Pedagogical Strategies in Media Literacy Education and their Alignment with Student-Centered Learning

The digital age has changed the terrain of literacy and calls for a change in pedagogical strategies for media literacy instruction. The growing frequency of false information, hate speech, and other damaging materials on the internet emphasizes how urgently students need to be given the critical skills to properly and responsibly negotiate the digital media environment. The studies examined under stress the need of active learning, practical application, and student participation in developing media literacy skills. The studies underline that the idea of literacy has developed beyond conventional text to include multimedia and multimodal skills required in new media environments. The results imply that even if student teachers value these new literacies, their knowledge is still rather scattered and limited. The COVID-19 epidemic has made educational difficulties even more severe, especially in early childhood education, which emphasizes how urgently teachers' technological competency should be improved and creative ideas for blended learning should be investigated. The studies also underline the need of active participation and real-life application in developing media literacy skills and stress the part of simulation and experiential learning in improving knowledge acquisition and self-efficacy among young. The results of the research point to a possible bias in librarians' media and information literacy (MIL) instruction toward conventional information literacy strategies and underline the need of a more balanced and theoretically grounded approach to MIL instruction that integrates both media and information literacy concepts. The studies also underline the transforming power of real, cooperative, and intergenerational learning experiences in teacher education as well as the need of attending to the particular media literacy needs of elderly persons, a group sometimes neglected in conventional teacher preparation programs. The studies show strong proof that experiential learning programs—especially those using simulations—are successful in increasing young social media literacy. The studies taken together highlight the need of active participation, completion of guided actions, and instructional design that reduces distractions and maximizes significant learning opportunities. The knowledge gained from these studies provides insightful direction for teachers, legislators, and researchers working to promote media literacy and raise a generation of responsible digital citizens.