Media Studies
CURRICULUM ETHOS
In GCSE Media Studies we aim to develop analytical and critical thinking in our students.
Students who study this course will be able to interrogate different types of Media and identify the biases within them, thinking about the choices that those who create and control the media make. Our curriculum promotes Eastbrook’s PROUD values as students are principled in the way they discuss the moral issues of the media and gain an understanding of how different media industries are run. In Media Studies students will also develop their extended writing skills as they respond to different media texts. They are taught to closely analyse the verbal codes, photographic codes, use of colour and typography and representation of different social groups within media texts such as adverts, films and newspaper articles.
The media texts that GCSE students study are diverse, relevant, and inclusive as the curriculum is updated yearly to reflect recent news and social issues. By studying texts like this, we aim to develop well rounded students who engage with the world around them. Throughout the course, students will develop a new vocabulary to help them talk and write about media texts and engage with the ideas of a range of media theorists. Finally, our students also have the opportunity to make their own pieces of Media in the NEA element of the course. This is a great way to showcase students’ knowledge of the media in an imaginative way.
The Media Studies Curriculum in Summary
At Key Stage 4, students follow the AQA GCSE Media Studies course. Students begin Year 10 with an introduction to key concepts and Media Language which is developed throughout the two year GCSE. Although Media Studies is not taught at KS3, the analytical skills that students learn in Years 7-9, for example in English and Humanities, are also developed through the curriculum and in their engagement with Close Study Products (CSPs). For all areas of study, the exam board identifies CSPs - these are specific media products which students will need to know intimately and be able to draw examples from in their exams. For each unit of work two often contrasting CSPs will be introduced by the teacher, and students will learn about and analyse them in their lessons. Examples of Close Study Products include contrasting Broadsheet (The Times) and Tabloid (The Daily Mirror) newspaper articles and an Independent Film (currently: I, Daniel Blake) which is studied alongside a Hollywood Blockbuster Film (currently: Marvel’s Black Widow). Each year, AQA changes and updates the Close Study Products they offer, ensuring that the course is relevant and in keeping with current media trends.
A large part of the course also involves engaging with Media Theory. The ideas of a range of different theorists about media representation, narratives and audience are introduced early on, and students are able to apply different theoretical frameworks to the CSPs they study in years 10 and 11. Some notable theories which are taught are Propps’ Character Theory, Uses and Gratifications Theory and Stuart Hall’s Audience Response Theory. Throughout the course, students discuss and evaluate these academic ideas, looking, not only, at how they can aid our understanding of media products, but sometimes limit our understanding of them. Although Eastbrook does not offer the option to study Media at KS5, if students wish to deepen their knowledge of Media theories and expand their studies, these discussions form a good basis for further study.
Notably, at the end of Year 10 students are able to create a Media product of their own in their NEA coursework. This could be a series of posters to promote a new film, a magazine cover and accompanying article, a print advertisement, a music video etc. They will draw together their knowledge from the whole course in order to create these products in class. Students will need to demonstrate evidence of their planning in a statement of intent, which also gets submitted to the exam board alongside their NEA.
An All Through Curriculum
The secondary Media Studies curriculum builds on the foundations of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. Students are encouraged to explore different viewpoints and to develop the oracy and literacy skills they learn in primary school through their discussions and writings about media representation. Some of the basic financial literacy skills learnt in Primary school are also built upon again when students are taught about how the film, newspaper and radio industries work in terms of funding and profits.
Diversity and Inclusion in the Media Studies Curriculum
Diversity is an important part of Media Studies. Within the subject, students are encouraged to look at the media from different perspectives; whether this be through the eyes of different audience members, various critical lenses, or to bring their own unique perspectives and responses into the classroom. We frequently discuss the idea of Media representation too, looking at the social groups who have been selected and included in certain media products, and also those who have been excluded. Students have mature conversations about why those who create and control the media might represent different people in different ways; why they might include some people and exclude others.
Furthermore, the CSPs which the exam board select are diverse and inclusive. For example, students look at the representation of women and gender stereotypes in their study of the ‘OMO advert’ from the 1950’s. They also closely study an NHS advert which is targeted at Black and Asian people and other ethnic minorities. They investigate the representations of working class issues in their study of independent cinema (I, Daniel Blake) and by studying the footballer Marcus Rashford who has used his social media platform to successfully raise awareness about poverty/education in deprived areas. There is even an opportunity to look at global media when studying music videos and the music of Korean-Pop stars (BlackPink).
Cultural Capital and Enrichment in the Media Studies Curriculum
The course allows students to engage with media products that they otherwise would not independently seek out, such as independent films, which usually have limited releases, or episodes of television made in the past e.g. the first episode of the BBC’s television drama Dr. Who. Looking at media products which are contemporary and modern, niche and mass, express different political viewpoints, or even which are made in different places on our planet, allows Media Studies students to be well-rounded and to gain a rich knowledge of our society. The enriched experience of studying the media is complimented by educational trips and workshops that are organised by the department.
Literacy and Oracy in the Media Studies Curriculum
A key way that literacy is embedded in the Media Studies curriculum is through the introduction of subject specific vocabulary. This new ‘Media Language’ is modelled by teachers in every lesson orally and textually, for example in model answers and presentations. Understanding of media language is frequently assessed, through both formal means in termly assessments and informally in retrieval practice activities. When studying areas of the media such as the newspaper industry, there are frequent opportunities for extended reading, enhancing comprehension and deepening understanding of our curriculum. To support written communication, some aspects of essay writing are explicitly taught including the ‘P.E.E.L’ structure. Students also have the opportunity to learn how to write in a ‘non continuous’ prose writing style in order to answer some examination questions in the AQA syllabus.
As some aspects of this subject are discussion based, oracy skills are frequently developed. In lessons, students will debate and share their opinions on topics such as media ownership and regulation and use spoken language to interrogate different Media products and theories.
