Describes a course designed to challenge students to look at the way they are influenced by the mass media. Provides details of the procedures for forming the cooperative groups, the material used, the issues discussed, and the students' responses. (PRA)

In this study, the effects of previewing on children's (N=87) comprehension of a televised story were investigated. Results indicate that previewing may be an effective mediational technique for enhancing children's comprehension and retention of plot-essential information from a televised story. (Author/IAH)

Explains how watching video clips of Richard Feynman helped students change their ideas regarding science, scientists, and society. (PR)

Suggests that contemporary films can be used by educators to engage people in religious exploration. Argues that viewers should engage in a conversation with film at the levels of content and cinematography. Discusses four types of film study and examples of films that can be used in each. (DSK)

Presents a study of reflective reading using visual texts, where 12 adult literacy students begin to develop skills in teleliteracy by "reading" the texts for meaning by discussing characters, plot, setting, and theme in four edited segments. Finds that television can provide a bridge to link oracy and literacy when used as an educational tool in…

Media literacy education is an emerging field in the US. At the same time, accountability in public schools is soaring. Critical media literacy, with its liberatory pursuits, is very much at odds with repetition and recall. Yet media culture is persuasive and pervasive, and critical media literacy's concepts are in line with critical pedagogy. So…

This guide aims to help students sharpen powers of observation, develop the skills and habits of perceptive watching, and discover complex aspects of film art. Organized in 16 chapters, the text, which focuses on narrative film, discusses film analysis in chapter 1 and establishes a foundation for understanding theme and story in chapters 2 and 3.…

A study which reviewed the research literature analyzed the relationship between television advertisements and the lowering of the self concept. Although television advertising has a relatively short history, today a person can hardly escape from it. Advertisements are specifically targeted to age-related and demographic groups. By focusing on…

This issue of "Media & Values" provides essays and teaching ideas for addressing the influence of television in society. Articles in this issue include: (1) "Wrestling with Television" (Elizabeth Thoman); (2) "Comics and Culture" (Rosalind Silver); (3) "Society's Storyteller" (George Gerbner); (4) "Five Important Ideas to Teach Your Kids about TV"…

The news on Channel One, with its impression of vague anxiety, looks and sounds like regular television news, only more so. In either case, the news is just "filler"--its real function is not journalistic but commercial, meant to lead into advertisements (ads). Mass advertising tends to assume that its audience will not be studying it…

An exploration of the creative process in painting and musical composition, this kit, for use with grades 4-8, provides a structured plan that can extend over several class periods. In "Looking At Art," concentration is on one landscape painting with comparisons to related works. Historical and visual components are analyzed and works are placed…

This book is a practical, accessible guide for parents on the use of television with children in today's media-focused world. It offers parents practical techniques and strategies to take control of the types of programs and amounts of television their children watch. Parts 1 and 2 of the book contain views on parenting in general and some…

Over 350 surveys were distributed to public and private elementary and secondary school teachers to assess the current state of media education and to determine if changes have occurred given the increase in educator awareness of media education benefits, media literacy advocacy groups, media education resources, and changes in technology.…

In the United States, people have become resistant to advertising because they live surrounded by messages. However, in China, the average viewer is relatively naive about the use of commercial messages. An attempt was made to teach Chinese college students semiotic analysis of television commercials. Observations of Chinese television were made…

This paper provides an overview of the impact of television on young children, with a special emphasis on the relationship among TV, childhood, and violence, and on developmentally appropriate television. Further, the paper provides strategies for parents and early childhood educators to use in taking control of the television. The paper is…