Rewarding Good Teaching

By Karen Miller Russell
Associate Professor
Standing Committee on Teaching
University of Georgia, Grady College
russell.uga@gmail.com

(Article courtesy of AEJMC News, March 2014 issue)

One of the best things that the AEJMC Standing Committee on Teaching offers is its Best Practices in Teaching Competition.

Becoming a good or even great teacher is a life-long process, one that is not always rewarded by educational institutions in the same way that good or great research can be.

“Currently, research universities base tenure decisions primarily on research productivity and quality,” organizational psychologist Adam Grant recently stated in an op-ed in The New York Times. “Teaching matters only after you have cleared the research bar: It is a bonus to teach well.”

Of course, not all universities overlook good teaching, and many colleges and departments of mass communication recognize teaching through annual awards. These awards are significant ways to reward good work, but they don’t go far enough.

Writing for Inside Higher Ed, Elizabeth H. Simmons points out that faculty must be strategic in how they spend their time. Therefore, she argues, “If a department or college believes that innovative teaching is important, then innovative teaching must be rewarded in decisions related to salaries, reappointment, promotion and tenure.”

The Standing Committee on Teaching tries to facilitate that process by providing a national forum to call attention to innovative teaching in journalism and mass communication. Each year the committee selects a different theme — this year it’s “Globalizing the Classroom” — and members submit their assignments, classroom activities or ideas for competitive review.

Winning faculty members will be invited to present their ideas at the national convention in Montreal, and they’ll receive a cash prize.

But the competition does more than reward faculty who are trying innovative approaches; it also allows them to share their ideas with other faculty. In addition to being presented at the meeting, the winning entries are published in an e-booklet, and I cheerfully admit to shamelessly copying at least one past winner in my own classroom.

“Teaching is the core of what we all do. Recognizing great teaching ideas helps us learn from each other and become better teachers,” said Chris Roush of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this year’s competition chair. “I’m constantly learning from my peers at UNC, and this is how I can expand that learning to the best around the country.”

If you would like to enter this year’s competition, the process is simple. Just write a two-page statement describing a new and effective approach you used to bring global ideas into your classroom. The call for entries (on p. 10) specifies that you need not be teaching a class specifically on international media. In fact, the committee would like to learn how you incorporate awareness of global communities and/or the practice of journalism and mass communication beyond national borders into any course.

I also urge you to take a few minutes to check out the downloadable booklets from past best practices competitions, on subjects ranging from writing to ethics and from information gathering to critical thinking. They can be found on the AEJMC website at http://www.aejmc.org/home/2010/09/best-practices-in-teaching-booklets/.

You might find inspiration for your own great teaching ideas.

 

<<Teaching Corner

Letting Online Students Know You’re There

By Susan Keith
Standing Committee on Teaching
Associate Professor
Rutgers University
susank@rutgers.edu

(Article courtesy of AEJMC News, January 2014 issue)

At the beginning of the fall semester a few years ago, two young women stepped into my office and greeted me warmly. They spoke as if I knew them, though I couldn’t recall meeting either. Finally, they noticed my confusion and one said, “Oh, Dr. Keith, we were in your Newer Media Law and Policy course!”

They identified themselves and I realized they had, indeed, been in a summer course I had just taught as part of the Master’s in Communication and Information Studies program at Rutgers University. I failed to recognize them not because the class had been so large that I couldn’t learn students’ faces but because the course, like all the offerings in the MCIS program’s Digital Media track, which my department staffs, was fully online.

The course management system we used did not display avatars for students, so although students knew what I looked like from the headshot I had placed on the course syllabus, all I had seen of them were thumbnail images from their student IDs. In fact, I had thought throughout the summer that one of the women, who had a somewhat unusual first name, was male!

The students told me they had enjoyed the course, and I told them I had enjoyed their questions, comments and final papers. Then one of the students said something like, “I just wish the course could have been face to face.”

Ah! Had it been, I would not have volunteered to teach the course in summer. I commute an hour (by car) to two hours (subway/train) each way. Coming to campus several times a week in the summer would have seriously cut into research time.

