{"id":5083,"date":"2025-01-01T11:15:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T17:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ic4ml.org\/?post_type=journal-article&p=5083"},"modified":"2025-01-14T13:34:58","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T19:34:58","slug":"from-gen-z-to-gen-z-teaching-and-promoting-media-and-information-literacy-through-service-learning","status":"publish","type":"journal-article","link":"https:\/\/ic4ml.org\/es\/journal-article\/from-gen-z-to-gen-z-teaching-and-promoting-media-and-information-literacy-through-service-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"From Gen Z to Gen Z: Teaching and Promoting Media and Information Literacy Through Service-Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Abstract<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This paper introduces service learning as a new pedagogic approach to teaching and promoting media and information literacy (MIL) in the community. It illustrates how 118 university students participated in a service-learning project in Hong Kong and taught MIL to schoolchildren and young adults (members of Gen Z). The paper discusses what the project achieved, the challenges, and how the service targets and the university students benefited from the project. Students of the Hong Kong Baptist University attended lectures to equip themselves with MIL knowledge and skills, and then went into the community to share their MIL knowledge with their service targets. This MIL service-learning pedagogy was found to have the following characteristics: (1) student-centered; (2) combined online and offline interaction; (3) non-school setting; (4) community participation; (5) peer learning; (6) collaborative learning; (7) not limited by geographic boundaries; (8) innovative activities; and (9) Gen Z focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keywords <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Media and Information Literacy, Service Learning, Generation Z<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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As the world has moved into an era of post-truth and artificial intelligence (AI), media and information literacy (MIL) education is necessary for all citizens, especially young people. Today\u2019s school and college students are Generation Z (Gen Z). The concern about their MIL education encompasses not only what to teach but also how to teach it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This paper examines service-learning as a new pedagogic approach to teaching and promoting MIL in the community. It describes how 118 university students participated in a service-learning project and taught MIL to their Gen Z peers\u2014school teenagers and college students\u2014in Hong Kong. The paper discusses what the project has achieved, the challenges, and how the service targets and the university students themselves benefited from the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Unique Learning Styles of Generation Z<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generation Z is a highly connected and forward-looking cohort. They were born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s (Ramadhanya, 2024). Gen Z is the Internet generation, raised with the Internet and social media. They have only known a world with computers and cell phones. They are the first truly digital and global generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen Zers are techno-savvy. They are immersed in a technological environment (Parker & Igielnik, 2020). They are committed to being part of the changes and fast-paced life that technologies offer. They integrate technology seamlessly into their lives and use it from the youngest age. They are regarded as the generation of \u201call technology all the time\u201d (Barnes & Noble College, 2024, p. 1). Technology is almost like the air they breathe, permeating almost all areas of their lifestyle and relationships. They are innately comfortable with digital tools and platforms. They see technology as an extension of themselves and naturally integrate it into their learning process (Ramadhanya, 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Gen Zers are now in secondary schools and colleges. Some of them are young adult workers. Compared with the previous generation, their learning approach is more independent and self-directed. They have an aptitude for self-reliance and the ability to self-educate. They go online to research and interact with others to gain insight. However, they like to make their own decisions. Gen Zers prefer active participation over the passive learning styles of their predecessors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although technologically savvy, they are keen on face-to-face interaction and collaboration. They are referred to as \u201cthe sharing generation\u201d (Barnes & Noble College, 2024, p. 1). They learn best by doing, discussing, and working together. A survey by Barnes & Noble College showed that 80% of Gen Z university students like to study with friends, as studying together makes learning more fun. They value the engagement of in-person sessions. Meanwhile, they treasure opportunities to take control of their learning journey. They strongly desire to choose what to learn and how to learn. Therefore, project-based learning and student-centered classrooms suit them best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen Zers shift from PC\/computer to mobile device, and from text to video. They like visual content, short-form videos and interactive learning experiences. They like projects that facilitate peer-to-peer interaction and knowledge sharing (Dingari, 2024). They seek learning experiences that are relevant to real-world applications. Iftode\u2019s (2019) research on Gen Z\u2019s learning indicates that teachers