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Transformational Leadership in the Introductory
Journalism Classroom
By Ashley Brenon
This final project is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts
degree in the communications department graduate program at The College of Saint Rose.
Cailin Brown, advisor for the project, and Gary McLouth, reader for the project, approved thisproject in the fall semester of 2009.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I: Proposal ______________________________________________________________ 3
Introduction __________________________________________________________________ 3
Literature Review _____________________________________________________________ 8
Methodology ________________________________________________________________ 22
Proposal ____________________________________________________________________32
Part II: Course Portfolio _____________________________________________________ 36
Defining the Project __________________________________________________________ 36
Reflection __________________________________________________________________ 37
Identifying Values ___________________________________________________________ 39
Building and Affirming Shared Values ___________________________________________ 43
Inspiring a Shared Vision ______________________________________________________ 44
Challenging the Process _______________________________________________________ 48
Enabling Others to Act ________________________________________________________ 50
Encouraging the Heart ________________________________________________________ 53
Proposed Rubric _______________________________________________________ 56
Additional Educational Considerations ___________________________________________ 57
Course Plan __________________________________________________________ 57
Proposed Syllabus _____________________________________________________ 75
Part III: Discussion __________________________________________________________ 79
Part IV: Works Cited ________________________________________________________ 81
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PART I: Proposal
INTRODUCTION
For more than 100 years, journalism professors and scholars have considered the best
ways to develop good journalists. They have presented, implemented and evaluated varied
educational paradigms. Journalists working within education began thinking of themselves as
practitioners then theorists. They envisioned themselves as craftspeople and editors then as
creators and coaches. They have even thought of themselves as experiential guides. Meanwhile,
teachers in other fields have proposed new educational methods, which have been used only on a
limited basis in the realm of journalism education. Although each educational system has been
found to have strengths and weaknesses, and some of the methods used within each have been
determined useful, individually and as a whole these educational paradigms have been found
unsuccessful, incomplete, impractical or unrealistic for implementation within journalism
classrooms at the college level.
Proof of these insufficiencies has been based on the results they have generated.
Journalism programs are turning out students who dont perform up to their editors standards. In
fact, when asked, newly employed college-educated journalists admit that their skills dont meet
even their own standards. Ward and Seifert conducted an important study that asked 86 college-
educated journalists and their editors about the qualities they use to evaluate reporters work. A
questionnaire was used to extract editors feelings about journalists skills in general and their
feelings about the specific journalists participating in the study. Another was used to allow the
journalists to rank the importance of journalism skills and to evaluate themselves. Then
journalists were tested to determine the accuracy of their own and their editors evaluations.
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According to the study, editors rated journalistsin order of importancebased upon
their writing mechanics, expressive skills and journalistic abilities (Ward and Seifert 104).
Writers, on the other hand, ranked skills relating to journalistic abilityincluding conciseness,
precision, clarity, organization and self-editing abilityhighest (Ward and Seifert 107). Editors
divulged that recent graduates lack mechanical writing skillsthe same quality they deemed
most important. (Admittedly, editors may have ranked mechanical skill as most important
because it was lacking.) Applicants writing is riddled with sentence fragments, run-on
sentences, dangling participles, lack of subject-verb agreement, misuse of punctuation and a
myriad of spelling errors (Ward and Seifert 104). And these problems persist even after
journalists are hired and have a few years of experience (Ward and Seifert 104).
When journalists rated their own work, the journalists revealed that they themselves
thought little of their capabilities to perform up to generally accepted standards of mechanical
proficiency. It should be noted, however, that the journalists thought more of their mechanical
abilities than their editors did. In addition, journalists rated their own journalistic abilitythe
quality they deem most importanthigher than their editors did. This information reveals that
the journalists in the study thought more highly of their own work than did their editors (Ward
and Seifert 110). Well touch later on criticisms of journalism education models that over praise
students in an effort to boost their enthusiasm about writing.
When the researchers tested journalists to determine whether the low impressions of
journalists skills were exaggerated, they found that editors and journalists were right to criticize
reporters lack of mechanical proficiency. The majority of reporters45 out of 86answered
only 70-79 percent of grammar and usage questions correctly (Ward and Seifert 109). The
results of the test show that many reporters lack knowledge of writing mechanics (Ward and
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Seifert 109). Reporter background didnt matter, except in the case of college major; English
majors performed noticeably better on the exam (Ward and Seifert 109).
The chasm between how journalists should perform and how they do perform is an
important problem. Success as a communicator depends on journalists abilities to arrange
language in coherent patterns. Grammar and style are at the heart of journalists effectiveness as
mass communicators (Kessler and McDonald 3).
Moreover, the researchers Ward and Seifert found that mechanical proficiency is
completely intertwined with the other two skills editors identified. Those who lack mechanical
skills often lack expressive and journalistic abilities as well (Ward and Seifert 112). In addition,
when journalists work is flawed, editors must line edit for mechanical errors when they should
be editing content, often on deadline. When mechanics take up time needed to discuss reporting
problems, journalism suffers (Ward and Seifert 104). Perhaps most importantly, literature
indicates that as the number of grammar mistakes news consumers find increases faith in media
credibility decreases (Seamon 60).
