Whereas media literacy can appear politically charged, its core objectives are extensively shared. Phrases like “faux information” or “misinformation” could increase alarms, however “everybody desires youngsters to be educated, considerate, important thinkers,” stated Higgin. He cited information from Media Literacy Now that stated 84% of surveyed adults imagine media literacy ought to be a required a part of college, whereas a research from the Information Literacy Mission discovered that 94% of teenagers agree.
Regardless of widespread assist, many educators really feel not sure learn how to method the subject, particularly in polarized environments. Beddes famous that the majority lecturers don’t have a background in media research, and discomfort round addressing controversial subjects can result in media literacy being sidelined. The Middle for Digital Thriving gives a doable answer with sources that assist educators take a nonpartisan, student-led method, together with classroom-ready lesson plans and instructor coaching.
Construct a Tradition of Respectful Dialog
Media literacy isn’t nearly analyzing content material; it additionally requires college students to debate what they’re seeing and feeling, particularly after they disagree. “What we discover is many individuals are hesitant to share a view, particularly a view that could be within the minority in a given group,” stated Saltwick. “However with a couple of easy strategies, you possibly can actually get dialogue going to ensure all these views are heard.”
Saltwick advisable utilizing a transparent construction for these conversations. He teaches the LAPP approach — Pay attention, Acknowledge, Pivot, Perspective — as a technique to mannequin respectful disagreement and construct belief. “The tenor of the dialog modifications dramatically,” he stated. “So it’s not a battle of wills: ‘I’m proper, you’re flawed.’ It’s ‘let’s perceive.’”
Beddes agreed that construction will help college students navigate troublesome discussions. She offers sentence stems to assist them specific curiosity and reply with out escalating battle. In her classroom, she additionally makes use of the Dignity Index, a instrument that evaluates the tone of speech, to assist college students floor their arguments in mutual respect.
When media literacy conversations contact on identification, they are often significantly difficult. “False perception techniques, conspiracy theories, can fuse to individuals’s identities now. And that’s one thing that any variety of expertise can’t unwind,” stated Higgin. “That’s why I feel media literacy must not simply be about expertise—it must be about character and social-emotional studying.”
Use Actual Media, Not Hypotheticals
To be efficient, media literacy schooling should interact with the precise media college students encounter of their each day lives. Whereas there are instruments that recreate media and attempt to approximate what a newsfeed would seem like, “it may be very difficult to get one thing that feels genuine,” stated Higgin. “We have to more and more work out learn how to handle the privateness and security and maturity stage of youngsters, however get them as a lot publicity to the precise media and considering by means of the media in genuine environments as doable.” That features analyzing the social media platforms college students already use since algorithms typically current a partial view of a subject as if it’s the entire fact and should reinforce college students’ present beliefs.
To push again towards these filters, Saltwick leads an exercise referred to as Stroll a Mile in My Information, wherein college students trade the media they devour, comparable to a favourite information outlet or influencer, and replicate on the variations in perspective. Exploring information sources exterior of their normal echo chambers helps college students notice what views could be lacking from their very own sources.
Beddes supplied an identical exercise to encourage important considering and spotlight bias. She shares information articles from retailers with completely different political leanings, removes the names of the publications and authors and asks college students to guess the supply. “It’s serving to the scholars acknowledge who’s not a part of this dialog,” she stated.
Moreover, beginning small could make the work extra sustainable and extra impactful. That might imply doing a brief “media second” the place college students replicate on how a current viral submit pertains to what they’re studying in historical past or science. In accordance with Beddes, sources like The SIFT publication from the Information Literacy Mission can assist this sort of integration by offering well timed examples and evaluation of actual media.
Lecturers are sometimes hesitant to tackle media literacy as a result of it might probably really feel like one other field to verify, however Beddes says it doesn’t must be that approach. “Make media the lens by means of which you educate your material in order that it’s not simply one other factor,” she suggested.
Episode Transcript
Nimah Gobir: Welcome to Thoughts Shift, the podcast about the way forward for studying and the way we increase our youngsters. I’m Nimah Gobir. This 12 months, I went to the South by Southwest EDU convention in Austin, Texas.