The student’s comments, however, implied a legitimate concern over presence, a frequent issue in asynchronous online courses. Although online courses can give a voice to shy students or to international students concerned about their spoken English, other students sometimes miss the camaraderie of classmates they can see and a professor who is “right there.”

However, if you are teaching fully online courses — a topic that will be addressed in the plenary session being organized by AEJMC’s Standing Committee on Teaching for our Montreal Conference — there are things you can do to make students feel your presence in the virtual classroom:

Let students see you right away. I put a small mugshot on my syllabus and have students, before they do anything else, watch a short video of me welcoming them to the course. Although I don’t typically lecture straight to the camera in online courses, I think a video showing me explaining course expectations helps make the human connection.

Answer email more rapidly than in a face-to-face course: For students in off-campus, asynchronous online courses, email (or CMS-based message) is the only way to connect with the instructor. You ignore it at the peril of your teaching evaluation scores.

Encourage cooperative work. As an undergrad, I groaned at the prospect of group work. Now I think at least small group assignments can help alleviate a sense of isolation in online courses. Encourage students to go beyond email as they plan.    If the course management system doesn’t support video chatting, have them try Google+ Hangout (http://www.google. com/hangouts/), which allows multiple people to talk and see each other.

Think critically about discussion boards: Many online      instructors have students post to discussion boards as a way     to simulate in-class discussions. I’m not convinced, however, that most of us use those boards well. Do students see any evidence, through your on-board responses or timely feedback, that you are reading their work? Do you work — behind the scenes, through email — with students who make erroneous    assertions on the boards to help them publically convey correct information? Do you review what students discussed in the     last discussion board assignment before moving on to the next unit?

Consider some synchronous chats: I offer hourlong synchronous group text- or video-based chats eight or 10 times a semester and four times in a five-week summer session. Because my online courses are advertised as asynchronous, I cannot require students to take part, but I find that many are hungry for the connection and join multiple times, especially before big assignments. (I ask students to look over my planned dates and times in the first week of the course, and I adjust if any student says he or she cannot make any of the sessions.) I plan a discussion topic, usually tied to course content in current events. The first thing I do, however, is ask whether students have questions. Sometimes they have many questions and answering them takes the full hour!

These are just a few ways to give students a sense of your presence in online courses.
What are yours? I would love to hear. Drop a note to susank@rutgers.edu.

 

<<Teaching Corner

Volumen 15 Número 4 Invierno 2013 (Volume 15 Number 4 Winter 2013)

(English Version & Spanish Translation)

Prejudice: The Role of the Media in the Development of Social Bias
Kim Bissell and Scott Parrott
Abstract
Numerous studies document the existence of bias: bias against gender, race, sexual orientation, age, mental illness, and body shape or weight. This article presents a model of bias development, which helps explain the influence of mediated, individual, social, and ideological influences on the development of bias. This article applies the proposed model using four experimental studies that examine weight bias in children and adults. The results from the four studies lend empirical support for the model. Data from the studies suggest the explication of a theoretical model is necessary to understand the factors related to the development of bias against a variety of groups, character traits, or attributes in others. It is difficult to argue that any one factor whether it be media, individual, social, or ideology “trumps” other factors as the development of bias seems to be very individualistic. Therefore, a model that represents the myriad of factors identified above is proposed.

Prejuicio: El Papel de los Medios de Comunicación en el Desarrollo de la Polarización Social
Kim Bissell y Scott Parrott
Abstract Traducción español
Numerosos estudios documentan la existencia de sesgo: sesgo en contra de su género, raza , orientación sexual , la edad, la enfermedad mental, y la forma corporal o el peso . En este artículo se presenta un modelo de desarrollo sesgo , lo que ayuda a explicar la influencia de la mediación , las influencias individuales , sociales e ideológicas sobre el desarrollo de sesgo. Este artículo se aplica el modelo propuesto por medio de cuatro estudios experimentales que analizan el sesgo de peso en niños y adultos. Los resultados de los cuatro estudios dan soporte empírico para el modelo. Los datos de los estudios sugieren que la explicación de un modelo teórico es necesario entender los factores relacionados con el desarrollo de sesgo en contra de una variedad de grupos , rasgos de carácter, o los atributos de los demás. Es difícil argumentar que un solo factor , ya sea medios de comunicación, individual, social o ideología ” supera a ” otros factores como el desarrollo de sesgo parece ser muy individualista. Por lo tanto, se propone un modelo que representa la miríada de factores identificados anteriormente.

