The role of training course of critical thinking and media literacy in decoding messages

In this paper, after studying the existing and significant approaches in ‘media literacy’ training, a novel educational program concerning ‘media literacy education’ is presented by combining the two training courses of ‘critical thinking’ (philosophy for children) with media knowledge and skills. In this program thinking skills training is based on discussion and community of inquiry, and it is also substructure of and prior to training media knowledge and. All these together provide ideal training media literacy. In order to examine the program proposed in this research, regarding teaching media literacy, the sample included three groups of fourth grade students, each group containing 11 students: the first group passed the critical thinking course and also media literacy course, the second group passed only the critical thinking course (not media literacy), and the last one passed none of the mentioned courses. They were evaluated through quantitative (a questionnaire based on Likert Spectrum) and qualitative (group discussion and qualitative content analysis of the discussion) methods. Based on the research results, the students who passed the two mentioned courses could decode the message more exact than could the two other groups (teaser about Cheetoz Chips). And the students who passed only the critical thinking course could decode more exact and principled than could the third group which did not pass any courses at all.