Whereas media literacy can appear politically charged, its core targets are broadly shared. Phrases like “faux information” or “misinformation” could elevate alarms, however “everybody desires children to be educated, considerate, vital thinkers,” mentioned Higgin. He cited information from Media Literacy Now that mentioned 84% of surveyed adults consider media literacy needs to be a required a part of faculty, whereas a examine from the Information Literacy Undertaking discovered that 94% of teenagers agree.
Regardless of widespread help, many educators really feel not sure the best way to method the subject, particularly in polarized environments. Beddes famous that almost all lecturers don’t have a background in media research, and discomfort round addressing controversial matters can result in media literacy being sidelined. The Heart for Digital Thriving gives a attainable answer with sources that assist educators take a nonpartisan, student-led method, together with classroom-ready lesson plans and trainer 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 once they disagree. “What we discover is many individuals are hesitant to share a view, particularly a view that is likely to be within the minority in a given group,” mentioned Saltwick. “However with a couple of easy strategies, you may actually get an excellent dialogue going to ensure all these views are heard.”
Saltwick really useful utilizing a transparent construction for these conversations. He teaches the LAPP method — Hear, Acknowledge, Pivot, Perspective — as a strategy to mannequin respectful disagreement and construct belief. “The tenor of the dialog modifications dramatically,” he mentioned. “So it’s not a battle of wills: ‘I’m proper, you’re flawed.’ It’s ‘let’s perceive.’”
Beddes agreed that construction may also help college students navigate tough discussions. She supplies 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 device that evaluates the tone of speech, to assist college students floor their arguments in mutual respect.
When media literacy conversations contact on id, they are often significantly difficult. “False perception programs, conspiracy theories, can fuse to folks’s identities now. And that’s one thing that any variety of abilities can’t unwind,” mentioned Higgin. “That’s why I believe media literacy must not simply be about abilities—it must be about character and social-emotional studying.”
Use Actual Media, Not Hypotheticals
To be efficient, media literacy training should interact with the precise media college students encounter of their every day lives. Whereas there are instruments that recreate media and attempt to approximate what a newsfeed would appear to be, “it may be very difficult to get one thing that feels genuine,” mentioned Higgin. “We have to more and more work out the best way to handle the privateness and security and maturity degree of children, however get them as a lot publicity to the precise media and considering by the media in genuine environments as attainable.” 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 reality and will reinforce college students’ current beliefs.
To push again towards these filters, Saltwick leads an exercise known as Stroll a Mile in My Information, through which college students trade the media they devour, corresponding to a favourite information outlet or influencer, and replicate on the variations in perspective. Exploring information sources exterior of their traditional echo chambers helps college students notice what views is likely to be lacking from their very own sources.
Beddes supplied an analogous exercise to encourage vital considering and spotlight bias. She shares information articles from retailers with totally 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 mentioned.
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 publish pertains to what they’re studying in historical past or science. In line with Beddes, sources like The SIFT publication from the Information Literacy Undertaking can help 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 could really feel like one other field to verify, however Beddes says it doesn’t need to be that approach. “Make media the lens by which you train your subject material in order that it isn’t 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 elevate our youngsters. I’m Nimah Gobir. This yr, 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 wonderful people who find themselves actually fascinated by this work.
Tanner Higgin: Hey everyone, I’m Tanner Higgin. I’m a senior academic expertise researcher at WestEd which is a big and previous training analysis group targeted on all ages and phases.
Kiera Beddes: Hello everybody, my identify is Kiera Beddes. I’m a digital educating and studying specialist in Utah. Been in training for about 15 years.
Steve Saltwick: And my identify is Steve Saltwick and I volunteer just about full time for a corporation known as Braver Angels, which is a nationwide nonprofit completely targeted 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 quite a lot of perception and coronary heart to that dialog. And immediately we’re sharing an excerpt of that panel. Stick with us.
Nimah Gobir: I wished to start out with a query that you just all may reply a couple of second that made you notice how necessary media literacy is immediately.