Improving the quality of student work, however, is not the only concern of journalism
education. In many ways, journalism educators must chase a moving target. The industry is
changing at a remarkable rate. Geneva Overholser makes the powerful statement, Journalism as
we know it is over (5). As a result of technological innovation, readers changing expectations
and economic instability, the old model is collapsing before a satisfying new model has taken
hold. A number of questions have arisen. What exactly are the elements of mainstream
journalism that must be preserved? In the new, emerging models, who will pay for that
journalism? And how, during the transition period, can we ensure that journalism in the public
interest survives (Overholser 5)?
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As in the past, journalism educators are using classroom methods that focus on very
specific sets of traditional skills. These methods dont work to answer the new questions the
industry is asking. According to the research of Mass and Popovich, strict traditional methods
prevail even in the classes of those teachers who value more progressive strategies and who think
that they are communicating progressive attitudes (224). Research indicates that today's media
writing teachers across the United States still cling to the traditional media writing techniques
and models that have long served academia and the industry (Mass and Popovich 230).
In addition, journalism educators have not kept pace in teaching the digital methods. "A
review of recent journalism scholarship and textbooks that explore new communication
technologies indicates that most scholars and practitioners are responding to [technology]
challenges in ways that largely conform to existing conventions" (Huesca 7). [Teachers] need to
consider how convergence, globalization, digitization, and integrated communications are
affecting the curricula of journalism and mass communications (Wanta et al. 216).In summary,students are not graduating from journalism programs with the skills they need to produce
quality journalism much less lead the industry toward a vibrant future.
With this, the second goal of journalism education in an evolving environment is to
interrogate the practice of journalism for the purpose of pointing out the perils of confusing
tradition with justification, a reminder to students that there often exists for reasons that need to
be explored, a gap between what journalism is and has been and what journalism ought to be
(Dates et al. 149). By acknowledging flaws in the current system, teachers provide an
opportunity for students to develop their own ideas about what journalism is and how it ought to
work (Dates et al. 149).
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Journalism scholars who have begun interrogating the fundamentals of the practice of
journalism and journalism education have uncovered a third goal. One paper, which was
published inJournalism Studies in 2006, began by asking, Does journalism education matter?
From the start, the contributors reminded readers that journalism began as a vocation, rather than
a profession. Theodore Glasser of Stanford University wrote, No one needs a degree in
journalismor any degree at allto excel as a reporter or editor (Dates et al. 148). Journalism
education, the contributors stressed, is not as important for its role in communicating skills that
can be learned on the job as it is for communicating journalisms importance in society.
Janette Dates began by proving that journalism itself matters. Journalism is not just a
raft or a profession. It is the linchpin of the foundation of democracy: an informed citizenry
making informed judgments about how they will live together (145). Others echoed her
thoughts. Journalism is one of the most important professions in the world: It is the principal
way for us to mediate between the world of actions, the world of expertise, and the general
public, Lee Bollinger wrote in the Columbia Journalism Review in 2002 (Dates et al. 144).
Perhaps the first goal of journalism studies is communicating journalists role in serving the
public interest (Dates et al. 145).
Admittedly, these are tremendous aspirations for an introductory journalism classroom.
According to the propositions above, students must be able to describe journalisms role in
democracy and make a set of claims regarding the fundamental nature of journalism in the
future. In additionwhether journalists can learn writing skills on the job or noteditors expect
college-educated journalists to produce high-quality journalistic texts. Before long, they will be
expected to produce not only in traditional narrative forms but integrated and interactive
electronic stories as well.
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By writing this paper, I aim to propose a course that accomplishes these goals. The
endeavor involves a number of steps. First, I will review strategies used to teach journalism in
the past. The purpose of the review is twofold. By examining history, we see the needs
journalism education strategies have identified and in what ways the strategies have succeeded or
failed. Then, I will draw parallels between both the traditional and newly identified needs
expressed by journalism educators and the answers transformational leadership offers. I
hypothesize that teachers who employ the transformational leadership paradigm have the
potential to communicate the industrys traditional values, democratic demands and evolving
understandings of the profession in a structure useful to both students and themselves. Finally, I
will create a course portfolio that integrates leadership and educational materials and that
facilitates the implementation of a transformational leadership paradigm in an introductory
journalism classroom.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theory vs. Practice. Serious debate within journalism education began as soon as the
University of Missouri started the first journalism department in 1908. Journalists argued that
journalism students should learn on the job, while academics advocated for a university setting
for journalists training. It was the era of theory versus practice. A temporary equilibrium was
reached by emphasizing the practical. The instructors were professional news people, and
courses focused on professional needs, including the principles of journalism, ethics,
newsgathering, editorial writing, the law of libel, history, newspaper administration, comparative
journalism, advertising, public relations and reporting (Brandon 60).
