Part 2 - UNDERSTANDING INSTRUCTIONAL PROCESSES

While there is a small but growing body of research on the qualities of classroom practice in media education that make it valuable in the development of students' growth and learning (Bazalgette, Bevort, & Savino, 1992; Brunner & Tally, 1999; Buckingham, 1990; Hart, 1998), participants concluded that much was still unknown about the two target audiences of most interest. First, it is important to examine the educators, social service staff, health professionals and others who receive instruction or materials and begin to offer programs of instruction. Secondly, it is important to examine the children, youth, parents and other audiences who receive the program, treatment, or implementation provided by members of the first group. The processes used to build knowledge and skills in work with these two different groups must be recognized in the context of different learning environments. Most importantly, there is a need to document and examine the effectiveness of the many different approaches to instruction used with these populations.

While discussions frequently centered on K-12 education, participants acknowledged that media literacy education occurs in many other contexts (in community and religious settings, by health providers in community-based organization, for example). Participants emphasized the need to generalize the concept of "teachers" and "classrooms" to include a broad spectrum of people who work with learners in many different school and non-school settings.

Likewise, participants emphasized the importance of broadening the conceptualization of