Education Commons^™

Addressing Conspiracy Theories Through Media And Data Literacy Education. An Exploratory Case Study, Francesco Fabbro, Elena Gabbi

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Lately conspiracy theories (CT) are increasingly hovering over Education Studies, mostly as problems in search of a solution. This paper problematizes this educational solutionist discourse by reflecting critically on different framing of CT (i.e. epistemological and ethico-political) and some related educational responses, ranging from pre/debunking strategies to democratic discussion. In addition, Media Data Literacy Education (MDLE) is presented as a viable educational approach to address CT circulating onlife. The approach is empirically explored through an online workshop with a small group of social workers attending a course for socio-pedagogical educators at the University of Florence. A qualitative mixed methodology is …

Media Literacy In Public Education: A Mixed-Method Exploration, Jessica Wyers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

You have to know where you are to know where you’re going. This is the approach I attempt to take to understand next steps in media literacy education and policy. Little research has been done to understand the current state of media literacy education, what is actually happening in the classrooms and education system, to better judge more intentional interventions in the future.

This dissertation explores the current issues in media literacy education in our public schools. I combine the strengths of a qualitative investigation of published public school media literacy curricula with survey data measuring the perceptions of students’ …

A Pedagogy Of Consilience And Renewal, Carolyn Calloway-Thomas

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This essay calls for a pedagogy of consilience and renewal as a dynamic fusion of research and practices in order to provide a more coherent way of examining some of the keen, interlaced variables that trouble the academy and society. The project challenges scholars to study five key scholarship of learning variables that should help transform the way we look at pedagogy for the betterment of North American society and beyond. The variables—a quintile—are knowledge, geography, critical thinking, civic engagement, and empathy.

Critical Analysis Of Critical Thinking, Jim Potter

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study provides an analysis of how the term “critical thinking” has been defined by authors of articles published in the Journal of Media Literacy Education. It provides answers to three questions: (1) How frequently is the term “critical thinking” mentioned by scholars who write about media literacy?; (2) In what ways do scholars convey the meaning of the term?; and (3) To what extent is the term presented with a consistent meaning? While the term “critical thinking” appeared in more than half of the articles examined, there was a great variety in the way authors presented their meanings …

Critical Thinking As A Pedagogical Approach: Using Critical/Cultural Studies To Analyze Music Videos, Lukas John Pelliccio, Timothy Brown

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

Teaching undergraduate students how to critically analyze a text is an important experience. However, it is not easy to do this because readings are often dense, and the process of writing and presenting a critique can be challenging for some students. In light of this, we have developed an assignment where students critically analyze music videos for their ideologies. In the assignment, students select three specific overt or latent content pieces from a music video and explain how those manifestations influence a particular ideology in a paper. Then they are asked to show the music video to their peers and …

Exploring Adolescents’ Critical Thinking Aptitudes When Reading About Science In The News, Marianne Bissonnette, Pierre Chastenay, Chantal Francoeur

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This research studies the critical thinking skills of six teenagers in their final years of high school. It looks at the way those students use a set of cognitive skills in order to analyze scientific and pseudoscientific information available in online news articles. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six students chosen according to their results in a questionnaire about interest in science topics. Results show a large gap between participants’ use of critical thinking skills. Most of these skills were mainly used for text comprehension, evoking general knowledge, numeracy, arguments assessment and production, and life skills (open-mindedness and metacognition). The …

Media And Information Literate Citizens: Think Critically, Click Wisely!, Alton Grizzle, Carolyn Wilson, Ramon Tuazon, Chi Kim Cheung, Jesus Lau, Rachel Fischer, Dorothy Gordon, Kwame Akyempong, Jagtar Singh, Paul R. Carr, Kristine N. Stewart, Samy Tayie, Olunifesi Suraj, Maarit Jaakkola, Gina Thésée, Curmira Gulston

All Works

Can we improve our societies by clicking wisely?

Content providers such as libraries, archives, museums, media and digital communications companies can enable inclusive and sustainable development. However, they do not always live up to these ideals, which creates challenges for the users of these services. Content providers of all types open up new opportunities for lifelong learning. But at the same time, they open up challenges such as misinformation and disinformation, hate speech, and infringement of online privacy, among others.