Steve Saltwick: Proper after the mass capturing on the Marjory Stoner Douglas, the place a number of of the scholars turned fairly energetic and well-known on social media. I bear in mind seeing a publish on my social feeds of these college students ripping up a replica of the Structure. And I’m a conservative. I imply, the Structure’s a fairly critical doc for me. So with righteous indignation, I posted this factor. After which got here to search out out from a number of of my associates who posted saying that’s a faux video and it simply completely surprised me. So I withdrew, you realize, I apologized it withdrew the publish 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 spotted I wanted to be much more mature, if you’ll, I assume in the best way I consumed media.
Kiera Beddes: I’ve type of an analogous expertise. I used to be at my nail tech and I used to be a captive viewers as a result of, you realize, if you’re there for a few hours getting your nails achieved. And he or she’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 other 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 house, what does that appear to be in my classroom? What are my children seeing and what’s impacting them? And I spotted the talents of lateral studying, of reality 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 necessary and we have to do extra about it.
Tanner Higgin: Yeah, it might come at this from a special angle, which is, my tutorial background is extra within the media research world. And one factor I like about media literacy is that when achieved effectively, it kind of unlocks an entire new layer of which means on the earth. The world comes alive when you begin to perceive audiovisual media and the best way to interpret it and unpack it. And the totally different programs for understanding that by wanting on the medium itself, proper, as a part of the structure of the which means of one thing. I had some nice intro to movie professors who kind of gave me this new media research and media literacy lens, tapped into the, you realize, the entire notion of movie language, and it felt like I’d been let into this kind of secret information that exists and may actually make which 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 dropped at my consideration after we had been first discussing this session that media literacy has remodeled all through time as a result of our world can be altering. Just like the expertise that we’ve got, even prior to now like two years, has grown by leaps and bounds. So are you able to type of body for us the best way that media literacy has developed over time? Possibly even what historic traits have formed the best way that we train it immediately.
Tanner Higgin: What I like about media literacy is that it type of displays tradition at the moment, however then shapes it as effectively. Media literacy training, curiously, is an entire different factor. And it actually grows out of coverage. And coverage, as I believe everybody is aware of, particularly in training, typically, must get pushed. And it typically will get pushed from a standpoint of worry, I might 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 but it surely’s typically from a sense of “We have to do one thing for the kids as a result of this new expertise is frightening and is reworking every thing we see.” You realize, tv to web, internet publishing, eroding the entire concept 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 skim the world.
Tanner Higgin: Media literacy training when it will get operationalized by coverage is like establishing fences. Like let’s defend and filter data and let’s be certain children have that functionality—Very, crucial, but it surely cuts off the entire wonderful extraordinary facets of media literacy.
Tanner Higgin: In order that’s kinda been my ardour. And the best way I kind of assume by 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 Schooling world. And the way perhaps we could be much less reactive and extra proactive in media literacy training.
Nimah Gobir: I wish to convey it to Kiera, who I’m so completely happy to have on this panel, as a result of I really feel like after we stand up in theories and concepts, you being in school actually brings us again right down to the rubber meets the street, ‘what does this appear to be in school rooms?’ So are you able to perhaps discuss a few of the challenges that you just’re seeing with media literacy in your place in colleges?
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 after we see media literacy as some kind 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 which you’ll train your content material. Media literacy, when it’s achieved effectively, 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 type 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, you probably have 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 believe is an enormous a part of media literacy.
Steve Saltwick: What we’re targeted on is the concept everybody has a perspective and a viewpoint, together with the media you devour. Now we have one program known as Stroll a Mile in My Information. So you are taking two individuals who have very totally different viewpoints, they usually truly change the sorts of media they devour. After which they discuss that. And so they notice, effectively, wait a minute, I’m lacking issues, as a result of I’m not studying what the opposite individual 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 totally different from you, and you probably have floor guidelines that set the stage for a respectful dialog about that, you may actually get to an extra 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 totally 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 isn’t what everyone sees?
Kiera Beddes: I’ve heard lecturers the place they’ll 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 primarily based on the phrase selection, you may type of see, oh, primarily based on how they’re speaking about this subject, you may 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 type, proper? What’s the construction and the way is it used and what decisions 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 produce 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 is likely to 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 might say 2016, there’s been a rising sector inside ed tech particularly targeted on numerous approaches to what one would possibly name faux information. I’m of two minds about these instruments as a result of I believe one of many tough issues with media literacy particularly is that if the medium is the message. Then you have to interact with the medium to know it. Instruments that recreate media and try to like, particularly for youthful children, approximate what a newsfeed would appear to be. I believe it may be very difficult to get one thing that feels genuine to them.
