Small Programs 2011 Abstracts
Assessing Outcomes Using E-portfolios in Communication Courses: What Student Reflections in a Pilot Program Teach Us About Teaching • Steve Hill; Chang Wan Woo, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point; Rhonda Sprague; Mark Tolstedt • This study investigated whether student reflections that were part of an e-portfolio pilot project could help assess deeper learning. Qualitative analysis of 56 reflection papers from two communication courses revealed that students did appear to meet learning outcomes, but were unable to indicate learning in sufficiently detailed, articulate ways. The authors were able to use data from these reflections to reassess their own teaching and suggest instructional improvements that would lead to better long-term assessment of learning outcomes.
Assessing the Teaching of Media Ethics in Small Programs • John Williams, Principia College • Higher education in American is under attack and one of the forms of the attack is the growing threat of the federal government to participate more fully in institutional accreditation. In response to the threat, regional accrediting bodies have been pushing for institutional self-assessment for the purpose of institutional improvement. The assessment movement, including outcomes-based assessment and performance assessment, is filtering down to the individual instructor and course level. This paper is an exploration of one instructor’s attempt to design an assessment process, by which he can assess student change using an experimental method. The subject of the assessment is a course in media ethics. Assessing students over a seven year period, using his other classes as control groups, the instructor found that the course does cause changes in his students. However, the study raises troubling questions for the instructor, including, “Are these the changes that should happen?” Finally, the paper argues that journalism and mass communication educators must be prepared for assessment, both because it will be required and because it is integral to good teaching.
Blogs as learning tools in journalism education • Amy DeVault, Wichita State University; Les Anderson, Wichita State University • This exploratory study looks at the use of class blogs in two college journalism classes. Attitudes on the use of the blog and usefulness of the blog from both instructors’ perspectives and students’ perspectives are discussed. Qualitative assessment of the data suggests the instructors and students found the blogs useful for collaboration, extending discussions beyond the classroom and improving the quality of work.
Twitter’s effects on student learning and social presence perceptions • Lakshmi N Tirumala, Texas Tech University; Jessica Smith, Texas Tech University • Social presence, the concept that individuals have a sense of others as “real people” in mediated communication, is a pivotal concept in online interaction and learning. Social presence theory suggests that social media tools, such as Twitter, should build community among groups such as students. This could affect how much students learn. In this study, participants in a quasi-experiment (N=76) completed supplemental class exercises either by conversing with classmates on Twitter or by individually writing essays. Participants who used Twitter had more positive perceptions of Twitter as a classroom tool, and these students had greater social comfort with their classmates. Twitter use for class discussion did not correlate with higher scores on objective questions testing students’ memory of class content.
What is needed vs. what is taught: A national survey of online journalism course instructors • Ying Roselyn Du, Hong Kong Baptist University; Ryan Thornburg • This study is a national survey of online journalism course instructors. It reports an overview of what is taught in online journalism classrooms and what instructors perceive important for students to prepare for online newsrooms. Attention was paid to journalism skills, duties, and concepts. Results show an online journalism education that is tied to traditional journalism in many ways, but is not merely a more technologically focused version of traditional journalism. Overall, the current online journalism education is training future journalists who must be well-versed in multi aspects of journalism and technology, rather than being specialized in one or two types of tasks. For online journalism educators and journalism program administrators, this report may help in developing the appropriate curriculum to prepare students to work in the field. For future online journalists, it will give an idea of which skills are most needed, which duties are most performed, and which concepts are most valued in the current online journalism profession.
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