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One theorist seemed to insult practitioners critical thinking skills in saying that
[Practitioners] ought to know why theyve been doing what theyve been doing all those
years (Greenberg 301). Practitioners claimed that they are naturally critical. After all, their jobs
revolve around the practice of asking questions (Greenberg 293). In addition, practitioners
resented the apparently hostile tone adopted in much current theoretical writing about practice
(Greenberg 294).
Practitioners claimed that theory is confusing and demoralizing for students.
Learning it bogs them down and paralyzes them (Greenberg 300). In addition, they claimed that
learning theory is not necessary, because journalism theories and treatises do not inform
practice as much as they track it (Dates et al. 148). G. Stuart Adam of Carleton University
answered that criticism by saying that journalism schools are relied upon to make both
journalists and journalism critics (Dates et al. 154).
In the classroom, practitioners claim that practical experience is critical to making
courses credible (Greenberg 300). At the same time, theorists use the credibility argument as
well. They say, Tutors relying [only] on their own professional experience [may] teach students
the routines and practices they are familiar with, without making clear how and why those
practices are open to debate (Greenberg 300).
Stephen Cushion seems to argue both points. There remains a resistanceand more
than a hint of suspicionamongst many journalists that media studies courses fail to encapsulate
accurately the harsh, everyday reality of life on the beat (421). He continues that many
programs offer critical perspectives about the media industry rather than being part of it (431).
However, later in his paper, Cushion recognizes the relevance of teaching the history of the
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press, ownership, regulation, ethics and law, and the role of the media in democracy. The
creators of journalism studies programs, he claimed, must convince those working in the industry
that an understanding of these topics helps journalists do their jobs in the real world (Cushion
431).
The research points to gaps between the ideals of practitioners and theorists and between
those of journalism studies programs and organizations that employ journalists. Still, it should be
noted that many have called for a culture of mutual respect in discussions and a framework of
self-reflection that does not inherently belittle journalism as an activity (Greenberg 294).
Explicit theory is still important as a way of providing meaning to the experience and of framing
questions, but practice is highly valued for its ability to draw on our intelligence, experience and
powers of critical reflection. (Schon as cited in Greenberg 291). Both camps agree that there is a
need for the other and are seemingly committed to building a more direct relationship between
the theoretical and practical disciplines in the educational setting and beyond (Greenberg 302).
Product vs. Process. In the 1980s a new debate took root. Until this point, most
journalism professors had been teaching writing in much the same way they had been taught in
school. They concentrated on the accuracy, organization and grammatical correctness of the final
product as measured against a pre-established model (Mass and Popovich 218). It was
assumed that media stories are conceived and written in a linear, methodical fashion. Educational
units emphasized story forms (e.g., inverted pyramid) and formats (e.g., speech stories, meeting
coverage and crime stories). Lectures were frequent, and papers received detailed critiques
complete with severe penalties for grammatical errors (Mass and Popovich 218). According to
Mass and Popovich, teachers conceived themselves as editors and the classroom as a newsroom
(215), perhaps as an effort to find common ground in the theory-versus-practice debate.
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One example of the traditionalist model is profiled in an article "Feature Writing Course
Arouses Fear of God, which appeared inJournalism Educatorin 1977. According to the
paper, theteacher was successful in her sink-or-swim approach. The class featured many
assignments, short deadlines and huge deductions in credit for grammatical and stylistic errors.
And the students achieved a respect for high writing standards, clarity, coherence and correctness
(Clark 54).
During the 1980s, however, journalism educators began to note flaws related to the
traditionalist method of writing instruction. Students educated for many years within the
traditionalist mode had adopted a rigid tone that lacked creativity (Mass and Popovich 216). In
addition, the method was discouraging, even paralyzing, to all but the best students (Schierhorn
and Endres 59). Finally, the pre-established model against which work is judged disallows
innovation at a time when changes in the industry require that practitioners to work creatively to
engage consumers and to adapt to the evolving formats. As a result, a growing number of
theorists began a search for a more integrated paradigm in the teaching of writing (Mass and
Popovich 216).
Borrowing from research related to the teaching of composition, researchers began to
envision writing as an intuitive and recursive process focused on making meaning (Zurek 19). It
involves pre-writing (e.g., brainstorming, free writing and idea development), drafting (e.g.,
discovery and collaboration) and revising (e.g., internal revision, editing and proofreading). They
found that students worked best when they moved freely between writing stages with an
emphasis on creativity and finding their own meaning. Teachers began to see themselves as
coaches rather than editors, which led to more teacher involvement during the texts creation and
revision (Pitts 12). Progressive educators tended to assign more non-graded, informal writing
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exercises; to organize collaborative writing and peer-editing teams in the classroom; and to
schedule student conferences regularly (Mass and Popovich 218).
But challenges arose with what came to be known as the process-based method as well.
