Assessing the complexity of students’ thinking in critical media inquiry
Biographical Sketch
Presenter 1: Theresa Redmond redmondta@appstate.edu
Theresa Redmond is an Associate Professor at Appalachian State University where she teaches face-to-face and online in both undergraduate and graduate programs within Media Studies and Teacher Education. Her research investigates how media and communication technologies impact literacy, fluency, teaching and learning, expression, and engagement. Currently, Theresa is exploring a range of topics in critical media literacy, including: media literacy assessment, ecomedia literacy, and nonlinear pedagogies for media literacy education. She serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Media Literacy Education and on the Leadership Council of the National Association for Media Literacy Education.
Presenter 2: Evelien Schilder evelien@vt.edu
Evelien Schilder is a course development specialist at the Center for Instructional Technology Solutions in Industry and Education at Virginia Tech. After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degree in communication science at the University of Amsterdam, she came to the United States to earn the media literacy master’s certificate at Appalachian State University. In 2014, she completed her Ph.D. in instructional design and technology at Virginia Tech. She has combined her interests in communication and education by specializing in media literacy education and has worked in several positions related to both fields. She taught media literacy and media production at Appalachian State University and her dissertation research was on media literacy assessment. Besides working at Virginia Tech, Evelien is also a member of the NAMLE Leadership Council.
Type of Presentation
Poster submission
Brief Description of Presentation
The ability to ask critical questions about media messages is an essential skill in critical media literacy. In our presentation, we share our research from a larger study that seeks to investigate the extent to which media literacy courses improve students’ critical habits of inquiry. Specifically, we examine how to evaluate the complexity of students’ questions and inquiry process. Our study has implications for teaching critical media literacy and for cultivating critical habits of mind in our students.
Abstract of Proposal
Critical media literacy practices have historically invited students to use a series of critical questions or key concepts to deconstruct media messages. These questions help to guide learners as they engage in analysis and evaluation of messages, encouraged them to critically examine the socio-cultural values encoded into media and the effects of the ideologies and values conveyed implicitly. Yet, while questioning plays a central role in critical media literacy, it is unclear the extent to which students' habits of inquiry are augmented by participation in media literacy courses. The purpose of our research was to investigate the complexity of students’ questioning habits before and after their participation in a course in media literacy. Data collection comprised a pretest-posttest design where we gathered student-generated questions in response to a media sample (television commercial) before and after a course in media literacy. Using established theoretical frameworks— including Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) and the SOLO Taxonomy (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes, Biggs & Collins, 2014)— we developed a codebook through which to organize students’ inquires by complexity. As this is an ongoing study, we are currently engaging in active data analysis to determine to what extent media literacy education impacts the complexity of students’ critical inquiry. Our work has implications for pedagogies and assessment in critical media literacy, as well as for evaluating the effectiveness of media literacy courses.
References
Biggs, J. B., & Collis, K. F. (2014). Evaluating the quality of learning: The SOLO taxonomy (Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome). Academic Press.
Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Vol. 1: Cognitive domain. New York: McKay, 20-24.
Start Date
2-24-2018 1:10 PM
End Date
2-24-2018 2:40 PM
Recommended Citation
Redmond, Theresa and Schilder, Evelien, "Assessing the complexity of students’ thinking in critical media inquiry" (2018). International Critical Media Literacy Conference. 31.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/criticalmedialiteracy/2018/2018/31
Assessing the complexity of students’ thinking in critical media inquiry
Critical media literacy practices have historically invited students to use a series of critical questions or key concepts to deconstruct media messages. These questions help to guide learners as they engage in analysis and evaluation of messages, encouraged them to critically examine the socio-cultural values encoded into media and the effects of the ideologies and values conveyed implicitly. Yet, while questioning plays a central role in critical media literacy, it is unclear the extent to which students' habits of inquiry are augmented by participation in media literacy courses. The purpose of our research was to investigate the complexity of students’ questioning habits before and after their participation in a course in media literacy. Data collection comprised a pretest-posttest design where we gathered student-generated questions in response to a media sample (television commercial) before and after a course in media literacy. Using established theoretical frameworks— including Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) and the SOLO Taxonomy (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes, Biggs & Collins, 2014)— we developed a codebook through which to organize students’ inquires by complexity. As this is an ongoing study, we are currently engaging in active data analysis to determine to what extent media literacy education impacts the complexity of students’ critical inquiry. Our work has implications for pedagogies and assessment in critical media literacy, as well as for evaluating the effectiveness of media literacy courses.
References
Biggs, J. B., & Collis, K. F. (2014). Evaluating the quality of learning: The SOLO taxonomy (Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome). Academic Press.
Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Vol. 1: Cognitive domain. New York: McKay, 20-24.
