Application in Evaluation

In this reading of Digital and Media Literacy I found the five critical questions the most helpful resource in helping my students understand media to its fullest. These questions are all intriguing and help us not only put our analyzing caps on but also our creating caps on. As we are able to analyze why an artist/author made the choices they did and why, we discover the principles and concepts needed in order to create our own works of art. Asking the five critical questions in discussion form are very helpful, however, in order to use these questions to promote change of thought and action I believe application upon these questions is needed. Therefore, in my lessons I want to have activities where we both explore the author’s work, delve into the depth of it through conversation and discussion and then get on our feet and create a form of media inspired by that author’s messages, meanings, and representation.

On page 66 there is a worksheet that helps students to come up with answers to the following five critical questions:

1. Who is the author and what is the purpose?

2. What creative techniques are used to attract and hold attention?

3. How might different people understand this message?

4. What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented?

5. What is omitted?

This worksheet has the feel of busy work. Rather than using the worksheet itself I will use other activities that incorporate the same thought process that is used to its fullest because the students will be actively creating so they will come up with answers not just for answering’s sake but because they need and want to in order to create something they enjoy. An example of this idea would be used in a reading of the crucible. I would break my students up into five groups. In each group I would give them a scene from The Crucible and a historical resource from the time period in which it was written, regarding the red scare and the McCarthy trials. The students’ goal is to find the parallels and connections between the scene they have and the information on the time period in which it was written. They then are asked to present a presentation of the meanings and messages that are within the scene inspired by the historical resource. After each presentation one of the five critical questions could be asked if they weren’t presented thoroughly in the presentation.

Doing this, it helps the students feel like they get to ask and answer questions; the questions that they feel are important. Giving them these generic five questions and telling them to roll with them would give off the mundane “I have to do this and I have no choice” feel. By doing that the media they are experiencing loses its relevancy. Modifying of these questions in creative and student-based ways will help them feel like creators rather than minions that have to get what we, the evil rulers, force them to understand. I would use the Seeing and Writing readings in the same vein as The Crucible but rather than using a historical resource to back up the meanings I would have them use their own personal experiences, media they are familiar with, and events in history that affect them. Their analyses can be accomplished and should be through different forms of assessment such as: performance, papers, creative writing, activities, and readings of like material. The principles discussed by Hobbs are great starting points and pave a great path of application and understanding. My goal is to make it so it is not the end all and be all, for when it is set as such learning becomes laborious and pointless.

Analyzing Analysis

I thought that this section gave some excellent ideas about how to really get kids thinking about media, about what it's doing, how it is doing it, and why. It's one thing to bring in various media to enhance your lessons, but it's another thing entirely to get stuents talking about media in a way that helps them to develop as thinkers.


How might you use the critical questions discussed in the book to inform your classroom conversations? 
     The questions regarding audience and author, message and meaning, and representation and reality are concrete ways to steer the class discussion in the way that is most profitable for students. Class discussions will often go on tangents, but by have the critical questions in mind and finding the answers to these questions as our goal, class discussion/small group discussion will be a beneficial use of time.
    Besides these questions, I like the idea of question-ing having a bigger presence in my classroom. I know from experience that when I am legitimately interested and curious about a topic that I an slightly but not totally familiar with, I am more engaged in learning about that topic and I am more motivated to seek answers and to share those answers in a meaningful way. I have learned about inquiry-based learning in other classes, but I like how Hobbs pointed out the need for students to make inquiry when it comes to media, and not just be passive consumers of media.
 
How might you modify the questions posed to better suit the goals and requirements of your own classroom setting?
     Given that I am going to be an English teacher, I thought that these questions were very appropriate to use when discussing traditional literature as well as other media in my classroom. If anything, I would want to expand or go beyond what is listed. For example, if we were discussing poetry, I would not only ask "What creative techniques are used to attract and hold attention?" but I would ask "Why? Why do these techniques/literary devices attract attention? What is the link between the techniques and the meaning? How is form related to function?" (These deeper questions can be used in discussing other media, but I know that form and function are closely tied when it comes to poetry, and thus I saw opportunity for modification in the questions when thinking about teaching poetry.) Also, I think it would be good to include questions that would help students to see the relevance of the media to their own lives, questions like, "So what? What  (if any) are the implications  that this media has for a high school student? Does this connect to any other texts, to the world, or to myself?"