Nimah Gobir: I moderated a panel all about media literacy and I obtained to speak to 3 superb people who find themselves actually fascinated about this work.
Tanner Higgin: Hey all people, I’m Tanner Higgin. I’m a senior instructional expertise researcher at WestEd which is a big and previous schooling analysis group centered on all ages and phases.
Kiera Beddes: Hello everybody, my title is Kiera Beddes. I’m a digital educating and studying specialist in Utah. Been in schooling for about 15 years.
Steve Saltwick: And my title is Steve Saltwick and I volunteer just about full time for a company referred to as Braver Angels, which is a nationwide nonprofit completely centered on bridging the political divide in all demographic areas as a result of we really feel that’s important in strengthening our democratic republic.
Nimah Gobir: Collectively, they introduced lots of perception and coronary heart to that dialog. And right now we’re sharing an excerpt of that panel. Stick with us.
Nimah Gobir: I needed to begin with a query that you just all might reply a couple of second that made you notice how essential media literacy is right now.
Steve Saltwick: Proper after the mass capturing on the Marjory Stoner Douglas, the place a number of of the scholars grew to become fairly energetic and well-known on social media. I keep in mind seeing a submit on my social feeds of these college students ripping up a duplicate of the Structure. And I’m a conservative. I imply, the Structure’s a reasonably severe doc for me. So with righteous indignation, I posted this factor. After which got here to seek out out from a number of of my buddies who posted saying that’s a faux video and it simply completely shocked me. So I withdrew, , I apologized it withdrew the submit You realize, and it made me actually assume my goodness How highly effective a video picture was of one thing like that and I fell for it instantly. I noticed I wanted to be much more mature, if you’ll, I assume in the way in which I consumed media.
Kiera Beddes: I’ve type of an identical expertise. I used to be at my nail tech and I used to be a captive viewers as a result of, , while you’re there for a few hours getting your nails performed. And she or he’d be telling me, “Oh, I noticed this factor on TikTok and isn’t that the craziest factor you’ve ever heard?” And I’d be like, “I don’t assume that’s actual.” And so one-handedly I’d be like hurriedly like googling one thing on my cellphone So I might be like this text says that’s not true or or this stuff additionally say type of the alternative and so it was this actually type of aha second that I had the place She was seeing issues and her algorithm was telling her issues that weren’t crossing my dashboard And I simply realized that like oh if she is is considering this stuff and having these conversations in her dwelling, what does that seem like in my classroom? What are my youngsters seeing and what’s impacting them? And I noticed the abilities of lateral studying, of truth checking, however even going past that to say why is it really easy to type of fall for this stuff? And in order that was my aha second. I used to be like, that is essential and we have to do extra about it.
Tanner Higgin: Yeah, it might come at this from a unique angle, which is, my educational background is extra within the media research world. And one factor I like about media literacy is that when performed properly, it type of unlocks a complete new layer of that means on the earth. The world comes alive when you begin to perceive audiovisual media and learn how to interpret it and unpack it. And the completely different techniques for understanding that by wanting on the medium itself, proper, as a part of the structure of the that means of one thing. I had some nice intro to movie professors who type of gave me this new media research and media literacy lens, tapped into the, , the entire notion of movie language, and it felt like I’d been let into this type of secret information that exists and might actually make that means in every single place you look when you faucet into it.
Nimah Gobir: Thanks. And I do wish to begin with asking you a query, Tanner, since you truly delivered to my consideration once we had been first discussing this session that media literacy has reworked all through time as a result of our world can also be altering. Just like the expertise that now we have, even previously like two years, has grown by leaps and bounds. So are you able to type of body for us the way in which that media literacy has developed over time? Perhaps even what historic tendencies have formed the way in which that we educate it right now.
Tanner Higgin: What I like about media literacy is that it type of displays tradition at the moment, however then shapes it as properly. Media literacy schooling, curiously, is a complete different factor. And it actually grows out of coverage. And coverage, as I feel everybody is aware of, particularly in schooling, typically, must get pushed. And it typically will get pushed from a standpoint of worry, I’d argue, particularly media literacy.
