This report describes the outcome
of research conducted between January and December 2008. It draws on research done in 2006, which
sought to investigate media teaching developments in the secondary sector (NCEA
Media Studies, in particular), and the possible consequences for media teaching
(Media Studies, in particular) in the tertiary sector. The 2008 research exercise was designed to
extend and expand the information gathered in the 2006 research exercise, by
focusing more closely on what is happening in
of NCEA Media Studies. The emphasis in
the 2008 research is on the content and delivery of Media Studies Achievement Studies, and the
consequences for students, with such prior knowledge, when they encounter first
year Media Studies courses in
Zealand
Media
Studies in
and Universities:
A Research Study
Geoff Lealand
Screen and
Media Studies
University of Waikato
<lealand@waikato.ac.nz>
April 2009
NCEA Media Studies is teaching much the same things as
tertiary Media Studies, but a lower level.
If we could actually talk to each other, we’d know a bit more about how
this content works in with each other. A bit more communication between
tertiary institutions and high school would be good
Deborah Thompson (National
Secondary Media Studies Facilitator 2006-2008)
October 23, 2008
I get
the feeling that if you ask the average university lecturer about how NCEA
works, you are likely to get a blank look.
teacher, September 2008
Acknowledgements
I have numerous people to thank for their contribution to
this research project. In many ways, the research would have not been possible
without their assistance and cooperation.
I particularly want to thank my two research assistants
Sasha McLaren and Kirsty Horrell, for their exemplary work in interviewing
teachers in the Waikato,
regions. They were always more than reliable, and willing to put a great deal
of effort into the interviews. They also
seemed to enjoy visiting schools.
I wish to thank all the teachers who took part in this
project and hope I have accurately reflected their experiences—especially in
respect of the importance of teaching Media Studies. I also want to thank Deb Thompson and Toni
Twiss for their additional feedback.
Many thanks too, to the convenors of first year tertiary media courses, who
enabled me to reach a good number of students in such courses.
Thanks to Ian Francis (NZQA) for very useful statistics.
A final thanks to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at
the
research
NOTE: I have endeavoured, in this report,
to make the source of the many commentaries and direct quotations as anonymous
as possible. For example, I have identified teachers by region, rather than
their specific school. This is because
their comments are often quite candid, and the purpose of this research was not
to make judgements on any particular school or institution; its purpose was to investigate
the status of Media Studies on a national
basis.
There is one exception to this general policy in that I have
identified the contribution of Deborah Thompson, in her capacity of national
facilitator in Media Studies in 2008. This is because she was in a position to
offer unique perspectives on the state of Media Studies in
schools.
Executive
Summary
The Research
- Research
funded by FASS Contestable Research Fund, 2008 - Research
extends 2006 research on the relationship and perceptions of secondary and
tertiary media sectors - 2008
research incorporated interviews with 36 secondary media teachers in 28
Studies in nearly all first year tertiary Media Studies courses across
observations of secondary teaching;
seminars to students
Research Background
- NCEA
Media Studies is now established as a popular and growing subject area in
Year 12 and 13 in
Zealand - The
estimated student cohort taking NCEA Media Studies in 2008 was 10,000,
with 407 entries for Scholarship. - An
estimated 4000-5000 students are enrolled in Media Studies or
media-related tertiary courses annually.
- Students
in
schools have the option of taking two years (Level 2 and 3) of NCEA Media
Studies. With the introduction of Level 1 NCEA Media Studies (in
2010/2011), they will be able to do three years of Media Studies at
school. - NCEA
Media Studies is based on a matrix of Achievement/Unit Standards, which
offer a mix of production elements and theoretical/critical approaches,
and a mix of internal/external
assessment, Scholarship is
based on a three hour external exam. - There
is no coordinated approach to teaching and assessment across the tertiary
sector in
Assessment frameworks in the secondary sector are subject to continuous
revision and alignment . - NCEA
Media Studies receive substantial support and resourcing from
NZQA/Ministry of Education, and has a strong lobby group (NAME); tertiary
media academics tend to work autonomously and in isolation.
Research Outcomes
- The
2006 research pointed to a considerable gulf in respect of levels of
understanding and coordination between the secondary school and tertiary
sectors. The 2008 research confirms that this gulf still exists, even
though several universities are now offering more support and resources to
teachers and students - There is generally poor understanding of
NCEA amongst media academics, but with some improvement in this situation,
as more Media Studies graduates enter teaching. - Most
secondary teachers expect their students to go to university Media
Studies, or associated courses (such as Communication Studies or graphic
design) - Most
secondary Media Studies teachers approach the subject in a holistic way, integrating production and theory,
as well as enabling the‘scaffolding’and
accumulation of knowledge. - Media
Studies teachers regard their subject as providing very important skills
for students, as well encouraging critical awareness of the media, and the
world. - Most (81%) of first year media students
in 2008 regarded NCEA Media Studies as beneficial to their subsequent
studies. - Nearly
one tenth (9.4 %) found university media courses ‘very challenging’ and
more than half (54%) found them ‘challenging’.
Nevertheless, more than one-third (36.8%)
regarded them as offering familiar content, or providing
little challenge. - The
most comment complaints about university media courses were: little or no production opportunities;
repetition of content; too much theory and/or reading; lack of excitement
or intellectual rigour; higher standards or expectations needed.
Recommendations
·
that
tertiary institutions offering Media Studies or media-related courses provide courses that both complement
and extend the content and objectives
of NCEA Media Studies
·
that
academics, tutors and course convenors
for first-year tertiary Media Studies courses become better
acquainted with the structure, content
and objectives of NCEA Media Studies
·
that serious consideration be given to identifying
Media Studies Scholarship students enrolling for tertiary Media Studies, with
provision for accelerated, right-of-entry to Year Two courses (through waivers
or other mechanisms). This could also be extended to students who achieve
Excellence in Level 3 NCEA Media Studies.
• that tertiary media courses look to
increasing and integrating production elements in Year One media courses
Introduction
This report describes the outcome
of research conducted between January and December 2008. It draws on research done in 2006, which
sought to investigate media teaching developments in the secondary sector (NCEA
Media Studies, in particular), and the possible consequences for media teaching
(Media Studies, in particular) in the tertiary sector. The 2008 research exercise was designed to
extend and expand the information gathered in the 2006 research exercise, by
focusing more closely on what is happening in
of NCEA Media Studies. The emphasis in
the 2008 research is on the content and delivery of Media Studies Achievement Studies, and the
consequences for students, with such prior knowledge, when they encounter first
year Media Studies courses in
Zealand
NCEA Media Studies in New Zealand
Level 2 Achievement Standards for
Media Studies were first introduced in
Level 3 Achievements Standards provided in the following year, along with Media
Studies Scholarship. To date, there are
no Level 1 Achievement Standards available, even though some teachers have
taken the initiative in developing equivalents, whilst policy makers in the
Ministry of Education and the New Zealand Qualifications (NZQA), in response to
a growing demand for teaching at this introductory level, formally agreed to
the development of Level 1 Achievement Standards in April
2009.
The Media Studies subject expert
group, which commenced work in 2008 revision of the Media Studies matrix (see
below) also has made strong representations for the introduction of NCEA Level
1 (equivalent to Level 6 of the New
Zealand Curriculum, to be first
implemented in 2011).
The Media Studies matrix
In 2007, students in
schools were able to structure a programme in Media Studies from the following
offerings provided at Level 2 and Level 3 of the National Certificate of
Educational Achievement (NCEA):
Media Studies Matrix, 2008[2]
Level
|
Level
|
|
AS90276 2.1
Describe the relationship between a media product and its target
3 credits External
|
AS90599 3.1
Demonstrate understanding of a specific media industry 4 credits External
|
|
AS90277 2.2 Close read unfamiliar
|
AS90600 3.2
Explain how meaning is created in media texts 4 credits Internal
|
|
AS90278 2.3
Demonstrate understanding of messages and/or values, and
3 credits
|
AS90602 3.4
Explain the relationship 4 credits External
|
|
AS90279 2.4
Demonstrate understanding of a media genre 3 credits External
|
AS90604 3.6 Complete and
|
|
AS90280 2.5
Demonstrate understanding of narrative conventions in media texts 3 credits Internal
|
AS90606 3.8
Create a media product using appropriate media technology 6 credits Internal
|
|
AS90765 2.6
Design and produce a media product and evaluate the process used to
6 credits Internal
|
AS90779 3.3
Investigate an aspect of media and explain its significance for
4 Credits Internal |
|
AS90282 2.7
Use technology in media production
3 credits Internal
|
|
Enrolments in NCEA Media Studies, 2008
Figures supplied by NZQA indicate the following
enrolments ;
i) External
2008 Level 2 Achievement
Standards (comparative 2007 figures in brackets)
Note; figures represent number of entries for each ASA
AS 90276 (media product and its target audience) 2429 (2519)
AS 90278 (message and/or values) 2856 (3274)
AS 90279 (media
genre) 3879 (3909)
ii) External
2008 Level 3
AS 90559 (specific media industry) 2502 (2353)
AS 90602 (media genre and society) 3097 (3074)
iii) Internal
2008 Level 2
Note: figures
represent result counts (Achieved/Merit/Excellence) for
the year, Results for 2007 in brackets. Not Achieved counts are not included
for 2007[3]) .
