Analysis of Media Literacy Curriculum: The Center for Media Literacy's Media Lit Kit

Abstract

This discussion includes a brief overview of highly-recognized, packaged media literacy curricula in the United States, looking at the core ideas, differing definitions of media literacy and the creators of the programs. We focus specifically on the Center for Media Literacy curriculum, looking “behind the curtain” to determine sociopolitical positioning of the program's supporters. In an analysis of the Media Lit Kit , a comprehensive media literacy curriculum created by the Center for Media Literacy (CML), we look at the Five Core Concepts and Five Key Questions that serve as the foundation upon which the curriculum is built, to isolate underlying assumptions and ideologies about learning and knowledge as it relates to the media. This is not to suggest that this analysis is the “correct” one; this is only one interpretation of this curriculum. Finally, one activity from the curriculum, “The World in 22 Minutes” is interrogated for its purpose and method, again looking for underlying assumptions about learning and knowledge. In sum, we deconstruct a curriculum created to teach learners to deconstruct media.