Tips from the AEJMC Teaching Committee

Continuing AEJMC’s Mission 100 Years Later

(Article courtesy of AEJMC News, July 2012 issue)

AEJMC at 100 is a large, diverse organization with dozens of interest groups and divisions, with representation from programs of all sizes and with members from around the globe. Still, we’re united by a common goal—to prepare the next generation of journalism and mass communication professionals, researchers and instructors.

At the heart of that goal is our mission of teaching. In 1912, teaching was the focus of the new American Association of Teachers of Journalism. As journalism classes and programs were popping up around the country, founding members voted to hold an annual conference focused on teaching and to collect statistics related to journalism in higher education. The research committee was formed in 1924, and professional freedom and responsibility was included formally in 1964.

How We’ve Changed
Clearly, teaching has changed over the past century. The first conference was amended only by men, and in 1927, AATJ listed 55 women among the 430 journalism teachers nationwide. Today, the gender ratio is much different: Female faculty members outnumber men in some programs, and most of us teach more women than men in our courses.

The scope of what we’re teaching has expanded. Courses in the 1910s prepared students for careers in newspapers and magazines. Today, we teach classes in research, theory, diversity, ethics and political communication while imbuing students with skills needed for careers in advertising, public relations, electronic media, online and social media. I sometimes wonder what AATJ founder Willard G. Bleyer would have thought of my writing for Twitter lecture in my newswriting and reporting course.

Technology hasn’t just changed what we teach; it’s also changed how we teach. We’ve found new ways to deliver information in the classroom and via distance. We have PowerPoints, Flickr accounts, class WordPress sites, group Twitter feeds, Blackboard course shells and eWorkbooks. Now we don’t need to know only our topic areas; we need to be technology experts.

Still, the beauty of our roles as teachers is that we can embrace our personal styles. Two of our top professors in my department, for example, don’t use those tools. They face their classes armed only with a dry erase marker, a blackboard and a passion for their subject. And they earn some of the highest student evaluation scores at the university. I’m humbled when I watch them teach—and watch the students listen to them with rapt attention. Replace their dry erase marker with chalk, and it’s clear that what worked in the classroom 100 years ago still can work today.

Continuing Our Commitment
As our predecessors did a century before us, we’ll meet in Chicago this year committed to teaching the next generation. This year’s AEJMC program again is chock full of excellent sessions aimed at encouraging and recognizing excellence in teaching. Our divisions and interest groups have many offerings focused on teaching, including the Great Ideas For Teachers (GIFT) session and the Promising Professors workshop.

The elected Standing Committee on Teaching also has been working to keep teaching programming front and center. We hope many of you will amend our scheduled sessions:

• Wednesday, Aug. 8, 6 to 9:30 p.m. — “Getting Started in Teaching Journalism: Tips From the Vets.” This pre-conference workshop (registration and small fee required) is designed for newer teachers. Participants will leave armed with innovative teaching tips and a new teaching veteran to keep in touch with as questions arise.

• Thursday, Aug. 9, 10 to 11:30 a.m. — “2012 Best Practices in Teaching Writing across Media.” This session features winners of our annual competition sharing their winning entries on creative and innovative ideas for teaching writing. Attendees receive a booklet with the winning entries.

• Friday, Aug. 10, 1:30 to 3 p.m. — “The Doctors Are In.” Speed da4ng meets group therapy for effective teaching as participants pick one of seven simultaneous teaching topic discussion tables to share ideas and ask questions. When the bell rings, participants move to another table or stay to continue their discussion. This session is designed for all teachers.

• Saturday, Aug. 11, 8:15 to 9:45 a.m. — “Teaching JMC, A Talk and Tweet Session: What We’ve Learned in Our First 100 Years.” We pulled together instruction experts to answer your questions, hear your concerns, and address current issues teachers face. Tweet your questions ahead of time: Use #AEJMCTeach100 in your tweet to: @laldoory. Email your questions to . And share your questions in person at the session.

By Jennifer Greer, Chair
University of Alabama
AEJMC Teaching Committee