Teaching Critical Reading: Media Literacy in the High School Classroom Alisha Reed Anderson
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University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Spring 2019 Teaching Critical Reading: Media Literacy in the High School Classroom Alisha Reed Anderson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Anderson, A. R.(2019). Teaching Critical Reading: Media Literacy in the High School Classroom. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5192 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TEACHING CRITICAL READING: MEDIA LITERACY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM by Alisha Reed Anderson Bachelor of Arts Wright State University, 2006 Master of Education Wright State University, 2007 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction College of Education University of South Carolina 2019 Accepted by: Susan Schramm-Pate, Major Professor Yasha Becton, Committee Member Linda Silvernail, Committee Member Kenneth Vogler, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Alisha Reed Anderson, 2019 All Rights Reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the members of my dissertation committee for their time, their support, and their feedback. I would especially like to thank Dr. Schramm-Pate, my major professor, for her patient guidance and constructive criticism throughout this process. This journey would not have been possible without the love and support of my family and friends: To my husband, Maynard, thank you for your unparalleled support and your unwavering faith in me. You have been my greatest source of encouragement, and I truly could not have done this without you. To my grandparents, Glenn and Louraine, thank you for impressing upon me the value of education and for fostering in me the determination to achieve my goals. To my father, Jeff, thank you for always believing in me and for your (and Vicki’s) impeccable timing in sending messages of love and encouragement. To Ben and Marilyn, thank you for your insight and your belief in me and my work. Your sense of perspective helped me stay grounded. To my dear friends Katie, Keeley, Meredith, and Robert, thank you for your friendship, your support, and your laughter. To my Cohort G peers, thank you for your camaraderie. It has been a pleasure learning with and from you all. iii ABSTRACT The present qualitative action research study was conducted to examine student- participant perceptions and performance in a critical media literacy unit in an Advanced Placement English Language and Composition (AP ELC) classroom. Critical media literacy skills and, specifically, rhetorical analysis skills, are tested on the end-of-course AP ELC exam. The teacher-researcher designed a four-week unit, Reading Mass Media, and implemented it with 38 student-participants in two sections of AP ELC taught by the teacher-researcher in a racially and economically diverse rural South Carolina high school. The purpose of the present action research is to describe student-participants’ performance and perceptions during the implementation of the Unit, which included rhetorical analysis of several popular culture texts (e.g., print advertisements, commercials, and movie trailers) as well as an investigation of issues of representation in the media. Though various types of media texts were used in the Unit, print advertisements were prioritized because student-participants from low socioeconomic backgrounds may have had limited access to online texts, which could affect their readiness to apply and develop new literacies. Action research methodology was used to answer the research question: What is the impact of a rhetorical analysis unit using critical media literacy on an Advanced Placement English Language and Composition class? Data collection included a pretest and pre-instruction survey, classroom observations, a posttest and post-instruction survey, and a focus-group interview. The pretest and posttest examined changes in student-participant performance, and the pre- iv and post-instructional surveys examined changes in student-participant perspectives. Classroom observations and the focus-group interview were used for polyangulation. Findings include the following themes: The Unit improved student-participants’ confidence and performance with the skills of rhetorical analysis, increased student- participants’ sensitivity to patterns of representation and stereotyping, promoted the critical reading of media texts, and encouraged active student-participant engagement. Overall, student-participants enjoyed the Unit, describing it as interesting, relevant, eye- opening, and useful in developing the skills of rhetorical analysis. The teacher-researcher used these themes to develop an action plan, which includes updating the Unit for use with future AP ELC classes, developing professional development sessions to share findings and strategies, and working with district officials to design a media literacy course. Keywords: action research, critical media literacy, English language arts, representation, rhetorical analysis of popular cultural texts. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix Chapter One: Research Overview ........................................................................................1 Chapter Two: Literature Review .......................................................................................35 Chapter Three: Methodology .............................................................................................79 Chapter Four: Findings and Interpretations .......................................................................94 Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusions, and Action Plan ..................................................163 References ........................................................................................................................188 Appendix A: Unit Outline ................................................................................................212 Appendix B: Unit Alignment to AP ELC Course Description ........................................215 Appendix C: Unit Alignment to SCCCR Standards ........................................................223 Appendix D: Pretest/Posttest ...........................................................................................226 Appendix E: Ad Scavenger Hunt .....................................................................................228 Appendix F: Culminating Project ....................................................................................229 Appendix G: Media Literacy Smartphone .......................................................................232 Appendix H: Magazines for Analysis ..............................................................................233 Appendix I: Magazine Advertisement Analysis Graphic Organizer ...............................234 Appendix J: Conceptual Framework of Study Design ....................................................236 vi Appendix K: Fieldnotes Page ..........................................................................................237 Appendix L: Group Discussion Checklist .......................................................................238 Appendix M: Pre-Instruction Survey ...............................................................................239 Appendix N: Post-Instruction Survey ..............................................................................241 Appendix O: Informed Consent Form .............................................................................243 Appendix P: Focus-Group Interview Protocol ................................................................244 Appendix Q: Sample Student-Participant Counter-Advertisements ................................245 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Summary of Student-Participant Demographic Data ........................................24 Table 4.1 Overview of Core Theme One .........................................................................106 Table 4.2 Overview of Core Theme Two ........................................................................107 Table 4.3 Overview of Core Theme Three ......................................................................108 Table 4.4 Overview of Core Theme Four ........................................................................109 Table 4.5 Overview of Core Theme Five ........................................................................110 Table 4.6 All Students’ Results from the Pre-Instruction Survey ...................................138 Table 4.7 All Students’ Results from the Post-Instruction Survey ..................................142 Table 4.8 Changes in Frequency Distribution from Pre-