Course+Design+Issues

from Renee's point of view To make this course a powerful learning experience, students need hands-on experience in schools and the chance to work on an actual project, preferably in small teams with other Temple students.
 * Issues to Consider for Course Design**

We occasionally offer a course called Field Experience in Media Literacy (BTMMM ????) that has a design that works to combines reading/discussion/coursework with hands-on experiential learning in a K-12 environment. Students have one weekly 2-hour meeting at Temple and then are placed in a elementary or secondary classroom (as an observer/assistant) for another 3 - 6 hours weekly.

They write reflectively about their placement, share and discuss their experiences, and read and discuss the "best practices" in the field. We select accessible readings that describe the experience of first-year teachers so that their reading is closely linked to their experience. The mentor teacher provides feedback to the Temple faculty at three points during the semester about the quality of the Temple students' engagement in the field site and the Temple faculty makes at least one site visit. For their final project, Temple students either develop a curriculum project or compose a multimedia presentation that involves the creation of some kind of media art. This helps them develop confidence in their own skills in media expression and helps them reflect and synthesize ideas from the readings that apply to their lived experience in the classroom.