A Group of Teachers Developed Their Media Skills based on the Updated Media Education Textbook for the Primary School
Twenty primary school teachers developed their media education skills while attending a training program organized by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) in Chisinau on June 28-30, 2024. The trainers were Loretta Handrabura and Natalia Griu, the authors of the Media Education curriculum and manual for the 3rd and the 4th grades.
The sessions were based on the Media Education optional course curriculum for primary school and the updated version of the Media Education textbook published in 2023. The manual was revised to keep pace with the new trends and changes in this sphere and to make it more attractive to young media consumers.
At the beginning of the session, Mariana Tabuncic, IJC program manager, mentioned that improving the teaching staff’s media skills is one of the IJC’s fundamental objectives. “Media Education has been included in the primary school curriculum since 2017, and many things have changed in this sphere. For this reason, we considered it appropriate to revise the manual to make it more interactive and updated. During the sessions, you will be allowed to explore new media education contents, to learn more about interactive teaching methods and techniques, and to be able to share this knowledge with your pupils while teaching Media Education,” Mariana Tabuncic said.
For three days, the participants developed their new media skills, analyzing the educational role of the movies, discussing print, online, and audiovisual media, mastering the netiquette rules and functions of the media, and discussing online security issues, opportunities, and risks in the virtual environment children are often faced with. In addition, they tested several interactive tools and mastered new teaching methods and techniques that could help them make their lessons more interesting and interactive.
Natalia Griu mentioned that media education has always been present in our lives and ranges from prehistoric cave drawings to present-day artificial intelligence. “Therefore, if we had to define media in a single word, it would be ‘information’ in its various types and manifestations. Media education is closely related to our attitude towards information,” Natalia Griu remarked.
Loretta Handrabura paid special attention to young media consumers’ online safety, emphasizing teachers’ and parents’ important role in monitoring the time spent online and information consumed by them in the virtual environment. “Children’s addiction to the online environment should be paid special attention to. Unfortunately, kids rarely regard us as role models and copy some models from the online environment. If you ask them about their idols in the virtual space, you may discover some worrying issues related to what exactly kids consume online, where they obtain information, and what they accept as normal. The conclusion follows: we must bear in mind that the media has to be consumed reasonably, in small increments, and we should be aware of such specific issues; therefore, teachers and parents play an essential part in this regard,” Loretta Handrabura said.
The teachers were encouraged to promote critical thinking among their pupils by teaching Media Education as an optional course at primary school. They were sure they would be able to apply the knowledge gained during the sessions efficiently to develop their pupils’ media competencies.
Mariana Malai, a teacher from Malaiesti Theoretical Lyceum, Criuleni District, mentioned that she was convinced she would teach Media Education in the third grade since the new academic year. “I will also persuade my colleagues, parents, and pupils that it is absolutely necessary to study this course at school,” the teacher said.
Alina Curtis, a teacher from Rublenita Gymnasium, Soroca District, appreciated the opportunity to use the potential of Media Education as an optional subject. “The training session helped me realize that media education goes hand in hand with all the new issues, such as online safety, rules of behavior in the virtual space, young media consumers’ health, diversity of movies, etc.,” the teacher considers.
Silvia Birca, a teacher from Anton Guzun Gymnasium in Bulboaca Village, Anenii Noi District, also studied journalism and rediscovered this sphere during the training sessions; she believes she will be able to harmoniously combine journalism with teaching Media Education.
Vladlena Oprea, a teacher from Alexei Mateevici Theoretical Lyceum, Cricova Town, realized that, when disinformation keeps increasing in our society, it is necessary to be able to think clearly and teach pupils to do the same.
Until recently, the IJC has trained 214 primary school teachers, 191 gymnasium teachers, and 277 lyceum teachers. The Media Education optional course has been taught in schools in the Republic of Moldova since 2017, and is included in the Framework Program of the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova for all three levels of education, i.e. primary school, gymnasium, and lyceum. The IJC developed the Media Education curriculum and textbooks which are issued to teachers and pupils free of charge.
The training program is part of the “Media Literacy Advancement and Support to Moldovan Media” project supported by Sweden and implemented by Internews in Moldova.