Tanner Higgin: You realize, these new applied sciences pop up and with it you see a brand new spark and curiosity in media literacy nevertheless it’s typically from a sense of “We have to do one thing for the kids as a result of this new expertise is horrifying and is remodeling all the things we see.” You realize, tv to web, internet publishing, eroding the entire thought of authority.
Tanner Higgin: Whereas conventional literacy, ELA type of instruction is all about like constructing bridges, opening up worlds for teenagers to love see and browse the world.
Tanner Higgin: Media literacy schooling when it will get operationalized by means of coverage is like establishing fences. Like let’s shield and filter data and let’s be sure that youngsters have that functionality—Very, crucial, nevertheless it cuts off the entire superb extraordinary points of media literacy.
Tanner Higgin: In order that’s kinda been my ardour. And the way in which I type of assume by means of media historical past, media literacy historical past is that this battle between what occurs within the media research world and what occurs within the Media Literacy Training world. And the way perhaps we may be much less reactive and extra proactive in media literacy schooling.
Nimah Gobir: I wish to convey it to Kiera, who I’m so joyful to have on this panel, as a result of I really feel like once we rise up in theories and concepts, you being at college actually brings us again all the way down to the rubber meets the street, ‘what does this seem like in school rooms?’ So are you able to perhaps speak about among the challenges that you just’re seeing with media literacy in your place in faculties?
Kiera Beddes: The most important factor that lecturers are at all times gonna say is that they want time. After which additionally, they are saying I can’t add yet another factor onto my plate. And so the issue with that although is that once we see media literacy as some type of different, then it will get left by the wayside as a result of they’re gonna concentrate on their content material.
Kiera Beddes: Whereas like I attempt to emphasize with my lecturers, media literacy isn’t one other factor, it turns into the lens by means of which you’ll educate your content material. Media literacy, when it’s performed properly, you’re not simply wanting on the movie or the message or the content material of no matter you’re , no matter media that you just’re interacting with, however you’re additionally wanting on the kind and the alternatives that had been made in manufacturing that impression the way you, the viewer, you, the patron, interacts with that media.
Nimah Gobir: Thanks, and I’m curious, Steve, when you’ve got something so as to add to that, as a result of I do know that Braver Angels is within the enterprise of making containers for higher conversations, which I feel is a giant a part of media literacy.
Steve Saltwick: What we’re centered on is the concept that everybody has a perspective and a perspective, together with the media you devour. We’ve one program referred to as Stroll a Mile in My Information. So you’re taking two individuals who have very completely different viewpoints, they usually truly change the sorts of media they devour. After which they speak about that. And so they notice, properly, wait a minute, I’m lacking issues, as a result of I’m not studying what the opposite particular person is studying, and far of this isn’t that one is true or one is flawed, it’s simply to understand the truth that others have views which can be fairly completely different from you, and when you’ve got floor guidelines that set the stage for a respectful dialog about that, you possibly can actually get to an additional appreciation of what the subject is.
Nimah Gobir: I’ve heard of different lecturers doing actions the place they’ve their college students swap telephones and undergo one another’s feeds to see what are you seeing? How is it completely different from what I’m seeing? Kiera, have you ever seen any actions which have truly been profitable in having college students notice that what I see just isn’t what all people sees?
Kiera Beddes: I’ve heard lecturers the place they may print out articles they usually take away all figuring out options of the article in order that they’re simply wanting on the language that’s used within the article. And based mostly on the phrase alternative, you possibly can type of see, oh, based mostly on how they’re speaking about this subject, you possibly can guess, is it left leaning, is true leaning? And it type of calls to thoughts the last word promise of media literacy, which is like wanting on the kind, proper? What’s the construction and the way is it used and what selections are getting used. However there’s additionally views which can be noticeably absent and it’s serving to the scholars acknowledge who’s not a part of this dialog. Simply being conscious of like, oh, there may be extra to this and the way can I’m going out and discover that lacking perspective and convey it in.
Nimah Gobir: And I wish to convey you into this too, Tanner. Are there tech instruments or ed tech instruments that may type of foster this concept that, like I could be seeing like a sure factor, however I’m conscious that there’s a greater story or a much bigger narrative on the market past what I see by myself feeds.
