|
Media
and The Environment
Subject
Area
This activity
is designed for the advanced and general English programs at the
third and fourth year levels (ENG 3A/3G, 4A/4G), and also the
fourth year English Media Studies course (EMD 4A/4G).
This unit
can be integrated into an ENG 3/4 level course as a media component.
The teacher may wish to reduce the demands of the independent
assignment to satisfy time constraints, or to assign it as the
Independent Study portion of the course.
Learning
Outcomes
Teaching,
learning and evaluation will focus on the students ability
to:
- Identify
and describe aspects of environmental philosophy;
- Evaluate
concepts and principles of environmental philosophy in opposition
to business, civic and media responses to contemporary environmental
issues;
- Extend
and creatively develop ideas through research, writing and the
use of electronic technology.
Classroom
Development
- Introduce
students to the basic principles of media studies (See the overhead
accompanying this activity). Prepare materials which will illustrate
each principle from an environmental perspective.
- Have
students study this background material and initiate discussions
based on it (See Suggestions for Activities below).
- In groups
of 2-4, have students develop and prepare practice materials
to familiarize themselves and their peers with concepts (See
Suggestions for Activities below).
- Research
and compile materials on a student-selected environmental issue
with attention to the way it is presented in the media (See
Suggestions for Activities below).
- Analyze
and assess information.
- Compose,
draft, revise and finalize a project for presentation based
on research materials.
Suggestions
for Activities
- Be prepared.
When you say Media to High School students, visions
of camcorders dance in their heads. The most difficult and significant
job of a Media teacher is to redirect students thinking
towards an evaluation of the media. If you are not already teaching
a Media class plan your arsenal with care, and with the assistance
of all resources at your disposal, organize your artillery to
address the implications of each principle with your class.
- Prepare
materials in as many different media as possible to illustrate
each key concept. Try to ensure that all examples
deal with environmental issues and concerns. Try to capture
at least one example of Environmentalism being manipulated for
commercial gain.
- Bring
the key concepts (a selection of which are listed
on the accompanying overhead) along with illustrations to students
attention. You may wish to break the class into groups to study
specific examples and explain how each concept is illustrated.
Another device would be to introduce the key concepts and then
have students indicate on paper how many concepts can be applied
to each example, which it best illustrates, and why. (If students
notice that the first key concept presented on the
overhead is applicable to every example you have, celebrate.
Impress on students above all the fact that all media
products are constructed, and that understanding intentionally
is one of the major goals of Media Studies.)
- Using
a variety of media should give you an excellent opportunity
to show students how form restricts content in the
media. If necessary, take time to (re)introduce to students
to the way such forms are produced and the specific restrictions
of each. Consult resources for video presentations and handouts,
if time permits.
- Continue
preliminary exercises by having students seek out their own
illustrations of key concepts, and come to class prepared to
explain orally and/or in writing how each key concept is demonstrated
in the piece they have selected.
- A good
exercise for television and photojournalism can be done in two
75 min periods in which students are required to prepare a mock-up
for a photo, or a shooting script and story board for a minute-long
commercial. Make sure that they get your approval before looking
at a camera or camcorder, and that every aspect of the process
is scrutinized by the teacher or a class designated Producer
to help students to realize how many decisions go into even
the smallest aspect of media.
- Independent
StudyThis can easily be condensed
or enlarged depending on time constraints. It could be done
briefly as a class exercise or enlarged into the major Independent
Study portion of the terms work. If you wish to use it
as a major project, you may wish to review Terpstras Independent
Learning for models of contracts, logs, and other aspects of
the Independent Study model.
- (a) The
independent portion of students study can be successfully
approached in several different ways:
(1) mediaspecific coverage of environmental issues. For
example, How Environmental Issues are Presented on Television;
(2) coverage in several mediums of a specific issue. For example,
Media Coverage of the Controversy Surrounding Location
of Torontos Waste Disposal Site;
(3) media specific coverage of a specific issue. For example,
Newspapers Response to the Great Diaper Controversy.