AS 90277 (unfamiliar media text) 4269
(3395)
AS 90280 (narrative conventions) 3359 (2434)
AS 90282 (technology in media production) 4165 (3379)
AS 90765 (design and produce and evaluate) 4326 (3357)
iv) Internal 2008
Level 3
AS 90604 (concept and treatment) 3590
(2901)
AS 90606 (create a media product) 3424 (2595)
AS 90600 (meaning in media texts) 1709 (1201)
AS 90779 (aspect of media for NZ) 2752 (1709)
Scholarship in Media Studies (93303)
Students who display the necessary aptitude, or students who
have been encouraged by their teacher, can enroll in their second year of Media
Studies (Year 13) for entry to Scholarship in Media Studies. The pre-requisite
for enrolment is enrolment in a
full-time studies in Level 3 Media Studies. Success in Scholarship is
determined by performance in end-of-year, externally assessed written exams.
Year 13 students can also choose to enroll in Scholarship in
Media Studies, and work towards the November examination. Many achieve this
goal, even though there are significant absences at the final exam. In 2007,
for example, there were 243 entries for Scholarship (of which 125 were absent),
and 407 entries (of which 128 were absent) in 2008.[4]
According to New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) figures, in 2007 there were 243
entries for Scholarship in Media Studies, comprising 3.05 percent of the number
of Year 13 students studying the subject at Level 3.[5] Of the 118 students who sat the Scholarship
in Media Studies examination in 2007, 81 Scholarships were awarded, with ten
students reaching Outstanding Performance.
Tertiary Media Studies in
The history and development of
tertiary Media Studies in
tertiary institutions parallels the experience of Media Studies in
secondary schools [6]
but obtaining accurate, national
figures on past or current students taking Media Studies or media-related
courses (such as Film Studies, Communication Studies, Journalism) in
tertiary institutions is quite an impossible task. An educated guess would put the figure
between 4000 and 5000 students annually.[7]
The norm for
enrolments in first year Media Studies courses offered by large tertiary
institutions (such as Stage One core
courses FTVMS 100 Media Studies and FTVMS 101
Film Studies offered at the
of
between 300 and 400 students, with some annual variability.[8]
Students in Screen and Media Studies at the University of Waikato are directed
to take two first year courses in their first year of majoring in the subject,
as the first stage towards a Bachelor of Arts (Media Studies major) or Bachelor
of Communication Studies (Media Studies major). Enrolments in 2008 were as follows
(comparative 2004 figures in brackets);
SMST101 Screen Studies 1: The
Moving Image (Semester A) 126
(202)
SMST 102 The Media and Society 1 299
(335)
In addition, the first year
production-oriented SMST112 Video Production course attracted 52 students in
2008 (99 in 2005).
The 2006 Research Exercise
Research Design
The 2006 research project was
designed to explore several assumptions about the state of media teaching in
media
academics often display poor knowledge of what goes on in secondary
school media teaching (NCEA Media Studies, in particular)
and, in some cases,
an
unwillingness to learn more. Likewise, secondary media teachersd are unaware
of what
constitutes tertiary teaching, or feel disconnected from the content being
taught there. [9]
The objective of the research was
to explore these propositions, in order ‘to encourage a conversation across the
sectors’[10],
and utilised a mix of interviews with media teachers and media academics and an
online questionnaire (101 responses, with 69 teachers and 32 academics
contributing).[11]
Research Outcomes
The general experience amongst the
teacher respondents—most of whom were relatively new to media teaching—was that
knowledge about the content and purpose of tertiary media teaching was limited
but there was an accompanying desire to know more. Despite the significant
numbers of teachers who had completed tertiary
qualifications with significant Media Studies components (32) , there was broad
agreement that the relationship between the secondary media and tertiary media
sectors could be improved, in order to coordinate teaching objectives, share information and to ensure students
benefited from all levels of their education, as in the following typical
comments,
There are very few tertiary media teachers
who have an interest in
and understanding of secondary media
courses… It would be good
to have their elliptically or trendy
sounding courses decoded into
student-friendly language. Students
often reject courses because they sound too
academic or too confusing.
Bring the two together … I have heard that some programmes at 100
level
tertiary
have been changed due to students coming in from secondary having a
greater
knowledge. [my emphasis]
Likewise, amongst the 32 media
academics participating in the 2006 research, there was minimal awareness about
the structures, content and objectives of media teaching at the secondary
level—but also a willingness to learn more.
Virtually all (30) also regarded the relationship between the two
sectors as poor, as in the following comment,
At the most basic level there is not enough
communication. … The tertiary
media sector needs to organise
itself and en ter into relations with a number
of partners, including secondary school
teachers. We need to look at the
continuity
of media curriculum from secondary and tertiary institutions.
[my
emphasis]
Extending the 2006 Research
My general conclusions, from this
aspect of the 2006 research, suggested that there a ‘considerable gulf’
continued to divide the two sectors, with ‘a worrying lack of knowledge on both
sides’, This meant that, ‘The New Zealand educational reforms of the 1990s
[which] had the objective of creating a uniquely ‘seamless’ educational system
for New Zealand’ still had not been realised, with the lack of connections
between media teaching in secondary school and teaching in tertiary
institutions as one example.
One strategy for increasing
knowledge flows between the two sectors
is through providing ready access to programme outlines, teaching
objectives and assessment tools. In respect of secondary media teaching, there
are numerous routes for obtaining such information, such as the Media Studies
community on the Ministry of Education-moderated TKI mega-site, or documents
relating to Achievement Standards on the NZQA site. These provide detailed
information on curriculum matters,
explanatory language, exemplars and teaching resources.
Such sites address national teaching objectives for NCEA Media Studies. There is no
equivalent resourcing for tertiary Media Studies. Institutions (universities, polytechnics, PTEs)
develop Media Studies programmes in a completely autonomous manner, with
minimal cross-referencing to teaching programmes at other institutions.[12]
The 2006 research had the objective
of addressing the paucity and uneven
quality of available information about the teaching of Media Studies
across educational sectors in
range of information about the teaching objectives of both secondary media
teachers and tertiary media teachers.
The 2008 research was designed to add to this information, by
focusing on what New Zealand media teachers were delivering to their students
in New Zealand schools, what they were doing towards preparing their students
for possible higher level education, and what contact teachers had with the tertiary
sector, This information was gathered
through visits to 28 New Zealand schools during 2008, enabling extensive
interviews with a range of media teachers (new teachers and experienced/senior
teachers). Numerous opportunities also
arose to talk to students in these schools.
As an important addition to the research,
students taking Media Studies or related courses in
were surveyed, and offered the opportunity to directly contrast their NCEA
Media Studies experiences with their higher education experiences.
The 2008 Research Exercise
Research Rationale
The initial application to the
(November 2007) included the following arguments for widening the 2006
research;
What
is apparent is there is now a large number of students taking Media
Studies
(Level 2 and 3 and Scholarship) in
important
that tertiary-level Media Studies departments pay close attention to this
growth,
but it is just as important that attention be paid to the content and
delivery
of NCEA Media Studies…
I
wish to build on the knowledge I have, by systematically investigating where
Achievement
Standards in NCEA Media Studies may complement (and possibly duplicate) the
content of undergraduate teaching (especially first year survey courses).
The 2008 research focused on
the following aspects of media teaching in
1. The experiences of secondary school teachers engaged in NCEA Media Studies
2. The experiences of students in first year Media Studies courses in
tertiary institutions.[13]
Research Design
The research involved visits to a
wide range of schools, to report on a diversity of teaching experiences and
school environments. The input from
first year tertiary students involved responses to a one-page questionnaire,
delivered to students towards the end of the first year Media Studies course
they were enrolled in.
I. Interviews with teachers
Visits were made to 28 schools in
during 2008[14].
Altogether, 36 teachers were interviewed[15]:
Cuthberts
Grammar
Hamilton/Waikato: Fraser High
Hillcrest
High
Te
Napier:
Rotorua/Bay of Plenty:
Palmerston North:
Palmerston
North Girls
College
Burnside
High
Avonside
High
Otago
Girls High
II. Tertiary
student survey
With the assistance of course
convenors of first year media courses in
tertiary institutions throughout
questionnaire was distributed to students who had taken NCEA Media Studies
during their secondary schooling years.
Ten media programmes participated in this research exercise[16]:
Media Studies,
Communication Studies, Unitec (
Screen & Media Studies,
Media Studies,
(Palmerston North)
Media Studies,
(
Media Studies,
of
Bachelor of Broadcasting
Communications, New Zealand Broadcasting School at Christchurch Polytechnic
Institute of Technology
Film Studies,
Mass Communications,
Film, Media & Communications,
This questionnaire featured five
questions, seeking information and
assessments on the following aspects of first year tertiary courses;
- What levels of NCEA Media Studies had the student
done at school - Was NCEA Media Studies beneficial to their subsequent
university studies? - How did the the experiences of their university media
course compare with their media courses at school. - What content would they have like more/less of in
their university course. - Was there any aspect of media content that was
over-familiar, or the student felt over-exposed to.[17]
Research Outcomes
I. Teacher
Interviews
Thirty-six interviews were conducted during pre-arranged visits to
twenty-eight secondary schools across
Interviewing was done by Geoff Lealand, Kirsty Horrell and Sacha McLaren, over
the period June to November 2008, and in respect of Geoff Lealand, frequently
involved talks to students and tours of teaching facilities (see Footnote 14).
