Implementing and Assessing Media Literacy in the College Classroom

The inclusion of media literacy learning outcomes within primary and secondary education curricula is now mandated across all fifty states, and media literacy skills have been positioned as necessary for educated citizens in the 21st century (Arke & Primack, 2009; Hobbs, 2010; Thoman & Jolls, 2003). Approaches to media literacy have expanded to encompass the role of media in society as well as the essential skills of inquiry and critical thinking that are essential to the development of empowered and engaged citizens (Center for Media Literacy, 2016). Yet initiatives to implement media education in college classrooms remain rather limited in today’s neoliberal university context. While educators are frequently surprised in the lack of their students’ abilities in these areas, the incorporation of media literacy into higher education has received only limited scholarly attention (Schmidt, 2012). Additionally, the existing research to date assessing the impact of such interventions on participants’ acquisition of media literacy skills is also in need of expansion (Arke & Primack, 2009; Bergsma & Carney, 2008; Irving & Berel, 2001). If critical media literacy is to become central to the objectives of higher education, as the author argues it should, there a numerous obstacles that need to be considered and addressed. This paper discusses the author’s experiences with the implementation of media education as well as the assessment of media literacy initiatives in the university setting. Additionally, strategies for the inclusion of critical media literacy across a range of traditional and online courses are provided