Tanner Higgin: My suggestion is when attainable to get children partaking 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 believe we have to more and more work out the best way to handle privateness and security and maturity degree of children, however get them as a lot publicity to the precise media and considering by the media in genuine environments as attainable, as a result of that’s what’s truly gonna serve them effectively when they’re. You realize, perhaps sneaking some utilization of issues that we in any other case may not approve of.
Nimah Gobir: While you had been talking, my mind snagged on, you talked about faux information and I believe even the phrases misinformation and disinformation could be type of like politically coded and may really feel a bit bit divisive. Media literacy, I believe we talked about this too, could be a non-partisan challenge. What are some shared issues that folks and educators throughout ideological traces can truly come collectively on?
Tanner Higgin: Yeah, I believe significantly at this second in time, it could really feel like in training, there’s no widespread floor. However media literacy is certainly one of, it has common help. I believe it’s someplace round, media literacy now did a survey, like 84% of adults assume it needs to be required in school rooms. And if you ask teenagers, 94% assume it needs to be require in school rooms.
Tanner Higgin: Everybody desires children to be educated, considerate, vital thinkers. I imply, everybody desires that. It’s on the coronary heart of training, proper? Media literacy is on the core of what we wish training to do, which is to empower folks to be self-determined, to assume for themselves, and to discover and have interaction with the world thoughtfully. There isn’t a debate round whether or not that’s necessary or not.
Kiera Beddes: I might add to that, for the typical trainer, they don’t have the background of media research to then really feel snug speaking about it of their courses. And so it will get put onto the wayside. And so I believe it’s attention-grabbing that we see this common want for it. However then the query is, how can we empower lecturers to do it?
Steve Saltwick: What we discover within the classroom, each in secondary colleges and college, and actually adults as effectively, is that with a couple of easy strategies, you may actually get an excellent 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 an enormous deal. After which what we use is a quite simple method known as LAPP for pay attention, acknowledge, pivot and perspective. And actually the principle factor about all of that’s that the speaker must really feel that they’re understood. So if you pay attention, you’re not listening to border a reply, you’re listening to know. In Texas we name it, you pay attention to know not reload. You realize, and so, and that’s exhausting work. That’s exhausting, proper? After which the pivot is to really ask permission earlier than you share your perspective. So somebody would say, I hear you. That is what, you realize, there’s a component I agree with. On the very least, you may say, it’s clearly an emotional subject for you. After which alongside, one thing alongside the traces of, you realize 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 individual says, certain, effectively you then now have permission to share a differing perspective. And that’s dealt with in a different way than if the primary reply you have got is let me inform you my perspective, let me you what the reality is, proper? That’s gonna be resisted. We discover that as an amazingly highly effective method to make use of in these discussions.
Nimah Gobir: It feels like that course of slows down the dialog in a approach the place it’s not as reactive. And that looks like a extremely necessary element 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 is likely to 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 types of belief that begins being constructed. There’s all types 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 in all probability missed one thing in understanding this difficult factor, no matter it’s, proper?
Nimah Gobir: And I ponder, that is perhaps one thing that Steve, you, and perhaps Kiera, you as effectively, can weigh in on. I do really feel like after we get into issues which can be associated to perhaps id, social id, 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 exhausting, I might assume as an educator, to facilitate these conversations, and I do know it’s actually exhausting to be in these conversations. Do you have got any methods for, it feels like LAPP may work for one thing like that. Are there every other stuff you’ve discovered that work?
Kiera Beddes: Certainly one of my favorites, and it sounds so easy, however having sentence stems obtainable for college students… I’ve seen elementary faculty lecturers by center and highschool, if you’re going to have a dialog, and if it’s going to be a couple of heated subject, you have got 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 an entire checklist of them. However I believe it helps give college students a framework for having a dialog, proper? And I cherished what you mentioned about slowing the dialog down as a result of quite a lot of what we see on-line is folks share instantly out of robust 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 could 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, you realize, right here’s some quite simple floor roles but it surely’s not only a free for all of everyone 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 house for folks to share their concepts.
