Life Span researchers join with PBS project to improve access to media literacy for students

Researchers at the KU Center for Research on Learning are leading a project to increase civic participation and media literacy for students with learning disabilities.

Co-principal investigators Suzanne Myers and Jocelyn Washburn have been awarded funding through the U.S. Library of Congress’s Teaching with Primary Sources grant.  

Researchers say media literacy intersects with civic education and engagement both later in life. The goal of this work is to address the growing gap between students with disabilities and their peers in reading, writing and civics.

“Citizens create participation habits in their community starting at an early age,” Washburn said. “This project will make connections between key moments in history and present-day events to make history accessible for all citizens to participate in our communities.”

The project, "Citizen Journalism for All Students: Making Journalism in Action’s Library of Congress resources more accessible and relevant for students with disabilities” partners with the PBS News Hour Classroom. Their work aims to improve the usability of Journalism in Action — a free, publicly funded educational resource designed to help students explore the history of journalism in society using historical primary sources.

“There are so many wonderful resources and instructional materials available through the Journalism in Action website,” Myers said, “but it can be difficult for a classroom teacher to use those resources in a classroom of students who all have different learning needs.”

While students have access to more information about their world than ever, not all of what they learn may be accurate.

"Being a wise consumer of media is essential for adolescents with constant access to information of varying levels of quality. They must learn how to discern fact from fiction, truth from falsehood, and understand how their words and actions as mediators of information can impact their community,” Myers said.

Objectives of the project include:  

Conducting research to determine current needs of students with disabilities in using primary sources;  

Designing and publishing resources to address needs of students with disabilities and their teachers,  

Launching a new "Civic Journalism" strand to improve student motivation, and  

Disseminating new resources for teachers and students with disabilities.

Researchers say these resources will support teachers as they work to connect students’ learning from primary sources to real issues within their own communities. New usability features will increase accessibility for students with physical and cognitive needs, such as visual support and assistive technology.