David-brainstorming

I have a few "big picture" ideas I'd like to discuss with both Benjamin Rush and everyone else working on the project as we get started in thinking about how to design the appropriate journalism curriculum. These are loosely categorized as "goals," "design," and "resources" -- the first being expected learning goals in the program (content), the second being what the implementation of the curriculum looks like at the school (structure), and the third being what kind of end product we can gear the curriculum toward given the tech, teachers, etc. at the school.

My own goal would be to integrate production and media literacy in a way that can privilege real inquiry among students -- this means not focusing too much on an end product and thinking of smaller projects that can accumulate into a larger production piece at the end of the course. I'm thinking about Steve Goodman's production model, and how major production efforts can sometimes become a kind of "free-form" larger project in which smaller (and demonstrable in assessment) learning objectives seem to get swallowed up in the end result.


 * GOALS**

Several issues that I think would be beneficial to introduce in a broadcast journalism class include:


 * Fact, Argument, Point of View**: the role of research and the role of crafting research into an argument -- not relying so much on "bias" and "opinion," which are often used to shut down opposing viewpoints ("that's just your opinion") but really concentrating on journalism as a process of using fact to construct a sound argument based on a reasoned point of view.


 * Maker/Subject/Audience**: Thinking about the ways in which the maker of journalism media, the subject, and audience constitute a power relationship, and presenting a model of give and take -- shared power -- as the ideal for a responsible piece of media. (What does it mean for a journalist to grant power to his or her subject? How does our understanding of audience shape the kind of media we make? Etc.)


 * Different forms of media production**: A discussion of different ways of communicating ideas in different kinds of media, both across the spectrum of mass media and, importantly for students, outside the spectrum of mass media.


 * DESIGN**

This will depend more on what we learn from Benjamin Rush -- my understanding is that this is a weekly program with the ultimate goal being a video project showcasing student work. I would encourage a very open and student-led process of determining subject matter, but a highly structured course in which student ideas can be transformed. This would mean discovering student interest and pursuing projects //within// the lesson, not "as" the lesson (i.e., rather than a free-form "story meeting" to generate ideas, generating ideas while simultaneously building toward the weekly learning objective).

We should plan to contact BRHS as soon as possible to find out: (1) How often will students meet per week? (2) How many weeks are there to complete a project? (3) Are students expected to create several small (i.e. weekly or biweekly) projects, or build up to one larger project at the end of the unit? (4) Is there a person on staff committed to implementing such a program, or will it work more as an after-school activity?

Ideally, there would be something like a semester-long project (10-13 weeks) during which students might complete two projects, but we won't know this until we talk to the principal.


 * RESOURCES**

If the curriculum is intended to be heavily production-based, this will need to be built into lesson planning. Questions I have regarding resources include:

(1) What are the production resources available in production (camera, sound, etc.) and post-production (editing, distribution, etc.), and how familiar are the students with these resources? (2) Does the school expect technical proficiency from all students, or can the learning process itself be the main focus with possible technical mastery a means to an end of finishing the product? (3) Will the final product be expected to be a cohesive and traditional broadcasting piece (news anchors, etc.) or is there room for experimentation with the format itself? (An emphasis on a short work, collected together as a final "showcase" piece, would be both easier to create and would help focus learning objectives on the week by week level.) (4) Does the school have a TV studio set-up? (Is the production emphasis newsroom journalism or field journalism?)

By the end of the workshop meeting, I think that we should devise a timeline for completion, including questions to ask the school about their own capabilities, a plan to visit the school possibly with the other BRHS team, and deadlines for working on aspects of the curriculum -- basic outline, individual components, etc.

And my final question would be whether or not we would also be devising research questions to be studied via this curriculum for future research, or if this is a standalone piece to be presented to the school.