Core Principles of Media Literacy Education as a Framework for Teacher Education

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Missing the Boat? Examining the Potential Power of Media Literacy Education for Policy and Practice

Abstract

Objectives –
• What does digital citizenship mean for the classroom teacher? How is it enacted inside and outside the classroom? How do we assess and evaluate digital citizenship among teachers?
• What does it look like to model effective and appropriate oral, written and digital communication to students, parents, colleagues and community members? How do we conduct classroom-based research in these areas? How can we then in turn implement evidence-based instructional practices?

Perspective –
This work builds on the foundation of a white paper by Jenkins (2006) that discussed the need for media education in the evolving participatory culture. Others (Hobbs, 2005, 2010; Martens, 2010,; Yates, 2004) have echoed the need for pedagogical strategies that provide P-12 students with the essential skills to become wise members of an emerging and ever-changing digital society. The conceptual framework articulated by the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) in conjunction with its mission is provided in depth in the paper.

Methods –
This paper outlines an alternative framework for general teacher preparation based on the essential competencies that comprise NAMLE’s Core Principles of Media Literacy Education. These CPMLE are:
1. Media Literacy Education requires active inquiry and critical thinking about the messages we receive and create.
2. Media Literacy Education expands the concept of literacy (i.e., reading and writing) to include all forms of media.
3. Media Literacy Education builds and reinforces skills for learners of all ages. Like print literacy, those skills necessitate integrated, interactive, and repeated practice.
4. Media Literacy Education develops informed, reflective and engaged participants essential for a democratic society.
5. Media Literacy Education recognizes that media are a part of culture and function as agents of socialization.
6. Media Literacy Education affirms that people use their individual skills, beliefs and experiences to construct their own meanings from media messages.

The paper identifies a set of pedagogical strategies that all secondary-level teachers should master alongside technical skills and subject area expertise. These strategies serve as additions and expansions of the existing competencies in many teacher preparation programs.

Sources
The strategies are based on the presenter’s experience as a seasoned teacher educator, active researcher and scholar in the field of media literacy education, and professional development consultant and presenter.

Results
The set of pedagogical strategies serve as a model for session discussion as well as further research.

Significance – University teacher preparation programs are under fire for a variety reasons that include lack of clinical practice, insufficient technology training, and methods that are out of touch with the needs of current students and schools. This paper provides specific and tested examples of how tomorrow’s teachers can integrate skills and concepts of critical thinking and creativity within the mandates of the CCSS. The author also builds on the need to teach concepts of digital citizenship and 21st Century skills within subject specific curricula.

Author

• Vanessa Elaine Domine, Montclair State University