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Published in the Slovak Republic Media Education (Mediaobrazovanie) Has been issued since 2005 ISSN 1994-4160 E-ISSN 1994-4195 2020, 60(1): 107-112
DOI: 10.13187/me.2020.1.107 www.ejournal53.com
Basic Principles and Methods of Using Media Education for Forming Students' Analytical Thinking
Andrey Goloborodko a , *, Svetlana Galazova b, Ksenia Ekimova c, Alexander Rudkovsky d
a Rostov State University of Economics, Russian Federation b North Ossetian State University, Vladikavkaz, Russian Federation c State University of Management, Moscow, Russian Federation d Administration of Matveev-Kurgan, Russian Federation
Abstract
This article deals with the basic principles and techniques of media education to form analytical thinking of students It also examines film analysis, creative and imitation media education exercises. The development of students' skills to communicate and discuss, to prove their point of view with reason is always a relevant task in the educational landscape of modern higher school. One of the optimal ways to develop analytical interdisciplinary competence is media education, which allows the students to carry out the process of analysis and synthesis of information on the example of works of media culture of various types and genres.
The authors consider the possibilities of using media educational methods and technologies in the process of civil and patriotic education, give examples of creative tasks of various types (literary-imitation, theatrical-situational, visual-imitation, etc.) for the formation of analytical thinking of the younger generation. In this way the student body gets an opportunity to evaluate works of media culture independently, develop their creative potential, learn to perceive media projects thoroughly, get new knowledge, develop communicative competences. The data provided by the authors of the paper can confirm the need of use of the educational, educational and developing media education potential for the Russian educational organizations, relevance of the questions connected with strengthening of interaction of various educational structures and scientific education centers in the field of media pedagogy for further development of methodical tools in the solution of the problems of development of media competence of the younger generation.
Keywords: media, media culture, media education, media competency, analytical thinking, students.
1. Introduction
Media has firmly entrenched in the life of the modern young generation. The issues of introducing techniques and technologies that allow using the potential of media culture for educational purposes provide an extensive field for carrying out relevant scientific research. Many modern educational and cultural organizations, as well as scientific and educational centers actively use media educational techniques and technologies now, including various types of
* Corresponding author
E-mail addresses: goloborodko2009@mail.ru (A. Goloborodko), bubu1999@mail.ru (S.S. Galazova), inf@guu.ru (K.V. Ekimova), ra_mk@pbox.ttn.ru (A.A. Rudkovsky)
audiovisual creativity: animation, photo and video shooting, creation of websites, blogs, interactive pages, etc.
One of the promising vectors of improvement of modern educational programs in terms of development of analytical thinking of modern students using the content of media culture can be the inclusion of media education techniques and technologies in the educational process.
2. Materials and methods
The main material of this study is methodological principles and approaches to the problem of enhancing the analytical thinking of students in the media educational context. The procedural framework of the research is the program of media education developed by A.V. Fedorov (Fedorov, 2007), by N.F. Hilko (Hilko, 2003), I.V. Chelysheva (Chelysheva, 2019), etc.
The methods of research: theoretical analysis and synthesis of information on the problem of research, generalization and classification, content analysis.
3. Discussion
Various aspects of the problem of media development, media culture and media education of young people have been reflected in the works of many researchers (Akgunduz, Akinoglu, 2016; Arévalo, 2018; Chelysheva, 2019; Diedong, Tuurosong, 2018; Fedorov, 2007; 2019; Franklin, 2013; Gálik, Gáliková Tolnaiová, 2015; Hurtado, Ponjuan, 2005; Kivisto, Ng, 2005; Marfil-Carmona, Chacon, 2017; Sánchez-Moya, 2015; Sharikov, 2012; Solík, Mináriková, 2014; Thompson, 2014; Yus, 2017) and others.
The perspective of interaction of the young generation with media culture is considered in works of Akgunduz, Akinoglu, (Akgunduz, Akinoglu, 2016) and A. Anders, A. (Anders, 2018). Problems of the national and racial relations in a media educational context are investigated by P. Kivisto and W. Ng (Kivisto, Ng, 2005), Franklin (Franklin, 2013); Thompson (Thompson, 2014), etc.
The works of domestic researchers present theoretical and methodological aspects of the media educational process in the university. In particular, A.V. Fedorov presents a fundamental analysis of the problem of development of media competence and critical thinking of students of the pedagogical university (Fedorov, 2007). Methodical problems of media education of youth in the context of promoting international tolerance are presented in works as I.V. Chelysheva (Chelysheva, 2019), etc.
The relevance of the introduction of media literacy into the educational space of the modern university is caused by several factors: the achievement of a qualitative level of general culture, the accordance of graduate training with the realities of the modern information society, etc.
One of the central concepts in the process of creative development of media culture is analytical analysis and interpretation of media projects of various types and genres, solving the problems of the formation of students' active position regarding media culture.