Students confidence and self-esteem improvedwhich may relate to an exaggerated impression
of student proficiency mentioned earlierbut overemphasis on process writing and a de-
emphasis on the quality of the finished work impaired the focus, clarity, structure and critical
thinking skills of some students. And mechanical proficiency decreased (Ward and Seifert 104).
Another problem arose with fewer graded assignments; professors had a hard time making the
process count grade-wise (Mass and Popovich 216). Finally, some said that following a series
of steps resulted in lazy teachers and to students who didnt take enough responsibility for the
final product (Mass and Popovich 217).
As a result of the flaws in the process-based methodology, several instructors attempted
to blend the best parts of the product and process systems. The balancing act between nurturing
creativity while ensuring quality has been the subject of several writing studies since the 1990s
(Mass and Popovich 216). One teacher exposed his journalism students to journalism as
literature assignments on a biweekly basis. The practice tuned students in to great writers of
journalism and united a class of varying journalistic abilities (Allen 50). Another teacher adopted
the practice of syneticsa complex method used to increase creative thinkingto reintroduce
students to the right-brained processes of building the contrast, metaphors and analogies that
instill otherwise bland journalistic prose with creative flair (Land 52). A third employed music to
introduce literary themes that journalists can use to increase the appeal of their news stories.
Picking out specific literary conventions in lyricsimagery and metaphor, for instance
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encouraged students to use the same conventions even within the factual framework of
journalism (McKerns 21).
Mass and Popovich claimed, The challenge for journalism educators is to integrate the
best of writing as product and process in their instruction (215). According to this research
team, the best journalistic and media classroom instruction unites craft and creativity. Students
learn to think as writers and gain confidence in their creativity, while recognizing and employing
the principles and techniques required by their professional craft (Mass and Popovich 214).
Regardless of a teachers intent, those who try to blend product- and process-based
methods in the journalism classroom usually end up with a traditional journalism course with a
few activities meant to foster creativity (Mass and Popovich 224). This is illustrated in
journalism texts, which still stress formal featuresstructure, style and types of storiesrather
than the more amorphous and creative process of generating meaning (Zurek 19-20). Even if text
books did blend product and process frameworks, the blended model does not bring structural
and creative elements together in the way that reflects the writing practices exemplified by good
writers in the real world (Pitts 12). Most importantly among the reasons to continue looking for a
satisfying method is the less-than-desirable results noted in the introduction (Brandon 62).
Standards-Based Learning. In the early 1990s, the idea of national education standards
began its assent among philosophies governing learning methods in elementary and secondary
schools (Marzano and Kendall 2). Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch is
recognized as the originator of the movement toward standards-based education. According to
her book,National Standards in American Education: a Citizen's Guide, standards define what is
to be taught and what kind of performance is expected (25).
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There are two types of standards that often get confusedly mixed in documents meant to
define standards. In simple terms, a contentstandard describes what students should know and be
able to do; a curriculumstandard describes what should take place in the classroom.
Specifically, curriculum standards address instructional technique or recommended activities as
opposed to knowledge and skill per se (Marzano and Kendall 12).
As a result of the rise in standards-based education, a few states have published statewide
standards for journalism education at the high school level. Finished in September 2007, the
document produced for high school journalism classes in the state of Indiana is ten pages long
and includes seven main standards addressing the major topics. They include historical
perspectives, law and ethics, media analysis, journalistic writing processes, writing for media,
technology and design, and media leadership and career development.
On the national level, several experts have suggested drafting national standards for
journalists as a means of curbing the decline in the quality of journalism available to the public
(Overholser 13). And a few have even suggested the creation of a set of worldwide standards for
journalism and journalism education (Cushion 424).
Apart from the obvious benefits related to defining how educators should prioritize
instruction in public schools, the standards shift the educational emphasis from inputs to outputs
(Marzano and Kendall 9). According to journalism education researcher Wayne Wanta, Good
teachers emphasize outcomes, not inputs; they focus on what students learn rather than how
much content the teachers teach (Wanta et al. 216). In addition, the standards-based method
simplifies the creation of rubrics and assessments (Marzano and Kendall 8). Having a valid
rubric may answer the difficulties related to grading identified by those using the process-based
method of writing instruction detailed above.
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On the national and state level, the use of standards in public schools have encountered
resistance for many reasons not least of which is because they were simply too cumbersome to
use (Marzano and Kendall 5). The writers of the standardsoften those with deep
understanding of the subject mattergot carried away with the detail. The number and
specificity of the standards reflected the potential of the subject rather than an amount of material
practical for the time allotted (Marzano and Kendall 5). To illustrate, Marzano and Pickering
presented a report in which they quantified the amount of time it would take to complete all of
the 200 standards expected of elementary and high school students and compared it to the total
number of school hours in the K-13 lifetime. They found that, even after much whittling,
students are expected to learn over 15,000 hours of material in just over 13,000 hours (Marzano
and Pickering 9).
The other reason national and state standards have faced criticism in schools is because
the best educational standards are highly unique to a schools region and its community.