The interviews were structured
around a set of questions which sought information on the following aspects of media teaching;
- Unit Standards and Achievement Standards being taught
- Scholarship in
NCEA Media Studies - Experiences of teaching NCEA Media Studies
- Progressive learning in NCEA Media Studies
- Links with university level Media Studies
- Student engagement with NCEA Media Studies
- The role of NCEA Media Studies
Unit Standards and Achievement Standards being taught
Only three teachers included
media-related Unit Standards (US) in their teaching programme, drawing on US
7467 Investigate how different audiences
interact with media text and
to a programme of Media Studies Achievement Standards.
The majority of teachers
constructed a programme of teaching from both Level 2 and Level 3 Media Studies
(with two teaching only Level 2). [18]. Ten
teachers taught all Achievement
Standards on offer at Level 2 and Level 3, but the majority of teachers chose
to exclude particular AS from their offerings, for a variety of reasons. For example, thirteen teachers did not teach
the externally-assessed AS90278 2.3 Demonstrate
understanding of messages and/or
values, and representations within
media texts [19],
and eight did not teach the internally-assessed AS90600 3.2 Explain how meaning is created in media
texts.
Explanations for the exclusion of these two
Achievement Standards, and others,
included,
Not a fan of 2.3. generally. It makes Level
2 harder than Level 3. Level 2
is too prescriptive and subjective
[with] close reading and narrative aspects
too broken down. Level 3 is broader and I
prefer the higher level of thinking required from students at Level 3. Most
people probably enjoy teaching Level 2
more, as they are really easy in terms of
prescription. I find that students do not
necessarily need to have done Level 2 to do
well in Level 3. (
I don’t teach 2.3 and 3.4 [Explain the relationship
between a media genre and society] as I have found they are beyond most of my
students. These units
require critical thinking and my students
are not just ready for it. I have tried them in the past and found that it was
too difficult for most of the students and most of them failed. (
I prefer to teach AS students are engaged in. There
is also a lack of local production houses/film-makers etc to call on, for an AS
like AS90599.
You don’t need to teach the full gamut but I
do attempt to make teaching seamless, with theory informing production. (
teacher)
Scholarship
Nearly two-thirds (20) of the 28
schools offered special tuition or support for students who had enrolled for
the end-of-year external examination in Media Studies Scholarship. The number of such students ranged from a
single potential candidate to twelve students.
Five schools had ten such students in 2008. [20] Even though numerous students decline to sit
the final exam, or do not succeed in their attempt, they are potentially the
most intellectually advanced and informed students in their cohort,
Scholarship exams are hard. They are for the most able students and
require high-level analytical
skills, critical thinking, and advanced written
language skills.[21]
Preparing scholarship students for
the end-of-year exam is the responsibility of media teachers and it often
involves additional commitments from such teachers. Teachers will run meetings
before and after school, or in lunch breaks, in order to advise and groom
promising scholarship students, and these meetings increase in frequency as the
exam looms.[22]
Many of these scholarship students
go on to higher education, with a significant number opting for Media Studies
or media-related courses in their first year of study. Those students who participated in the 2008
survey, and were in this position, were most visibly the same students who
found much repetition and little challenge in first year university courses,
feeling constrained in utilizing or extending the skills and knowledge they had
acquired at school.[23]
Experiences of teaching NCEA Media Studies
Although some teachers enjoyed
teaching all NCEA Achievement
Standards in Media Studies, a greater number enjoyed some more than others.
Frequent mentions were made of production-oriented Achievement Standards, such
as,
I enjoy creating something they can be proud
of. Media Studies should, by right,
always include some production elements. But
there is one important element missing: scriptwriting. (
teacher)
I particularly love 2.4 (Media genre) and close reading , and how it leads to the
practical work…watching how the theory flourishes through the practical work.
(
I really love the practical side of Media Studies
where students make work [but] struggling with limited resources makes this
difficult to teach. The students get a lot of joy out of making practical work,
so that makes it a joy for the teacher.
(
teacher)
I enjoy production but I don’t come from a
production background. I tend to just
throw them in the deep end. (
The practical ones…it’s concrete, so some
kids like it. It can be good for the macro as well as the micro thinkers. It’s
rare to have an AS that enables all kids to pass. (
teacher)
Positive comments—and more
general observations– on other Achievement Standards included,
Close reading (AS 2.2) is a great way of
encouraging student attention, and developing a specialist language. AS 3.2 is
a great way for exposing students to unfamiliar texts and the discussion of
concepts (very much reflecting the emphasis in the new school curriculum). (Hawke’s Bay teacher)
I enjoy them all [but] there is a constant adjustment and change of
content, as I would get bored teaching the same thing. I draw on recent events
in the media which are relevant to students. This way the students are more
aware of following the media, and with what is happening in the world. (Bay of Plenty
teacher)
Standards are like ‘children’. I teach them in such a way as one leads to
the next one. (Auckland
teacher)
Several Achievement Standards which
were less enjoyable for some teachers, and the reasons offered tended to echo
the reservations expressed about specific Achievement Standards identified in
the previous section,
Kids do struggle with 2.5 (Narrative
Conventions) in Level 2. They tend
to close read it, as opposed to viewing it
as a convention. Students tend to still be a little text-focused at this level.
Instead they must place texts within genre conventions, rather than approach
them as ‘film study’.
This is a rather sophisticated ask of the
students at this level. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Media Studies made
itself too hard initially, in order to be taken seriously—but this is getting
better all the time.[24] (
teacher)
I do have some issues with the expectations
of some AS. ‘Achieved’, in some cases, is too low an expectation. Resourcing some standards can be a
problem—especially 3.1 (Audience), where perspectives tend to swing widely frfrfom
one thing to another—from a
Zealand
perspective. (
More general comments
included,
Externals can be a problem and I am not
always sure what the expectations
are … there are still pre-NCEA effects, with
Media Studies placed in Social Sciencs and often taught by people who are not
trained in social sciences.
(Manawatu
teacher)
The difficulty of Media Studies is not
the AS or subjects; it is the marrying of
ideas to the interests of students and
allowing them to develop objectively. Media Studies is really about critical
thinking, reflection and distancing [students] from their subjectivity. Most
students tend to see themselves subjectively in the films they watch. Teaching
Film Noir in Year 13 is easier as it is new to them. Thus they are more objective and therefore
better engage. Teaching teen films in 2.4 doesn’t work so well. (
Level 3 standards are generally too crammed
and the external requirements tend to impede teaching..3.3 (Aspect of the media
in
for example, is problematic and has timing issues. It can be left to the end of
the year and is rushed. In part, this is due to the production units, which can
take up large amounts of time. (
AS 2.5 students are often confused as we the
same text for more than one AS. I think many of them struggle with the holistic
approach we have.
(
Progressive learning in NCEA
Media Studies
The ‘holistic approach’ cited above
is a major characteristic of NCEA Media Studies (and NCEA generally), whereby
Achievement Standards are linked within levels, and learning and knowledge
acquisition accumulates, and is reiterated and reinforced, across levels.
Teachers were asked whether they
were able to measure or discern increased levels of understanding and
knowledge acquisition in their
students, as students progressed from Level 2 Media Studies to Level 3 Media
Studies, and possibly on to sit Scholarship in Media Studies.
Examples of discernible progressive
learning included the following lengthy discourse,
Sometimes, at the beginning of the year, I will get
students to sit a ‘prior learning’ pre-test. However [my school] is smallish,
so I am often teaching the same students a lot of the time. Often the students
will have been taking media since Year 9… Even the pre-test may not discern
increased levels of understanding. The best way [to find out] is most likely
through having conversations with students.
Students at the beginning of Year 12 are
beginning to get their heads around the idea of ‘wider implications’ but, by
the end of the year when I say things such as ‘the effect on society’, they
already grasped it.
Media Studies is different in some ways
because of its links to society, culture etc. It is not just close textual
analysis. Rather, Media Studies is constantly contextualized, with a developing
awareness of the audience.
This
The students quickly find that if they are making a
filmic product for their own delight, and with little consideration of an
audience, then it doesn’t work. The maturing of the student’s insight is
evident during the production where a consideration for the audience becomes
the highest priority.
The scholarship class has been very
successful … students work on a bridging of knowledge from previous years. I
read out to them the work of previous students, and the class discuss ways in
which they could the work better.
Remarks from
other teachers included,
Measure
through the data, through the external and internal marks. Can also
guage from conversations I have with
students. There wouldn’t be one time of any school day that there aren’t media
students in the room, self-motivating themselves to work on their projects.
Thus there is a lot of one-on-one time.
(
teacher)
L2 and L3 have become a continuum. It has to
be taught as a two year programme or it doesn’t work. It has to be
scaffolded. For example, you can’t discuss film in any sophistication, in Level
3, with students who haven’t done Level 2.
We have made 16 NCEA Level 2 English AS as a pre-requisite for Level 3,
to counteract this issue. (
Students begin to articulate their views
using film technology in about Term 3…[they] are better able to problem solve,
plan for and articulate what they want in the practical application of their
knowledge. They can problem solve using techniques. (
Other comments
included,
The levels do represent quite a big jump but I can
discern acquisition of knowledge. Students are not so naïve. For example, they
begin to regard the camera as a ‘paint brush’, rather than being intent on
getting a shot done.
(Rotorua
teacher)
I find a significant difference between students who
start at Level 3 without having done Level 2, and those who do both. I am still
happy to take on the [former] students, as I find students help and support
each other to catch up.