 What ways could you utilize the Seeing and Writing readings to discuss media analysis and evaluation with your students?
      I would love to get a hold of the Rushdie essay that Scott Sanders refers to in his own essay "Homeplace," read both, and ask students to use the critical questions to further analyze the two men's views on "Place" and from there, students could draw their own conclusions about their idea/definition of "home." As was exhibited in our reading, however, essays are not the only medium that offers ideas about "home" and "place." I think text sets (essay, short story, movie clip, and a photograph, for example) are good to get students thinking critically about ideas. This can get overwhelming, however, if students are not familiar with the conventions of each type of text. For well-educated students or students that are familiar with the conventions of at least a few different types of media, text sets (like the one assigned from "Seeing and Writing") are perfect for exposing students to new ideas. For students/grade levels who are not familiar with what exactly they are supposed to look for in a photograph (or other medium) in order to make meaning, it would be good to use the two essays as subjects for analysis and work up from the essays to more and different types of media.

Critical Questions and the Construction of Knowledge

I really liked this section from Hobbs book because I think that critical questions are a huge part of good teaching pedagogy. One of the things that we have discussed in some of my English Education classes is that students need to build their own knowledge at least somewhat because then the knowledge that they gain is more transferrable (meaning that they are more likely to use it in the future). I think that critical questions allow students to build their own knowledge and work together as a class to analyze and synthesize the ideas they have about any given text or media. In my classroom, I will use critical questions to inform my conversations by identifying key points about the text my class is looking at and then I will form questions that will guide my students towards a better understanding of those key points. For example, if I was teaching the text, To Kill a Mockingbird, I wouldn’t just tell students that the book talks about racism because of examples a,b, and c in the book, instead I would identify moments in the book where the theme of racism comes up and then I would ask critical questions about that specific scene or moment in the book. I might ask questions like: 1) What do the characters reactions in this scene tell us about the author’s intention? 2) What information is missing from the scene (e.g. is there a character in the scene who we don’t hear from)? 3) Could there be more than one perspective about this scene and if so, what are some examples? 4) What does the author define as good or valuable in their message from this scene and do you think that perspective is accurate?
Using questions like these can generate a really good discussion and then from there I can even ask critical questions that are more in tune with the way the conversation goes, as long as I keep the conversation in focus. Another really great way to use these in a classroom chalk talk. For those of you who don’t know what a chalk talk is, here is a brief explanation: the teacher writes an open-ended, critical question on the board before students arrive to class, when it’s time for the chalk talk, the teacher tells the students that they should use whiteboard markers to write short answers to the question by creating a web of ideas (lines connect responses like in a brainstorming web), students have to comment a specific number of times and they can answer the question and comment on other people’s answers. Students are not allowed to talk at all during the exercise, everyone is completely silent. If you want to, you can even add more questions to the conversation as you feel like your students are ready to move onto more analysis and synthesis. I hope this explanation is clear. I remember doing a lot of these in high school and they were really fun because they get students writing, they allow students to do their own analysis and synthesis and scaffold their understanding with their peer’s comments. Also, when you have two or three markers up there and people are commenting at a rapid pace, it really allows for a larger discussion because essentially more than one person can comment at a time.
As for modifying the critical questions, I would want to format them in a way that linked to the text I was covering in class, like I did in the first paragraph. That way I am helping to guide the discussion without asking closed questions that can’t spark a conversation. I may also want to modify or avoid some of these questions if I was using them for a peer edit. For example, I may want to avoid questions like, “do you think the author’s perspective is accurate?” and instead use questions like “does the author support his or her claim effectively?” In doing so, I can still use critical questions when peers are critiquing themselves, but the phrasing allows for constructive analysis instead of destructive criticism that leads to arguments instead of learning.
I think that the texts from this Seeing and Writing chapter could be great examples of texts that can be used with critical questioning. All of the essays are very idea-driven and they are short enough for the whole class to read one and discuss it. Or you could read different essays in small groups and then have discussions in the smaller groups. Besides that, you can also talk about how the texts themselves analyze or utilize different types of media and how that affects the overall message of the text. For example, in the article that we read, the author cites and/or discusses several ulterior media sources (like Salman Rushdie’s book or the quote from Thich Nhat Hanh). Students could find those instances where the author supports his claim with other texts and then they can analyze and criticize how he uses them within his own text. Students could then go to those texts and read them or look at them or watch them and then see if they glean the same meaning from them as the author of this essay. From there, you could have a great discussion about perspective and how it shapes the way we understand and connect to media forms. You can also use the photos in the section to get students thinking about how an image can represent or mislead a viewer as you discuss whether the images really represent the photographers “home” or an important place to them. You could also talk about different values when it comes to places. Like the photo of the old building that is falling apart, some people value places with history while others value places that are new and cutting edge. Again, this could lead to a very interesting discussion if you utilize some form of the critical questions in the Hobbs text.