The creative product of this process can be not only the discussion of a certain topic in the class but also preparation of mini-projects, design of creative media projects, for example, video series for future videos of various types and genres: social advertising, documentary, game or animated film,
Most modern media literacy education programs for students have a modular structure allowing audiences to get acquainted with historical, theoretical, methodological aspects of media culture. Complex mastering of these modules is aimed at the development of media competency of the individual, including the skills "to use, critically analyze, evaluate and transmit media texts in various types, forms, and genres, to analyze complex processes of media functioning in society" (Fedorov, 2007).
4. Results
The process of formation of students' analytical thinking by the instrumentality of media education includes the development of overall psychological perception of the works belonging to audiovisual media culture. Following this objective, the teacher has the following tasks: to acquire new knowledge in the field of media culture; to develop the skills of analysis and interpretation of media texts, etc. For example, in studying the module "Audio-visual media art," special attention should be attached to the issues of history and development of cinema, video, the study of their expressive and visual means, creativity of domestic and foreign professionals of cinematography, concepts of "frame", "stage", "filming", etc.
At the session dedicated to the birth and development of audiovisual media, students get to know about the creation of the first feature films, the emergence of professions of directors, operators, screenwriters, artists, actors, etc. The special attention should be paid to each participant in the filming process. For example, the artist - a frame designer - creates various types of decorations allowing to convey the mood, emotions, feelings, and costume designer is the creator of the scenic image on which the impression of the audience of the film also depends. For the wider reach of the studied problems on this topic, it is possible to suggest students prepare reports about the first scenarios of domestic films, which were shot by famous Russian Masters.
In the next part of the class, students begin to perform practical tasks. The example of such a task is the viewing and discussion of film excerpts of different years. Along with the extracts from modern movies, many students can get acquainted with extracts from old movies.
After viewing the excerpts, they are discussed. Since discussion is often somewhat difficult for audiences, they may be asked several background questions, such as: "Is there a difference in filming between modern and old films? ", "How has acting changed over the years? ", "Do artistic images created in old films differ from modern images? "," Is there a difference in perception of black and white and color audiovisual media? ", "What interesting moments in the artistic design of film frames did you manage to see? "," What thoughts and feelings arise when watching old films? " and others.
During discussion based on the questions, students can pay attention to the fact that black and white films without computer graphics, animation, special effects, etc., seem rather unusual to the modern viewer. Besides, the audience begins to pay attention to different interpretations of the reflection of the time in media texts of different eras. Thus, in old films, all events are described in more detail, whereas films of modern times are characterized by a rapid change of events, dynamism.
After the discussion, the audience can take part in a simulation game "Screenwriters" during which the students can present themselves as the creators of a piece of media culture created in different periods. At the same time, the theme of the film can be arbitrary, for example, "Journey", "At the exam", etc. It should be said that the first experience of writing scripts for students is quite difficult. At first, many works represent ordinary stories on a particular chosen theme. Therefore, it is not necessary to focus the attention of students on the fact that the specificity of the scenario design lies not only in the description of the chain of events but also in the transmission of thought, feelings of heroes, their mood, etc.
The second module of media education may be devoted to the diversity of audiovisual media kinds. The subject matter of this module may include familiarization of the audience with the main groups of dramatic genres of cinema: drama, melodrama, comedy, adventure, epic genre, musical, etc. This material can be considered in the process of getting acquainted with the creativity of directors and film actors.
For example, the study of acting and directing works may include a game auction about the work of N. Mikhalkov. To conduct it, two teams of students take part in brainstorming. Each team should present as many films as possible, in the creation of which N. Mikhalkov participated as an actor and director.
It is also possible to organize a game "Improvised meeting of film critics" during the classes. Students usually take an active part in such meetings with a lively discussion and viewing the extracts from films. It is in such creative forms of free communication that the audience has the opportunity to defend its point of view, to present the analysis of the media text under discussion, which in turn is an important component of the development of analytical competencies.
These tasks are facilitated by the inclusion of such forms of work as a discussion and review of films, holding discussions, etc. Thus, at the lesson devoted to the creative works of N. Mikhalkov, it is possible to organize viewing and discussion of experts and then write short reviews.
In the process of studying the creativity of N. Mikhalkov, the students are supposed to perform an interesting creative task "Storyboard", which is the creation of an image consisting of separate frames, revealing the content of the film. For this purpose, students can be offered illustrative-imitation tasks of sequencing the events. When executing the task, the storyboard of the audience should use large, medium and general plans whenever possible. The text to the storyboard may be small, but it must necessarily reflect or comment on a certain event. After completion of the task, a competition for the best storyboard can be held with discussion of advantages and shortcomings.
Independent creative search plays an important role in shaping the analytical thinking of student body. For example, it is possible to instruct students to find little-known facts about the work of famous directors and actors, to propose to analyze film critical articles about their film works.