(
teacher)
Generally, over two years, students get
better. Possibly this is a consequence of the ‘carnage’ at Level 2. (
The boys especially. Throughout the course
of the year they really start to blossom…their levels of understanding as well
as their ability to express it changes lots between the assessments. (
teacher)
Yes, it’s obvious as they say themselves
that it’s changed them. The course is life and mind changing, providing
insights into how the system works. It’s a way to understand the political,
social, economic and cultural systems that make up society. (
Their practice essays show clear progression
from the beginning of the year. In some topics like sitcom and genre, their
understanding of gender stereotypes show a move away from black and white
thinking. (
You see a critical approach and thinking
developing. We looked at the Dove
‘Real Woman’ campaign and the fact that Rexona owns Dove. They did some
research of their own and came up with real world examples (
teacher).
Links with tertiary Media Studies
The intention of this question was
to explore levels of knowledge, or links (both formal ands informal), teachers
involved in secondary-school level Media Studies had with tertiary level Media
Studies courses (or departments or individuals). The 2006 research cited above suggests that
such knowledge was limited, and links were few, and the responses to a similar
question posed in 2008 indicates that little has changed. One
teacher reported on a ‘disappointing’ experience when she took a group of Media
Studies students on a field trip to one
university. When one of these students
asked a lecturer, “Do I need to take Media Studies at high school to get into
university?’, the lecturer replied with a ‘fast, flat ‘no’’. The teacher thought that this highlighted
the lack of communication between school media teachers and universities.
In respect of their responses to
this question about links and levels of knowledge, the explanations provided by
the 38 teachers in this study can be grouped as follows:
a. no links
More than one-third (14) of the
interviewed teachers reported that they
had no knowledge about what was being taught in tertiary level Media Studies
and/or had no means nor links of finding out more. This experience was not just confined to
schools who were not geographically close to urban-based tertiary institutions, as the following comments
suggest,
No links, other than occasionally talking to
ex-students—even though, as a teachers association [CANTOM], we have tried. But
they have never come to the party. (
It is not brilliant. There has been even less
contact with the merger of the Teacher’s College and the University. There is
no significant contact, even through CANTOM. (
b. formal links with tertiary institutions
Two teachers indicated that
they had formal links with tertiary institutions; firstly, in the form of
university providing lectures to secondary students in an university
environment, as well as to cluster meetings of teachers, and secondly, through
a local tertiary institution organizing screenings and providing feedback for
secondary students’ production work.
Several other teachers
mentioned that there had been attempts, in the past, to share teaching and
ideas but these had not been successful, for a number of reasons.,
One [
building links between it and schools but I didn’t get the sense that anything
would change from that meeting. Their approach was quite arrogant in a sense.
The teachers there sensed that they wanted to talk to the Media Studies
teachers about what they could/should be doing, as opposed to engaging in a
mutual conversation, and sharing knowledge and resources. (
Some of it has just been fairly naked
recruiting exercises for tertiary providers.
(
c. informal links
A significant number (14) of media
teachers had informal links with
tertiary Media Studies departments. In most cases, such links were with
specific individuals who were willing to provide advice and support for teachers
and/or students[25]. Such support included offering occasional
after-school seminars for students (especially Scholarship students[26] ) or
talks within the school, providing resources for teaching and student work, and
responding to email requests from students.
In most cases, the initiative for seeking
support, or information about tertiary
courses, came from teachers (or, in the case of students, on the teacher’s
recommendation) but there were also cases of media academics offering their
services unsolicited. Comments
included,
I do try to look at what universities are
doing…thinking about what a general skills Year 13 student will need for
entering university. (
Have contacts through Scholarship days but
not really much else. To be honest,
It’s hard to get information for students
out of [some] places. (
Contacts through the
in Media Studies teacher training. (
teacher)
d. educational links
Another group of teachers (8) based
their knowledge of tertiary Media Studies on having done such studies
themselves, most often as their major in an undergraduate degree or were
currently doing extramural studies. In a couple of cases, teachers had
completed a higher degree (MA) in Media Studies.. Two teachers were also directly involved in
tertiary teaching, having recently done tutoring or direct teaching in
undergraduate Media Studies courses at neighbouring institutions.
It was this group of eight teachers
who seemed in the best position to make an assessment of tertiary level Media
Studies. In addition to commenting on the state of
relations between secondary and tertiary Media Studies, they were also
well-placed to comment on the content of undergraduate courses, and their
students’ expectations of university and subsequent feedback .
Such comments included,
I am aware of how tertiary content relates
to NCEA. University work is more
theory based , so for students who love the
practical side of Media Studies, I wouldn’t encourage them to do a BA but,
rather, would encourage them towards the skills-based tertiary sector (NZ
Broadcasting School, AUT), or a communications degree at university…largely
because of a personal perception that these are successful for those with
practical skills. (
The content is the same. I teach the same
stuff in NCEA—it’s all big-picture stuff, even though NCEA compartmentalizes.
University teaching, on the other hand, is too narrow and too specialized—there
is no relationship between courses and nothing inter-relates. There is little
satisfaction in this for holistic thinkers.
(
Further comments from this
group of teachers included,
I really only know what the students who leave tell
me, although I only ever hear from them for the first half of the first year.
After that, they seem to settle in and I no longer hear from them. They often
say that [university] is too easy. And they complain a lot about the fact that
it is all theory and no production.
(
NCEA doesn’t necessarily prepare you for
uni as the way uni is taught is just so
different. Even if the content is similar, you know, 180 or more students in a
room is a world away from a school like this. (
teacher)
The weaker students who go on to university
Media Studies courses are given confidence by the familiarity of the ideas and
the direct link to NCEA. The more academic scholarship students find parts of
it dull and they don’t necessarily have the essay writing skills that the uni
courses value. But they do have a greater ability to understand than they are
given opportunity to express. Often uni courses don’t present enough of a
challenge. Students always comment that they want more practical elements. (
teacher)
Progression on to university
Teachers interviewed in this study
were asked how many of their Media Studies students planned to go on to
university or other higher education Media Studies. More than one-third (14)
expected most of their students to take this next step, whilst another twelve
teachers expected some to do so. A
smaller group of teachers (8) indicated that only a few students would go on to
tertiary Media Studies. One teacher, for
example, reported that six out of her 17 Year 13 students planned to progress
on to university; another nominated four out of her 18 Year 13 class.
Further observations and
speculations on the likely routes NCEA students would take at university included,
Most students go on to university from this college,
and some of these would do Media Studies specifically. A large percentage of my
Media Studies do go on to study Media Studies at university, but only some of
these take it as a major.
Communication Studies is really popular, and
some students will go to AUT and the
in
in order to enter the television or radio industries. Others might go on to
study graphic design as there is a strong print focus at the school. Others
have even gone on to study animation. It is not specifically taught but they
often talk about this and other careers
in class.
(
teacher)
Most of my students who want to study at a
tertiary level, want to study Media Studies specifically. Often they will do a
BA congruent with another subject, such as music. (
Those in my Year 13 class are likely to go
on to university; Year 12 students are less likely to and are more likely to
opt for a vocational course. (
teacher)
Some students instead of most due to the
fact that not all subjects can be picked up in Year 12, to then get into
uni—and this includes Media and other ’English-rich’ subjects. (
Several teachers commented
that students from their school seemed particularly drawn to communication
studies degrees, with their stronger emphasis on vocationalism, rather than a
more Humanities or Social Science-oriented approach to Media Studies,
Most students would go on to higher
education but it is difficult to know if they actually do Media Studies. I
believe that most students who expressed interest in Media Studies at high
school are probably drawn to
Communication degrees.
(
Some-to-most go on to further study and
those who enjoyed Media Studies tend to have a Humanities bent and often tend
to pick up media papers—but more as electives rather than as a major. My
students tend to do Communications over a straight Media Studies degree. (
The parents and culture in this school is
one where there is pressure for students to become professionals (doctors,
lawyers etc). There is a negative attitude to students studying BAs [so] more
students go on to study Communications over a BA. Lots of students go on to study law and
commerce, and marry their media skills—such as in media law.
Reports coming back from students doing
media at university level is that it is not as dynamic as at high school—it is
not as exciting, with many subjects simply re-jigged. (
Student engagement with NCEA Media Studies
As concluding questions in
the interviews, the participating teachers were asked to comment on a number of
broad aspects of Media Studies teaching.
Firstly, they were asked whether there was a place for student prior or
skills in NCEA Media Studies, and how such knowledge could be incorporated into
formal teaching. Only three teachers
disagreed with the proposition, pointing to the fragmentary or unfocused nature
of student experiences.
Nevertheless, the great
majority of teachers considered that student prior knowledge was both a reality, and a very important
component of media teaching. Comments –often quite detailed–included,
There is always a place for prior knowledge;
it is just a matter of directing it in a particular direction. A high proportion of this prior knowledge is
student confidence with using and watching media—they tend to be refined and
sophisticated users and watchers. There
is often a benefit that most students will be familiar with the text being
taught…they will, of course, be given new perspectives. I often hear, ‘Miss,
you’ve ruined this film for me because now I have to think about it.’
At recent parent/teacher interviews, there
was a lot of feedback from families that parents are learning lots from their
kids as they watch film and television with them. .. I also find that one
cannot discuss film and television without discussing the internet. Media
Studies is a ‘real’ subject in this way. (
The more they know, the better. Often
students don’t realize how much knowledge they actually have from sophisticated
media watching and interaction.
