JISC Distributed E-LEARNING PROGRAMME PHASE Ii
JISC Distributed E-LEARNING PROGRAMME PHASE ii
newsfilm online project subject tutorial Grant
Final Report
Project title: / Using popular media to enhance learning, teaching and assessment of geography in higher education: An exploration of the Newsfilm Online Clip ArchiveProject leader / Dr Michael Leyshon
Prof Catherine Brace
Lead Institution / University of Exeter
Date of completion / 26th June 2009
Synopsis of Project / A short description of the structure of the project and the primary resources utilised in teaching
The project examined the practicalities of using online media archives for learning teaching and assessment in the subject area of geography in Higher Education.
The project was structured around several activities:
- Working to select clips from the ITN/Reuters archive for inclusion in the Newsfilm Online archive. A list has been generated and is attached to this report (see embedded document Appendix 1).
- Testing the intergration of audio-visual materials into teaching, learning and assessment. Audio-visual materials have been piloted in three modules (one second level, one third level and one masters level module).
- Exploring the viability of encouraging and supporting students to incorporate media clips into assessed work. This was achieved through a focus group discussion in which explored the viability of using such material in assessment.
Aims/Objectives / List the primary teaching and learning aims of the project
The project sought to explore how popular media clips can be embedded into online-deliverable materials through WebCT, making use of the BUFVC Newsfilm Online Clip Archive. The project had four linked aims and objectives:
- Develop two online showcase modules demonstrating methanisms to embed rich media materials from the Newfilm Clip Archive into undergraduate geography programmes.
- Collaborate with the Newsfilm Online Clip Archive as subject experts on the selection and classification of materials from the ITN/Reuters archive for inclusion in the Newsfilm Online Clip Archive.
- Undertake a feasibility study exploring the use of materials from the Newsfilm Online Clip Archive looking at the use of such material in both modules as a teaching aid and in assessment.
Main Outputs and Outcomes / Describe the results of the project in action
- Clips have been identified for inclusion in the Newsfilm Clip Archive.
- Newsfilm archive footage is embedded in different modules (GEO2406 Geography, Business and Environment, GEO3404 Society and Space and GEOM358 Communicating and Understanding Climate Change).
- As a result of this project, we have arrived at a fuller understanding of the need for training in critical and analytical skills for students before they embark on significant use of newfilm footage. Whilst newsfilm footage is obviously and immediately useful as an illustrative tool to introduce a topic (as noted by the Stimulus – Starter-Plenary exemplar on students reported a difficulty in using the clips in other ways without first developing their media literacy (see Student Feedback, below).
- An article for Planet is under development, outlining the necessary steps for integrating audio-visual materials in general and Newsfilm Online Clip Archive material in particular into the subject area of geography.
Student Feedback / Any student feedback from use of the GLO or the archives is useful
Introduction
Learning the skills to use, analyse and interpret visual media is not a straightforward task and no pedagogic model can sufficiently capture the diverse ways in which these are developed. However, skills acquisition is commonly portrayed as essentially a linear process, in which learning and skills are co-joined to produce practices – with an explicit assumption that through increased learning, training and the repetition of actions students can acquire practice based skills which are both specialised and generic in form. The assumption here is that the acquisition of these ‘key’ skills can then assist in working towards understanding and deconstructing news media films.
This linear form applies not only to undergraduates but also postgraduates. In adopting this approach, pedagogic interventions on using media have focused on the middle link – that of skills. However, from this approach two issues arise. First, the acquisition of ‘media skills’ is rarely well defined in terms of what constitutes ‘media-skills’. Understanding mediated worlds/opinions requires not only an ability to engage with material (viewing, browsing, sifting i.e. generic skills etc.) but also the ability to interpret the media, commonly understood as media-literacy (i.e. specific skills). Similar problems exist in developing methods to record those ways of skills acquisition. These are generally limited through learning or practice and what Bailey (2005) terms “capabilities, competences and attributes”. What skills are ‘generic’ or ‘specific’ is unclear in the literature as they are often used as simple descriptors of skills and are deployed interchangeably which may cause uncertainty of meaning and invalidate comparability. The most frequently measure of skills acquisition remains the assessment of skills against measures of formal attainment which in turn leads to a formal qualification – in this case through passing a module, with assigned credits that are level weighted, gives a comparative measure of value to the qualification. Therefore formal learning places great emphasis on the qualification per se as an externally accepted sign of competence and completion of learning tasks. Resulting in, our opinion, a myopic view of skills based learning that elevates task-based media competences (i.e. the ability to view information) over and above other ways of evaluating competence with media films. This system of pedagogy may lead to lecturers/educators to ‘train’ students to achieve targets and receive ‘qualifications’ simply to prove that they can show they are ‘competent’.