Teachers should assist students to focus and direct larger topics.
(b) Students select their topic and approach, then submit proposals
for approval. Teachers advise and assist students in adjusting
the scope of their projects. Emphasize that students must direct
themselves not merely to the collection of material but to the
placing of it into an evaluative context.
(c) Direct students to collect all possible material related
to their project, then analyze and evaluate the intention and
bias of each piece. Note that camera angles and techniques can
be of particular importance in photographic and video material.
You may have to cover these separately on an informal basis
if a student new to Media Studies or photography has selected
a video project.
(d) Through student-teacher interviews, assist the student to
arrive at conclusions about his/her material and put it into
a comprehensible format.
(e) The product should be assembled so as to illustrate and
support the conclusions reached by the student. Depending on
the demands of time and the nature of the class, this product
might include video, or take the form of a photo-essay, newspaper,
taped radio broadcast or formal essay (accompanied
by Media materials). Your Art Department may have some of the
new technology such as video toasters for the computer
manipulation of video which can aid a student producing a sophisticated
product. It is important to assure students that the use of
technology is not a prerequisite for this project. The ability
to analyze and evaluate ideas and to present them in a coherent
format is far more important.
Timing
Allow up
to 10-75 min periods. The independent portion of this project
should ideally be completed in no more than three (3) months.
Resources
Berger,
John. Ways of Seeing. New York: Viking Press, 1973. This
text is one of the seminal works of Social Studies, Media and
Cinema studies at the Post-Secondary level. It would provide an
excellent background for a teacher new to media studies. It may
also be useful for advanced students.
If you are
new to Media, textbooks can be useful references. In common use
in Ontario are:
Andersen, Neil. Media Works. Toronto: Oxford University
Press, 1989.
Carpenter, Donna; Smart, Bill and Worsnop, Chris. Media Images
and Issues. Don Mills: Addison-Wesley, 1989.
Duncan, Barry. Mass Media and Popular Culture. Toronto:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988.
Krieger, Ernest and Ungerleider, Charles. Television and Society:
An Investigative Approach. Toronto: Irwin Publishing, 1985.
Excellent
resources can also be located through:
- The
Association for Media Literacy
Barry Duncan,
40 McArthur St.
Weston, Ontario M9P 3M7
phone: (416) 394-6992, fax: (416) 394-6991
- Mediacy
: The Newsletter of The Association for Media Literacy.
c/o Derek Boles, editor
4003 Bayview Avenue, Apt. 214
Willowdale, Ontario, M2M 3Z8
phone: (416) 224-5220
- Terpstra,
John. Independent Learning. Ontario Ministry of Education, 1987.
Cross-disciplinary
Links
This activity
may be paired up with the Geography activity on the Rondeau Provincial
Park Deer Herd Controversy contained in this curriculum document.
As an Independent Study project, the independent portion of this
activity could also be expanded to become an acceptable combined
project for students taking EMD (English Media Studies) as an
extra credit or in English 3A/4A in conjunction with Environmental
Studies in Geography (GNS 3A, 4A/3G, 4G), Geography World Issues
(GW1OA), Environmental Science (SEN 3A, 4A/3G, 4G) or Art. The
level of instruction required can vary considerably depending
on students background in media.
Overhead:
KEY
MEDIA CONCEPTS
- ALL
MEDIA ARE CONSTRUCTED.
- MEDIA
CONSTRUCT REALITY.
- MEDIA
HAVE COMMERCIAL IMPLICATIONS.
- MEDIA
ALWAYS HAVE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS.
- MEDIA
CONTAINS SOCIAL MESSAGES.
- AUDIENCES
NEGOTIATE MEANING.
- FORUM
RESTRICTS CONTENT IN MEDIA.
- MEDIA
EMBODIES AESTHETIC PRINCIPLES.
- MEDIA
TRY TO CONTROL SOME ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE.
|
|