Keeping it Relevant: The Pressure of CPD as a Teacher of Media

05/03/2021

Time is precious, and we all know it. This year, more than ever, the time pressures of marking, planning and assessment online are greater than ever. Time is the most precious commodity for most teachers, and Media and Film teachers are no different. What does set us apart, however, is the demand on our time by our subject itself. Not the students, but the subject. And that is pretty unique.

I'm not saying that no other subject has such demands; I'm sure they do. However, Media is unique in that it covered such a wide variety of...well, media, and that media is ever changing and developing. It can make the subject a daunting prospect to teach, and is why set texts are welcomed by those who want to know they are doing right by their students without the pressure of text selection. Coupled with that, though, is the fact that the subject demands your subject knowledge is up to date in a way that others just don't.

Let's take an example. For GCSE Media, we chose to look at the Marvel franchise. It was a sure fire hit, I thought, because the resources we make will last for years as the films are so contemporary. Then, driving into work one day, I hear on the news that Fox was bought by Disney. Then Disney+ appeared. And, just like that, I can't ignore those developments and stick rigidly to my 18 month old notes. I have to update and adapt them all. I have to update the indicative content of the exam questions I have written. And that is just one small example.

The thing is, the media, by nature, is ever changing and developing. There's always new content coming out and changing things we would have discussed a week or even a day before. As part of my job, I need to know who is in the charts, what films are being released, what TV shows are coming to streaming services. I need to know what social media posts stars are making and what audience responses are to mainstream and consumer-created media. I need to know iconic texts in context and be able to refer to them when discussing others. And the list goes on. It's a big ask and is often overlooked when the subject of CPD comes up. CPD? I'm doing it all the time. I have a notebook full of notes from TV and films I watch, social media posts worth returning to, and video game responses. I used to trawl through Youtube most nights after my daughter goes to bed to see what drama is happening, what new releases are being commented on and what future releases are in store. Keeping up to date is a full time job in itself.

Subject specific CPD usually consists of going to exam board conferences. Useful though these are, they focus on what you would expect: exam questions. The broader nature of media and the bigger questions surrounding that is not their remit and not something they offer. That's down to us. There are some excellent events and speakers set up to talk academically about Media Studies, but persuading this to be school funded is often tricky.

One of my aims over the coming years is to continue to raise awareness of Media Studies as a subject and to build its reputation in an academic context, which is what it deserves. I am by no means a subject expert, but I do strongly believe that providing CPD beyond the boundaries and limitations of exam specs is something really worthwhile. It fosters enthusiasm amongst teachers, it can be cascaded to sixth formers (who can also contribute), and it encourages all of us in media education to think beyond the exam and put the subject first (I really need to get that put on a t-shirt!). . One of the greatest resources available at the moment that does this is Media Magazine. Everyone who subscribes recommends it, and it is a staple in an enriched Media Studies classroom. I hope to develop a bank of resources to compliment assets like this, in a very open and community-friendly way. That's where MediaEDU comes in. This is a place where we can share subject knowledge and teaching strategies that work, as collaborative colleagues. It is my hope that MediaEDU will grow to become a bank of knowledge rich clips that satisfy all areas of interest in Media and encourage students to forge their own paths in media enrichment.

In the mean time, the most important thing I have learned about trying to stay on top of everything current in the media is...well, you can't. Yes, you should carve out time to brush up every so often, but students get a buzz from telling you things you don't know, and the interest you show. It also means they naturally filter information for you so you can look up what is important to them. I've found that if I know who the Paul brothers and Mariana Joyce are then I sound pretty 'with it'. Otherwise, my main port of call for significant media is the news. If a media text is newsworthy, it's worth my attention. I didn't seek out Sia's controversial new music video, but the news told me I should look. It take 10 minutes of my day to check the entertainment headlines and that sets me up for feeling up to date. Frankly, any more than that daily would have me at mental capacity by 10am! We can't do it all, so we do some well. There. Another t-shirt.

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