Reading Response 5

Critical Questions.  What are they, and why are they important? The examples the text gave were:

Who is the author and what is the purpose?
What creative techniques are used to attract and hold attention?
How might different people understand this message?
What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented?
What is omitted?

The beauty of the above critical questions is that they are open-ended; this means that there is more than one answer to each query.  Because of that, interpretation can take place, and students will, more than likely, become personally involved or interested in what is being discussed.  These critical questions, when used in my classroom, would inspire debate, participation, and analysis.  Instead of just memorizing information, students would interpret and comment upon what is being presented and discussed.  Because there is no wrong answer, fear and uneasiness is reduced, and students become more willing to participate. My classroom environment will become open because the questions are open.

Each of the five questions presented will be used often in my own classroom.  For example, each question can and should be utilized whenever the class approaches a script, performance, design, or image.  Each of the above questions directly relates to theatre; and each question should be asked when creating, viewing, or critiquing a performance, because inevitably, asking those questions will enhance your experience, and that of the other viewers as well.  Instead of just scratching the surface of a production, students will begin to understand possible themes, motifs, and motivations that are embedded within the play; new worlds will open and suddenly the things they are studying will begin to connect to their own lives in powerful and dramatic ways.  For example, when studying Hamlet, students may find that they understand Hamlet’s actions because they too feel trapped in some way.   

Asking those questions will also bring other questions to the forefront; often, this will clarify what message you as a creator are trying to get across, or what message the actual creator is trying to express.  It can also highlight possible problems.  One example of both scenarios can be seen in the question, “What is omitted?”  A question that naturally follows that is, “Why was that omitted?”  Another question – “Was it omitted purposefully?”  And yet another – “What would have changed if it hadn’t been omitted?  All these questions are open-ended, and as they are discussed and answered in a class, ideas, opinions, and excitement about the text, performance, etc. will begin to flow.

I actually don’t think these questions need to be modified too much for the goals and requirements of a drama classroom setting.  I think they could be made a bit more specific, but other than that, they are excellent starting questions for almost anything in the theatrical world.

As for the “Seeing and Writing” readings, I think asking those five critical questions would be an excellent place to start, whether looking at the Homeplace essay, or the Restrospect images.  Those questions apply to both (as well as pretty much anything found in that book), and when answered will lead the students to a better understanding of what the author was trying to create, the things that they themselves infer, the power that media has in our culture, and the power that we can gain when we comprehend it.

In short, critical questions open doors because they are open.

The Five Question Detectives

My initial reaction towards the questions was that they are kind of boring and lame. The only question I was immediately drawn to was “What is omitted?”. I think this is a commonly overlooked aspect of analysis; everything else just seemed like it had been said before in other ways. But then I realized that I was applying those questions to my concept of literary analysis. Never before have I taken the time to consider how different media analysis is from the analysis of a text. Because media as a valid source of information is a fairly new concept in our society, we’re having to start back over with the basic questions.

