Exploring Decision-Making through Media Literacy
Supporting students to become better decision makers.
About the Incubator
Middle school is a time of tremendous growth and transformation. Students explore their identities and values, develop increased independence and responsibility, and begin to navigate complex social issues. As these changes are happening, students are inundated with information, ads, and social media designed to influence their thinking.
Decision Education helps students develop several real-world skills emphasized in media literacy. These include evaluating information and sources, considering multiple perspectives, and recognizing cognitive biases such as confirmation bias. Both fields empower students to think critically about information, and Decision Education teaches students the applied skills and dispositions to make better decisions.
Learn how schools are implementing Decision Education to empower their students with critical media literacy skills.
Our Incubator Schools
Hubble Middle School
Warrenville, IL
Project Overview
Seventh grade students at Hubble Middle School will participate in a digital literacy course for one quarter throughout the school year. This course situates students in a scenario: they are investigative reporters researching the connection between social media use and mental health in teens. Through this scenario, the course will integrate Decision Education and media literacy concepts, skills and dispositions to develop students’ ability to synthesize multiple sources of information representing diverse perspectives, determining what is true and what to do.
School Description
- School Type: Public/37.9% Free or Reduced Lunch
- Demographics:
- 55.8% White
- 31% Hispanic/Latinx
- 5.1% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander
- 3.7% Black or African American
- # of students impacted: ~230 students
DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach Public Charter School
Kapolei, HI
Project Overview
Seventh graders at DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach Public Charter School will participate in two month-long blocks of instruction integrating Decision Education with media literacy as part of their Leadership, Empowerment, Agency and Development (LEAD) class. In addition to this, some students participated in a summer pilot program focused on decision-making with social media, providing the Alliance an opportunity to pilot our approach to student assessment.
School Description
- School Type: Public Charter/72% Free or Reduced Lunch
- Demographics:
- 29.6% Hispanic/Latinx
- 28.6% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- 14.3% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander
- 8% White
- 19.2% Two or more races
- # of students impacted: ~100 students
China Grove Middle School
China Grove, NC
Project Overview
China Grove is piloting the implementation of Decision Education through core content classes. Their primary focus will be on integrating Decision Education and media literacy in 7th grade social studies, and they will also run smaller pilots in 6th grade ELA and a new 8th grade social studies elective.
We are excited about their pilot approach to content integration, because it will be great to have more evidence of how Decision Education impacts academic learning!
School Description
- School Type: Public/Title 1/43% Free or Reduced Lunch
- Demographics:
- 74.6% White
- 17.1% Hispanic/Latino
- 2.9 % Black or African American
- 1.7% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander
- 3.7% Two or more races
- # of students impacted: ~400 students
Friends School of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD
Project Overview
The Friends School of Baltimore has aligned Decision Education concepts with Quaker values to pilot Decision Education in one advisory class in sixth through eighth grade next year. They will introduce new Decision Education concepts each month through case studies and providing group decision-making opportunities to apply skills they are learning. Their instructional model guides students through three different types of decision-making:
- Personal, including values and habit formation
- Academic, including research practices and bias in the media
- Social, including examining issues from multiple perspectives, and understanding cognitive biases that impact communication and collaboration
School Description
- School Type: Independent/Quaker
- Demographics:
- 59.5% White
- 17.3% African American
- 11.7% Multiracial
- 3.5% Hispanic
- 3.3% Asian
- # of students impacted: ~40 students
Decision Education and Media Literacy in Action
Decision Education aligns with media literacy as both aim to enhance critical thinking by teaching students to evaluate information, consider multiple perspectives, recognize cognitive biases, and apply real-world decision-making skills.
We created this handy guide of lesson plans our educators created and resources from our trusted partners. Get started implementing Decision Education with Media Literacy today!
The National Association for Media Literacy Education unites a community of educators committed to advancing media literacy education. Their “Meet the Media Monsters” webpage breaks down examples of media distortion for students.
