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A Multimodal Mapping of Media Literacy: The Pitch in Youth Video Production

Damiana Gibbons University of Wisconsin-Madison

Abstract The Analysis Conclusions


1) What is the pedagogy in teaching key components of media literacy in these youth
I explore key pedagogical moments to trace the The Research Questions media organizations? 2) What does the structure of the pedagogy reveal about
multimodal (media) literacy Not all media literacy pedagogy is the same
learning that is occurring both in the process of learning?
because there are key differences and
video creation to give not only an understanding Using Lemkian social semiotics (Lemke, 1990), I analyze Youth Pitches as a key similarities in how teachers teach media
of the literacy practices but also to see what is media literacy lesson. production
made possible in the pedagogy for youth as they
produce media texts.
Interestingly, the youth media organizations in
This understanding is vital if teachers are to First, the transcripts revealed that there are basic, yet different, patterns to how this study followed thematic patterns
keep pace with the changing demands placed on the pitches in the two youth media arts organizations are structure.. traditionally found in school settings
them to teach media and multimodal literacies.
Organizational patterns
Different pedagogical choices allow for
Classroom lessons are constructed by activity
stages and how those are organized into a class
different types of media literacy learning.
Lit Review
lesson.

A class lesson could have a variety of activity types,


such as Getting Started, Collecting Homework, Start
While the pedagogical choices appeared
There has been a shift in how educators and researchers see children and media from Main Lesson, etc. AMI Organizational Pattern similar on the surface, in actuality, the
seeing youth as passive consumers of media (Hobbs, 2007) to seeing youth as active
meaning- and media-makers (Buckingham, 2003). There have also been strides in These activity types are arranged by the teacher into pedagogy diverged in that in one organization
some recognizable order, such as Start Main Lesson,
integrating media into classrooms (Archer, 2006; Burn & Parker, 2003; Jewitt,
2005), including in media programs for marginalized youth (Stein, 2007). Most of Seatwork, Assign Homework. the youth presented their ideas as a packaged
the strides in media production with youth, however, have occurred in youth media
All activity types are constructed by dialogue, by
whole for adults to evaluate and in the other the
arts organizations outside of schools (Bing-Canar & Zerkel, 1998; Fleetwood, 2005;
Mayer, 2000; Nelson, Hull, & Roche-Smith, 2008). language use between the teachers and students. youth and the adults co-created the idea.

RW Organizational Pattern

The Study Implications


I conducted case studies of two youth media This attention to detail in the pedagogy points
organizations. Second, the transcripts revealed that the way the youth structure their pitches differs to how pedagogical choices can determine the
in the two organizations--one follows a “packaged” pitch, while the other has a literacy that is fostered. This analysis will help
Reel Works Teen Filmmaking, New York, NY
Appalshop, Whitesburg, KY “negotiated” pitch. educators to gain a clearer understanding of
Thematic patterns
how media production is taught in the hopes
A thematic pattern is "a small piece of the that with greater understanding will come shifts
I focus on the written transcripts of the Pitch. curriculum”(p. 94, author's italics).
in pedagogy more toward the visions in line
The pitch is the moment when youth formally present their ideas for their
Basically, a thematic pattern is what is being
meant by the what is said, and it is the
with the current thinking about literacy.
video projects and receive feedback before proceeding to the next stages of
relationships between parts of the dialogue
filming and editing. I found that this pedagogical moment crystallizes many of
and/or different dialogues.
the lessons that youth learn in media literacy; therefore, it is an excellent
model for how media literacy is taught.
The most common thematic patterns in schools AMI Thematic Pattern References
is a Triadic Dialogue (Lemke, 1990, p. 8).
Archer, A. (2006). A multimodal approach to academic ‘literacies’: problematising the visual/verbal divide, Language and Education, 20(6), 449–462.

Bing-Canar, J. & Zerkel, M. (1998). Reading the media and myself: Experiences in critical media literacy with young Arab-American women. Signs, 23 (3), 735-743.
[Teacher Preparation]
Burn, A., & Parker, D. (2003). Analysing Media Texts. . Continuum International Publishing Group.
Teacher Question
Fleetwood, N.R. (2005). Authenticating practices: Producing realness, performing youth. In Maira S. & Soep E. (Eds.), Youthscapes: The popular, the national, the
[Teacher Call for Bids (Silent)] global. (155-172). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

[Student Bid to Answer (Hand)] Hobbs, R. (2007). Reading the media in high school: Media literacy in high school English. New York: Teacher's College Press.

Student Answer Jewitt, C. (2008) Teachers’ Pedagogic Design of Digital Interactive Whiteboard Materials in the UK Secondary School, Designs for Learning,1(1): 42 - 54.

Teacher Evaluation Lemke, J.L. (1990). Talking science : Language, learning, and values. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Pub. Corp.

[Teacher Elaboration] Mayer, V. (2000). Capturing cultural identity/creating community: A grassroots video project in San Antonio, Texas. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 3(57). 57-
76.

Nelson, M.E., Hull, G.A., & Roche-Smith, J. (2008). Challenges of multimedia self-representation: Taking, and mistaking, the show on the road. Challenges of
Multimedia. Written Communication, 25(4). 415-440.

RW Thematic Pattern Stein, P. (2008). Multimodal pedagogies in diverse classrooms. New York: Taylor and Francis.

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