and professors need to offer support and motivation to guide this new generation through their independent learning journey. Ramadhanya (2024) also suggests that educators should be familiar with Gen Z students\u2019 learning styles and build engaging educational environments to inspire them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to surveys, Gen Zers\u2019 relationship with technology is positive yet complicated. It is mixed with enthusiasm and trepidation. They embrace new media technologies but simultaneously notice the dark side of the Internet (Tsang and Lee, 2023). Although they show confidence in their ability to control their personal space in the digital ecosystem, they still need educational programs to support their online awareness. Media and information literacy (MIL) is an essential life skill for them in the digital and AI era. Given their unique learning styles and the fact that they are quickly bored by traditional classroom teaching, experiential learning suits them better. This study examined the service-learning-based MIL Coaching Project to explore how Gen Zers learn in a non-traditional way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service-Learning as a New Pedagogy Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, service-learning has become a popular method of promoting education for sustainable development. Service-learning is an educational approach in which students learn facts and theories in the classroom, volunteer in the community, and participate in reflection activities to deepen their understanding of the classroom component. Students learn and develop by engaging in concrete projects that meet the community\u2019s needs (Tanner, 2006). Service-learning thus integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, nurture civic responsibility, and connect communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service-learning combines learning objectives and community service to facilitate student growth and the common good. It connects student learning in the classroom with real-world experience in the community to educate them about the virtues of mutual assistance (Elmhurst University, 2019). Therefore, community engagement via service-learning can improve students\u2019 ability to apply their classroom learning to the real world. Service-learning also markedly fosters interpersonal development, especially in working with others and building communication skills. Service-learning can take many forms, such as volunteering, community service, internships, and field education. The university students in this study engaged in community service-learning. Service-learning programs usually include four implementation phases: planning, preparation, action, and reflection\/evaluation (Youthpower, 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service-learning expresses John Dewey\u2019s theory of \u201clearning by doing.\u201d Dewey (1938) emphasized that schoolchildren are not listeners and passive learners, and thus student engagement is important. He proposed that a teacher should regard teaching as an apprenticeship and serve as a master to facilitate learning (Pedagogy for Change, 2022). The theory of learning by doing holds that active participation facilitates deep learning (Ho, 2022). Learning by doing is effective because once students become familiar with the content of a course, their activities involve interacting with the material and the self-generation of knowledge. However, teachers must be mindful of the correct point in the learning process to introduce learning by doing and must first provide their students with basic knowledge and skills. Because learning involves building on itself, attempting learning by doing too soon may overwhelm students so that they are unable to take appropriate action (Boser, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, various universities in Hong Kong have created a different learning environment by adopting a service-learning pedagogy in their educational programs. University students are encouraged to see themselves as members of society and individuals responsible for contributing to their communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has established a General Education Service-learning course entitled \u201cMedia Communication in the AI Era.\u201d This MIL education program combines learning goals and community service to enhance student growth and the common good. The project asks students to apply the course content to community-based activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service-Learning Course Design: MIL Coaching Project<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In four semesters from 2021\u20132023, 118 HKBU students joined the course \u201cMedia Communication in the AI Era.\u201d They attended lectures and conducted group research projects to equip themselves with MIL knowledge and skills. Then, they participated in the \u201cMIL Coaching Project\u201d and went into the community to share their MIL knowledge with their service targets, who were Gen Z school students, college students, and adults under 25. Some of their service targets were outside of Hong Kong and they communicated through Zoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HKBU students interacted with their service targets for five weeks. They needed to submit a proposal and a final reflective report at the end of the course. The objectives of their teaching and sharing were to (1) raise awareness of the impact of media and information; (2) promote the importance of MIL; (3) evaluate the media habit of the service targets; and (4) develop the MIL competency of their service targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MIL Coaching Project followed the implementation steps of service learning: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Phase 1: Planning:\n