Knowing this, I think it would be easy to take these questions into my classroom and have my students use them to develop their own opinions on the subject. They are very broad, but I imagine giving my students a very specific clip where there are one or two obvious answers to the questions—that way they feel comfortable with the idea of making decisions in how to answer the questions. Slowly, the clips would be harder (which really means they would have more options for interpretation) allowing the students to branch out and understand that they are dozens of ways that people could intend for their messages to be received.

I think the one questions that I would be most interested in restating would be number three: How might different people understand this message? I think a follow-up question to that would be, “how is the message misunderstood?” and “Can a message be misunderstood?”. One could argue that media is meant to be interpreted however the audience views it. But how many times in commercials or on social networking sites do we misunderstand something that is said or portrayed to us? I appreciate that Hobbes acknowledges that we understand meaning different within different mediums of presentation. There is an immense amount of understanding that has to enter every creator’s mind in order to judge how any audience member could interpret the text to better gauge how they can appeal to a wide variety of people.

I read Homeplace in Seeing and Writing, and I thought it was very interesting. My favorite line from the piece was, “When we cease to be migrants and become inhabitants, we might begin to pay enough heed and respect to where we are.” I think this concept is incredibly interesting, but upon considering the five analysis questions, I realized I probably need a few practices with using the questions before I challenge my students to do the same. The question about what creative techniques hold our attention leads to you break down a piece of writing to see that it can be interpreted as nothing more than a political piece by a tree-hugger with an agenda. The author uses the emotional story of the family who rebuilds their house in the beginning to show us staying in one place is something to be proud of. This concept is quickly looped into the idea of green peace in a convoluted way, but you hardly even notice the transition unless you are clearly looking for it. When I noticed this through reading, I became an active analyzer, just like I want my students to be. Once they understand the questions and become aware of what they are reading, they will be able to make those informed decisions. Unlike in other classes, we’re not asking students what the message or theme is—we’re asking them to be their own critics.

Analyze and Evaluate Prompt

How might you use the critical questions discussed in the book to inform your classroom conversations? How might you modify the questions posed to better suit the goals and requirements of your own classroom setting. What ways could you utilize the Seeing and Writing readings to discuss media analysis and evaluation with your students?

Critical Questions and Authorship in Theatre

I think the critical questions Hobbes gives about authors/audiences, messages/meaning, representation/reality, go right along with creating and otherwise participating in theatre. I think these questions can be asked in a classroom after reading a script or as students perform scenes for one another or even as the class devises a piece of original theatre. In the first instance, the questions could help students engage critically with the script and give them permission to not look at a written play as some sort of gospel that you can’t argue with. It also helps to contemporize scripts that may feel removed from the students’ time and place (which will be most of the work you study in a high school setting). What I mean by contemporizing the script is that it helps the students see they can engage with an older script just as they could with a newer script. The questions would also be a helpful thing to use after students perform for each other. Using the critical questions will help student audience think more critically and deeply about their peer’s work, again giving permission to think critically about theatre. It also will help the student actors become more responsible, deliberate theatre practitioners, as they realize that their work will need to be able to stand up to the questions in those three areas. This responsibility is exactly what would make these questions useful when devising a piece. Taking a moment to self-reflect on the theatre the class is making, using these questions will help them know if the story and message they are wanting to portray is being communicated.

I may modify the questions about author and audience. I think the question given “Who is the author and what is the purpose?” is a fine question and would be useful for reading theatre but perhaps it also needs some clarification for adolescents. You can look at several types of authors in theatre: there is the playwright (which is one kind of author, perhaps the original author of a written play), the director (who writes the full vision of the world of the play), or you could say that a designer is an author (i.e. the costume designer is a co-author of the visual world of the play and the characters) and you could argue that actors are authors of characters as their choices bring to life the person on the page. Perhaps for Hobbes, the most useful author to look at would be the playwright but I believe that thinking about these other people in theatre as authors as well is rather an interesting and potentially powerful thing. It’s important to see that maybe it’s not so cut and dry when it comes to authorship, especially when it comes to theatre, which is so collaborative in nature. So I would make sure that we created a working class definition for which author we’re looking for when we talk about this question. Is it different in a written piece than performed? Professional vs. amateur? Does it depend on what we’re studying at the moment?