Secondly and consequently, some types of media learning are valorised over others as emphasis is placed on qualification acquisition. We argue what constitutes formal pedagogic media learning within ‘formal’ settings such as the lecture/seminar room, or web-based environments such as WebCT or Moodle is largely self-directed and passive - by this we simply mean student reception of predetermined information. In particular film/documentaries/programs are often used as visual examples to explain or illustrate complex ideas. In contrast, without recourse to extended interaction within peer groups or discussion with an acknowledged ‘expert’ (e.g. academic staff) on the choice/analysis of materials, the more informal spontaneous learningthat can arise from the holistic experience of engaging media has not been widely incorporated into assessment or quality benchmarking. Media education therefore becomes focused on addressing the skills deficiencies of students rather than the application of media learning and training. Henceinformal learninghas not been widely incorporated into the geography of media. Pedagogic interventions and support have, therefore, placed a great deal of emphasis on the need for new training as defined by student deficiencies and qualifications to evidence the learning of generic media skills. We strongly argue that much more emphasis needs to be placed on first, how/where media learning takes places, giving greater precedence to the geographies of learning environments. Thereby secondly, focusing attention on the importance of context and practices in shaping learning and how a politics of engagement with media materials shapes different opportunities to apply/share learning. Current pedagogic linear modules of media learning need a refocusing by placing greater emphasis on the connections of learning rather than the outputs of learning. In so doing, we would like to make the argument that our research on the Newsfilm archives demonstrates, there is an opportunity to explore the more complex relationship between learning, skills and practice through closer analysis of the links between learning and skills.
Refocusing Media Learning
At the heart of our research has been to explore in more detail how the connections of learning media ‘skills’ and media ‘practice’ are co-joined and in particular to question what forms of learning are required in engaging news media? Further we have sought to understand how skills are valued and assessed both by students and academic staff. A summary analysis of our research strongly suggests that media learning needs refocusing with a greater emphasis placed on how students learn new knowledges alongside the application of knowledges and how in turn this develops student media competencies. We envisage the student experience of ‘learning, application and competencies’ gained from using Newsfilm clips should work in an iterative and reflexive manner. Our emphasis here is on how to enable students to become effective independent learners.
Media Learning and Training
Through a targeted methodology, Newsfilm archive clips were piloted in a variety of modules at Level 2, 3 and 4 in ‘Large Space’ (Lecture), ‘Small Space’ (Seminar) and ‘online’ formats. Students were asked to engage with the films and reflect on the process. In large space formats Newsfilm clips were used to illustrative points in lectures, for example in Geo2406 Geography Business and Environment to consider changes to EU agricultural legislation over the last 30 years. In small space format we used Newsfilm footage to generate discussion around a key geographical themes such as ‘race-relations’ or ‘climate change’. In online formats we experimented with self-directed learning around a Newsfilm clip. The emphasis of this learning design was to engage students in a dialogue around the clips and modes of learning. We recognised that the piloted introduction of media clips into ‘formal’ educational settings might have unsettling effects on the learning experience of students. However, most students were highly receptive to the medium.
Student feedback from all the sessions emphasised the social perspective of learning and opened up debate on ways in which learning can be supported. In particular the research highlighted the value of the clips to students who unanimously stated that they enjoyed viewing the archive and exploring ideas through a visual medium. As Oliver stated “they are really useful when you have to reflect back on events and think about difference or how different things were to now”. Oliver’s observation was reflected in the comments of a number of other students who thought the Newsfilm clips were a useful self-reflexive tool, allowing a person to calibrate their own views in relation to a set of past social mores, for example around issues such as racism, sexism and homophobia. We observed that the films had the potential to allow students to glimpse a set of historical values whilst at the same time recognising how far these values had shifted up to the present day. As Mark commented, “they are a great way of remembering information, it’s so much more positive to see something rather than just hearing about it”. However, our research illustrates that the medium of experiencing Newsfilm clips is critical to the learning experience.