(
Yes, you can’t do Media Studies without an
understanding of the world and the ramifications of one’s place in it. Media
Studies must have an opinion and then be able to reason it through…The Year 13
scholarship students, in particular, bring in lots of knowledge from their
other subjects—they tend to do subjects like History and English—more critical
thinking subjects [and] tend to be genuinely interested in the world. (
teacher)
Yes, this is a strength of the
subject…tapping into personal perceptions and experiences. (
Many of them have technical knowledge that
supercedes the teacher’s.
(
Media Studies lends itself to teaching
info-literacy skills, which is a primary skill for lifelong learning. (
Other teachers commented that
whilst students were knowledgeable in some
areas, they were not necessarily competent in all areas,
They know lots of the modern stuff from
their own viewing and can bring their prior knowledge to bear [but] their
practical skills are sporadic, with only about a third have ever touched a
camera. (
A number can use professional cameras but
sound recording is always a problem.
(
Not all are competent but there are one or
two students every year who are technologically wonderful and they take over
teaching—and I let them take over.
(Manawatu
teacher)
Students bring their own experiences as
media consumers [but] have little understanding of the construction of the
media. Throughout Media Studies. they become less passive and understand better
how the media operates. Students are vulnerable and this is very important
information for them to know.
(
The great majority of the
teachers interviewed agreed that teaching Media Studies required special
teaching skills. Even though the
growth of Media Studies in New Zealand schools has been characterized a trend
towards specialized teachers, as more graduates emerge from Media Studies
degree courses, it still remains that a good number of teachers have gravitated
to the subject from other areas (English, Geography) without specific training.[27] Indeed, four teachers interviewed during
2008 stated that formal training in Media Studies was not necessarily a
pre-requisite for teaching, as in the explanation from one
teacher, ‘You only need to be passionate
about the subject’.
Passion does clearly motivate
many of these teachers but there is also a growing understanding that the
breadth, complexity and shifting boundaries of Media Studies does require a
high level of expertise, and a multiplicity of skills, as demonstrated in the
following comments,
It is certainly handy to have done a degree
in Media Studies. [It] is like any subject in the sense that, like a science
subject for example, one must know what it is before teaching it. A Media Studies teacher must also be a
jack-of-all-trades [and] must do both theory and production…Media Studies
teachers must be really aware of what is going on in the world; they absolutely
must be reading the papers etc. (
The level of teaching is much richer if the
teacher has been specifically trained in media. (
A variety of skills are needed; technical
and theoretical, IT confidence to be able to use things like YouTube, cameras,
DVD players. You have to have a knowledge
of institutions, not just textual analysis. I think this is where lots of
untrained teachers can fall down. (
Teachers have to string practical and theory
together. They must have the technical skills and be able to multi-task and
trouble-shoot…A Media Studies must have group skills also…This can be tricky to
manage, as managing personalities and hormones! More management is required
than with tertiary students…Media Studies teachers must also be up-to-date
with what is happening in the media, as it rapidly changes. Much more is
required in Media Studies than for an English teacher, for example. How much
does King Lear change? Media Studies teachers can’t simply rehash their
teaching year after year; it must be current knowledge. (
People who teach Media Studies with no media
experience really struggle. The technical stuff is no big deal, however, as the
students deal with that—they are very
comfortable and savvy with the technology. It is the academic and theory [aspects]
that some teachers struggle with. (
teacher)
Further comments included,
You need to know aesthetics, cinematic
language, semiotics—as well as technology, such as computers. Literature
teachers teaching Media Studies know the text but not the context, and that’s
the distinction between English and Media Studies. To teach Media Studies you need to well-read,
know about the world, the global economy, socio-political issues… (
teacher)
You have to be more daring as a teacher to
teach Media Studies. You have to be prepared to say, “I don’t know. How shall
we find out?” It’s much more of a collaborative learning experience, than say
other subjects like maths, where the teacher always knows the right answer. (
teacher)
You have to be internet savvy to be able to
use all the resources available to you to keep up to date.
teachers I know are all obsessed in some way with something, like Hitchcock or
something.
(
Aligned with this contention
that Media Studies teachers needed to be proficient in a range of skills—as
well as possessing a wide knowledge of current events and global issues—there
was general agreement that teaching grounded in such expertise led to students acquiring a specialist body of
knowledge or particular understandings of the world, as in the
following comments,
In my school’s
Statement, Media Studies aims to develop students to from ‘passive media consumers’ to ‘active
citizens’. (
In respect of NCEA, students are very
focused—on passing, that is. I hope that
they also acquire an awareness of the media and how it operates, and the
relationship between it and society [but] I am unsure how deep this awareness
actually is in teenagers, who tend to be very egocentric (they and their
community is the only audience). (
[As] student exposure to a variety of media
expands [it] is valuable and exciting transition for teachers. (
Media Studies cannot necessarily change the
world but it does provide the opportunity to open up the kid’s minds, and it’s
up to them what they do with it…One of the dangers for kids today is the
increased focus on the individual, and a culture of ‘me, me, me’ [To] open up students up to viewing the world
more objectively is a very important aspect of teaching Media Studies. I show the students what I think [but] not so
they will regurgitate my ideas, but so they will begin to think critically
about what they think, and therefore consider their own opinions. (
Further comments included,
Media Studies is much more of a social
science, but it tends to be lumped in with English. Media Studies students have
to be able to look at historical and social links, in order to understand much
of what is discussed. (
of
There is a danger in teaching Media Studies
in that you can teach a cynical world view eg globalization is bad, the
bad. There is a difference between
teaching kids to be critical thinkers, and being critical for them.
(
They learn to both deconstruct and create. (
teacher)
There is a specialist body of knowledge
which is largely the language of the industry…They also learn that the world is
mediated and that there are influences
forces controlling, or at least influencing their consumption.
(
As a final ‘global’ question,
these teachers were asked what were their primary, or most important,
objectives in teaching NCEA Media Studies. In many cases, the responses
to this question mirrored the responses and explanations offered for earlier
questions, but other interesting comments included,
To engage students; to guide them to achieve
and to create life-long learners…not worried about grades. If the students are engaged, then
grades take care of themselves.
Media Studies is the best subject. (
teacher)
Media Studies has always been viewed at my
school as a two-year course. It was clear from the outset that it was a highly
academic subject, and the top students were steered towards it. (
teacher)
I would like students to be media literate
and discerning…and interested in dissenting voices, such as John Pilger. But I
also want them to be interested and enjoy the media. (
teacher)
Further
comments included,
Media Studies in increasingly vital and
should be a compulsory subject…They need to understand how the media works,
from a young age, and Media Studies should be formalized at an earlier age
within the school system.
(
teacher)
Overall, it is not really about whether the
teaching is on radio, or television, or Facebook; it is about awareness. (
Media Studies is about students going beyond
themselves and challenging their opinions and the surrounding hegemony…It is
about taking risks and believing in themselves. (
The kids of today are cyborgs; they are
intimately connected to their phones, to the internet and YouTube etc. But how
wisely are they using this technolkogy? Awareness of the implications of their
media use is super-important; Media Studies should therefore be a compulsory
subject. (
Media Studies gives students a chance to see
the world from a slightly different perspective. It also gives them an
opportunity to get NCEA in something they are actually interested in, and have a go at something in the form of
practical work.. Quite a lot of our
girls learn that they can’t be ‘stars’—lots of them start, wanting to be
celebrities or TV presenters but quickly learn they are not cut out for that. A
useful lesson to learn early on! (
Assessing Screen and Media Studies (
As a final
task in these interviews with media teachers, they were asked to comment on the
objectives and courses content of two first year University of Waikato courses
(SMST 101 Screen Studies 1: The Moving
Image and SMST102 The Media and
Society 1), referring to the 2008 course outlines for these two courses.[28]
The purpose
of this exercise was to enable teachers to identify areas of complementary
content, as well as pointing to areas which might entail more challenging
material for NCEA students going on to such courses. It should be stressed that the judgements
presented here are based on course
outlines (expected earning outcomes;
schedule of lecture topics; required readings) , and not on the actual delivery of course content.
Nevertheless,
numerous assessments were made as to whether the content of these two courses
might replicate, complement or extend to content of NCEA Achievement
Standards. There was generally a
positive assessment of both SMST 101 and SMST 102 in respect of what they might
offer students, as in the following comments,
SMST 101
[101] looks like a cool course. There is a
similar language and terminology and
[ it
would be] a really good complement to what they do, in terms of enhancing,
challenging and adding to knowledge—as opposed to simply being repetitive. There is enormous benefit in including
copyright and authoring issues, as the students need to know this stuff but
they don’t have a chance to go into it [at school]. (
There’s a lot of overlap with 101. The
language is slightly different but the content is essentially the same.
Students will be familiar with lots of it and ‘Achieve’ students will be
comforted by the familiarity but “Excellence’ and scholarship students will be
bored and it might mean that the more able fall through the gaps. (
teacher)
101 is covered by the AS we do eg we use the
Bordwell and Thompson text. Scholarship students especially will be working at
this level of inquiry
(
A lot of the content in SMST 101 would be quite
a bit above my Level 3 students’ understanding. (
Anything to do with narrative will be
familiar as we cover narrative conventions thoroughly. (
teacher)
We haven’t touched on new media as school
blocking of access is a problem.
(Manawatu
teacher)
SMST 101 looks like a deeper investigation
but with the skill my students have, they should come up with really good close
readings. (
My students would come to 101 having had a
really good springboard [but] it also depends upon which texts are studied at
uni, in terms of repeatability.