In the modern information era, media texts - films, websites, videos, photos, etc., are an important channel of intensive knowledge of life, accumulation of social experience by the modern younger generation. Therefore, in the course of classes for viewing and discussion, a special role should be given to the analysis of media sectors that tell about the problems of modern youth, which can contribute to solving important tasks for high school students in the field of interpersonal communication, problems of life self-determination, etc.
One of the important social topics can be the problem of citizenship, patriotism, social activity.
The most lively interest of the student body, as a rule, causes discussion of characters of heroes, their values, motives of behavior, actions in various life situations.
For example, during the discussion of the fragments of the film of patriotic issues, students are invited to build an associative series to the basic concepts related to civil-patriotic education, which would most fully correspond to the character of the hero of the film, who makes the viewer empathetic.
Based on the examples of the film viewed, it is easier to analyze such serious life topics as problems of citizenship, patriotism, the search for a place in life. During the discussion, lively discussions often take place in the auditorium. In this way the students get convinced that in any life situation every person can express his point of view.
As a rule, many students consider the following qualities closest to the concept of citizenship: love for the Motherland and patriotism. Next, students in groups can discuss basic human qualities, which they think are most valuable, as well as define the basic idea of film production or express his opinion in the form of a well-known quote. The main characteristics of a real citizen by the audience include masculinity, protection, reverence of the Motherland, dedication, loyalty, courage, etc. The idea of the film can be expressed by the words of famous Russian classics, for example A. Blok: "What is the Russian people, such as the true Rus"; N. Nekrasov "You may not be a poet, but a citizen is obliged to be a citizen," etc.
The interest and activity of students in the classes are caused by practical and creative tasks, the purpose of which is to develop a full perception of audiovisual media. For example, when studying the topic "Popular science and educational film," the students may be invited to write a mini-book of an educational film on a selected subject of the curriculum. The script can be based on any interesting scientific fact from a certain scientific field: physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, pedagogy, etc. In writing such a script, students may be guided by the following basic assumptions:
- The scenario should reflect the scientific facts presented in an accessible language;
- The scenario should include not only a description of a fact or phenomenon but also be accompanied by a clear confirmation;
- The film made according to the script should be turned into figurative, interesting and engaging.
As we have already noted, in order to develop analytical thinking in the media education process, another interesting creative task can be carried out with students to form an idea of the author's message of a media text of a certain kind and genre, the development of associative thinking. For example, students can be invited to create a collage using illustrations cut from magazines and fragments of printed texts. This work is done in micro-groups. Each micro-group can be given the task of making a collage on the theme of famous films, TV programs, sites, etc. The task of the micro-group is to create from various illustrations and printed fragments a single composition that would correspond to the theme and reveal the essence of the media text presented. After the completion of the work on the collage, the discussion of the works is organized, the best collages are noted, in which the groups managed to express the main idea of the author most accurately, to convey the mood and their own perception of a particular work of media culture.
Another creative game task "Scenario Development," the purpose of which is to develop a full perception of audiovisual media by means of a kind of "immersion" in the creative process of their creation. In the class "Genres of Audiovisual Media," students are divided into two teams to
participate in the game mission, in each of which a screenwriter, director, and actors are selected. The task of the screenwriter is to create a mini-script, which can be a small scene or fragment consisting of a set of sequential and detailed actions. The tasks of the director include the shooting process: he is engaged in the selection of actors, directs their actions. As a result of group work, each team must dramatize the written script under the direction of its director.
As a rule, students in the process of performing creative media education classes, not only learn to analyze and evaluate works of media culture but also receive a powerful creative charge, allowing them to reveal their potential. The awakening of students' interest in analytical development of media culture products contributes not only to the development of full-fledged media perception but also to the acquisition of new knowledge, the expansion of outlook, the development of communicative competences. Forms of media education work that are used during classes can significantly expand the range of educational and developmental means in working with student body.
5. Conclusion
Works of media culture have a significant influence on the expansion of the boundaries of knowledge of the world of human relations, on the formation of the ability of the students to orientate themselves in the surrounding world, on the education of the best moral qualities, on the creation of a holistic picture of the world.
The most productive process of development of analytical thinking is carried out not only by application of such forms of work as talks and discussions but also creative, intellectual tasks, free communication on the topic of studied media projects. At the same time, it is mandatory to take into account the preferences, interests, age and individual characteristics of students.
As the main promising directions of development of analytical thinking of students in media education it is possible to highlight:
- Using the educational, educational and developing media education potential to its fullest capacity in the Russian educational organizations;
- Strengthening of interaction between educational structures and scientific and educational centers in the field of media pedagogy;
- Consolidation of efforts of media professionals, researchers, the general public to solve problems of development of media competence of the younger generation.
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