Learning through practice

Evans, Myra

Abstract

This presentation is a summary of the author's doctoral research examining two approaches to learning and teaching journalism through practice at two UK HE courses accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC).
Using the methodology of case study it explores how students and recent graduates from two courses perceived their learning to take place and when, if at all, a professional identity as a journalist is created.
The research identified hands-on experience, making mistakes, repetition and reflection as ways in which students perceive their learning to take place. Hands-on experience and repetition also contribute to making students ‘feel like a journalist’. The study also identified a sense of pride that develops in students as a result of creating a physical product. When this product is placed in the public domain, this creates a sense of reality and public responsibility which contributes to their professional identity. The research also explored the role of critical reflection in the learning process. It recommends a hybrid model of experiential learning for BJTC courses that embeds critical reflection in the industry-style production days, known as newsdays, to create flexible and adaptable graduates required by industry. It also recommends not assessing newsdays on content, blocking the days together and harnessing the public responsibility in students to create a real public service journalism. Finally, the study recommends more training in preparation for internships before students are ‘thrown in the deep end’ and a careful framing of selective internships to avoid creating divisions in the cohort.

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: BJTC Partners' Day
• Start Date: Jul 6, 2022
• End Date: Jul 6, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jun 29, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 29, 2023
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10895690