Teachers Presented Their Plans for the Optional Course of Media Education

Last week, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) held follow-up activities for the optional course of Media Education. Over 40 teachers from various regions of the country came to Chisinau on November 2 and 3 to present their plans for the optional course of Media Education, which is to be carried out during homeroom hours, at meetings with parents or at seminars at the school’s department of primary education.

In her greeting speech, the IJC’s Strategic Development Officer Ina Grejdeanu mentioned that one of IJC’s priorities is to educate generations of media consumers who think critically and are able to filter information. “Beginning in 2014, we have been carrying out media literacy lessons in schools around the country, and since then this activity is one of IJC’s priorities. You started along with us in an adventure, because none of us knew how things would go, but your responsiveness and enthusiasm gave us the confidence and certainty that we would have good results in this respect,” Ina Grejdeanu underlined.

Petra Raschkewitz, Country Coordinator for Moldova at the Media Development Department of DW Akademie, admits that Moldovan teachers face certain difficulties, from poor salaries to heavy workload and no recognition: “If we want to educate a generation of free young people, who will think critically, we need to work with teachers. When we started this project, I realized that you are the experts. We are very happy hearing about your results today, and we understand that you made great efforts, so we hope our collaboration will continue,” Petra Raschkewitz said. 

Each participant presented her teaching plan and shared impressions about the course and about worksheets. They underlined the need to have this course and noted that in the development of teaching aids they applied interactive teaching methods.

“There are three things I could say about the Media Education textbook: it is illustrated, original and developed according to education criteria,” said Andriana Gorceag, teacher at a primary school in Falesti city.

Tatiana Matcovschi, teacher at theoretic lyceum “Mihai Eminescu” in Orhei city, is of the same opinion. “Worksheets are well conceived and structured under the ERRE model. Evocation is present in every worksheet, in accordance with the topic that is to be studied. The information box is made so children can understand it and is accompanied by age-appropriate images. It is the children’s favorite subject of study,” the teacher added.

Presentations of teaching plans were organized after the training events held by the IJC in July for 53 primary school teachers. The training events were conducted based on the Media Education curriculum, produced under the aegis of the IJC and approved by the Ministry of Education, and with the help of the textbook with the same title, produced for the piloting of this optional course.

The purpose of the optional course of Media Education is to increase the students’ understanding and rational use of the media and to educate a well-informed and responsible media consumer.

Follow-up activities are part of the "Strengthening Freedom of Opinion in Repubiic of Moldova" project, implemented by the IJC in the period of March to November 2017 with the support of Deutsche Welle Akademie and funded from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.