(
The learning outcomes of 101—all five have a
nice marrying to the Achievement Standards, and to fundamental learning in
Media Studies. The paper is a lovely
furthering of what is already been studied by students in high school…I like
the texts used in 101 and have read some of them myself. (
teacher)
Because of standards and the way they are
set up, schools tend to be more modular [and] students tend to be more focused
on particular themes, rather than thinking more ‘holistically’ (Auckland teacher)
The range of media on offer may be too
diverse [but] most of the content would be a natural extension of student
learning and they would not be bored. But we need to get students away from
just writing essays, to present their information and research with new media. (
teacher)
101 is rather limited. It’s like Level 2
NCEA and my kids could progress to this from Level 2 without difficulty. (
NCEA covers the same stuff but not in as
much detai [but] there is an absence of the text at uni level, in the way that
NCEA students have begun to understand Media Studies. They access wider issues
through the text.
(
SMST102
We do pretty much all of 102. We do Marxism
but without the name! It goes beyond NCEA but not all NCEAs are created equal.
It very much depends on the teacher as to what experiences the students have. (
teacher)
Some is familiar but, students would
struggle with a topic like Case Study: violence in the media. Students in the past have struggled in the
past with reaching any conclusions to these types of issues, in order to meet
the requirements of NCEA. (
Too theoretical for school level but broadly
the same topics/content.
(
My students would see this as an extension
of what I do but I know that all teachers do the same. (
Looks
fascinating and clearly builds on NCEA Levels 2, 3 and Scholarship [but] the
terminology may be scary for students. (
I think that university lecturers assume
that the ‘issues’ they see are the same as the issues that face students. I don’t that is at all the case. (
teacher)
There is a lot of cross-over but that not
necessarily a bad thing. There is a need to revisit knowledge, to full
understand it—especially for an 18 year old.
(
One
these two courses at university, as a major in her undergraduate degree,
I loved them (101 and 102) when I did them.
It looks like they still cover a big broad bas, so students will find something
familiar and unfamiliar in them. NCEA
would set them up well for this—it’s an extension of what they have begun in
NCEA.
Additional Feedback
As further input to this research h exercise,
Sasha McLaren interviewed Deb Thompson in her Auckland office on October 23,
2008, in her role as National
Facilitator in Media Studies, attached to Team Solutions at the Kohia Teachers’ Centre (University of Auckland). Nearing three years in this role in October
2008, Deb occupied a critical position in respect the development and promotion
of Media Studies in
Zealand
Auckland/Northland region, through school visits, workshops, cluster meetings
and online support, but also played a critical national role through developing
and maintaining the Media Studies on-line community, as well as direct
involvement in the assessment and alignment of Media Studies Achievement
Standards.
Given her central
position in respect of secondary school
level Media Studies, she was well-placed to provide a unique perspective on the
questions raised in this research, and her responses to specific questions
included,
Q. What is the relationship
between NCEA Media Studies and tertiary Media Studies? Is it a productive
relationship? If not, how could it be improved?
High school students who go on to study Media Studies at tertiary level
feel well prepared, and some things seem really familiar. Some students find Level 3 too hard, and
harder at tertiary level.
Media Studies has no set curricilum; it is cross-curricular. In respect
of the new
Curriculum, we have had to define where Media Studies fits. We point to three
main strands: text, context and practice.
It would be great for NCEA Media Studies if there was greater support
from tertiary institutions. They have long down times, during mid-semester
breaks and December, when facilities, equipment and teaching staff are more
available. This would be a wonderful time for Media Studies teachers to
up-skill, making the most of facilities, equipment and expertise.
Q. Does Media Studies require
special teaching skills?
A Media Studies degree and/or some practical experience is important.
Currently there are lots of teachers without a formal Media Studies background.
The nature of Media Studies is that it is changing all the time and teachers
must constantly up-skill.
The sociological aspect of Media Studies is really important. Some
believe that ‘Film Studies’ taught in English is good enough and the
sociological elements of the media are ignored.
Media Studies is such a broad subject and there is so much that can be
done with it.
Q.What are the challenges and
opportunities facing Media Studies?
In the future, there will be Level 1 Media Studies. The Standards need
refining—they need to be made better.
There will be an increase in the use of new media technologies and
Media Studies teachers need to teach to this.
Providing exemplar material would be of huge benefit.
Media Studies is growing… The new curriculum states that children in
today’s education system need to be active citizens of the twentieth-first
century and this, through critical thinking, is an enormous part of Media
Studies. The Key Competency skills the curriculum wants students to leave the
system with are-
·
The ability to relate to others
·
The ability to manage oneself
·
The ability to think for oneself
·
Participating and contributing
to society
·
The ability to use language symbols in texts
Media Studies taps into all these things very well. It is very collaborative—very much about
working as a team. It also offers opportunities for innovative thinking, such
as allowing for interdisciplinary work, such as music students working on the
films produced in Media Studies courses.
II. Tertiary
student survey
At the completion of the field
research phase in November 200)[30] , 340
valid responses had been returned from first year media courses around New
Zealand, as follows;
Unitec 3
(PN) 17
(WN) 15
(WN) 81
NZ
(CH) 28
Univ of
Univ of
Univ of Otago 27
__
Total 340[31]
NCEA Media Studies
Of the 340 students participating
in the survey, 244 had taken Level 2 NCEA Media Studies, 303 had taken Level 3
Media Studies and 59 had enrolled in Scholarship in Media Studies.[32]
In response to the question, Do you consider that doing NCEA Media
Studies has been of benefit to your studies? most (276 or 81 per cent)
replied in the affirmative. In general, NCEA was judged to have equipped
students with a grounding in core concepts (eg audience), analytical frameworks (eg semiotics) and appropriate
terminology in Media Studies. For other
students, NCEA had prepared the ground for the level of analysis and means of
assessment (such as essay writing) which was expected at the tertiary level.
For numerous students, NCEA also
provided important information on media industries, and likely careers—as well
as generating the initial spark to ignite student interest in the subject, and
create a focus for their enthusiasm.
Comments included;
Everything in NCEA is used in university
Media Studies (UoW)
It taught me to be passionate about media
and social ideas (UoW)
My interest began at high school due to my
teacher, who was exceptional (UoW)
It has probably helped me the most in modes
and ways of thinking and seeing the world; mainly building a framework on which
I could add when I came to this [university] course. (VUW)
It made you understand the basics and
certain things in detail before getting to university and then we had a bit of
everything. (Massey/PN)
There have been some terms that are assumed
to be ‘common sense’, when only I know what they are talking about, from Level
3 NCEA. (Massey/WN)
It’s been vital as such an in-depth subject
takes a while to get your head around it (UC/Film )
It’s helpful to analyse popular films before
making them ourselves (NZBS)
We did quite advanced Media Studies, which
prepared me for university (UoA)
It’s the best subject to prepare you for
university (UoC/MassComm)
I know what the lecturers are talking
about (Otago)
Nevertheless, a minority of
students (64 or 19 per cent) judged their NCEA experiences to be of little or
no value once they continued on to tertiary education. A number of students
(five first year students at Victoria University, for example) placed the blame
on inadequate teaching during their school years, and others pointed to the
difference emphases in NCEA Media Studies (production and theory) and
university level Media Studies (primarily a theoretical orientation). Explanations included;
It did not cover the
content which is discussed at uni. (UoW)
More on film analysis; at school me made our own
movies (UoW)
NCEA is more production
focused (VUW)
Not really. Things aren’t quite the same
concepts or areas of Media Studies as university (Massey, WN)
The topics covered were completely
different–For NCEA Level 3, we did a director study, go to do a magazine
layout, wrote an essay on censorship (UoC,MassComm)
No overlap. NCEA is more structured and
interesting than uni media (UoA)
It would have been
if I had a decent teacher at school. (NZBS)
Comparing NCEA and university
Media Studies
Students were asked to rate,
on a five-point scale, the experiences of first year media courses with their
school (NCEA) media course, in respect of how challenging they found the
university courses.[33] The overall results from this question
displayed the
following distribution;
very challenging challenging about the same little challenge no challenge[34]
32 (9.4%) 183 (53.8%) 97 (28.5%)
25 (7.4%) 3 (0.9%)
With the important proviso
that these assessments do not necessarily represent the views of all students in media courses in the
nine institutions who participated in this survey—nor necessarily all students
who were in a position to make such judgements–the results indicate that
nearly two-thirds (63.2 per cent)
encountered challenges in their first year tertiary courses. Explanations as to why such courses extended
students, and enabled them to discover ‘new and exciting’ elements or ideas ,
included;
More in-depth and
more theory, compared to NCEA which is generally more
hands-on
(UoW)
It was good to apply knowledge, to analyse
audiences and effects of media, rather
than
just films and visual media (UoW)
It was not so much ‘exciting’ but definitely
new in regards the amount of writing (UoW)
Challenging in a good way—able to be
passionate about it, and different way of viewing things (UoW)
Comments from other courses
included,
Put things in context whereas at NCEA level it was just all very muddled and
nothing was clearly laid out (VUW)
I found that media at high school was
helpful in the lead-up to courses at university. However, it was more basic and
mainly related to film. (VUW)
University was an extremely detailed
expansion of the media studies done in school. NCEA helps with basics. (VUW)
Learning something new every week and more
exciting. You feel a strong sense of pride when you pass a univ assignment
because it’s harder (VUW)
It was challenging because I felt I was
thrown in the deep end. We straight
away got into writing and reading for
radio (NZBS)
The topics covered were very broad. What was
challenging was the amount of necessary individual work. (Massey, PN)
There were so many different topics covered
whereas at school we just had two or three topics in lots of detail. It really
opened up the world of media and showed me that the topic is a lot bigger than
I originally thought. (Massey, PN)
Other comments included,
Taking thinking further, placing things in a
global context. (UoC, Film
All the course was interesting; the challenging aspect was the increase in
essay standards (UoC, MassComm)
If by ‘new and exciting’ you mean friggin’
hard—especially the referencing and essay structure! (UoC, MassComm)
All the broad
challenging topics. Also, most of what we do (if not all) is theory.