Nimah Gobir: Tanner, was there something you wished so as to add to that?
Tanner Higgin: I’m actually struck by this notion of id 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 quite a lot of fascinated by is like, I image this as a comparatively trendy phenomenon, I believe spurred by social media and the way as a medium, circumstances tradition in a approach, the place false beliefs, false perception programs, conspiracy theories, can fuse to folks’s identities now. And that’s one thing that any variety of abilities can’t unwind.
Tanner Higgin: You may train folks in that place the entire media literacy abilities on the earth and Dana Boyd had an amazing speak on this, titled, “Did Media Literacy Backfire?” as a result of she was observing how in a few of these communities, vital considering abilities get utilized. They simply go the flawed approach. However I consider, I hypothesize, that to untether false perception from id takes humility. And that’s in very brief provide on the earth of social media. We’re virtually conditioned towards it. And folks with false beliefs which can be tethered to their id, it turns into like their total world can come crumbling down if they’re to take a special view.
Tanner Higgin: And that’s why I believe media literacy must not simply be about abilities, it must be about character. And social-emotional studying and that I haven’t seen many approaches that actually take that critically. I believe there are some however I believe much more work to be achieved and there’s quite a lot of analysis to be achieved in perhaps proving me right or half right or fully false.
Nimah Gobir: That does make me consider, Kiera, you posed a query if you had been answering a query earlier, which was lecturers have to be type of empowered to type of tackle media literacy. And from what Tanner mentioned, 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 start out 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 mission, 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 abilities. That we wish our college students to realize.
Kiera Beddes: And I believe one thing so simple as a media second, proper? The place a trainer might be a classroom starter, it might be an exit ticket, it may something that you just simply have two minutes, three minutes, pop up a bit of media, and this may be something, proper, as a result of textual content could be very broadly primarily based. However then you have got your college students apply these abilities, you’re reinforcing these abilities. And as a trainer, you don’t need to 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 which means behind how it’s created.
Nimah Gobir: MindShift is all about options. I believe it’s simple to get type of mired within the work that must be achieved. However I’m questioning, for all three of you, should you can share an instance of somebody who’s doing this work effectively, whether or not it’s a corporation or an expertise that you just’ve had the place it’s gone actually positively. You bought one, Steve?
Steve Saltwick: Effectively, I might say Braver Angels, proper? I imply, what a layup, okay, proper, however I definitely 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 varsity campuses, excessive colleges, some center colleges. And we do workshops, and I’ve moderated a lot of these workshops. I’ve in all probability seen about 100 workshops, and possibly 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 people who they’re speaking about, which is a captivating approach of how we discuss different folks, particularly folks we disagree with.
Kiera Beddes: You may have a look at articles, you may have a look at speech, you may also have a look at conversations between college students, proper? What sort of dignity are you providing the opposite individual 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 truthfully consider this: KQED train has an entire bunch of mini programs for educators about this very subject. One is the best way to train college students how to have a look at the shape and the best way to analyze media and the way did have a look at bias and And the best way 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 supply very sensible, like, that is the best way to do video tasks in your class. That is how do picture tasks in our class. Such as you study the speculation and you then 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 truthfully find it irresistible a lot.
Tanner Higgin: I’ll level to the Heart for Digital Thriving out of Harvard, I believe, is doing a little actually path-breaking work round digital well-being particularly, which I believe is an more and more necessary 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 determine 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 Heart for Digital Thriving developed an exercise that’s rooted in Harvard’s long-term Undertaking Zero Considering Routines framework, like actual easy pedagogical strikes anybody can apply to simply about any studying state of affairs. And so they’ve developed certainly one of these known as The Worth Type, the place you get college students to select from an enormous board of values which of them type of signify them, like which of them they maintain actually expensive. After which you need to use that as a kind of vital 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, monitor like what they’re doing on their smartphones, after which go, hey, bear in mind these values that you just maintain expensive? Like how are these being represented in that exercise or not, proper? And I believe that’s a approach of. Of offering college students with a extremely attention-grabbing lens to be sure that like what they’re consuming and doing is in standing with what they really consider and their picture of themselves. And I believe that’s like, to me that’s an image of the way forward for media literacy is that this merging of conventional vital considering abilities with values and character-based training.
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.
