When thinking of teaching journalism, I appreciated when Peter Bhatia mentioned the importance of journalism as critical thinking. I have always considered how to teach critical thinking skills in my debate classes, but how to do so in journalism? Then, I came across the Deliberating Democracy curriculum.
Work groups learn how to deliberate while solving projects. It is not a discussion, it is not a debate. It takes students through the process of deliberation as critical thinking while using news articles from around the world. Issues that I have used in class from the curriculum include:
- Corruption and Judicial Independence
- Domestic Violence
- Freedom of Expression
- Juvenile Justice
Students then apply this type of process when considering their news media projects. I found that student collaboration through this process becomes much less dramatic, especially when the pressure is on. Readings and additional news articles are a nice touch to see news articles from around the world.
Al Schleicher
Los Angeles Leadership Academy
Los Angeles, California
Thanks for sharing this resource.
ReplyDeleteSteve Elliott
Arizona State University
Phoenix