Therefore it’s very
challenging but still all exciting (UoA)
Harder work than
NCEA (UoC)
Students who encountered less
challenge ion their first year university courses offered the following
explanations,
A lot of the ideas and concepts had already
been covered in NCEA Media, The course [SMST101] just approached the ideas in
different ways (UoW)
It’s not very hard when compared to NCEA.
Not enough detail nor practical enough [101]
(UoW)
Needs more media content—not just ideas or
theories. More documentary/fiulm studies [102]
(UoW)
Needs to be more challenging. Students need
to be more involved and excited, sharing views and interests (VUW)
In a way it was a recap and not overly
challenging. Interesting, though (Massey, WN)
Very basic and kind of rushed—most of what
is studied, I studied at school (Otago)
Found topics irrelevant and boring—no
overlap with NCEA and uni media, so no opportunity to build on skills/knowledge
learnt at school (UoA).
The content was about the same. University
needs to drive a higher standard. (UoA)
What is particularly striking
about such comments , even though the represent a minority of opinion, is that
most were provided by Scholarship students; students who enrolled in university
courses with a highest level of achievement and/or expectations of such
courses.
Content of university media courses
Students were asked to
nominate what they would have liked less of in the university media courses
and, conversely, what they would have liked more of. The expectation here was that students would
be considering course content in
respect of this question.
Responses, ranked in terms of
the most-cited aspects of media teaching,
can be summarized thus,
LESS MORE
theory practical/production
readings film
analysis
written assignments/essays in-depth
analysis/concepts
exams political/controversial
issues
close analysis study
of advertising
old movies theory
More detailed explanations
included,
LESS Watching
pointless videoclips. I’d prefer to make pointless videos (UoW)
Less
reading…it’s about the moving image! (UoW)
Fewer long
and boring readings that were difficult to understand (UoW)
Rushed-through
topics (VUW)
In Media Studies I learn more when I have
time to engage with materials (VUW)
Being talked at rather than interacting with
(NZBS)
Some of the readings don’t go into the
topics in any great depth. I think
more focused readings would be good so that
you can read up on the stuff that is covered in a very short space of time in
class (Massey, PN)
More focus on specific topics (UoC.
MassComm)
Better construction of some lectures…just
telling a story is not enough (UoA)
Stop trying to cover all the bases (UoA)
MORE More on
advertising and design in media (UoW)
Practical
work, like scripting and storyboarding for own films (UoW)
Better
explanation of Marxism in both lectures and tuts. (UoW)
More on
issues and on how the media effects us (VUW)
Open discussions and interlinking of
concepts (VUW)
Focus is too feminist, without consideration
or appreciation of other points of view (VUW)
Chances to use more media terms eg
cross-cutting (Massey, PN)
More on the effect of media on society (Otago)
Film trends…in historical and cultural
contexts (Otago)
Actually making a film and looking into how
films are constructed. Also a study of world film—not just
(UoC, Film)
More time to grasp difficult concepts (UoC,
MassComm)
Exemplars and examples of past student work (UoA)
More visual material (UoA)
Perhaps one lecture purely analyzing one
text, to draw all the ideas together (UoA)
More bizarre theories! (UoA)
A number of these are rather
generic suggestions (eg fewer readings)
and undoubtedly familiar to university teachers, irrespective of their subject area—as is the impossibility of
meeting all (often contradictory) needs
of students in large and diverse first year courses. Indeed, one student
requested fewer opinionated students!
It was not the intention of
making judgements on the content of any particular university but there are
suggestions here which course convenors might want to be consider, in order to
draw on the complementary strengths of NCEA Media Studies, and media courses
designed for first year university students.
Over-familiar content in
university media courses
Only a small minority of
students (35 or 10.3 per cent) reported particular aspects of media content
which they thought they had been over-exposed to, or re-encountered in
university media course. Examples
include theoretical concepts such as representation
or semiotics or national cinemas such as
Japanese film or
Discussion and Recommendations
The research evidence presented
here provides a body of information not generally available in any one
source. Similar information has been
previously gathered and/or published through a number of routes (such as online discussions on the Media
Studies on-line community, and via course evaluations regularly administered to
first year tertiary courses) but such information has been fragmentary and
seldom available..
This research project has gone some
way towards providing a much-needed, broader overview of the state of Media
Studies in New Zealand, by casting its gaze over the two most important sectors
of such activity in New Zealand (NCEA Media Studies, and first year tertiary
Media Studies), and it has provided sufficient evidence to make the following
assertions;
Research Outcomes
- The
2006 research pointed to a considerable gulf in respect of levels of understanding
and coordination between the secondary school and tertiary sectors.
- The
2008 research confirms that this gulf still exists, even though several
universities are now offering support and resources to teachers and
students. Nevertheless, there is too little communication across the two
sectors. Media academics, in particular, lacking an engagement with and
understanding of secondary school developments. - There is generally poor understanding of
NCEA amongst media academics, but with some improvement in this situation,
as more Media Studies graduates enter teaching. These graduates may well
be the vanguard in respect of increasing communication and understanding
across the sectors.
- Most
secondary teachers expect their students to go to university Media
Studies, or associated courses (such as Communication Studies or graphic
design). These students greatly enrich tertiary level Media Studies,
bringing considerable prior knowledge and production skills.
- Most
secondary Media Studies teachers approach the subject in a holistic way, integrating production and theory,
as well enabling the‘scaffolding’and
accumulation of knowledge. This contrasts markedly with the usual
tertiary approach, which emphasises a rapid transition from broad first
year courses, to specialized courses in Year Two and Three. In addition,
with a few exceptions, tertiary Media Studies privileges critical analysis
and/or textual analysis, seldom offering the mix of production and
critical analysis components which are the norm for NCEA Media Studies
students.
- Media
Studies teachers regard their subject as providing very important skills
for students, as well encouraging critical awareness of the media, and the
world. For many students, this is their first significant encounter with
theory-based critical analysis, as well as incorporating aspects of
out-of-school experiences (media consumption) into formal learning.
- Most (81%) of first year media students
in 2008 regarded NCEA Media Studies as beneficial to their subsequent
studies. The subject provides a grounding and introduction to the ideas
and concepts they will later re-encounter at university. In addition,
Media Studies provides a platform for many students to explore
enthusiasms, and to become passionate about learning more.
- Nearly
one tenth (9.4 %) found university media courses ‘very challenging’ and
more than half (54%) found them
‘challenging’. Nevertheless, more than one-third (36.8%) regarded them as offering familiar
content, or providing little
challenge. Real thought
should be given to increasing the type of content and level of challenge
for this latter group, who also tend to be the higher achievers in NCEA
Media Studies (Level 3 and/or Scholarship), as one Waikato teacher
commented, ‘NCEA gets them all revved up, then uni is a big let-down’.
- The
most comment complaints about university media courses were: little or no production opportunities;
repetition of content; too much theory and/or reading; lack of excitement
or intellectual rigor; higher standards or expectations needed.
Of particular significance is the
lack of production opportunities in most undergraduate Media Studies courses.
· Universities were urged to pay close attention
to the development of growth subject such as NCEA Media Studies, with
particular criticism directed against the University of Auckland, in respect of
it use of an ‘A’ and ‘B’ list of approved school subjects (with Media Studies a
B List subject). One
necessarily rate it as being significant or important. I find this pompous and
sanctimonious’.
The research evidence is also sufficiently
compelling to make a number of
recommendations, which are addressed to particular sectors of the New Zealand
media teaching community:
Recommendations
·
that
tertiary institutions offering Media Studies or media-related courses provide courses that both complement
and extend the content and objectives
of NCEA Media Studies.
·
that
academics, tutors and course convenors
for first-year tertiary Media Studies courses become better
acquainted with the structure, content
and objectives of NCEA Media Studies. It is particularly important that areas
of significant overlap or duplication are identified, as well as those areas
where it is possible to raise expectations, in terms of levels of complexity
and difficulty. This will benefit those more advanced students who arrive at
university with a proven track record, but will involve strategies for
identifying and providing for such students in large mixed-ability first year
courses.
·
that serious consideration be given to identifying
Media Studies Scholarship students enrolling for tertiary Media Studies, with
provision for accelerated, right-of-entry to Year Two courses (through waivers
or other mechanisms). This could also be extended to students who achieve
Excellence in Level 3 NCEA Media Studies.
This will enable such students to face immediate challenges to extend
and build on their existing knowledge base. It might also solve the problem
cited above, in respect of providing a good learning environment for all students, in large mixed-ability
courses.
• that tertiary media courses look to
increasing and integrating production elements in Year One media courses. The ideal pedagogy is to integrate both
production elements (learning by doing) and theoretical/analytical elements
(learning through critical analysis and explanatory frameworks). Such an approach underpins the NCEA Media
Studies matrix but as students progress on to tertiary education, they
frequently encounter a disruption or discontinuity in such patterns of
learning. ‘Production’, in this respect, implies engagement with the
pre-production/production/post-production phases of media, with digital
technology making for easier and cheaper integration of such processes into the
classroom. tutorial room or lecture theatre.
