Skip to main content

Our Partners: WES

WES Logo

Watch our new YouTube video and read our research report, "Young Audiences and New Authors in a Mulitmedia Landscape" by clicking the PDF link in the yellow box at the top of this page. Thanks to WES Principal Sharon McGrath Johns and the generous support of the Wayne PTO and the Radnor Educational Foundation, we are offering four components of the Powerful Voices for Kids program at Wayne Elementary School during the Spring and Summer of 2011.

 

In-School Mentor Program.  As an innovative approach to staff development, this program brought pre-doctoral student Emily Bailin and her assistant Maggie Ricco into the school once a week to collaborate with teachers on existing projects or curriculum. The mentor supported the provision of resources, materials and other forms of feedback to meet the needs of students and faculty, while gaining an appreciation of the specific school culture. Projects and activities strengthened students' critical thinking and communication skills and contribute to their digital and media literacy competencies. By working elbow-to-elbow, teachers gained confidence and skills that enabled them to meaningfully integrate media literacy and technology into their teaching.

Media Club. Maggie Ricco and Emily Bailin worked with a small group of children in an afterschool program held during April and May. 

Understanding Children's Media and Technology Use Habits.  Read our research report, "Young Audiences and New Authors in a Mulitmedia Landscape" by clicking the PDF link in the yellow box at the top of this page. We conducted research in order to develop a knowledge base that would offer us increased perspective on children's self-reported competencies using media and technology. This work informs our collaborative work in the community. After gathering information informally through interviews with school leaders, parents and students, Temple University researchers developed a survey to measure children's media and technology preferences, practices and behaviors. Children in Grades K-2 participated in focus groups while students in Grades 3- 5 completed an online survey.  Results show that WES students possess many competencies using digital media to gather information and create messages; although they lack experience with social media, they have growing curiosity about these forms of communication and expression.



 

Â