16. Critical Literacy is closely connected with Social Constructivism : 1. Learning cannot be separated from the context. 2. The learner’s goals are central to what is learned. 3. Knowledge and meaning are socially constructed through negotiation, evaluation and transformation. Professor Brian Cambourne, 2000.
20. Why was this text produced? Most text are organized to gain profit and/or power. Purpose What lifestyles, values and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this text? Texts have embedded values and points of view. Content How might different people understand this text differently? Different people experience the same text differently. Audience How do I relate to this text? All text are constructed using creative language with its own rules. Format Who created this text? All texts are “constructed” Authorship Key Question Core Concept Keywords
21. A Framework for Analyzing Media Texts What media form or text type is this? What techniques are used to attract my attention? What is the purpose of the message and who is the audience? How might other people understand this message? Who created this message and why? Who benefits from this message? Who may be disadvantaged? Meaning
26. Your Challenge! How will you take some of what you have learned in Parts One and Two and incorporate into your existing planning? What evidence can you bring to show that you have attempted to meet the needs of the 21 st Century Learner?
CATHIE Description Inquiry-based learning is rooted in the scientific method of investigating phenomenon in a structured and methodical manner. Related to teaching and learning, it is an information-processing model that allows pupils to discover meaning and relevance to information through a series of steps that lead to a conclusion or reflection on the newly attained knowledge. In most cases, teachers use a "guided inquiry" method to facilitate the learning experience and structure the inquiry around specific goals of instruction. The benefits of inquiry-based learning include the development of critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving. As an inductive thinking model, it has a particular appeal for boys. Brain research points to this. Levels of Inquiry When considering inquiry activities in schools, consider the experiences and skills of your students. There are four levels of inquiry ( Callison ). Controlled . In a controlled inquiry, the teacher and/or media specialist chooses the topic and identifies materials that students will use to address their questions. Students are often involved with specific exercises and activities to meet particular learning outcomes such as retelling stories, evaluating sources, or comparing approaches. Students often have a specific product such as a Venn diagram, paragraph, or poster. Guided . In a guided inquiry, student have more flexibility in their resources and activities however they are expected to create a prescribed final product such as a report or presentation. Modeled . In a modeled inquiry, students act as apprentice to a coach such as a media specialist or classroom teacher. The student has flexibility in terms of topic selection, process, and product. The educators and students work side-by-side engaging in meaningful work. Free . In a free inquiry, students work independently. They explore meaningful questions, examine multiple
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Everybody can participate in this – differentiates readiness Which are: in my hand, in my head and in my heart (about feelings)
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CHRIS Awareness of critical literacy is crucial for the inquiry-based model. It impacts the kinds of questions we ask our students and how they received/react/respond. It also impacts the kinds of questions our students will ask in response to a variety of texts. Consequently, we may be required to be flexible in our planning as well as what we are willing to accept in a finished product. You are going to watch a short video clip featuring Allan Luke. His work is becoming canonical in the field of critical literacy studies. He currently teaches at the University of Queensland in Australia. Click on keys to show LNS video clip On video, fast-forward to Allan Luke clip at 7:44 – The Moral Imperative
CHRIS There are a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about what critical literacy is and is not. In many cases, critical literacy is equated to critical thinking and/or media literacy. The latter are associated with a specific skill set, while the former is more in line with a world view
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CHRIS Professor Cambourne believes that society can be made better, fairer and kinder if people were more productive and critical literacy was made accessible to as many people from as many cultures as possible.
CHRIS -that said, the whole notion of teaching how to extrapolate bias almost seems absurd -everything is biased… -instead, it is far more effective to ask to students to identify the producer’s/author’s/artist’s POSITIONING positioning can be defined as one’s view of the world as influenced by gender, class, power, race, and identity
CHRIS Possible responses: Prepares students for a rapidly changing, information overload society Recognizes literacy is as much about ideologies, identities, and values as it is about codes and skills Asks students to actively engage with the ideas in a text Provides students with ways of thinking that uncover social inequalities and injustices
CHRIS The currency for full participation in society because it gives access to ways of knowing, institutions, etc., that traditionally and systematically oppress those who don’t know how to access Empowers one’s voice; gets noticed
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CHRIS One way to make critical literacy a regular part of your programming is when you are dealing with media. Media literacy has been deemed a basic skill and one which our students must be proficient with by the time they leave our system. Distribute the following handouts to participants: *Media Literacy: Core Concepts and Key Questions *A Framework for Analyzing Media Texts
CHRIS Have the image on the Smart board; allow participants to come up and physically draw on the image with the markers.
CHRIS Distribute to participants: What Kinds of Critical Questions Can I Ask of Text? Ask: What then, do you think are the key areas that critical literacy must address? On Smart board, have the words gender, power, class, race and identity concealed, then revealed
CHRIS One of the main purposes of the Empowerment Spiral is to move students towards ACTION and ADVOCACY. With this type of awareness as a foundation students will be able to identify some causes and may pursue solutions to social justice issues (making the personal political) i.e. after analyzing a web-based media construction e.g. Martin Luther King.org, students may be moved to act on behalf of equity and work towards the eradication of racism in our time however, big or small this work may be. Watch the following example, created by grade 6 students. Can you identify which media piece has been “remixed” to create a new message? (Click green button) Large group discussion: Why is this a good example of the empowerment spiral in action?
CHRIS Additional notes: Reading for implicit meaning: -all students who were unsuccessful on the 2009 OSSLT struggled with the graphic text selection (Eco-Friendly Fish Farm); media pieces are forms of graphic text that can be incorporated in programming to help students refine the skills need to read graphic texts Making Connections: -interestingly enough, students tend to do well on this section of the OSSLT -clearly prefer to make real-life connections because they are able to draw on personal experience and prior knowledge Refer participants to their package for strategies for incorporating critical literacy in the classroom.
What would be appreciated is your willingness to share what you’ve done. If you could make your resources available electronically, we will happily upload them to the conference on First Class.
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