Engage Students in Analyzing Interesting Text
Without the ability to question, analyze, and authenticate information found online, in print, or any media format, Millennials are open to manipulation and misinformation. They need supportive comprehension strategies to help them compare, contrast, critique, and analyze such texts. One media literacy strategy is the T.A.P. model (Figure 1), which stands for Text, Audience, and Production (Duncan, D’Ippolito, Macpherson, & Wilson, 1998).
Text questions examine the type of text (e.g., novel, poem, photograph, film) as well as the genre of the text. As in traditional literature, genre in media literacy refers to specific categories of text. Categories in the case of television include sitcom, reality, and soap opera, and in the case of films include fantasy, western, science fiction, gangster, and comedy. Media literacy also addresses questions related to the structure of the text, including setting, characters, conflict, plot, and resolution.
Audience questions focus on the nature and needs of the target audience and attempt to analyze how the text might tap into interests, tastes, preferences, and lifestyles. A foundational assumption of media literacy is that meaning does not reside in the text but rather is constructed by the individual. Therefore, this category recognizes that the same texts can and should be read and responded to in significantly different ways. It suggests a shift away from correct interpretations, to richer readings in which audiences unpack, explain, and justify their interpretation. Consistent with multicultural literacy, it acknowledges that gender, class, and ethnicity are likely to shape the interpretation of texts, recognizing dominant as well as resistant readings.
Production questions enable students to critically analyze the creative process and institutional context in which the text is created, distributed, marketed, and consumed. Opportunities are provided to understand these messages from both an individual and an institutional context. Watching an anchor or reporter on Fox News may involve understanding what that individual is saying, their personal point of view or political philosophy. A deeper understanding would recognize that the individual has been hired by a large international corporation headed by Rupert Murdoch, with holdings in publishing, newspapers, film, and television. Murdoch has both economic and ideological agendas that are reflected in the texts created by individuals and institutions within his empire.
No matter which side of the model we are most interested in, employing the categories of the T. A.P. model enables teachers and students to engage in the process of deconstructing media messages, exploring dominant as well as resistant readings, and recognizing the context in which such texts are both created and consumed. The T.A.P. model provides teachers with a structure to engage students in analyzing interesting and immediately relevant text.
Description by broadcast news reporting during Hurricane Katrina where light-skinned people were described as “finding bread and soda from a local grocery store…” while dark-skinned people were viewed as “looting a grocery store.”
Gucci Replica Handbag.Seize the opportunity! Pick up your Gucci wallet 190357 white leather “g”embossing at affordable price, you will receive even greater benefits! Discounts and free shipping, may all your wishes come true!
Processing your request, Please wait....
