It’s all about control: how giving kids control over access, content, and format of their media production advances social and emotional learning

ABSTRACT

While the literature on kids’ media practices has grown, few studies connect this knowledge with media pedagogy and children’s emotional learning. This case study of four third grade students in a social intervention program explores the process in which they gained control over access, content, and form of their intervention by creating animated videos of positive behavior reinforcement. The author used narrative analysis to examine a journey of a speech pathologist and a school psychologist who were learning to produce media together with their four students. The process of trial and error included four stages for the interventionists: high freedom, high control, challenge, and structured freedom. This case study sheds a light on how the pedagogy of media production using structured freedom can improve self-reflection and self-efficacy of young students, especially those with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). The results show the process of creating a potential space (Winnicott, 1971) while producing media via mobile devices that became a transitional object, enhancing students’ ability to reflect on their own feelings and conduct.

KEYWORDS:

• Uses and gratifications
• transitional object
• potential space
• emotional and behavioral disorders
• autism
• media literacy

Acknowledgment

The author wishes to thank Mary Walsh Patty for all her help and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor

Yonty Friesem's work and research in civic media focus on the opportunities to improve social and emotional skills of students in formal and informal settings using media production as civic engagement. Apart from being an award-winning film producer, he offers professional development for educators who want to drive social change in their community with their students using the power of digital media. His publications in academic and professional journals include theory of empathic dialogues via media he calls digital empathy, evaluation of various civic media programs, and explorations of implementing digital and media literacy in schools. He received his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Rhode Island and MA in Leadership and Policy in Education from Tel-Aviv University.