Small Programs 2018 Abstracts
Cross-Country Collaboration: Student Evaluations of a Collaborative Journalism Project Between Two U.S. Universities • Stephanie Bluestein, California State University, Northridge; Karima Haynes, Bowie State University; yue zheng, California State University, Northridge • The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to compare the expectations and fulfillment of undergraduate students at two U.S. universities who participated in a semester-long collaborative reporting project. Pre- and post-surveys were administered to students at the beginning and end of the semester. A series of paired t-tests (n=57) showed that students received adequate instruction about the project, wanted more deadlines and additional class time to work on their stories, and valued the professor’s feedback over their peers’ feedback. Findings that were marginal showed they were not as overwhelmed at the end of the semester and had fewer unanswered questions as they had expected. The qualitative portion of the study resulted in three categories: learning/engagement, professional practices, and soft skills. This study suggests that a bi-coastal collaborative reporting project with beginning journalism students has the potential for improving hard and soft skills, in addition to providing students a glimpse of how professional journalists create their work.
Integrating Writing Processes: An Assignment Model • Sharlene Kenyon, Oklahoma State University • The assignment model presented in this article illustrates how and where JMC educators may integrate newswriting processes into their assignments and instruction. A diagram of the model shows an overall view of assignment design and addresses stages of instruction. Qualitative examples of process-oriented strategies are presented for each stage. Recommendations for implementing process-oriented instruction are included. The assignment model offers a testable shape to guide JMC educators in designing their writing instruction.
Print friendly
