We use a topic-based method of doing case studies, which provides much more freedom for students to engage with texts which interest them. Exploring a specific text means that your students all go into the exam with the same case study, which is not the point at all. The point is to encourage them to follow their own interests in their own way, and have 20 students go into the exam with 20 different case studies.

We use the Lifestyle topic for this, because lifestyle is broad enough to encompass a huge variety of areas, from motoring (Top Gear and the lifestyle it celebrates etc.) through to health/diet, cooking, property, gaming, love/relationships, family… the list almost endless.

I’ve put an example of how a Property case study could be structured here, with the health warning that (again) students shouldn’t ALL do the same thing. My case study goes from Channel 4 property shows to property-related magazines to The Sims (e-media) as a game about lifestyles related to property.

My philosophy of studying media texts is to show as many examples as possible, and not to spend ages and ages doing one in depth. The structure of the exam encourages the use of LOTS of examples, but gives little scope for depth. I may be gaming the system a bit, but the students’ knowledge of the key concepts is reinforced through repetition.

Students are given time to prepare their case studies. They should check with you to see if they’re on the same track, but should be encouraged to do their own thing.

One of my 100% students did a case study that seemed at first a bit wild and off track, with three different types of text across three different platforms, which didn’t seem to relate to one another, except under the general heading of Lifestyle. But we realised that by overlaying Maslow’s hierarchy of needs over the three texts, she had in fact identified three texts offering advice for three different levels of the pyramid. It gave her a structure to hang her answer on, which was clearly excellent. She did almost all of the work on her own.

Could you offer some advice (again) on my following dilemma…..
After attending a couple of support meetings – a variety of methods of dealing with the case studies have come up.

1: Take a specific text from one of the topic areas and explore that text across each platform
- so for example ‘Skins’ as a text -under broadcast. then look at it in Print-and in E-media etc.
-you then do that for two more texts to get the 3 texts requirement.
- this is apparently a TEXT DRIVEN Method

2: Take a more general topic like “Reality TV” and explore reality TV as a subject across the 3 platforms.
- so you may look at different texts on each platform – with the connection being “reality TV/platform” as oposed to a speciific text.
-you then look at 3 texts per platform – (independent of whether you looked at them in another platform or not)
-This is apparently a PLATFORM DRIVEN METHOD.

What do you think?
Which (if any have you done!)

Thanks in advance for taking the time to comment!
Great blog

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