This paper examines pre-service teachers" understandings of critical media literacy as they designed critical media literacy lessons in an initial teacher education language and literacy course for K-6 teachers. The teachers reflected on their initial understandings about social justice, designed several pre-tasks, designed and taught critical media literacy lessons, and then reflected on teaching critical media literacy to elementary school students. The results of this two-year study indicate that while the pre-service teachers seemed willing to address social justice issues and they used digital literacies in interesting and engaging ways, some of them faced challenges articulating and focusing their own understandings in media literacy lessons. Introduction: New Times, New Challenges for Pre-Service TeachersIn this research we examine pre-service teachers" understandings of critical media literacy. Pre-service teachers face a dual challenge when engaging with critical literacy: as new teachers they are becoming aware of critical literacy, media literacy, and social justice issues in education; and they are also grappling with how to prepare their future students to become critically aware (Flores-Koulish, 2006). In our language arts teacher education courses we seek to help pre-service teachers learn how to navigate a media-rich world, and also how to examine it carefully. We hope that pre-service teachers will learn how to teach students to navigate media and also work toward recognizing bias and stereotypes that minimize students" life opportunities.There is a scarcity of research about Canadian teachers and critical media literacy education initiatives, and even less research available on critical media literacy and pre-service teacher education in Canada. The research presented here is intended to provide some insights into how pre-service teachers understand critical media literacy concepts and how these understandings translate into their written lesson plans. Through this research we hope to inform our own practice as instructors of an elementary language arts course and invite interested others into a conversation about engaging pre-service teachers in critical pedagogy.We help pre-service teachers come to terms with the complexity of critical media literacy by asking them to design and teach critical media literacy lessons for elementary
Critical media literacy is important because media's ubiquitous presence has become the digital wallpaper of life, and students need to learn how to use media responsibly for learning, communicating, and participating in democratic societies. Media literacy skills have been defined historically in uncritical ways: awareness of the dangers of (over) exposure to media; the study of media as an art form; or learning about the technical elements of media such as audience. The focus of this paper is on deeper, more complex conceptions of media literacy within its complicated social and educational contexts. The authors argue that critical media literacy can provide rich learning for students. Critical media literacy builds skills of analysis and critique in the deconstruction and interpretation phase where students learn to recognize hegemonic aspects of media. Deconstruction is only one side of the critical equation, however. During the media production phase, critical media literacy can give voice to students and empower them to take action to make changes in society. In the process, critical media literacy can lead students to deeper understandings of literacies and discourses in society than previously considered possible. This paper theorizes critical media literacy in both of these phases: its deconstructive, critical phase and its transformative and critical production phase. An analysis is provided also of some of the challenges associated with critical media literacy as a transformative pedagogy.
In this article we examine pre-service teachers’ digital literacy stories and post-assignment reflections for evidence of transformative pedagogy. The language arts course design employs both a new literacies approach (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006) and a multiliteracies pedagogical framework (New London Group, 1996). These frameworks are also applied to help us examine the pre-service teachers’ digital stories and reflections. The data consist of approximately 150 digital stories and written student reflections collected over three years. We are encouraged by the finding that the multimedia nature of the assignment appears to help pre-service teachers construct new understandings of literacies, particularly when the digital stories are shared as part of the adult classroom experience. We conclude that digital stories hold potential to encourage pre-service teachers to think critically about how they were taught relative to the teachers they wish to become.
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