This article synthesises an investigation of the making of a didactic programme as a consequence of the excess of consumption of audiovisual messages and the non critical and non-thoughtful attitude the youngsters have towards it. As an answer to this problem, the authors have produced a didactical programme about cinema and its language, the main…

In this article, the author has advanced the view that the world is currently on the threshold of a new status quo--the hegemony of the image. Yet, this seems a mixed blessing, for people, and especially young people, are not equipped with the necessary critical viewing and thinking skills to survive it. Nevertheless, this unfortunate situation…

Deconstruction is a critical literary theory which focuses on the unintentional meanings of a text and aims to achieve an unprejudiced, value-free vision of the social and political power structures in society that combine to produce the text. The development of such critical skills in advertising students will deepen their ability to judge the…

This student workbook provides information about mass media and invites students to consider and respond to that information. Students are encouraged to use reading, writing, researching, critical thinking, interpreting, and debating skills in their responses. The book is organized into 8 chapters: (1) "The World of Media"; (2) "Television: Is…

A study of 150 preschoolers suggests that systematic teacher mediation can enhance children's interpretive skills of television material, such as the ability to: identify fantasy in relation to special effects; bridge temporal and logical gaps; identify elements of camera work and their visual implications; and make intelligent predictions based…

Argues that educators should train themselves and students to understand and cope with television's power. Describes an inventory of viewing and reading habits, then discusses how three principles of teaching television are expressed in class activities. Outlines a unit that takes students from television as "just entertainment" to active,…

Within the scholarly debate about the value of visual literacy is the belief that visual literacy bestows the skill of critical viewing, or conscious appreciation of artistry along with the ability to see through manipulative uses and ideological implications of visual images. Critical thinking is commonly viewed as argument skills, cognitive…

This paper introduces five concepts that guide teachers' and students' critical inquiry in the understanding of media and visual representation. In a step-by-step process, the paper illustrates how these five concepts can become a tool with which to critique and examine film images of indigenous people. The Sani are indigenous people of the…

Picture books are useful tools for teaching many abstract and complex concepts of the social studies at the elementary level. They allow students to develop visual literacy through sustained viewing time necessary for exploration, critique, and reflection on the images portrayed. Numerous examples of picture books are presented to support such…

Discusses using educational and popular films and television for history instruction. Argues that students need training to see the bias built into film making through the editing process. Urges that critical thinking must be developed in students to make use of mass media coverage of historical and current events as teaching tools. (DK)

Contends that history teachers should help students develop critical viewing and thinking skills about visual images. Discusses the emerging practice of blurring the lines between entertainment and information in television, films, and other visual presentations. Provides two sets of questions to help students analyze documentaries, television…

Criticizes the traditional approach to art education that emphasizes formal properties such as line, color, and shape. Proposes that teachers develop student abilities to go beyond the visual level of artworks and gain access to the complexity of meanings that art possesses. Includes contemporary art examples and corresponding analyses. (MJP)

The inclusion of critical thinking and viewing skills across the curriculum is one way to approach the development of problem solving, which could help develop the kind of students prepared to accept the challenges they face. Using popular media in teaching such skills links critical thinking to life in a way that keeps critical thinking from…

Advocates reconceptualizing visual arts as a core subject embodying key elements of experiential learning and critical thinking through an interdisciplinary approach. Illustrates this approach with a discussion of the interconnected issues surrounding family snapshots (social history, aesthetics, technological advancement). Discusses issues of…

This book argues that people live simultaneously in two different cultures. Values of the first culture are imparted to children through curriculum in the nation's public school classrooms. The second culture is the world of mass communication that promotes consumption, instant gratification, and impulse. The clash between these cultures confronts…