Tanner Higgin: Since I’d say 2016, there’s been a rising sector inside ed tech particularly centered on numerous approaches to what one may name faux information. I’m of two minds about these instruments as a result of I feel one of many difficult issues with media literacy particularly is that if the medium is the message. Then you should interact with the medium to know it. Instruments that recreate media and try to like, particularly for youthful youngsters, approximate what a newsfeed would seem like. I feel it may be very difficult to get one thing that feels genuine to them.
Tanner Higgin: My suggestion is when doable to get youngsters participating with the precise media itself. In any other case, it’s such as you’re educating movie research by having college students studying movie synopses or one thing as a substitute of wanting on the precise movie.
Tanner Higgin: I feel we have to more and more work out learn how to handle privateness and security and maturity stage of youngsters, however get them as a lot publicity to the precise media and considering by means of the media in genuine environments as doable, as a result of that’s what’s truly gonna serve them properly when they’re. You realize, perhaps sneaking some utilization of issues that we in any other case won’t approve of.
Nimah Gobir: While you had been talking, my mind snagged on, you talked about faux information and I feel even the phrases misinformation and disinformation may be type of like politically coded and might really feel a bit of bit divisive. Media literacy, I feel we talked about this too, generally is a non-partisan situation. What are some shared considerations that folks and educators throughout ideological strains can truly come collectively on?
Tanner Higgin: Yeah, I feel significantly at this second in time, it might probably really feel like in schooling, there’s no frequent floor. However media literacy is one in all, it has common assist. I feel it’s someplace round, media literacy now did a survey, like 84% of adults assume it ought to be required in school rooms. And while you ask teenagers, 94% assume it ought to be require in school rooms.
Tanner Higgin: Everybody desires youngsters to be educated, considerate, important thinkers. I imply, everybody desires that. It’s on the coronary heart of schooling, proper? Media literacy is on the core of what we would like schooling to do, which is to empower individuals to be self-determined, to assume for themselves, and to discover and interact with the world thoughtfully. There isn’t any debate round whether or not that’s essential or not.
Kiera Beddes: I’d add to that, for the common instructor, they don’t have the background of media research to then really feel comfy speaking about it of their lessons. And so it will get put onto the wayside. And so I feel it’s fascinating that we see this common want for it. However then the query is, how will we empower lecturers to do it?
Steve Saltwick: What we discover within the classroom, each in secondary faculties and college, and actually adults as properly, is that with a couple of easy strategies, you possibly can actually get dialog going to ensure all these views are heard and issues like that. I imply, so a few simply easy floor guidelines, proper, of respectful dialog, particularly physique language, so no rolling of your eyes, sighing and issues that, and simply state them is a giant deal. After which what we use is a quite simple approach referred to as LAPP for hear, acknowledge, pivot and perspective. And actually the primary factor about all of that’s that the speaker must really feel that they’re understood. So while you hear, you’re not listening to border a reply, you’re listening to know. In Texas we name it, you hear to know not reload. You realize, and so, and that’s arduous work. That’s arduous, proper? After which the pivot is to truly ask permission earlier than you share your perspective. So somebody would say, I hear you. That is what, , there’s a component I agree with. On the very least, you possibly can say, it’s clearly an emotional subject for you. After which alongside, one thing alongside the strains of, I’ve been doing a little studying on this, or I’ve seen some issues on this. Would you thoughts if I share my perspective? After which if the opposite particular person says, positive, properly then you definitely now have permission to share a differing perspective. And that’s dealt with in a different way than if the primary reply you may have is let me let you know my perspective, let me you what the reality is, proper? That’s gonna be resisted. We discover that as an amazingly highly effective approach to make use of in these discussions.
Nimah Gobir: It appears like that course of slows down the dialog in a approach the place it’s not as reactive. And that looks like a very essential part of a dialog not type of devolving into, I don’t know, finger pointing or speaking previous one another.
Steve Saltwick: What we discover is many individuals are hesitant to share a view, particularly a view that could be within the minority in a given group, proper? And in the event that they really feel heard, if somebody says what you’re saying is blah, proper, whether or not you agree with blah or not, proper. However I now really feel heard. Then there’s all kinds of belief that begins being constructed. There’s all kinds of personalization that begins being constructed. And the tenor of the dialog modifications dramatically. So it’s not a battle of wills. “I’m proper, you’re flawed.” It’s “Let’s perceive one another” as a result of each of us most likely missed one thing in understanding this difficult factor, no matter it’s, proper?