<<Journal Abstracts in Spanish

Volumen 15 Número 3 Otoño 2013 (Volume 15 Number 3 Autumn 2013)

(English Version & Spanish Translation)

A History of Comparative Advertising in the United States
Fred K. Beard
Abstract
This historical monograph addresses a gap in the extensive scholarly research literature devoted to comparative advertising—especially that which contrasts the advertised product, service, or brand with an identifiable competitor—by exploring advertisers’ explanations for its appeal as a tactic throughout the previous century. Prior historical research confirms advertisers have long been aware of and greatly concerned about the unintended consequences of what they often called excessively competitive and combative advertising. Moreover, despite some thirty-five years of systematic scholarly research, two research teams recently concluded that the state of empirical knowledge regarding its effectiveness remains “equivocal.” By synthesizing the extensive theoretical and empirical research literature on comparative advertising and interpreting those findings from a historical perspective, this monograph offers uniquely significant insights into modern advertising’s history, theory, and practice.

Una historia de la publicidad comparativa en los Estados Unidos
Fred K. Barba
Abstract Traducción español
Esta monografía histórica ocupa un espacio en la extensa literatura de investigación académica dedicada a la publicidad comparativa – especialmente la que contrasta el producto anunciado , servicio o marca con un competidor mediante la exploración de las explicaciones de los anunciantes para su atractivo como una táctica a lo largo del siglo anterior identificable. Investigación histórica Antes confirma anunciantes han sido conscientes de nuestra gran preocupación por las consecuencias no deseadas de lo que a menudo se llaman publicidad excesivamente competitiva y combativa . Por otra parte , a pesar de unos treinta y cinco años de investigación académica sistemática , dos equipos de investigación concluyó recientemente que el estado de conocimiento empírico sobre su eficacia sigue siendo ” equívoca “. Al sintetizar la extensa literatura de investigación teórica y empírica sobre la publicidad comparativa y la interpretación de los resultados de un perspectiva histórica, esta monografía ofrece una visión singularmente importantes en la historia de la publicidad moderna , la teoría y la práctica.

<<Journal Abstracts in Spanish

Volumen 68 Número 4 Invierno 2013 (Volume 68 Number 4 Winter 2013)

(English Version & Spanish Translation)

Editor’s Note
Nota del Editor

Enrollments, Reading, and Education
Maria B. Marron

Las inscripciones, la lectura y la educación
Maria B. Marron

Research Articles
artículos de Investigación

2012 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Enrollments: Enrollments Decline for Second Year in a Row
Lee B. Becker, Tudor Vlad, and Holly Anne Simpson
Abstract
Enrollments in journalism and mass communication programs in the United States have declined over the last two years, reversing a pattern of growth that has sustained the field for twenty years. It is a decline at a time of continued growth in enrollments at universities generally. It is a decline at a time when enrollments have been growing in the instructional field of communication of which journalism and mass communication is a part. The data indicate the decline, based on degrees granted, which is a reflection of enrollments. Communication has been growing consistently, but the journalism and mass communication subfield has been flat and is now declining as the 2012 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Enrollments demonstrates.

2012 Encuesta Anual de Periodismo y Medios de Comunicación Inscripciones: Las inscripciones Decline por segundo año en una fila
Lee B. Becker, Tudor Vlad, y Holly Anne Simpson
Abstract Traducción español
Las inscripciones en los programas de comunicación de periodismo y de masas en los Estados Unidos han disminuido en los últimos dos años, la inversión de un modelo de crecimiento que ha sostenido el campo durante veinte años. Es una disminución en un momento de crecimiento continuo de la matrícula en las universidades en general. Se trata de una caída en un momento en la matrícula ha ido creciendo en el campo de instrucción de la comunicación de que el periodismo y los medios de comunicación es una parte. Los datos indican la disminución, en base a grados concedidas, que es un reflejo de la matrícula. La comunicación ha estado creciendo constantemente, pero el periodismo y los medios de comunicación subcampo se ha estancado y ahora está disminuyendo a medida que la Encuesta Anual 2012 de Periodismo y Medios de Comunicación Inscripciones demuestra.

