Able student information for website Subject: MEDIA STUDIES What do able students look like in Media Studies? Gifted and Talented students of Media Studies are identified partly by the use of data and partly by teacher recommendations based on observations of performance in class. An able student in Media Studies will usually be particularly talented at writing (both analytical and creative), film‐making, photography, or a combination of all three. A gifted writer will have a flair for writing. Original work will demonstrate a broad understanding of specific media forms and audiences. Analytical pieces will be well‐
structured, fluent, and will reveal considered, supportable observations about the construction of meaning in media products and related wider contexts. Ideas will be clearly expressed and formulated in an appropriate, coherent manner using subject specific terminology. Gifted film‐makers and photographers will have a highly developed visual sense and show real enthusiasm for planning/creating original moving and still images, and be able to form suitable and powerful structures through the editing and manipulation of non‐verbal languages, like sound, colour, movement, pace and composition. He or she will also have an interest in and a facility for the use of creative media technologies What are the essential skills? According to educational psychology, all learning develops across a series of ascending levels, spanning from thinking derived by the basic recalling of information, to the development of higher order learning skills such as evaluative and analytical thinking. Academic progression in Media Studies will involve the orchestration of all these essential skills, particularly when deconstructing media products, where students are encouraged to adopt an objective view of meanings and the ways in which they are constructed and to interrogate the impact of wider economic, historical and sociological contexts. Students are encouraged to consider alternative viewpoints but also to question, hypothesise and think independently. Opportunities for challenge in English At Chipping Campden School, teachers ensure that all students are effectively challenged in the classroom by personalising lessons, developing opportunities and allowing time for deeper questions, thinking and discussion, often on a one‐to‐one basis. Students are encouraged to understand that they should grasp opportunities to study areas that go beyond the usual expectations for their year group and the limitations of the classroom curriculum. Students are provided with opportunities to impart their knowledge and work independently and collaboratively, sharing opinions about their individual media consumption. There is also a weekly Media Studies Film Club, intended to enable students to broaden their experience of film as an Art Form and visits by professionals working in media industries. The department has its own blog and we subscribe to Media Magazine, a glossy publication written by experts in the field and aimed specifically at A‐Level students. We also subscribe to the excellent website MediaEdusite and give students their own membership login, so that they can access a wide range of resources applicable to study of the media at A‐Level. How to challenge yourself in English The school has many opportunities for you to be challenged in Media Studies, at school and at home. Within lessons, try to reflect upon your own learning and consider to what extent you are achieving your objective or what the next step might be. In your reflections, try to make connections with other subjects like Business Studies, History, Psychology, English, History or Sociology that may be beneficial for future lessons. At home, make the most of the media that is all around you. Try reading/viewing genres and formats that are unfamiliar to you, or keep up to date on current affairs by reading newspapers, and watch documentaries about the historical development of popular culture through the 20th Century. Establish a routine by which you make analytical notes about any media text you consume. A selection of useful websites for able students: http://media.edusites.co.uk/ http://www.mediaknowall.com/ http://www.imdb.com/ http://www.rottentomatoes.com http://brianair.wordpress.com/film‐theory/glossary‐of‐media‐terminology/ http://www.theguardian.com/media/media‐blog http://www.bbc.co.uk/ http://www.youtube.com