Nimah Gobir: And I’m wondering, that is perhaps one thing that Steve, you, and perhaps Kiera, you as properly, can weigh in on. I do really feel like once we get into issues which can be associated to perhaps identification, social identification, issues which can be seen as values or like near personhood, these can get actually, actually emotional very quick they usually’re type of unwieldy. It may be arduous, I’d assume as an educator, to facilitate these conversations, and I do know it’s actually arduous to be in these conversations. Do you may have any methods for, it appears like LAPP might work for one thing like that. Are there another stuff you’ve discovered that work?
Kiera Beddes: One in every of my favorites, and it sounds so easy, however having sentence stems obtainable for college students… I’ve seen elementary college lecturers by means of center and highschool, while you’re going to have a dialog, and if it’s going to be a couple of heated subject, you may have type of these sentence starters of like, okay, I see the place you’re coming from, or that is my perspective, or. And there’s like a complete checklist of them. However I feel it helps give college students a framework for having a dialog, proper? And I beloved what you stated about slowing the dialog down as a result of lots of what we see on-line is individuals share instantly out of sturdy emotion, proper, both anger or worry or regardless of the case could also be. And so slowing down the response and actually getting at “why do I react this manner? Why am I feeling this manner?”
Steve Saltwick: One factor we’ve discovered with Braver Angels is that the significance of construction, proper? So we may have some easy floor guidelines and there’s additionally a transparent construction to the dialog. You realize, right here’s what we’re doing, right here is how we’re going to do it, , right here’s some quite simple floor roles nevertheless it’s not only a free for all of all people leaping in, speaking over each other, all of that. By having floor guidelines and a construction to the dialog, you create a a lot open area for individuals to share their concepts.
Nimah Gobir: Tanner, was there something you needed so as to add to that?
Tanner Higgin: I’m actually struck by this notion of identification and values and the way it comes into play within the interpretation of media and the way we obtain it and perceive it and what we cling to. And one factor I’ve actually been doing lots of fascinated about is like, I image this as a comparatively trendy phenomenon, I feel spurred by social media and the way as a medium, situations tradition in a approach, the place false beliefs, false perception techniques, conspiracy theories, can fuse to individuals’s identities now. And that’s one thing that any variety of expertise can’t unwind.
Tanner Higgin: You may educate individuals in that place the entire media literacy expertise on the earth and Dana Boyd had an amazing discuss on this, titled, “Did Media Literacy Backfire?” as a result of she was observing how in a few of these communities, important considering expertise get utilized. They only go the flawed approach. However I imagine, I hypothesize, that to untether false perception from identification takes humility. And that’s in very quick provide on the earth of social media. We’re virtually conditioned towards it. And other people with false beliefs which can be tethered to their identification, it turns into like their total world can come crumbling down if they’re to take a unique view.
Tanner Higgin: And that’s why I feel media literacy must not simply be about expertise, it must be about character. And social-emotional studying and that I haven’t seen many approaches that basically take that severely. I feel there are some however I feel much more work to be performed and there’s lots of analysis to be performed in perhaps proving me right or half right or fully false.
Nimah Gobir: That does make me consider, Kiera, you posed a query while you had been answering a query earlier, which was lecturers should be type of empowered to type of tackle media literacy. And from what Tanner stated, it’s type of a tall order. What do you assume lecturers have to get that work began?
Kiera Beddes: My reply to that is at all times to begin small, as a result of I don’t wish to overwhelm lecturers, however I do wish to begin, proper? Discover a path and head in that path. The sources, The SIFT from the information literacy venture, so it’s a publication they put out every week. In it, they’ve rumor guard the place they take a viral piece of media they usually break down why it went viral and what was true and what’s false and type of serving to reinforce these expertise. That we would like our college students to realize.
