Student Voice and Problems of Journalism
Biographical Sketch
Veteran high school teacher and researcher Ben Boyington, M.Ed., founded his high-school media studies work on the idea that skepticism and activism are essential to citizenship. He believes that depth of understanding comes from integration, design, and teaching others, and that heutagogy is more important than pedagogy. His research into the 1:1 screen initiative is published in Media Education for a Digital Generation (Routledge, 2016). Boyington is also vice president of the Action Coalition for Media Education and coordinator of the Global Critical Media Literacy Project.
Type of Presentation
Individual presentation
Brief Description of Presentation
This workshop explores methods and implementation of a student-driven, project-based learning final project in a high school Journalism course. The session will be set up as a classroom exercise combined with interactive Q&A (at every step, as desired by participants) and student process/models.
Abstract of Proposal
In "Student Journalists Explore Problems of Journalism," the presenter and participants will explore methods, implementation, and outcomes of a final project from a high school Journalism course (consisting mostly of sophomores and juniors). First principles here include use of essential/umbrella questions, project-based learning, and student agency. Following on foundational work in the conventions of journalism, the philosophy behind the field, and the industry's structural constraints and motivations, this project provides students with the opportunity to deconstruct a problem of journalism and propose a solution to said problem. Through a PBL experience, students gain more from their learning and also echo the teamed nature of investigative journalism. The ultimate goal of this classroom work is to move students from consumer to critic to activist, with this final project taking the form of advocacy journalism. The goal of this workshop is to engage with other teachers in the use of tools for implementation of a high-interest, high-rigor project. Time permitting, we will end the session with collaborative planning or brainstorming around projects in participants' programs and classrooms.
Start Date
2-23-2018 4:00 PM
End Date
2-23-2018 5:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Boyington, Ben, "Student Voice and Problems of Journalism" (2018). International Critical Media Literacy Conference. 8.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/criticalmedialiteracy/2018/2018/8
Student Voice and Problems of Journalism
In "Student Journalists Explore Problems of Journalism," the presenter and participants will explore methods, implementation, and outcomes of a final project from a high school Journalism course (consisting mostly of sophomores and juniors). First principles here include use of essential/umbrella questions, project-based learning, and student agency. Following on foundational work in the conventions of journalism, the philosophy behind the field, and the industry's structural constraints and motivations, this project provides students with the opportunity to deconstruct a problem of journalism and propose a solution to said problem. Through a PBL experience, students gain more from their learning and also echo the teamed nature of investigative journalism. The ultimate goal of this classroom work is to move students from consumer to critic to activist, with this final project taking the form of advocacy journalism. The goal of this workshop is to engage with other teachers in the use of tools for implementation of a high-interest, high-rigor project. Time permitting, we will end the session with collaborative planning or brainstorming around projects in participants' programs and classrooms.
