ASU Launches Initiative to Use PBS Content for Enhanced Media-Based Education

It’s a common theme among faculty when they join Arizona State University: They were attracted to the institution’s mission to advance innovation, inclusivity and broad access, and sought to be a part of it.

Elisa New, distinguished professor of practice at ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (MLFTC) and founder of Poetry in America — the acclaimed television show and multiplatform educational initiative — is no exception.

Since her arrival in 2021, New and her team have worked with ASU Learning Enterprise to offer courses and programs to thousands of learners outside the university — especially K–12 students and educators. In particular, New’s Poetry in America flagship high school program has, to date, connected more than 5,400 learners from 210 high schools with low-cost college credit. Offerings for ASU degree learners are forthcoming.

Now, New is set to lead the Educational Media Innovation Studio, a new initiative of Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College that aims to create highly engaging materials that empower educators to use, critique and create educational media; enhance learning experiences for learners of all kinds; and broaden people’s thinking about what is possible in education.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and to be bringing my team’s skills to bear on the important, groundbreaking work the college is doing to rethink what education — what teaching, learning and school itself — can look like,” New said.

Presented by Arizona PBS, the Poetry in America series is produced by Verse Video Education, an independent nonprofit production company. From Amanda Gorman to Shaquille O’Neal to high school students, the series features people from all walks of life in conversation about American poetry.

The Educational Media Innovation Studio will leverage the production capacity of Verse Video Education to fulfill its mission, and has identified five priorities to that end:

• Distributing Poetry in America content, and creating courses and other learning experiences based on that content, for learners in ASU degree programs and in ASU’s lifelong learning options, such as Universal Learner Courses.
• Developing professional learning resources for K–12 educators that will be available on the ASU Professional Educator Learning Hub, a collaboration between MLFTC and ASU Learning Enterprise scheduled to launch by fall 2024.
• Developing high-quality educational media that supports K–16 learning.
• Partnering with schools and units across ASU to develop interdisciplinary courses and learning resources.
• Developing and maintaining a reservoir of multimedia educational resources to be made available to a broad audience of educators, scholars and learners.

“We’re excited that Elisa New and her team will be joining us,” said Carole Basile, dean of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. “They bring a level of expertise in using media to enhance the learning experience for pre-K–12 students, ASU students, professional educators and others interested in understanding complex ideas in new ways.”

Basile added that she expects the Educational Media Innovation Studio will help advance the work the college is doing in partnership with pre-K–12 schools.

“As we continue to design and discover innovative models of learning, we will require sophisticated storytelling and expository skills to communicate the substance of this work and its importance to school systems, media organizations and others,” she said. “We also think our innovations in educator preparation and our emphasis on the science and experience of learning can be shared and advanced effectively through creative educational media.”

The new studio, and the media production partnership that will support its work, are right at home in America’s most innovative university.

“ASU is an innovation leader because we are always looking at the future of education and preparing now to meet those needs,” ASU President Michael M. Crow said. “As we advance the technological frontiers of teaching and learning, while also expanding our understanding of the human experience, the Educational Media Innovation Studio aligns well with our institutional design principles and commitment to inclusive excellence.”

According to New, the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College is a logical platform from which her team can expand their activities.

“I started doing this work — making a public television show, offering courses and programs online — in order to give audiences everywhere access to dynamic learning experiences in the humanities and beyond,” New said. “Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College’s public-facing orientation, as well as its commitment to serving educators and learners at all stages of their learning journeys make it the ideal partner for expanding and scaling our work.”

The announcement of the Educational Media Innovation Studio comes as the fourth season of Poetry in America airs nationally on PBS.