Media and information literacy is a set of competencies that help people to maximize advantages and minimize harms. Media and …

Explicit Teaching Of Critical Thinking Skills In Communication Science And Disorders, Dana Battaglia

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Critical thinking requires one to be abstract, continually raise questions, independently obtain and reviews evidence, and converge these experiences to offer open-minded solutions. These same traits are required for speech-language pathology students to become successful clinicians. This work describes a mixed method investigation of explicit and infused instruction of critical thinking skills in the context of one graduate-level course in a program accredited from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. While quantitative findings only demonstrate significant positive change on select items using a Likert scale, qualitative data describe deep learning and growth in the areas of broad life-impact, expansion of knowledge, …

More Than A Leadership Position, Kainoa Cuttitta

Student Engagement Posters

Kanoia Cuttitta discusses student engagement at Linfield College with regard to her involvement in ASLC (the Associated Students of Linfield College).

Design For Living Complexities, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers in Critical, Creative and Reflective Practice

Lectures from a 12-session course that addresses the intersection of design with critical thinking. Design in this course means intentionality in construction, which involves a range of materials, a sequence of steps, and principles that inform the choice of materials and the steps. Design also always involves putting people, as well as materials, into place. This happens by working with the known properties of people, as well as the known properties of material, and trying out new arrangements to work around their constraints (at least temporarily). Critical thinking, as I define it, involves understanding ideas and practices better when we …

The Basic Communication Course And A University-Wide Critical Thinking Pedagogy Program, Brent Kice

Basic Communication Course Annual

This Basic Course Forum highlights authors’ responses to the following topics: What curricular programs present the best opportunity for curricular connections to the basic course? Building upon conversations from the July 2018 Basic Course Institute (hosted by University of Dayton), what administrative successes and challenges do basic course directors face?

Infusing Critical Thinking Into Communication Courses, James P. Dimock, Kristen P. Treinen, Daniel Cronn-Mills, Robert S. Jersak

Daniel Cronn-Mills, Ph.D.

The importance of critical thinking is generally recognized by educators and during the past 20 years numerous initiatives have been taken to improve critical thinking. Although research demonstrates courses in communication study can have a positive impact on critical thinking skills, we argue that instruction in critical thinking can be more explicitly covered in basic communication courses. This article details our efforts to infuse critical thinking into an entrylevel communication course and outlines a guide to help communication teachers integrate critical thinking into their courses.

Infusing Critical Thinking Into Communication Courses, James P. Dimock, Kristen P. Treinen, Daniel Cronn-Mills, Robert S. Jersak

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The importance of critical thinking is generally recognized by educators and during the past 20 years numerous initiatives have been taken to improve critical thinking. Although research demonstrates courses in communication study can have a positive impact on critical thinking skills, we argue that instruction in critical thinking can be more explicitly covered in basic communication courses. This article details our efforts to infuse critical thinking into an entrylevel communication course and outlines a guide to help communication teachers integrate critical thinking into their courses.

“Media Violence Is Made To Attract And Entertain People”: Responses To Media Literacy Lessons On The Effects Of And Institutional Motives Behind Media Violence, Laras Sekarasih, Kimberly R. Walsh, Erica Scharrer

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study investigated the following research question: How do sixth-graders respond to a media literacy lesson that was designed to, among other goals, introduce the concept of the presence of commercial interest in media production, particularly regarding the prevalence of media violence? Forty-seven responses were analyzed thematically using constant comparison. Students’ responses illustrate their critical thinking and understanding about producers’ intent in including violence in media, although recognizing the commercial interest behind media violence still seems to be a challenge. Findings also suggest the task of striking a balance between instilling critical thinking skills and acknowledging children’s personal media experiences.

Cognitive Effects Of Argument Visualization Tools, Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Michael H.G. Hoffmann

External representations play a crucial role in learning. At the same time, cognitive load theory suggests that the possibility of learning depends on limited resources of the working memory and on cognitive load imposed by instructional design and representation tools. Both these observations motivate a critical look at Computer-Supported Argument Visualization (CSAV) tools that are supposed to facilitate learning. This paper uses cognitive load theory to compare the cognitive efficacy of RationaleTM 2 and AGORA.

Argument Construction, Argument Evaluation, And Decision-Making: A Content Analysis Of Argumentation And Debate Textbooks, Neil Stuart Butt

Wayne State University Dissertations

Critical thinking abilities, especially the advanced critical thinking abilities required for decision-making, are important to both individuals and democratic policy making processes. Previous studies have indicated that argumentation and debate instruction can improve critical thinking abilities, but there are reasons to believe that current approaches are not as effective at developing decision-making ability as they could be, in part because they focus too heavily on argument construction, rather than argument evaluation and decision-making. In order to test which approaches to teaching argumentation and debate best encourage decision-making abilities, researchers need to know which elements are included in current argumentation and …