Assessing the Assessors: JMC Administrators Critique the Nine ACEJMC Standards
Scott Reinardy and Jerry Crawford II
Abstract
For nearly ninety years, journalism professionals and academics have attempted to develop standards by which to prepare college students for the media industry. For nearly 70 years, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) has assessed programs based on its standards. This study surveyed administers of ACEJMC accredited programs, asking them to critique the nine standards. Nearly 70 percent of the administrators rated six of the nine standards “good as is.” Forty percent said one standard—Standard 2: Curriculum and Instruction—“needs major changes.” The major issues for administrators included the 80/65 liberal arts requirement. Additional issues included measuring for diversity among students and faculty (Standard 3) and the process for assessing the outcomes of student training (Standard 9).

La evaluación de los asesores: Administradores JMC criticar las Normas Nueve ACEJMC
De Scott Reinardy y Jerry Crawford II
Abstract Traducción español
Para casi noventa años, los profesionales de periodismo y académicos han tratado de desarrollar estándares que permitan preparar a los estudiantes universitarios para la industria de los medios. Durante casi 70 años, el Consejo de Acreditación de Educación en Periodismo y Comunicación de Masas (ACEJMC) ha evaluado los programas sobre la base de sus normas. Este estudio encuestó administra de ACEJMC programas acreditados, pidiéndoles que criticar los nueve estándares. Casi el 70 por ciento de los administradores tiene seis de los nueve estándares “bueno como es.” El cuarenta por ciento dijo que una norma-Norma 2:. “Necesita grandes cambios” Currículo e Instrucción-Los principales problemas para los administradores incluyen el requisito de 80/65 de artes liberales . Otras cuestiones incluyen la medición de la diversidad entre los estudiantes y el profesorado (Norma 3) y el proceso de evaluación de los resultados de la formación del estudiante (Norma 9).

Subjective Norms as a Driver of Mass Communication Students’ Intentions to Adopt New Media Production Technologies
Toby M. Hopp
Abstract
In this study, the impact of subjective norms on mass communication students’ intentions to adopt new media production technologies was explored. The results indicated that subjective norms play an instrumental role in explaining behavioral intentions to adopt new media technologies. Moreover, the data indicated that public relations students scored slightly lower on the behavioral intentions scale than their advertising and journalism colleagues. However, no evidence was found that the relationship between subjective norms and behavioral intentions differs on the basis of major classification. This study concludes by discussing practical implications for educators tasked with providing instruction on new media production tools.

Normas subjetivas como motor de Intenciones Comunicación de Masas de los estudiantes a adoptar nuevas tecnologías de producción de los medios
Toby M. Hopp
Abstract Traducción español
En este estudio, se analizó el impacto de las normas subjetivas sobre las intenciones de los estudiantes de comunicación de masas “para adoptar nuevas tecnologías de producción de los medios de comunicación. Los resultados indicaron que las normas subjetivas juegan un papel fundamental en la explicación de las intenciones de comportamiento para adoptar nuevas tecnologías de los medios. Además, los datos indican que los estudiantes de relaciones públicas marcados ligeramente inferior en las intenciones de comportamiento escalar que sus colegas de publicidad y periodismo. Sin embargo, no se encontraron pruebas de que la relación entre las normas subjetivas y las intenciones de comportamiento difiere en la base de la clasificación de los grandes. Este estudio concluye discutiendo implicaciones prácticas para los educadores encargados de impartir instrucción en las nuevas herramientas de producción multimedia.

Measuring Student Self-Perceptions of Writing Skills in Programs of Journalism and Mass Communication
Andrew Lingwall and Scott Kuehn
Abstract
This study explored student self-perceptions of writing skills in journalism and mass communication programs at thirteen public state universities in the mid-Atlantic region. Factor analysis revealed seven sets of perceptions among 860 students. A Media Writing Self-Perception Scale was constructed and found to be reliable. The authors propose using this scale to help craft new instructional approaches. This study addresses implications for faculty members who wish to better understand their students in order to devise more effective writing instruction.

