Designing and Delivering Experiential Journalism Tasks in Online Environments: A Framework Grounded in Cognitive Apprenticeship Theory

ABSTRACT

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, journalism and mass communication (JMC) schools were increasingly integrating online educational delivery into their programming. The pandemic then forced instructors to transition all programming almost overnight to emergency remote teaching environments. This had an acute disruption on applied courses within JMC professions. As higher education pivots toward an uncertain future amidst a likely endemic COVID-19, JMC instructors will need access to evidence-supported pedagogy that can be contextualized across modalities. This five-round Delphi study featured a panel of 24 experienced online JMC educators, who co-constructed a framework of pedagogical practices and instructional design strategies for designing, delivering, supporting, and evaluating rigorous experiential learning activities in online environments. The resulting framework—called The EXCEL Online Framework—is comprised of 36 primary and 59 ancillary practices that JMC educators can contextualize to their online courses. Analysis revealed the primary practices aligned closely with principles of the Cognitive Apprenticeship Model.

KEYWORDS:

• Journalism education
• Delphi method
• online teaching and learning
• experiential learning
• cognitive apprenticeship model
• journalism and mass communication

Acknowledgements

This research study would not have been possible without the months-long commitment of 24 anonymous journalism educators completing five complex survey rounds through the height of the pandemic. They have my unending gratitude and admiration. Thank you to Dr. Kristen Betts, Dr. Jennifer Adams, Dr. Christopher Wright, Dr. Deanna Hill, Dr. Kaye Shelton, and Dr. Shannon Kennan for their thoughtful feedback and mentorship. A special thank you to my wife and biggest fan, Stef, for your love and friendship throughout this journey. I dedicate this manuscript in memory of Dr. Penny Hammrich, whose inspiration, kindness, and support were invaluable throughout my graduate school experience. I cannot pay it back, but I will pay it forward.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for the completion of this research.