Standards-based approaches must be tailor made to the specific needs and values of individual
schools and districts (Marzano and Kendall 11). As we will learn later, transformational
leadership suggest that standards may be most effective when they are created by the members of
the specific class.
As a result of criticisms from public school leaders, the push for national and state
standards in public schools has weakened (Marzano and Kendall 6). But Marzano and Kendall
insist that the standards-based model is still relevant on a smaller scale. We assert that the logic
behind organizing schooling around standards is so compelling as to make standards-based
school reform something that schools and districts will implement even in the absence of federal
or state mandates or incentives (Marzano and Kendall 6).
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Many of the qualities of standards-based journalism and journalism education have been
found desirable in the realm of journalism. With standards, some journalism leaders envision a
monitoring organization that might evaluate and report on the quality of news (Overholser 13).
The criticisms of the implementation of standards in journalism and journalism education are
based not on locality or community, as they are in public schools, but on freedom. No one agrees
on what components of journalism represent quality, and many journalists are passionate in their
resistance to a system that would qualify or disqualify journalists to report (Overholser 13).
Experiential Learning. Next in the search for the perfect method of instruction were the
experiential learning pioneers Dewey, Lewin, Joplin and Kolb (Brandon 63-4). Since these
founding researchers drafted the method, others have tweaked it in ways that have led to a
number of renamings (e.g., problem-based learning, solution-based learning and student-centered
education). Synonyms and permutations have led to as many as a dozen different monikers for
the same educational movement. Proponents of the method claim that it mirrors reality in ways
the other methods do not. Professionals do not simply maintain an expert body of knowledge
and retrieve it when needed; rather, they constantly engage with their practice, through actions
underpinned by intrinsic intellectual processes, creating solutions appropriate to the specific
context of a problem (Kolb cited in Greenberg 290).
Experiential learning researchers insist that students should be expected to work through
challenges in the same way that professionals do. In order to replicate real-world problem-
solving environments, the student experiences an event, acquires competencies and compares
the knowledge gained with knowledge gained in similar situations (Brandon 62). An ideal
experiential learning environment should develop the skills of learning, encourage initiative and
lead students to adopt healthy attitudes toward the learning process (Brandon 62). The
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combination of real-world problem solving and the use of intellectual processes suggest the
method as an answer to the theory-versus-practice debate.
At its most basic, participants face problems, develop theories for their solution, test
those theories in practice, and evaluate the outcome (Brandon 63). More specifically the process
should include the identification of needs, the expanding of tasks, objective setting and the
freedom for participants to decide how to meet objectives. This encourages them to acknowledge
problems and to use mistakes as learning opportunities, which provides the incorporation of
meaningful and unforeseen skills. Educators within this method provide frequent feedback,
encourage students to experiment with new methods and support students efforts (Brandon 62).
The success of the method in any given situation is based on the extent of direct contact
with objects, forms, features and processes; the extent that students are involved in the planning
and execution of an activity; the extent that participants are responsible for mastering an activity;
and the extent that participants have an opportunity to experience personal growth (Brandon
63). By allowing the students to take the lead in the execution, this method empowers students.
Many teachers in public schools use a combination of standards-based and experiential
learning. Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe wrote the bookUnderstanding by Design to detail
how teachers can draw on the strengths of both systems. Teachers use the state or school
standards to identify the desired results, determine the benchmarks the students will exhibit as
evidence of learning, and finally plan learning experiences. Because the method begins at the
end, so to speak, the researchers labeled the process backward design (18).
Wanda Brandon recommended the experiential learning framework for improving the
learning environment in journalism classes. The experiential process has tremendous potential
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for giving students opportunities to solve problems in the same ways they would in a
professional environment. But, however compelling the research, the experiential learning and
backward design methods have not caught on. (As we learned earlier, most journalism teachers
are still using traditional methods of instruction.) Accounts of experiential methods in action are
scarce perhaps because of their intensity. Teachers who use experiential learning consistently
might find that, due to the student-guided nature of the method, they lack the time to give
students experiences that relate to all of the content areas they hoped to cover. Those who use
backward design might find that they are spending a lot of effort structuring classroom time with
activities that may or may not lead to the attainment of instructional goals. Without examples of
teachers who have adopted these models, it is difficult to tell if either experiential learning or
backward design would work.
Before moving on, I would like to summarize the origins, goals and shortfalls of each of
the instructional models we have discussed so far. (I have italicized words that I will highlight
later in the paper.)
Theory and practice, a pair of instructional methods that came out of traditional
journalism classrooms, address concerns ofcompetence and credibility. Although
one can teach mostly one or the other, the methods support one another in the
instructional setting.
From the realm of composition education, we have the product and process
methods, which are focused on the creation journalistic texts that are at once
mechanically proficient and readable. In short, these methods address quality.
Neither method nor blends of the two reflect the reality of producing high-quality
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work. In addition, the product method has been known to discourage students,
while the process method has been criticized for over praising them.