Medición de la auto-percepciones de habilidades de escritura en los programas de Periodismo y Comunicación de Masas
Andrew Lingwall y Scott Kuehn
Abstract Traducción español
Este estudio exploró los estudiantes auto-percepción de las habilidades de escritura en los programas de comunicación de masas y el periodismo en trece universidades públicas estatales en la región del Atlántico medio. El análisis factorial reveló siete conjuntos de percepciones entre 860 estudiantes. A Medios de Escritura de autopercepción de escala se construyó y se encontró que es fidedigna. Los autores proponen el uso de esta escala para ayudar a diseñar nuevos métodos de enseñanza. Este estudio aborda implicaciones para los profesores que desean entender mejor a sus estudiantes con el fin de diseñar una enseñanza más efectiva por escrito.

Students’ Expectations and Motivation for Service-Learning in Public Relations
Nancy Muturi, Soontae An, and Samuel Mwangi
Abstract
This study is based on a survey of public relations students and examines their attitudes, expectations, and motivations for participating in curriculum-infused service-learning projects. Results indicate that prior participation does not influence attitudes or expectations, but motivation to participate in the project was significantly associated with positive attitude and higher expectations. Students’ expectations, which include social and professional growth, and psychological and altruistic gratification through community contributions, indicate a need for discipline-focused service-learning programs and for a focus on civic engagement given the role of public relations in relationship building and in strategically addressing social issues that impact society.

Las expectativas y la motivación de los estudiantes para Aprendizaje-Servicio en Relaciones Públicas
Nancy Muturi, Soontae An, y Samuel Mwangi
Abstract Traducción español
Este estudio se basa en una encuesta realizada a estudiantes de relaciones públicas y examina sus actitudes, expectativas y motivaciones para participar en proyectos de aprendizaje-servicio del plan de estudios con infusión. Los resultados indican que la participación previa no influye en las actitudes o expectativas, pero la motivación para participar en el proyecto se asoció significativamente con la actitud positiva y las expectativas más altas. Expectativas de los estudiantes, que incluyen el crecimiento social y profesional, y la gratificación psicológica y altruista a través de contribuciones de la comunidad, indican la necesidad de programas de aprendizaje-servicio de disciplina centrada y un enfoque en la participación cívica, dado el papel de las relaciones públicas en la construcción de relaciones y en forma estratégica abordar las cuestiones sociales que impactan a la sociedad.

Transplanting a Western-style Journalism Education to the Central Asian Republics of the Former Soviet Union: Experiences and Challenges at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan
Elena Skochilo, Gulnura Toralieva, Eric Freedman, and Richard Shafer
Abstract
Western standards of journalism education, as well as western professional journalistic practices, have had difficulty taking root in the five independent countries of formerly Soviet Central Asia. This essay examines the experience of one university’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication since 1997 and the challenges it faces, including curriculum reform, faculty retention, government regulation, and student career interests in the context of press systems that remain tightly controlled by regimes.

Trasplantar un estilo occidental de la enseñanza del periodismo a las Repúblicas de Asia Central de la antigua Unión Soviética: Experiencias y Desafíos en la Universidad Americana de Asia Central en Kirguistán
Elena Skochilo, Gulnura Toralieva, Eric Freedman, y Richard Shafer
Abstract Traducción español
Los estándares occidentales de la enseñanza del periodismo, así como las prácticas periodísticas profesionales occidentales, han tenido dificultades para echar raíces en los cinco países independientes de Asia Central ex soviética. Este ensayo examina la experiencia del Departamento de Periodismo y Comunicación de Masas de una universidad desde 1997 y los desafíos que enfrenta, entre ellos la reforma curricular, la retención de la facultad, la regulación gubernamental, y los intereses profesionales de los estudiantes en el contexto de sistemas de prensado que se mantienen estrechamente controlados por regímenes.

<<Journal Abstracts in Spanish