Our approach to presenting Newsfilm clips was to combine the material with a diverse range of other sources. For example, we presented clips alongside lecture material, in combination with specified readings and or through self-direct student led analysis. To present the clips we drew broadly on a ‘stimulus approach’ to prompt student interaction rather than simply playing a clip and expecting student feedback and interpretation. Clips were introduced to students in the context of lectures/seminars. These introductions provided a strong steer to the students on the content of the clips that were further supported with a framework of questions to stimulate reflection and debate. However, student responses to analysing the clips was less than positive. For example, James suggested “I’m not a media studies student, so how do I know whether I’m doing this [textual analysis] right?”. Becky made a similar point by stating “I, well we, can all watch tv, I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember but I’ve never really thought about how to analyse it”. These observations were repeated through all our focus groups, in particular students questioned how they could come to understand the politics of a Newsfilm clip – meaning understanding the situated knowledges produced in and through the clips themselves. Graeme makes this point forcefully by saying “there is no point in me doing [watching] this unless I’m going to get something out of it .. I don’t know about everyone else but for me I don’t get how to I make sense of it, umm like why was this [Newsfilm clip] made, what impact did it have, what other stories made this important .. theres a lot of stuff I can’t answer by just watching it”. Here the students recognised that the Newsfilm clips are artefacts of an issue/event(s) and therefore cannot be divorced from wider intellectual understandings. This raised further questions about how clips were chosen and presented. Focus group discussion centred on the educational value of encountering clips. From our [staff] perspective, our choice of clips were intended to illustrate a point or stimulate a response and not simply provide an alternative ‘entertainment’ for the students. As Michelle (Masters student) explained, “yeah, I like it [Newsfilm clips] but you know that’s [pointing at screen] nice to look at and yes I guess it stops you falling asleep but really… I need to know how I can use it in my work”.
Two issues emerge here:
- Politics of the text – adding value to understanding, and
- Politics of learning – adding value to pedagogy
Students at all levels in this research recognised the potential value of the clips but felt that their potential for enhancing learning could best be served through recognition of:
(i)co-production of knowledge
(ii)creative engagement
(iii)creating social learning opportunities in the lecture/seminar room
The above three points emphasis that student engagement through Newsfilm clips is a shared process between peer groups and academic staff, and that the Newsfilm material should be creatively explored through dialogue, analysis and further reading, and thereby creating a social (shared) space of learning around and through the clips.
In supporting learning, the project also highlighted the significance of the wider learning environment to create:
(i)motivation for continual media learning
(ii)opportunities for putting learning into practice
(iii)supporting staff to work with media sources
Developing Media Competencies
Media competency in the lecture/seminar room is often predicated on the ability of an individual to ‘view/watch’ a clip that is used to simply illustrate a point. We argue, based on this research, that greater value should be placed on the competencies gained within the context of application and practice which arise from different forms of participatory media learning. Together these competencies need to be judged by the efficacy of skills in the lecture theatre/seminar room – by evaluating the change or transformation that occurs, rather than the number of boxes ticked. This shift in practice requires staff to empower students with their own sense of learning development by encouraging them to set targets in terms of critical thinking rather than merely ticking boxes of achievement. Enabling students to develop media competencies requires learning to move beyond the straightforward assessment of attainment targets, the reproduction of knowledge or the repetition of action. Competencies need to be evaluated in terms ofreflective practice and social learning.
Applying Learning and Competencies
Social learning with media resources requires students to be highly motivated, confident with the materials to hand and most importantly given the opportunity to enter into a critical dialogue with staff on the choice of materials, goals of learning and outputs required. Students clearly feel happy to work with Newsfilm clips, but they are reliant on academic staff who are prepared to engage more with situated learning. By this we mean that there needs to be further research into how best to foster continual learning and reflection, and, most importantly, the application of media learning.
Where Next?
Recognising that media learning occurs in different situations and in different ways, the research project has identified several key issues in supporting students to learn using the Newsfilm archive. One of these is motivation– especially in supporting participative working. Our research emphasises the importance of motivation and confidence with working with media clips, in particular in identifying that learning must be relevant in terms of place (lecture/seminar/online) and student level.
In particular there is a need to augment a bespoke student centred approach to media learning that recognises the different needs and aspirations of students and in particular gives greater recognition, and support for, developing their competencies through enhanced learning strategies. This could be achieved through placing particular emphasis on media learning via media practice, that will in turn raise student confidence and motivation to engage with alternative mediated materials. Enabling students to develop critical media awareness is an essential part of the learning experience. Finally there need for greater dialogical learning and training to recognise and support links between academics and students.
Observations for future projects / List any problems, setbacks, or frustrations you have experienced, as well as any positive aspects of the project or archives
Geography is a wide-ranging subject that students often identify as having a great deal of relevance to everyday life. Because of this, newsfilm archive footage represents an important repository that reflects the sheer breadth of the discipline. However, tempting though it is to incorporate newsfilm footage into a variety of modules, this should not be done uncritically. It is important that newsfilm archive footage does not only end up being used simply illustratively, but as an artefact that should be subject to the same critical scrutiny that we would afford to any historical object or resource. However, in order to exercise this critical scrutiny, students need to have developed in them a suite of analytical skills that enhance their media literacy. Students might be tempted to think that their continual exposure to the news media affords them media literacy. But our findings show that their familiarity with the news as a medium of communication actually encourages students to take it for granted, remaining especially uncritical of the claimed objectivity and impartiality of the news medium. On the plus side, newsfilm archive footage does provide an important calibrator of changing social values, allowing students to observe powerful discourses of, for example, racism, sexism and hetero-normativity being performed in the media.