Elementary and secondary education research provided the standard-based
concept of instruction, which is focused entirely ongoal-setting. It defines what
students should be able to do and the best ways to encourage their achievement.
Rigid implementation of the standards based paradigm sometimes results in an
over-programmed classroom.
Experiential leadership, also from elementary and secondary school research, is a
wonderful method for generating real-world problem-solvingskills in ways that
empowerstudents. The sometimes slow, free-flowing nature of the method may
prohibit teachers from accomplishing instructional goals.
Transformational Leadership.Now we borrow from the business world. Its not the
first time that strategies used in corporate training have been suggested for the college-level
classroom. Judith Kolb observed corporate training in presentation skills for use in a university
public speaking classroom (1-8). She found that both corporate trainees and college students
benefit from conventions often employed in business environments. In this case, the researcher
highlighted four transferable techniques (a) the creation of a supportive, risk-taking atmosphere,
(b) the use of speaker goal setting, (c) regular in-training performance evaluations and (d) plans
for real-world implementation of the skills acquired (Kolb 1).
Leadership is a corporate idea that has gained importance throughout the last half of the
twentieth century. Publications about leadership have been rising steadily since the 1970s, and
several universities now require leadership courses as a part of their curricula (Zorn and Violanti
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70). Zorn and Violantis paper served as a guide for instructors who would like to include
information about leadership in their courses. It describes several models that have been used to
identify the leader-follower roles, including Blake and Moutons managerial grid (72),
situational leadership theory (74), transactional leadership (75) and, the most modern and
sophisticated among the models, transformational leadership (75).
Transformational leadership attempts to raise the followers consciousness by appealing
to moral values and Maslows higher-level needs, including self-actualization and self-esteem.
Transformational leaders are creative, interactive, visionary, empowering and passionate (Zorn
and Violanti 75). They are committed to the work and the process of encouraging participation
and of defining and reinforcing group values (Zorn and Violanti 75).
The transformational leadership style was authored by Kouzes and Posner, who spent
years conducting research on hundreds of research subjects personal-best leadership experiences
to create their leadership practices inventory (Kouzes and Posner 14). It is made up of five
practices that nearly every good leadership experience in their research had in common.
Essentially, good leaders set an example, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable
others to act and provide encouragement (Kouzes and Posner 14).
All leadership situations involve a significant challenge or discontentment with a
situation (Kouzes and Posner 18). They feature a leader who has strong beliefs on the matter
(Kouzes and Posner 46) and who is interested in empowering each member to fulfill personal
goals and in creating group-driven change (Kouzes and Posner 20). With this description, it is
difficult not to see the journalism classroom as an optimal place to implement the
transformational leadership paradigm. According to journalism researchers cited in the
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introduction of this proposal, the journalism industry is in trouble.Journalism teachers have an
opportunity to present journalistic issues in ways that inspire students personal interest andtheir
abilities to generate ideas for positive change.
METHODOLOGY
Now, it seems, it would be helpful to describe a journalism classroom using
transformational leadership theory. Because I found no documented sources of college-level
teachers of introductory journalism classes (or any teachers, for that matter) using
transformational leadership theory in their classrooms, the description that follows draws
parallels between educational literature and Kouzes and Posners book, Leadership Challenge. It
imagines how the transformational leadership paradigm might work in the educational
environment.
As we noted, there are five practices that make up successful leadership. Under these five
practices, Kouzes and Posner relate ten commitments good leaders make. These commitments
often overlap and become intertwined. Below I have chosen to dissect some of Kouzes and
Posners leadership tasks and compress others based on which are most relevant to the
educational environment.
Developing Credibility. According to Kouzes and Posner, credibility is the foundation
of leadership (37). The research team learned this by beginning with an open-ended question to
thousands of people: What values, personal traits or characteristics do you look for and admire
in a leader (Kouzes and Posner 28)? The team used content and empirical analyses to narrow
the answers to twenty characteristics, each with a set of synonyms. Then they administered
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seventy-five thousand one-page questionnaires worldwide in order to rank them in order of
importance. The questionnaire asked respondents to check off the seven qualities they most look
for in a leader, as defined someone whose direction they would willingly follow (Kouzes and
Posner 28-9). In more than 20 years of researchthrough economic growth and recession, the
introduction and popularization of the Internet and increased globalizationfour qualities have
consistentlyregardless of national, cultural and organizational differencesreceived over 60
percent of the votes. People choose leaders who are honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and
competent (Kouzes and Posner 29).
Similarly, communication education researchers Ann Bainbridge Frymier and Catherine
A. Thompson determined that credibility is based on competence and character (388). Teachers
need to be perceived as both competent and of good character to be effective (Frymier and
Thompson 397).
It is interesting to note that this isnt the first time the word credibility has made a
significant appearance in this paper. Both theorists and practitioners claim that their practices are
responsible for providing credibility to journalism classrooms. Exhibiting proficiency in both
theory and practice is one way that journalism teachers can show competence, which according
to Frymier and Thompson is one half of the qualities necessary to earn the role of leader in the
classroom.
