Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2012

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Literacy related to media, popular culture, and new media technologies is vital to individuals' successful vocational, social and cultural participation. Therefore, schools are increasingly providing students with opportunities to develop critical, as well as functional, media literacy. Media educators and policy makers throughout Australia, and internationally, have identified the necessity for students to engage in critically reflective cultural practices relating to these areas, resulting in the development of relevant policy and curriculum documents in the areas of media arts practice, multiliteracies and information and communications technologies. This unit investigates how schools and teachers have responded to these initiatives, specifically using a ¿key concepts¿ approach. This unit builds upon the work students have completed in the literacy and arts unit offered in the Primary Bachelor of Education.

Aims

The aim of this unit is to provide you with principles and practices related to (i) the nature of Media Education (ii) how primary aged students learn about Media, and the curriculum documents that are used to support this (iii) providing quality planned experiences and supportive environments for learning.

Objectives

On completion of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Design and implement engaging and flexible learning experiences for lower secondary film and media studies students (individuals and groups) through identifying and establishing appropriate learning goals, planning lessons by selecting and using effective learning strategies and resources, and using media related ICTs for learning and assessment [QCT standard One].
2. Design and implement intellectually challenging learning experiences that demonstrate a sound fundamental knowledge of strategies for promoting higher order thinking, imagination, creativity, intellectual risk taking, reflection and problem solving and that incorporate the purposeful use of ICTs for creativity, communication and representation [QCT standard Three].
3. Design and implement learning experiences that use media related ICTs to empower students with diverse backgrounds, characteristics and abilities and that demonstrate a fundamental knowledge the negative impact of bias, prejudice and discrimination [QCT standard Four].
4. Design and implement learning experiences that develop language, literacy and numeracy and through explicitly teaching related skills, showing knowledge of language forms and features and textual structures of spoken, written, visual and multimodal texts, and how these can be supported through the use of ICTs and provide evidence of attaining acceptable standards for academic, professional and personal literacies relating to this unit [QCT standard Two].

Content

This unit includes the following topics:

- the theory and practice of media education, and using the Queensland secondary education context as a case study
- the theories, practices and pedagogies related to teaching and learning about media and popular culture.
- the application of the Queensland Studies Authority Arts Years 1-10 syllabus for curriculum and assessment planning and the role of new media technologies in the classroom.
- issues and debates about the teaching of media and popular culture and its relationship to the development of children's literacies.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Constructivist learning is the main approach used to organise this unit as students are involved in problem based learning as they learn to analyse media texts and to develop curriculum documents for specific learning contexts. Students are encouraged to position themselves as professional media educators who are beginning their ongoing journey of learning in this field. In particular, they are encouraged to see the clear connection between theory and reflective participation in media culture, both for themselves and their future students. There will be use of digital media production as a means of learning about media literacy and its application through specific classroom activities. In particular, this includes digital audio and video production.

Assessment

Formative assessment is provided through feedback in tutorial sessions and/or e-mail discussions and through written comments on initial assignment work.
For successful completion of this unit two summative assessment items are required.

Assessment name: Textual analysis
Description: Media text deconstrucion
Length: 1500 words
Relates to objectives: 2 & 4
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Mid semester

Assessment name: Curriculum planning
Description: Policy analysis and lesson plans
Length: 2500 words
Relates to objectives: 1 - 4
Weight: 60%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Late semester

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty means that you are expected to exhibit honesty and act responsibly when undertaking assessment. Any action or practice on your part which would defeat the purposes of assessment is regarded as academic dishonesty. The penalties for academic dishonesty are provided in the Student Rules. For more information you should consult the QUT Library resources for avoiding plagiarism.

Resource materials

Texts

Buckingham, D. (2003). Media education: Literacy, learning and contemporary culture. Cambridge, UK: Polity. (Recommended text).
Dezuanni, M and Jetnikoff, A (2008) Media Remix: Digital Projects for students. Milton: Jacaranda.
Queensland School Curriculum Council (2002). The Arts: Years 1 to 10 sourcebook guidelines: Brisbane, The Council. (Recommended).

References

Kenway, J., & Bullen, E. (2001). Consuming children: Education-entertainment-advertising. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Marsh, J. (Eds). (2005). Popular culture, new media and digital literacy in early childhood. New York: Routledge Falmer.

Audiovisual resources
Various relevant websites promulgated through unit information and QUT Blackboard.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit. Workplace health and safety protocols will apply in relation to computer use.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 02-Nov-2011