Ithaca College

Teachers are now ready for the fall thanks to Project Look Sharp’s intensive three-day workshop this past summer. From July 24th to 26th, Project Look Sharp facilitated media literacy training and teachings to a wide variety of educators. 

Taking place in the Newseum, Washington, DC, the event was hosted by Project Look Sharp’s Chris Sperry and Cyndy Scheibe along with the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the education staff at the Newseum. Content ranged from how to integrate media literacy into curriculum materials, creating an inquiry-based and interactive classroom, to preparing students to critically analyze their confirmation bias.

The training extended to teachers of middle and high school as well as college faculty, with department chairs and consultants working with educators participating. The three-day workshop also allowed further opportunities for individual coaching. Afterwards, Project Look Sharp’s Sperry and Scheibe both received accolades from the audience. Specific responses from the survey read:

• “Project Sharp has far exceeded my expectations with concrete materials that I can start using right away in my classroom.”
• “I enjoyed the strong modeling of practice by Cyndy and Chris. They provided a great example of how to develop media literacy skills.”
• “First the presentations were informative, enriching and very balanced in presentation models. Second, the sharing of experiences was very positive. Third, the coaching and practice made a wonderful closing to the activity.”
• “Thank you for offering Project Sharp as a workshop. It's the best PD I've taken so far in my 8-year-career.”

To learn more information on Project Look Sharp and our activities, be sure to visit projectlooksharp.org.

Project Look Sharp is Ithaca College’s Media Literacy Initiative. Project Look Sharp supports the integration of critical thinking through media literacy in school curriculum and teaching. They do this through developing and providing lesson plans, media materials, training, and support for educators at all education levels. The purpose of media literacy education is to help individuals of all ages develop the habits of inquiry and skills of expression they need to be critical thinkers, effective communicators, and active citizens in today’s world.