Developing Campus-Wide Newspaper Curricula

Developing Campus-Wide Newspaper Curricula

The NiC InitiativeUniversity of Nebraska at Omaha

NiC Newspapers in Curricula

• Maria Anderson KnudtsonLecturer, English NiC Coordinator

• Christina Dando Assoc. Prof., Geography

3 year NiC member

Background– Newspapers in Curricula + Collegiate Readership

– Develop a university wide network of faculty utilizing the newspapers as a resource for assignments supporting their course objectives.

– – 2007-2008– 2008-2009– 2009-2010

Campus activities

The NiC faculty group • faculty support for the development of newspaper based pedagogy .• creation of student events for promotion of

the Collegiate Readership Program at UNO.• Specialty events/ opportunities

– Target audiences– Target spaces

Large group eventsCampus Conversations/ Times Talk• Purpose: contact a large number of diverse

students. Introduce newspaper and topics for discussion.

• Format: table conversations with moderator– Divided by specific topics– Divided by newspaper sections

• Results: evaluation forms – Overwhelmingly positive responses

• Event potential

Space oriented eventsFireplace Read-In• Purpose: reading

marathon/pilot.• How much newspaper

reading could take place in 90 minutes?

• Results: 8 hours + • Effect: exposure to

newspaper content and the joy of print!

• Event potential

Targeted audience eventsThe 2+3=5 Short Story Event

• Creative Writers• Target specific group to

incorporate newspaper into creative project.

• Results: 10 submissions • 3 selected as featured by a

panel of judges/ prizes awarded. Reading held.

• Event potential

Faculty and CurriculaBlack StudiesGeographyCommunicationHistoryCriminal Justice Political Science Education Social WorkEnglish SociologyForeign Language, SpanishEconomics

• 3 years of faculty participation

• 16 faculty • 12 departments• 5 colleges

Examples from the classroomDennis Hoffman, Criminal Justice

class “perusing” – assists students to “see” relevant topics article summaries and course concepts – students apply

course concepts while seeing relevancy of course in current issues

NYT letter to the editor – students see connection between the paper, course work and civic engagement

Examples from the classroomClaudia Garcia , Foreign Languages

• Elementary – brief article summaries• Intermediate – daily journal writing,

springboard for longer essays• Advanced – daily journal writing leading to a

reflective piece

Examples from the classroomChristina Dando, Geography/Geology

Clippings file and guided journal entries – students analyze the clippings, examining the framing of the country, role of the media

Media analysis on exams – students apply key concepts to current news

“Updating” a global conflict

Examples from the classroomMaria Anderson Knudtson, English

o All assignments : based on newspaper reading and research for development of arguments.

o Textbook : all chapters correlated to newspaper work.

o Assignments : more than just straight news and features/ also incorporate the visual rhetoric of advertisements and editorial cartoons.

Examples from the classroomPedagogy

writing

critical thinking

media literacy

civic engagement

Faculty to faculty events

2010-2011Shift focus to faculty events• Workshops • Discussion events• Individual course curricula• Faculty presentations

– To the NiC group internally– To departments– To other organizations on campus.

Estimated Numbers 2009-2010• Student contacts

Classroom: 1200Events: 250Total: 1450

• Collegiate Readership program at UNO– Newspapers: 193,304

• Faculty contacts : 55• Writing questions on NSSE survey.

Go back and NiC your campus!

Maria Anderson [email protected]

Christina [email protected]