Source: Curriculum Inquiry, Vol. 40, Issue 5, pages 582-599. (December 2010)
(Reviewed by the Portal Team)
The purpose of this study was to explore the way that knowledge is construed through global media and what effect that knowledge has on students’ responses.
Method
Data were obtained from focus groups in which students viewed and responded to global media.
The focus groups were held in two adjacent suburban school districts in a northeast state.
Twelve students participated in Bayside's focus group and nine students in Willow Brook's focus group.
Discussion
The results of this study suggest that dynamic visual texts provide a venue for teachers and students to consider what knowledge global media affords.
However, students should become critical viewers of media, able to carefully and thoughtfully engage with assertions and evidence to foster inquiring capacities.
The authors suggest that students should become aware of their predispositions about inquiry, that it is always knowledge bearing and knowledge seeking if it’s worthy of this label.
Furthermore, encouraging students to share their inquiries in development with peers may further support the social learning of all (see Werner, 2004).
Finally, the conversations among the students in both groups in this study are critical for pedagogy focused on learning about society through media, and more generally, for reflective citizenship.