Pulitzer Center Hosting Two Workshops at the 2023 NAMLE Conference

The Pulitzer Center’s K-12 Education team is excited to present two virtual panels as part of the 2023 National Association for Media Literacy Education Conference from Friday, July 14– Saturday, July 15, 2023. Both of the following panels will be presented virtually on Saturday, July 15, 2023.

Panels will feature discussions facilitated by Pulitzer Center staff with educators Abigail Henry and Charles Sanderson, alumni of The 1619 Project Education Network and Teacher Fellowship programs, as well as a discussion with two of the students who engaged with the units developed by Sanderson and Henry as part of their work in the Network and Fellowship programs.

Cultivating Critical Thinking and Empathy Through Underreported News Stories 
Saturday, July 15, 2023 from 1:15–2:00 pm EDT (virtual event)

Panelists: 

• Abigail Henry, high school history teacher in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and alumnus of the 2021 1619 Project Education Network 
• Charles Sanderson, high school ELA teacher in Woodburn, Oregon and alumnus of the 2021-2022 Teacher Fellowship program and 2022 1619 Project Education Network
• Moderator: Fareed Mostoufi, Associate Director of Education at the Pulitzer Center

How do students relate to news? Do they feel the news does a good job covering the issues that matter to them? How can engagement with underreported news stories strengthen students' understanding of the role of journalism in a democracy? This panel explores these questions by introducing curricular resources developed by educators from the Pulitzer Center's 1619 Project Education Network and Teacher Fellowship programs. These resources model ways of using underreported stories to inspire students as historians, critical media consumers, and advocates.

The workshop will start with an overview of journalism and media literacy education resources from the Pulitzer Center and will transition to deep dive presentations by educators who developed and facilitated unit plans for middle school and high school students that integrate multimedia journalism into Social Studies and ELA courses. The unit plans presented will model ways that exploration of journalism resources on systemic inequities and human rights, and supporting primary sources, inspired students to reflect on the role of news media in their lives and in challenging systemic issues. Presentations will also show how students applied their learning to conduct their own research and advocacy projects. The workshop will close with a discussion led by Center staff about strategies for using journalism to inspire project-based learning and student-led inquiry, and a reflection with participants about ways in which they can apply the resources and strategies highlighted to their own work.

Student Panel: Creating Intentional Media to Amplify Underreported Stories
Saturday, July 15, 2023 from 3:15–4:00 pm EDT (virtual event)

Panelists:

• Belen Mendoza Cortes, high school student in Woodburn, Oregon
• Zaki Kelty, high school student in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Moderator: Fareed Mostoufi, Associate Director of Education at the Pulitzer Center

In this session for students and educators, participants will hear directly from students who have participated in Pulitzer Center-supported programs and courses about their process developing and evaluating media to respond to underreported issues in their communities. Facilitated by a staff member from the Pulitzer Center, this session will start with a reflection on participants’ relationships to news and the role of news in amplifying underrepresented voices and issues. Students will then share how they reflected on these questions as part of engagement with Pulitzer Center resources through staff-led workshops and unit plans developed by their teachers. The students will highlight how their engagement with underreported news stories supported an analysis of news media, and the role of underreported news stories in amplifying underrepresented voices. They will also describe how their analysis of underreported stories, and reflection on connections between those stories and issues facing their own communities, led to the creation of audio poetry, videos, websites, and more. After presenting their work, student panelists will engage in a moderated discussion about what they learned through the creation of their pieces about how to critically and actively engage with the media to amplify underreported issues. They will also outline tips for teachers and students who are interested in using media to amplify underrepresented stories in their communities.

Click here to register for the 2023 National Association for Media Literacy Education. For more information on connecting with Pulitzer Center staff and journalists for professional development workshops for educators, please reach out to the K-12 Education team by emailing [email protected].