In 2001 Rolfe, Freshwater and Jasper created a reflective  model based upon three simple questions: What? So what? Now what?

Using this model of reflection, I am going to address and reflect upon certain parts of my teaching practise.

What? What Happened

Following on from developing my MOOC – www.toku-ako.co.nz – I moved to surveying my students this week. My plan was to survey my class with a Microsoft Form and interview 5 students. The survey with my class was based around their knowledge of Media Literacy.

The class that I surveyed is my Year 8 class this year. There were 27 students that took the survey. Of that group 67% are Pakeha, 13% Maori and 3% Pacifika and 17% Asian. There are 17 girls and 14 boys.

The results from this survey were interesting and I have summarised them below.

Few students understand the term media. Below are some answers to the first question. There seems to be a preoccupation with social media.

Few students understand the importance of media literacy

So what? How can it be explained.

Clearly there is a lack of knowledge around media literacy in my class and I would assume this is indicative of New Zealand. Students don’t know what media literacy is, the key terms or questions or why it is important. A key reason for this is the lack of emphasis that New Zealand has placed on media literacy over the last 20 years.

Many countries around the world have invested heavily in this topic.
McGonagle highlights the work being completed by the European Union at a Government level in developing a solid framework across all European countries. (McGonagle, 2013)

In contrast to these positive advancements in media literacy research, the advancement of media literacy in New Zealand has been disappointing. The New Zealand Broadcasting Authority conducted research in 2006, however, the findings and subsequent implementation in New Zealand has been hap-hazard.  Their research finishes with the following statement:


“The BSA wishes to develop a media literacy strategy. However, there is unlikely to be a national consensus about the purpose and indeed the nature of media literacy.This is due to the nature of media within New Zealand and the absence of media literacy in government documentation.”

New Zealand is well behind other countries when it comes to media literacy.  The lack of push by government agencies and any real references within government documentation means that New Zealand is on the back foot.   

Now what? What can be applied in the future.

In relation to New Zealand and media literacy, in my opinion it is time that New Zealand spent time looking into media literacy. For too long this a subject that has been taught haphazardly at best and ignored in the main. The New Zealand Government should invest both time and money into exploring how best to teach media literacy and provide some resources to assist with this. In the meanwhile I hope that my digital resource will serve as a resource to help educate teachers and students the importance of this topic.

Around the development of the MOOC the next stage is to get student’s on board and using the tool. I will do this in class and perhaps include it as some of their homework for the week. Thinking ahead, a key part of this will be getting the early adopters on board within my class to promote the tool and ensure students are using it.

REFERENCES
1. McGonagle, T. (2013). Media Literacy: No Longer the Shrinking Violet of European Audiovisual Media. Regulation?. Media Law and Policy.

2. New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority. (2007).

3. OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_ edu-2016-en Daggett, B. (2014).

4. Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide.