“I don’t like hearing Angel and not seeing her!” - An Exploration of Students’ Media Literacy Development Through Production

Oct 15, 2026

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In this exploratory case study, student media production is used to identify what learners know and what they gain through producing a video documentary on rape. Drawing on a Dick media-education conceptual framework, the study follows a group of ten students (four girls and six boys) to describe everyday media learning during production. Findings show that most framework concepts emerge while working, yet formal opportunities for students to express developing critical consciousness remain limited.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Understanding Students’ Media Literacy by Examining Their Productions

Research Design

Methodology: As It Happens

Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology / La revue canadienne de l’apprentissage et de la technologie, V30(1) Winter / hiver 2004 Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology Volume 30(1) Winter / hiver 2004 “I don’t like hearing Angel and not seeing her! Why did we do that?” An Exploration of Students’Media Literacy Development Through Production Michele Luchs Winston Emery Authors Michele Luchs taught English and Media Education at Royal West Academy, Montreal. She is currently developing the media literacy component of Quebec’s new English Language Arts curriculum. Email: [micheleluchs@yahoo.com](micheleluchs@yahoo.com) Winston Emery is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, McGill University, Montreal. Email: [winston.emery@mcgill.ca](winston.emery@mcgill.ca) Abstract Abstract: In this exploratory casestudy we look at student media production to find out what students know and have learned about the media through production work. We used a media education conceptual framework developed by Dick as a means of describing the day to day media learning of a group of ten students, four girls and six boys, producing a video documentary on rape. We found that as they worked, the students encountered most of the concepts of Dick’s framework; however, with the exception of the development of a sophisticated understanding of the documentary genre, there was little formal opportunity for the students to articulate their nascent critical consciousness about the media. Résumé: Dans cette étude de cas exploratoire, nous examinons une production graphique effectuée par des étudiants pour découvrir ce que les étudiants savent et ont appris sur les médias par l’intermédiaire de ce travail de production. Nous avons utilisé un cadre conceptuel d’étude des médias, mis au point par M. Dick, comme moyen afin de documenter l’apprentissage quotidien des médias par un groupe de dix étudiants, quatre jeunes filles et six jeunes gens, qui ont réalisé une vidéocassette sur le viol. Nous nous sommes rendu compte qu’à mesure que leur travail avançait, les étudiants ont rencontré la plupart des concepts inclus dans le cadre de M. Dick. Cependant, à part le fait qu’ils aientdéveloppé une compréhension approfondie du documentaire, les étudiants ont eu peu d’occasions formelles d’exprimer leur conscience critique émergente à l’égard des médias . Introduction Over the past fifteen years, media educators have attempted to evaluate the success of media education curricula and teaching in developing in students’critical literacy. Although there is much anecdotal evidence of the enthusiasm of students in media literacy courses, relatively few studies of what they actually learn have been conducted. McMahon and Quin’s (1992) large scale assessment in Western Australia was based on a posthoc objective test, requiring high school students to analyse a series of print advertisements and a segment of a television situation comedy. Although the study found that students’technical knowledge about media was strong, the results were disappointing on those items, which tested the reflective and critical understandings of media education (i.e ., the ability to link media codes to cultural values, to use concepts of preferred meaning and to provide examples of the social outcomes of stereotyping) . The study’s findings tend to be supported in a few smallerscale studies, which have generally asked students to analyse media texts by answering standardized test questions or writing formal analytical essays. The “disappointing” results may have more to do with methodological weaknesses in the approaches to assessment used in the studies, than as real reflections of what the students don’t know; they may also have something to do with the rhetorical sophistication students are expected to display in formally writing about their understandings. Finally, there is scant description of the pedagogical practices used with the students . We a

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study?

To examine student media production and determine what students know and learn through production work.

How was the media learning framework applied in the case study?

The study used a media education conceptual framework developed by Dick to describe day-to-day media learning across students’ production activities.

What did the researchers find about students’ critical understanding?

Students encountered most framework concepts during production, but there were few formal chances for them to articulate their emerging critical consciousness, except for developing a sophisticated understanding of the documentary genre.

Oct 15, 2026

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