alfabetização crítica da mídia, que vise a ampliar a noção de alfabetização, incluindo uma ampla variedade de formas de cultura midiática, informações e tecnologias da comunicação e novos meios de comunicação, além de aprofundar o potencial da alfabetização para analisar criticamente relações entre os meios de comunicação e as audiências, a informação e o poder. Utiliza-se uma abordagem multiperspectivista, tratando de questões de gênero, raça, classe e poder, para explorar as inter-relações entre a alfabetização midiática, os estudos culturais e a pedagogia crítica. Nossa versão de alfabetização digital integra análise e produção e visa a dar poderes aos alunos para que tenham plena participação em sua sociedade. Assim, essa visão promove a democracia radical e a justiça social