According to Kouzes and Posner, identifying credibility in a person involves measuring
their actions against their stated beliefs. When peoples words and actions match, they are said to
be credible (40-1). Universally, credible leaders have strong beliefs about matters of principle
(Kouzes and Posner 46), express these values, and follow through (Kouzes and Posner 41).
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Frymier and Thompson described the same values in a way that appeals to my personal
sensibility. In their study, they wrote that Consistent messagesboth verbal and nonverbal
led to perceptions of greater character (Frymier and Thompson 388). Character, if you
remember, is half of Frymier and Thompsons equation of credibility.
And credibility is important. Kouzes and Posner learned that respondents who found their
immediate managers credible were more likely to take pride in their work and to work
consistently without supervision (39). Many education researchers have reported similar findings
regarding credibility and student interest (Frymier and Thompson 388). [There is a] relationship
between these teacher-communication behaviors and student motivation (Frymier and
Thompson 388). Whether at work or at school, people enjoy being engaged in meaningful
thought. They enjoy working hard toward an important goal. People are prone to expose
themselves more and pay more attention to people and things they like (Frymier and Thompson
397). And student attitudes toward their craft are considered significant predictors of writing
performance (Mass 45).
Frymier, Kouzes, Posner and Thompson all take the competence step for granted.
Competence is gained over years of experience: not in a leadership manual or a research paper.
This being the case, the next logical step in creating credibility, according to Kouzes and Posner,
is the leaders defining what he or she believes (47).
Clarifying Values. Kouzes and Posner found that the process of clarifying personal
values drives leaders commitment (62). Leaders must discover what they believe before they are
able to voice those beliefs and follow through in ways that inspire constituents. In a journalism
classroom, a teacher might create a personal definition for what journalism is and what
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journalists do. The teacher might also create personal and classroom missions, set instructional
goals based on the institutions objectives for the curriculum and think about stories and other
personal language that she can use to communicate values and objectives in ways that relate to
students. (Later, it will become clear thatalthough the leader must enter the situation with
values, beliefs and goalsthe class values, beliefs and goals must be generated by the group as a
whole in order to be effective.)
Frymier and Thomson dont stress personal values as much as confidence (e.g.,
dynamism, presenting an interesting self, exhibiting physical and vocal animation) and
friendliness (e.g., being optimistic, sensitive and polite; smiling and making eye contact; and
attempting to be of assistance to the student) for their roles in creating credibility (Frymier and
Thompson 397-8). Kouzes and Posner seem to take the qualities of confidence and friendliness
for granted.
Both sets of researchers agree that, Leaders dont just speak for themselves (Kouzes
and Posner 68). Of the twelve actions that can be counted on to build the perception of character
and credibility, Frymier and Thompson identified several that seek and value the input of
students. Ways to seek and value student input include listening, inquiring about the students
interests, demonstrating interest in what the student says, and providing positive reinforcement
(Frymier and Thompson 397-8). Leaders seek input by asking constituents about their personal
goals and values on a continual basis and making the discussion of values a part of the
organizations language. The leader constantly draws connections between personal beliefs and
constituent needs to create the groups shared values, also described as the groups expectations,
obligations or promises (Kouzes and Posner 60).
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Setting an Example. Asking about values and goals on the first day of class or even on a
regular basis is not enough to perpetuate the positive effects of a transformational leadership
paradigm. Leaders have to live it (Kouzes and Posner 76). With their time and attention (Kouzes
and Posner 79), language (Kouzes and Posner 80), storytelling (Kouzes and Posner 89),
questions (Kouzes and Posner 83), responses to critical situations (Kouzes and Posner 88) and
positive reinforcement (Kouzes and Posner 92), leaders personify group values and set a good
example. Teachers exemplify learning by being good learners and perpetuate the ideal classroom
environment by behaving the ways they want their students to behave.
That takes care of the classroom environment, but journalism teachers also want students
to be good journalists. Often there are no writers in writing classrooms; teachers have stopped
writing before students have really started. Instructors who hope to foster good journalists might
begin by beinggood journalists in ways that students can see. A journalism teacher actively
writing stories or researching theory in plain sight provides students with an example of how the
process works. Letting students know that the work is intended for publicationwhether in a
regional magazine or a local newspaper or in a professional journallends relevance to the
skills.
Astonishingly, I found very little academic research related to teachers ability to teach
through their own professional example. One researcher noted, Journalism programs favor
faculty who can teach by example, who can demonstrate what others can only describe, who can
inspire good work by pointing to their own good work (Dates et al. 148). Sharon Dunwoody
touched on the topic when she wrote that breaking down the wall between teaching and
producing professional work may be beneficial to both students and teachers (Wanta et al 218-9).
