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Рy20 October 2020
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The 2020-2021 academic year is the fourth year in which the optional subject Media Education is taught in Moldovan schools and the second year in which this course is taught at all three levels of education – primary, middle, and high school. Year after year, the number of teachers and students who choose to become ambassadors of critical thinking is constantly growing.
In 2020, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) organized seven trainings for teachers, both offline and online. During the trainings, Romanian and Russian speaking teachers from all over the country have developed media skills in order to later contribute to the formation of students’ media culture, helping them develop their critical spirit.
In the new academic year, 74 teachers trained in media literacy teach this optional subject remotely, in classrooms, or in a mixed system to 2,479 students from 65 schools throughout the country. However, the number of teachers who interact with this area is much higher, given that textbooks for media education are used as teaching materials in other mandatory or optional subjects, as well as during homeroom periods.
In 2020, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) organized seven trainings for teachers, both offline and online. During the trainings, Romanian and Russian speaking teachers from all over the country have developed media skills in order to later contribute to the formation of students’ media culture, helping them develop their critical spirit.
In the new academic year, 74 teachers trained in media literacy teach this optional subject remotely, in classrooms, or in a mixed system to 2,479 students from 65 schools throughout the country. However, the number of teachers who interact with this area is much higher, given that textbooks for media education are used as teaching materials in other mandatory or optional subjects, as well as during homeroom periods.
Natalia Cristinoi, “Vasile Alecsandri” Gymnasium in Draganesti village of Singerei district
“After two years of the optional course of Media Education being taught in our institution, this year other teachers, including class teachers, use the content of the textbooks during other lessons. It is a very interesting course for both students and teachers.”
Maria Prodan, gymnasium in Boscana village of Criuleni district
“After years of work as a librarian and teacher of optional subjects in the curricular area of Language and Communication, I accumulated knowledge and skills of developing critical thinking in students. Media Education is a current and very necessary discipline, which helps to face the challenges related to the media, becoming educated in the spirit of critical thinking, and being an informed media consumer.”
Tatiana Terzi, gymnasium in Sofievca village of Comrat district
“Media Education courses are very useful because they help us develop children’s critical thinking skills and we teach them how to distinguish between true and false, between truthful information and misinformation. These skills are also necessary for us, the teachers, for personal and professional development.”
The optional subject Media Education was introduced in the study program with the consent of the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Research in the 2017-2018 academic year. Its first beneficiaries were 53 teachers who taught about 500 students in 30 primary education institutions. A year later, starting with September 1, 2018, the course started to be taught at the lower secondary school level, too. From 2019, for the second consecutive year, the optional subject Media Education is taught at all three levels of school.
In total, since the launch of this subject, about 3,817 primary school students have studied it with the help of 118 teachers. At lower secondary school level, the number of those who chose to study this subject for four years is 3,185 students and 93 teachers. At higher secondary school level, the number of students and teachers who interact with this optional subject is 858 students and 31 teachers, including in Russian-language schools.
The geographical area in which the Media Education course is present in this academic year includes 24 districts and municipalities: Chisinau, Rezina, Hincesti, Ialoveni, Anenii Noi, Singerei, Soroca, Drochia, Telenesti, Straseni, Orhei, Calarasi, Criuleni, Falesti, Basarabeasca, Glodeni, Cahul, Causeni, Floresti, Balti municipality, Ungheni, Comrat municipality, Taraclia, Grigoriopol, including ATU Gagauzia and the Transnistrian region.
Both teachers and students from all three levels of school benefit from Media Education textbooks, both in Romanian and Russian, provided free of charge by the IJC. The textbooks and study programs for each level can also be accessed in electronic format on the Media Education platform. This educational platform also contains various teaching materials, audiovisuals, games, quizzes, which can be used to teach the optional course.
The Independent Journalism Center organizes media education activities as part of the “Strengthening Media Literacy Skills” project, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie and funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as part of the “Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova (MEDIA-M)” project, funded by USAID and UK Aid and implemented by Internews in Moldova, and as part of the “Increasing Support for Independent Russian-Language Media Outlets and for Media Literacy Efforts” project, financed by the Netherlands Embassy.
“After two years of the optional course of Media Education being taught in our institution, this year other teachers, including class teachers, use the content of the textbooks during other lessons. It is a very interesting course for both students and teachers.”
Maria Prodan, gymnasium in Boscana village of Criuleni district
“After years of work as a librarian and teacher of optional subjects in the curricular area of Language and Communication, I accumulated knowledge and skills of developing critical thinking in students. Media Education is a current and very necessary discipline, which helps to face the challenges related to the media, becoming educated in the spirit of critical thinking, and being an informed media consumer.”
Tatiana Terzi, gymnasium in Sofievca village of Comrat district
“Media Education courses are very useful because they help us develop children’s critical thinking skills and we teach them how to distinguish between true and false, between truthful information and misinformation. These skills are also necessary for us, the teachers, for personal and professional development.”
The optional subject Media Education was introduced in the study program with the consent of the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Research in the 2017-2018 academic year. Its first beneficiaries were 53 teachers who taught about 500 students in 30 primary education institutions. A year later, starting with September 1, 2018, the course started to be taught at the lower secondary school level, too. From 2019, for the second consecutive year, the optional subject Media Education is taught at all three levels of school.
In total, since the launch of this subject, about 3,817 primary school students have studied it with the help of 118 teachers. At lower secondary school level, the number of those who chose to study this subject for four years is 3,185 students and 93 teachers. At higher secondary school level, the number of students and teachers who interact with this optional subject is 858 students and 31 teachers, including in Russian-language schools.
The geographical area in which the Media Education course is present in this academic year includes 24 districts and municipalities: Chisinau, Rezina, Hincesti, Ialoveni, Anenii Noi, Singerei, Soroca, Drochia, Telenesti, Straseni, Orhei, Calarasi, Criuleni, Falesti, Basarabeasca, Glodeni, Cahul, Causeni, Floresti, Balti municipality, Ungheni, Comrat municipality, Taraclia, Grigoriopol, including ATU Gagauzia and the Transnistrian region.
Both teachers and students from all three levels of school benefit from Media Education textbooks, both in Romanian and Russian, provided free of charge by the IJC. The textbooks and study programs for each level can also be accessed in electronic format on the Media Education platform. This educational platform also contains various teaching materials, audiovisuals, games, quizzes, which can be used to teach the optional course.
The Independent Journalism Center organizes media education activities as part of the “Strengthening Media Literacy Skills” project, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie and funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as part of the “Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova (MEDIA-M)” project, funded by USAID and UK Aid and implemented by Internews in Moldova, and as part of the “Increasing Support for Independent Russian-Language Media Outlets and for Media Literacy Efforts” project, financed by the Netherlands Embassy.
