Learning to Teach the Media: Pre-Service Teachers Articulate the Value of Media Literacy Education

Abstract

Media literacy education (MLE) has been recognized as an important 21st century skill that promotes critical inquiry. Many educative organizations have disseminated papers calling for MLE in PK-12 schooling. Yet, it is unclear how MLE is being incorporated in teacher education programs. This chapter reports research from a qualitative study that aims to examine how pre-service teachers (PSTs) articulate the value of MLE for 21st century teaching and learning while enrolled in a core education course that encompasses media literacy. The author employed a constant-comparative analysis of student data collected from different course sections over three semesters. The results indicate that PSTs value MLE as a pedagogy that promotes effective media integration, fosters critical thinking, and develops curriculum connections. Further, the results suggest that MLE may be useful in cultivating PSTs' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK), in turn developing their skills in technology and media integration.