Abstract:

Recent evidence-based international studies [3] [5] on quality assurance and development of higher education learning processes stress the urgency of improving and innovating academic teaching and assessment. For this reason, nowadays European universities are called upon to face complex and partly new challenges, and the Italian case is not an exception. Nevertheless, national pedagogical practices are still characterized generally by lecturer-centred approaches with students playing a marginal role and being the passive target of only transmitted disciplinary contents. Since the current situation no longer meets present needs of an increasingly digitized society, this paper explores the educational implications of an experience of active learning based on cooperative activities and students’ reflective self-assessment procedures concerning critical media analysis and production. The activities were carried out from April to May 2023 at the University of Florence within the “Multimodal Discourse Analysis” course as part of the European project “ICME – Inclusive and Creative Media Education” (CREA-CROSS-2022- MEDIALITERACY, 2022-2024). Through the presentation of the learning scenario designed, the paper will highlight the contribution provided by the dialogue between Multimodal Discourse Analysis – that is the study of how the semiotic resources are used to create meaning, here in digital texts - and Media Education in developing critical media literacy, by making learners able to understand how media act and produce meanings [6]. To this end, both the theoretical framework [2] and the design approach, which were adopted to elaborate the learning scenario, will be described and discussed. Co-construction and sharing of knowledge, fostered by lecturer’s mediation, proved to improve students’ participation in the learning process with meaningful results in terms of creativity and engagement.

References:
[1] G. Kress, and T. van Leeuwen, The modes and media of contemporary communication. Arnold, 2001.
[2] M. Ranieri, and F. Fabbro, “Designing media literacy education for intercultural contexts. The MIEF framework and guidelines,” INTED2018 Proceedings. IATED, pp. 6002-6008, 2018. https://dx.doi.org/10.21125/inted.2018.1422
[3] European University Association (EUA), Learning and Teaching Paper #11, Evidence-based approaches to learning and teaching - Thematic Peer Group Report, March, 2020. Retrieved from https://eua.eu/downloads/publications/eua%20report%20evidence-based%20approaches_web.pdf
[4] I. Moschini, and M. G. Sindoni (Eds.), Mediation and multimodal meaning making in digital environments. Routledge, 2022.
[5] C. Coggi, P. Ricchiardi and F. Emanuel, “Parte seconda – Università in cambiamento e empowerement didattico dei docenti. La formazione Iridi in DaD a seguito del lockdown. Esiti di efficacia,” in Didattiche e didattica universitaria. Teorie, culture, pratiche alla prova del lockdown da Covid-19 (G. Domenici, eds.), pp. 101 – 112, Università Roma Tre: RomaTrE-Press, 2022.
[6] M. Ranieri, I. Moschini, and G. Cuozzo, “Analisi e produzione critica del discorso digitale: un dialogo tra Multimodalità e Media Education nel quadro del progetto europeo ‘ICME’,” in Proceedings del Convegno SIREM 2023. New literacies – Nuovi linguaggi e nuove competenze, 2023.

Keywords:

Italian university system, active learning, Media Education, Multimodal Discourse Analysis, critical media analysis and production, 21st century skills.