Assessing assessment: Evaluating outcomes and reliabilities of grammar, math and writing measures in media writing • Tricia Farwell; Leon Alligood; Sharon Fitzgerald, Middle Tennessee State University; Ken Blake, Middle Tennessee State University • This paper introduces an objective, grammar and math assessment and evaluates the assessment’s outcome and reliability when fielded among 81 students in media writing courses. Additionally, the paper applies the Krippendorff’s alpha reliability measure to four media writing professors’ A-F ratings of end-of-semester writing samples from the same students. The study found evidence for the assessment’s reliability along with significant, although modest, improvement on the assessment. The A-F ratings produced a substandard reliability alpha.
Mastery and modeling in the teaching of news writing: A social cognitive approach • William Nevin, University of Alabama; Wilson Lowrey • Collegiate mass communication students continue to struggle in newswriting courses. In social cognitive theory, self-efficacy is one of the primary motivating factors in achievement. According to findings from a survey of students in an introductory news writing course, self-efficacy is most influenced by previous media experience, whereas peer tutors serve to reinforce course material. This suggests jobs and extra-curricular activities should be examined as a means to support college courses.
The Divided Classroom: Definitions of News and Consumption Habits of Journalism Educators and their Students • Soo-Kwang Oh, University of Maryland; Stanton Paddock, College of Journalism, University of Maryland; Jacqueline Incollingo, University of Maryland • This study compared and integrated perspectives of educators and students in journalism programs by conducting interviews and focus groups. Findings indicated that there was a salient difference in news definitions and consumption habits between the two groups, and respondents also acknowledged a usage gulf. We suggest pedagogical and practical solutions to this divide, which they may be more applicable for smaller programs due to their nature of high levels of interaction between educators and students.