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193
Teachers can encourage critical reflection on identity in a variety of ways.
One method I observed in the CMS classrooms that appeared to be a powerful
teaching tool was modeling the practice of self-expression desired of the students.
For example, as I mentioned in chapter three, the class discussion about the
American Dream (in relation to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech) was disastrous until
Mr. Davidson told the students his own story of immigration. Similarly, both he and
Ms. Abel showed the class the poems and artwork they had created at a professional
development workshop related to the Muchos Somos/We are Many exercise. In both
of these cases, flattening the hierarchy in the classroom and modeling the critical
skills desired of students assisted them in incorporating critical analysis into their
projects.
For children with learning disabilities, the processes of media production can
be difficult to understand and manage. Kids like Justin, for example, who have
difficulty controlling their attention, may have trouble getting started on projects or
may find it difficult to transition away from projects they are enjoying. Both of these
elements were difficult for Justin, but were managed by breaking down the project
into small goals. In this way, Justin could accomplish a small goal on a project that
was difficult to start or manage. He also started each project with a defined end point
for each goal, which helped him pull away from projects he found preoccupying. As
was evident in both of Mr. Davidson and Ms. Abel’s classes, the media production
projects were very motivating for kids who were generally disengaged from school.
Throughout the year, both teachers remarked to me on the improved attendance and
Object Description
| Title | Kids as cultural producers: consumption, literacy, and participation |
| Author | Stephenson, Rebecca Herr |
| Author email | rherr@usc.edu; bhs@hri.uci.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Communication |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-25 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-17 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Banet-Weiser, Sarah |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Gross, Larry Seiter, Ellen |
| Abstract | This dissertation looks closely at the practice of digital media production within a group of special education students and their teachers. Using ethnographic methods of extended participant observation and semi-structured interviews with students, teachers, and parents, along with textual analysis of students' media projects, this work examines the types of learning that emerge from making media at school and the ways in which that learning relates to media and technology use in everyday life. Over the course of one school year (2005-2006), the students who are the focus of this dissertation undertook eight different multimedia production projects, ranging from designing PowerPoint presentations to digital video production and stop-motion animation. Through media production, the students found opportunities to practice traditional and digital literacy skills as well as to explore issues of identity and self-expression.; This dissertation provides empirical support for recommendations made by several media literacy scholars to include media production as part of critical media literacy curricula and contributes a unique case study -- one situated in special education -- to a growing body of work on digital literacy. Three interdisciplinary themes--consumption, literacy, and participation -- are used to organize the description and analysis of the students' media production activities. These themes connect the specific production that took place in the classroom to larger discourses about youth, media, technology, education, and access, working to complicate existing constructions of young people as either helpless victims of manipulative media or naturally savvy media and technology users. Instead, this research emphasizes that the relationships kids have with media and technology are complex, dynamic, intrinsically linked to their identities as consumers and participants in society. Media literacy is thus theorized as a tool for understanding and controlling consumption, participation, and the construction of young people as both current and future citizens. |
| Keyword | media literacy; media production; special education; middle school; digital media |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | Los Angeles |
| Coverage date | 2005/2006 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1674 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Stephenson, Rebecca Herr |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Stephenson-2393 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume29/etd-Stephenson-2393.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 198 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 193 Teachers can encourage critical reflection on identity in a variety of ways. One method I observed in the CMS classrooms that appeared to be a powerful teaching tool was modeling the practice of self-expression desired of the students. For example, as I mentioned in chapter three, the class discussion about the American Dream (in relation to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech) was disastrous until Mr. Davidson told the students his own story of immigration. Similarly, both he and Ms. Abel showed the class the poems and artwork they had created at a professional development workshop related to the Muchos Somos/We are Many exercise. In both of these cases, flattening the hierarchy in the classroom and modeling the critical skills desired of students assisted them in incorporating critical analysis into their projects. For children with learning disabilities, the processes of media production can be difficult to understand and manage. Kids like Justin, for example, who have difficulty controlling their attention, may have trouble getting started on projects or may find it difficult to transition away from projects they are enjoying. Both of these elements were difficult for Justin, but were managed by breaking down the project into small goals. In this way, Justin could accomplish a small goal on a project that was difficult to start or manage. He also started each project with a defined end point for each goal, which helped him pull away from projects he found preoccupying. As was evident in both of Mr. Davidson and Ms. Abel’s classes, the media production projects were very motivating for kids who were generally disengaged from school. Throughout the year, both teachers remarked to me on the improved attendance and |