Kiera Beddes: And I feel one thing so simple as a media second, proper? The place a instructor might be a classroom starter, it might be an exit ticket, it might something that you just simply have two minutes, three minutes, pop up a chunk of media, and this may be something, proper, as a result of textual content may be very broadly based mostly. However then you may have your college students apply these expertise, you’re reinforcing these expertise. And as a instructor, you don’t must have a level in media analyzes, however you’re serving to them break down not solely what are they seeing, like what’s the content material, however you additionally ask them questions on the way it was created and what’s that means behind how it’s created.
Nimah Gobir: MindShift is all about options. I feel it’s straightforward to get type of mired within the work that must be performed. However I’m questioning, for all three of you, for those who can share an instance of somebody who’s doing this work properly, whether or not it’s a company or an expertise that you just’ve had the place it’s gone actually positively. You bought one, Steve?
Steve Saltwick: Nicely, I’d say Braver Angels, proper? I imply, what a layup, okay, proper, however I actually know one factor that strikes me about Braver Angels. It began in 2016 the place a bunch of Trump voters and a bunch Hillary voters obtained very frightened concerning the state of the nation and it was all adults, right-typically retired adults and all of that. After which subsequently has branched out to school campuses, excessive faculties, some center faculties. And we do workshops, and I’ve moderated a lot of these workshops. I’ve most likely seen about 100 workshops, and doubtless 20%, 30% of them have been in the highschool and school space. What at all times strikes me is de facto unbelievable is the thirst that I see in college students to have actual conversations about this.
Kiera Beddes: I’ve two that got here to thoughts. One is similar to the work that Braver Angels is doing, so the Dignity Index, they’ve developed this rating scale of public speech and whether or not or not it provides dignity to the those who they’re speaking about, which is an interesting approach of how we speak about different individuals, particularly individuals we disagree with.
Kiera Beddes: You may have a look at articles, you possibly can have a look at speech, you may as well have a look at conversations between college students, proper? What sort of dignity are you providing the opposite particular person and the way are you validating their perspective? In order that’s one.
Kiera Beddes: The second and I’m not simply saying this however I actually imagine this: KQED educate has a complete bunch of mini programs for educators about this very subject. One is learn how to educate college students how to take a look at the shape and learn how to analyze media and the way did have a look at bias and And learn how to like share their views, which is nice. That’s type of the again finish, the speculation behind media literacy. However then in addition they provide very sensible, like, that is learn how to do video initiatives in your class. That is how do picture initiatives in our class. Such as you study the speculation and then you definitely apply it and I find it irresistible. So these are my two.
Nimah Gobir: We didn’t pay Kiera to say that.
Kiera Beddes: I actually find it irresistible a lot.
Tanner Higgin: I’ll level to the Middle for Digital Thriving out of Harvard, I feel, is doing a little actually path-breaking work round digital well-being particularly, which I feel is an more and more essential a part of media literacy, is getting college students to replicate on the presence of smartphones of their lives and to assume critically about it and resolve for themselves what function it ought to serve and if it’s serving these functions.
Tanner Higgin: And to that finish, that analysis group on the Middle for Digital Thriving developed an exercise that’s rooted in Harvard’s long-term Mission Zero Pondering Routines framework, like actual easy pedagogical strikes anybody can apply to only about any studying state of affairs. And so they’ve developed one in all these referred to as The Worth Type, the place you get college students to select from a giant board of values which of them type of symbolize them, like which of them they maintain actually pricey. After which you should use that as a type of important lens to use to absolutely anything within the media world.
Tanner Higgin: So their instance is utilizing that worth type to get college students to consider their utilization of smartphones, observe like what they’re doing on their smartphones, after which go, hey, keep in mind these values that you just maintain pricey? Like how are these being represented in that exercise or not, proper? And I feel that’s a approach of. Of offering college students with a very fascinating lens to ensure that like what they’re consuming and doing is in standing with what they really imagine and their picture of themselves. And I feel that’s like, to me that’s an image of the way forward for media literacy is that this merging of conventional important considering expertise with values and character-based schooling.
Nimah Gobir: Can we give a spherical of applause to our panelists?
Nimah Gobir: That was Tanner Higgin, Kiera Bettes, and Steve Saltwick on the SXSW EDU Convention in Austin, Texas.
