Media Literacy and the Development of Reading and Writing Skills

Media Literacy and the Development of Reading and Writing Skills John Bradford ENED 8741 Dr. Crovitz

Alarming Statistics…Fact or Myth? • Three out of ten 8th graders read at or above grade level • 65% of 12th graders did not demonstrate reading proficiency in 2002 according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress • Students in the United States are performing poorly compared to other countries • Unacceptable gaps between young people from different demographic groups

English Teachers’ Perspectives • Teachers at Concord High School, used in this study, did not have much of a formal understanding of the intellectual traditions of literacy • Media literacy bubbles up from their own perspectives, conversations and experiences as knowledge workers • Teachers brought their own idiosyncratic mixture of perspectives about their aims and goals in integrating media analysis and media production

Holler if You Hear Me • Started out as a substitute teacher in a low-income public school where students were reading far below their grade level • He experimented with popular music and examined the bias of news reporting • Found that these activities engaged students to read and write • Used his understanding of his own critical thinking skills and the students’ use of media to develop activities that were engaging and didactic

Multiple Forms of Literacy • Literacy now includes visual, electronic and digital forms of expression • Academic scholars in different fields have their own version of literacy including literary theory, cultural studies, history, psychology, library and information service, medicine and public health, linguistics, rhetoric, communication, and media studies

What all the literacies seem to have in common… • Visual, digital and popular culture “texts” are just as worthy subjects for critical analysis as canonical works of classic and contemporary literature • Individuals actively read messages incorporating their own life experiences, cultural background, and developmental levels

…and (this is key)… 3. Instructional approaches that engage students with personally meaningful texts, authentic inquiry, and hands-on media production activities strengthen critical thinking and communication skills that directly support the development of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

Critical Literacy • Literacy scholars define reading as not just extracting meaning from text, but the process of constructing meaning through interaction and involvement. Meaning is understood in the context of social, historic, and power relations (not just the author’s intentions) • Critical refers to the recognition of oppression and exploitation as embedded in texts and textual activities

Critical Literacy • Help students examine and understand how various tests, including pictures, icons and electronic messages (as forms of symbolic expression) are used to influence, persuade and control people. • Not just “cracking the code” • Understood as an embodiment of social and political relationships

English teachers who emphasize critical literacy see part of their mission as helping young people control their experience of the world through constructing messages to help in the transformation of society

Freire and Macedo “Read the world and the word”

The Study Compared the reading comprehension and critical reading skills of a group of students in the 11th Grade from Concord High School One group used a literature based curriculum by reading eight classic works including language arts activities, oral presentations, drama and direct instruction in grammar and composition English 11 at Concord read classic literature and newspapers and magazines, analyzed scripts from documentaries, and viewed films and TV shows All were given pre and post tests

The Results • Both groups showed gains in reading comprehension, critical reading and writing skills • The group using multimedia showed greater gains • Students reflected on their own experiences and acknowledged they were more aware of their critical literacy skills and how to use them

Media Literacy and the Development of Reading and Writing Skills