Thinking Beyond Beats and Rhymes
Philadelphia, PA US
This day-long event with 26 teachers from
the School District of Philadelphia was hosted at Temple University's
Tech Center and developed by the staff of the Media Education Lab.
Lectures, discussion and activities were built around issues and themes
from Byron Hurt's documentary Beyond Beats and Rhymes.
Activities included linking communication arts to "new literacies"
education, discussing representations of gender and violence in
hip-hop, applying key media literacy questions in analysis of various
media texts and in media production simulations, bringing student
tastes in pop culture into the classroom, and more.
Our workshop helped teachers:
1. Understand the critical questions/concepts of media literacy and apply them in analyzing various media texts
2. Recognize the value of using critical questions/concepts in media production activities
3.
Connect student interests with classroom learning through use of
popular culture, inquiry approaches, and discourse community concepts
4. Address key issues of representation through discussion, including masculinity, sexuality, and violence
5. Question and analyze the role of entertainment (especially music) in shaping personal, social and cultural identities
6.
Strengthen skills in using nonfiction documentary in the classroom to
deepen quality of classroom discussion and support students'
research, reading and writing skills.
9:00 Arrival / continental breakfast9:15 Welcome- Leslye Saul, School District of Philadelphia
9:20 Welcome to Temple SCT- Dean, Concetta Stewart
9:30 Media Literacy Basics; Clip #1, Beyond Beats & Rhymes (Renee Hobbs)
10:00 Screening: CLIP #2, Beyond Beats & Rhymes
10:10 Discussion & Analysis of Clip #2 (Jiwon Yoon)
11:00 Break (restroom)
11:10 Mini-Lesson: Taste, Identity & Discourse Communities (Mike RobbGrieco)
11:45 LUNCH (courtesy of Media Education Lab)
12:15 Small Group Work: Practicing media literacy with other media texts
(Kelly Mendoza, w/ T. Jackson, J. Yoon & M. RobbGrieco)
1:00 Screening & Discussion: Clip #3, Beyond Beats & Rhymes
(Sherri Hope-Culver)
1:45 Group Production Activity incorporating Media Literacy
(Tanya Jackson)
2:30 Bringing it all together (Renee Hobbs)
3:00 Next Steps: Big Pitch, TU undergrads, feedback/evaluation
3:15 Adjourn
Feedback from Participants
Here's what teachers had to say:
- "I liked the opportunity to meet with other teachers and to learn others' opinions/viewpoints through thought provoking questions."
- "I learned new methods to present/get students involved with learning media literacy."
- "I liked the energy of the presenters."
- "I liked all of the presenters. They were full of energy, enthusiastic and knowledgeable."
- "I liked everything about the workshop!! It was engaging and interactive."
- "I learned how to implement strategies to get students thinking about media."
- "I liked the theme, the strategies and the presentations, and the interactivity."
- "I learned more about hip-hop and how it fits into literacy in the classroom."
- "I learned some questions & learning techniques to use with my students."
- "I liked the opportunity to participate in a meaningful professional development geared to my discipline."
- "I liked the critical thinking dialogue that (we) had. I believe the media should always be criticized in a rational forum where we can isolate motivations, identities and messages."
The staff of the Media Education Lab is grateful for the participation and feedback of the attendees from the Philadelphia School District (and one from Boston!). We will use your input and our experience with you to build upon this success and to develop and improve future workshops.
| Attachment | Size |
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| Beyond Beats and Rhymes Synopsis | 135 KB |