- media
academics should look for opportunities to work more closely with their
colleagues in the secondary sector, and teachers should more actively seek
advice and resources from their academic colleagues, given that most
university media departments are better resourced than most school-based
Media Studies programmes, As one Auckland teacher put it,
there
should be more links with universities, more conferences, networking and
sharing of ideas, as lecturers and high school teachers are all teachers of
media with students in front of them.
Appendices
1.
Interview
schedule for teachers
2.
Student
questionnaire
3.
Responses re
tertiary media courses
4.
SMST 101 and
SMST 102 course outlines, 2008
3.
Student
Experiences of First Year Media courses (2008)
Important Note: these figures should be read with caution for, as
noted elsewhere (see Footnote 31), they do
not represent all students
enrolled in any of these tertiary-level media programmes.
very challenging about the little no
challenging same challenge challenge
UoW (101) – 8 12 6 1
UoW (102) – 6 11 3 –
VUW 14 53 12 2 –
NZBS
7 17 3 1 –
MU(PN) – 12 5 – –
MU(WN) – 13 2 – –
OTAGO – 16 8 3 –
UoC(FILM) –
5 6
1 –
UoC(MCOMM) 8 24 4 1 1
UoA 3 26 33
7 1
UNITEC –
1 1 1 –
TOTALS 32 183 97 25 3
[1]
Media Studies and the associated field
of Film Studies has a considerably longer history; a history which is described
in Roger Horrock’s excellent overview
‘Media Teaching in
Zealand
[2] Source: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/educationSectors/Schools/CurriculumAndNCEA/NCEA/NCEAAchievementStandards/NCEAAchievementStandardsAndMatrices.aspx,
accessed Jan 31 2009. This matrix
represents the offerings provided in 2008. During 2008, and continuing into
2009, a significant curriculum alignment exercise was involving in re-examining
the structure, content and intent of all Achievement Standards, as well as reviewing the relationship between Media
Studies Unit Standards. This exercise, and resulting feedback, will result in
some significant changes to the 2008 matrix.
[3]
A policy change meant that Not Achieved results were included in NCEA
statistics from 2008 on. It should also be noted that these numbers do not
directly equate to counts of students taking the subject, as at any time,
students will be enrolled in a number of Achievement Standards and are also
able to be taking parallel Level 2 and Level 3 AS, in addition to those
students who added Media Studies AS to other subject areas, suych as English.
[4]
Source: communication from Ian Francis, Team Leader, Secondary Examinations,
NZQA, 12 Jan 2009. There are a number of possible explanations for such
absences: student enthusiasm can wane during the course of the year; the
examination is scheduled late in the year, when senior students are no longer
under the direct guardianship of the school; or students lose confidence in
their ability to pass demanding written exams.
[5] Source: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/scholarship/numbers.html. Accessed 31 Jan 2009. This
percentage represented similar proportions in subjects such as Accounting
(3.14%), Biology (3.14%), Economics (3.03%), Geography (3.23%) and English
(2.93%).
[6]
This history is also comprehensively covered in Horrocks (2007).
[7]
In a presentation ‘The media teaching interface: the New Zealand secondary and
tertiary sectors’ to the 2007 MEDIANZ conference (Victoria University of
Wellington, 8-10 February), I suggested that, ‘The current national picture for
Media Studies or media-related courses (eg Communications, Broadcasting
degrees) at tertiary level in NZ is around 4,000 students’. This estimate was
based on information supplied by colleagues in other
guesswork.
The reality is
completely accurate figures remain elusive, due to lack of central
reporting,the long-established autonomy of New Zealand tertiary institutions
(particularly accentuated by a competitive market for student enrolments), and
a continuing fragmentation of the field.
[8]
In one aspect of the research described in this report (a survey of students,
who had done NCEA Media Studies in first year tertiary courses), course
convenors requested quantities of questionnaires which matched the numbers in
such courses. The
whilst the
of
questionnaires for its COMS101 Introduction to Mass Communications course.
[9]
Geoff Lealand, ‘Media Teaching in the Secondary and Tertiary Sectors in
Common Cause?’, Script 66, May 2007
[10]
Lealand, 2007
[11]
A full report on the range of questions included in this research is found in Lealand (2007).
[12]
New programme proposals do need to go through an approval procedure with The
Committee on University Academic Programmes (CUAP) of the New Zealand Vice
Chancellor’s Committee, and other institutions do have an opportunity to
comment on such plans. Nevertheless, they do not have the ability to veto
plans, nor enforce changes. A number of
university departments also operate schemes for the external moderation of
student work but this is usually only at the graduate level.
[13]
In several ways, this represents a revision, and redirection, of the intent of
the original research proposal, which sought to investigate the experiences of
teachers, and academics responsible for the design and/or delivery of
undergraduate survey courses in Media Studies.
The latter component was replaced by a targeted survey of first year
tertiary students, in order to incorporate the experiences of the recipients rather than the deliverers of teaching. The
views of media academics (teaching objectives; content and delivery issues)
were well canvassed in the 2006 research.
[14] Schools visits were distributed between Geoff
Lealand, and research assistants Sacha McLaren and Kirsty Horrell (who
concentrated their visits on
(Kaikohe andf Kaitaia) were not successful.
In respect of Geoff Lealand’s school visits, nearly all
involved providing seminars for students (often 2 or 3 seminars during one
visit). This obviously extended the research brief but also enabled frequent
and direct engagement with students taking NCEA Media Studies. He also served as a judge for the Otago
Secondary Schools Film Festival at Otago Girls on October 31.
[15]
Thirty-sex interviews took place in the school environment. Two interviews were
conducted outside schools: Deb Thompson, National Facilitator for Media
Studies,
teacher at
Technology Teaching Fellow in 2008).
[16]
Even though these ten institutions represent a good range of Media Studies
offerings in
they do not include all that is available. Despite early agreement from the
Auckland University of Technology (AUT), they did not participate in the
survey, due to internal staff dissent. The survey also did not include private
training enterprises (PTEs) such as the South Seas School of Film and
Television and the
[17]
See Appendices for questionnaire
[18]
The maximum number of credits in NCEA is 24,in a subject area at any level. Many schools offer fewer
standards, in order to manage workloads for teachers and/or students. Some schools have specific policies that
limit credits, or strongly recommend that credits on offer do not exceed 18 or
20 for each level, to allow for more manageable programmes of study. Some
exclusions of specific Media Studies Achievement Standards can also be
attributed to teachers lacking expertise or confidence in certain aspects of
media teaching, as well as inadequate resourcing of production-oriented AS.
[19]
Achievement Standards 2.3 and 2.4 are currently being reworked by a group of
senior media teachers, under contract to NZQA.
This a further example of
continuous evaluation and revision which characterizes NCEA Media
Studies, in response to teacher feedback.
[20]
Provisional results from NZQA for Media
Studies Scholarship report 82 scholarships (8 outstanding) for 2008. (www.nzqa.govt.nz/scholarship/numbers.html#subjects.
Accessed 10 March 2009
[21]
www.nzqa.got.nz/scholarship/qsandas.html.
Accessed 11 March 2009
[22]
For the past four years, Screen and Media Studies at the University of Waikato
has run late afternoon seminars for scholarship students in the Waikato/Bay of
Plenty region. Lecturers provide short presentations on a number of topics
pertinent to Media Studies Scholarship.
I have had reports that other tertiary institutions organize similar
events.
[23]
The implications of this research outcome will be explored in the Discussion and Recommendations section of this report.
[24]
It could also be attributed to the influence of Media Studies academics
(including myself), who played a part in the early development of Media Studies
in
schools.
[25]
In the interests of full disclosure, the author was mentioned on a number of
occasions as one of these individuals.
[26]
See footnote no. 22
[27]
Of the 69 teachers who participated in the 2006 research, 25 reported that
their expertise was ‘self-taught’ but nearly half (32) had completed tertiary
qualifications with significant Media Studies components.
[28]
See appendices
[29]
In early 2009, Deb Thompson completed her contract with Team Solutions , and
took up a position as HOD Media Studies,
well as continuing work on the Media Studies alignment project). Jane Hall (formerly at Western Springs) took
up the Facilitators role in April 2009.
[30]
The majority of surveying took place in the first half of 2008. Both Semester A
and B first year courses (101 Screen
Studies 1: The Moving Image and 102
Media in Society 1 in Screen and Media Studies at the
were included.
[31]
This number does not represent all qualifying students enrolled in
tertiary institutions in 2008. Incomplete participation can be largely attributed to the timing of
the questionnaire. It was given to students at the end on a semester-long
course, where it is common practice for many students to be absent eg in the
2008 102 Media in Society 1 course at
the University of Waikato had close to 300 students still formally enrolled; at the time of the
final lecture in a twelve week courses, there were between 120-160 students attending. Reasons for such absences usually include assignment
deadlines looming, and possible general lassitude. Course convenors at other institutions
reported similar experiences (see also Footnote 8).
[32]
These numbers do not represent completion rates, nor necessarily progression up
the levels of NCEA Media Studies.
[33]
‘Challenging’ in this respect was implied to be synonymous with ‘demanding’,
‘complex’ or ‘intellectually
stimulating’
[34]
Details on particular courses can be found in the Appendices