Media Literacy Does Work, Trust Me.

ecently, while participating in an interactive teleconference sponsored by the On-Television Project of Rutgers University I was asked by the moderator, "How do you know media literacy works?" At that moment, I had no time to process my thoughts. I also knew the moderator expected research findings-which I didn't have at my disposal. Although I knew unequivocally that media literacy positively affects students' ability to think critically about media, I heard my weak response-which simply told of how many of my students go on to major in communications in college. By the time the teleconference was aired, my response was edited out, and Renee Hobbs of Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, a major proponent of media literacy, saved the moment by providing the results of her research. According to Hobbs in her research of ninth graders, "students who received media literacy integrated into language arts, social studies, health, and science were able to detect target audiences, motive, and economic goals differently from the students who didn't receive training" ("The On-Television Project Teleconference," sponsored by Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, October, 1996). Hobbs also noted that "students' ability to recall, remember, and comprehend information was dramatically improved as a result of media literacy." I felt frustrated. For the past seventeen years, I've been teaching an elective in media literacy (the ability to comprehend information that is contained and conveyed through a variety of non-print media) as well as incorporating media into all the courses I teach. Yet in one moment, in front of a national audience, I floundered. Now, however, I have had time to process my thoughts, reflect on my teaching career, consult with students, and teach my classes with that question in mind. I take this opportunity to defend what I believe so strongly: media literacy does work. The recently published Guidelines for the Preparation of Teachers of English Language Arts (1996, Robert C. Small, Jr., Chair and Members of the NCTE Standing Committee on Teacher Preparation and Certification, Urbana, IL: NCTE) is an NCTE publication used by colleges and universities to prepare for accreditation of the pre-service teacher training program. In the Guidelines, it is clearly stressed that "students need to construct meaning through different media, analyze their transactions with media texts, and create their own media texts and performances. Teachers must help students to explore contemporary media as extensions of literature and as entities in and of themselves" (27). The following demonstrates how I have applied these three NCTE guidelines in various learning environments and uses student responses that have resulted from incorporating media into the conventional English classroom.