I think I could use Retrospective in my classroom to discuss media analysis/evaluation in a theatre classroom. It is one way to begin a conversation about how we analyze the visual elements of a production and how that may affect the message/meaning of the play just as much as the words. This particular piece is also interesting look at evolution of a project. I could begin a devising project by looking at these photos, analyzing them and then talk about how when you devise, things change over time. Then the photos and the class analysis of them could be used as the basis or inspiration of a devised piece.

Never forget to question!

It is important to shape critical questions around core standards for your subject. I liked how Hobbs did this with her the critical questions in the chapter. It is important to remember the core standards, and that our lesson plans should be centered on them. If it is hard for you to think of critical questions look to the objective of your lesson plan and the core standards to prompt you. Classroom conversations are about promoting self-learning—not about the teacher rattling off all they know about a certain subject. Hobbs addresses the fact that we should not use closed questions. I think that is a very important point to remember when thinking of critical questions to ask your students. I always hated it when teachers would be driving for a certain answer to the question they were asking that I knew I wouldn’t get right. After a few feeble attempts the class would go silent expectantly waiting for the teacher to give everyone the “right” answer. The answers to these questions were about learning what the teacher wanted you to learn so that you could past the test—there was no learning for learnings sake.

When reading through Hobb’s five critical questions I kind of felt that they were those questions that sought a specific answer. When a teacher asks what the purpose of a text is it makes it appear as if there must be a specific answer that the teacher is seeking. There are only so many meanings one can derive from a text—at least in the minds of youth. At least that is what I felt growing up, even though I have learned otherwise in my college years. The thing that caused me to open my eyes to the possibility of a multiplicity of answers to the question “what is the purpose of the text” was the encouragement I received to seek my own understanding. Instead of asking what the purpose was my professors would ask what I understood the purpose to be or what the messages were that I saw. By incorporating the students into the questions you open students up for critical analysis, for student centered learning. This idea of student centered learning is what I desire to promote in my classroom.

To achieve this goal I will seek to only ask questions that open ended and that will cause my students to really think about what we are learning. For example, if we are working on characters for a production I can ask my students questions like: “why would Millie move to the big city? What would cause you to make that change? How would you be feeling in a new place? What does freedom mean to you?” These questions can help students to connect with the characters they are portraying onstage, and can help them to understand that characters all have reasons behind what they do just like people do. The question about freedom could be an essential overarching questing that I am trying to teach my students through this play. Thoroughly Modern Millie is a play about being able to do anything, the freedom to be whomever you want to be—students might get other meanings from the play and that is great. I can still use this theme of freedom to help my students to think about what freedom is and what it means to them.

Speaking of freedom, let us turn our attention now to what has come to be known as the American Dream. Scott Sanders essay entitled “Homeplace” revolves around this idea of the “American Dream”. The American Dream is to have the perfect car, house, spouse, and kids. People move from place to place looking for this dream life that simply isn’t attainable because they have lost sight in what America really means. This blindness is caused by the influence of the media that shows more and more eye appealing gadgets and gizmos that everybody “has to have”. People continue to think that life will get better if they can just buy that new car, but for some reason life doesn’t improve people simply fixate on another thing that they must have. This is just my own opinion but I do want to see my students input on this idea of the influence of media on the America Dream. I could rely especially the questions Hobbs presents under the “representation and reality” section of “Analysis in Action”. Students can analyze media over the ages to see how the American Dream has changed. Students would be put into groups and given an era to research media on and then each group could present their findings to others in the class. I really would like my students to be able to think about media in a critical way, for students not to be citizens who follow but rather citizens that lead. Student’s need to be informed of the power of the media so that they don’t become controlled by it—so that they can use it to their advantage. By analyzing and evaluating the power of the media students can break free of the mold and become like those stubborn Millers in Sanders essay—people who love what little they have.