As the ubiquity of screens grew in all areas of life, Gina‘s pedagogy evolved to incorporate hands-on approaches. She developed a six-week media literacy intervention focused on advertising and media production to determine whether information-processing behaviors in middle school students were enhanced by participating in the curriculum. After completing her dissertation, Media Mindfulness: Developing the Motivation and Ability to Process Advertisements (Marcello-Serafin, 2008), her media literacy pedagogy evolved to incorporate digital production and storytelling skill development. Acquiring production and storytelling skills showed increased cognitive engagement with media texts, specifically advertisements.

Today, screens are ubiquitous. Misinformation concerns every member of society, and screen time is at an all-time high. In 2024, Gina’s primary concern is digital wellness. By encouraging students to critically examine the systems through which technology arises and spreads problematic information, she hopes to provide a framework for students to develop more sophisticated information-processing behaviors, including awareness of individual cognitive biases, the role of algorithms and persuasive technologies, how the political-economic drivers of media systems shape information, how systems of power marginalize voices, and, most notably to her, how to thrive within a polluted ecosystem where we are bombarded with information making it difficult to determine was is true. 

Dr. Marcello teaches and oversees an innovative interdisciplinary course co-developed with Britt Paris and Rebecca Reynolds for the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. Disinformation Detox in Communication, Media and Information Studies integrates theories from Journalism and Media Studies, Communication, and Information Science. Students are provided the opportunity to examine the causes and consequences of misinformation, how we are both shaped by and shape the media ecosystem, how to take charge of our screentime behaviors, and epistemic strategies for interrogating problematic information to empower mindful engagement.

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Over the past 20 years, Gina has developed multiple curricula for communication, media production, marketing, civic education, and digital media courses. Her former positions include: Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Communication, Saint Elizabeth University; Assistant Professor and Program Chair, Digital Communication, Georgian Court University; Assistant Professor, co-author Communication Major, County College of Morris; and corporate training and development facilitator and speaker (Marcello Communications).  ​