Another researcher hinted that continuing to engage with the practice might be helpful for
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teachers. Professionals do not simply maintain an expert body of knowledge and retrieve it
when needed; rather, they constantly engage with their practice (Kolb cited in Greenberg
290).1 Still, I found no research directly related to how a professors outside-of-class work might
be used to inspire students in class. There is a tremendous opportunity for further research in this
area.
The reason professional example-setting doesnt happen more often in classrooms might
be the lack of time. There is already so much to do. Kouzes and Posner recommend storytelling
as a doable way to incorporate example setting (89). At first it might be hard to see the
connection, but a leaders vivid, memorable stories reinforce values (Kouzes and Posner 97).
Second, a teacher might mention briefly the successes and challenges related to his or her
research or how he or she is executing an article for a magazine. Without showing the process in
class, students can garner information about how they might employ what they are learning.
Empowering students to share stories of personal writing- or research-related successes
and challenges in ways that are vivid and memorable reinforces values, but this is not the only
benefit. Storytelling is a primary journalistic skill, and storytelling in class provides students
impromptu, oral practice. It allows them to see in real time what interests and repels their
audience. In addition, sharing positive and negative journalism and research experiences with
storytelling transfers the role of teacher to the student.
Envisioning the future. Kouzes and Posners conception of envisioning the future comes
into the journalism classroom in two distinct and pivotal ways. The first way that teachers can
1 This is the second time I have used this quote. It was first used to illustrate the values of experiential learning.
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envision the future relates directly to the standards-based methodology I addressed in the
literature review. Teachers simply work with the college and the students to determine what
journalistic content is most important and make plans to address those topics. Clear expectations
and goals focus our attention and keep people engaged (Kouzes and Posner 286-8). A quote on
the opening page of the chapter Envision the Future in Kouzes and Posners book could have
come out Wiggins and McTighes Understanding by Design: Jim Pitts of Northrop Grumman
Corporation is quoted to have said, You begin with the end in mind, by knowing what you
dream about accomplishing, and then figure out how to make it happen (103).
The other way envisioning the future helps journalism teachers relates to the second goal
of this hypothetical introductory journalism course: it gives students the opportunity to define
how journalism should look in the future. However similar the goals, envisioning the future
must happen in a very different way in the corporate world as compared with the educational
environment.
In the corporate environment, good leaders imagine exactly how an ideal future will look
(Kouzes and Posner 110), inspire others to join them in the pursuit of that vision (Kouzes and
Posner 116), tweak it based upon group ideals (Kouzes and Posner 118), and take steps to make
it happen (Kouzes and Posner 121). In education, that would never fly. Teachers are not allowed
to indoctrinate their students with personal beliefs.
Instead, the journalism education leader would communicate a belief that a healthy
journalism industry is possible. (Remember, Frymier and Thompson identified optimism as a
component of character.) Then, the teacher would leave it to students to present ideas regarding
how journalism might overcome its current distress and go on serving the public interest. Kouzes
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and Posner relate the process to sending everyone shopping for ideas (186) and experimenting
and taking risks (188).
In a journalism classroom, shopping and experimenting might take the form of an
experiential learning project. A group evaluation of experiential projects focused on the future of
journalism might take the form of what Kouzes and Posner call pre-mortems (213). Analogous
to the traditional post-mortem discussion related to specific problems with the solution, a pre-
mortem anticipates possible challenges associated with a given solution.
Fostering Collaboration. In a survey conducted by MaryMino and MarilynnButler,students were asked: (1) What was the most successful college course you have ever taken? (2)
What role did you play to make this course successful? (3) What role did the instructor play to
make this course successful? (495). Third among the six reasons students gave for their success
was participating in discussions, both with the instructor and their classmates (495). Despite
this research, lecture is still the most common mode of instruction (Terenzini and Pascarella 31).
Teachers in the typical classroom spend about 80 percent of their time lecturing to students who
are attentive to what was being said about 50 percent of the time (Terenzini and Pascarella 32).
Instructional lectures are ineffective when they assume that each student is equally
prepared, that students learn at the same rate and in the same way and that differences in
performance relate to differing student effort and ability (Terenzini and Pascarella 35).
Moreover, the traditional lecture format does not provide an opportunity for the listener to clarify
misunderstanding. Lectures are particularly ineffective when they are not carefully organized,
rehearsed and supported by other means of instruction and stimuli (e.g., audio visual materials,
activities, or discussion sessions) (Mino and Butler 498-9).
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Mino and Butler contend that interactive instruction, one type of collaborative learning, is
a more effective instructional approach for several reasons. This type of instruction: (1) creates
a classroom setting conducive to learning; (2) arouses and directs students' interests, experience,
and energy; (3) helps the instructor lead discussions that stay on track and involve all students;
and (4) improves oral communication skills (Mino and Butler 494). Interactive environments
emphasize open communication, focus on student participation and create a climate that
encourages proactive learning (Mino and Butler 494). The research indicates active learning
produces greater gains in academic content and skills, because students are more involved and
take more responsibility (Terenzini and Pascarella 34-5).
Fostering collaboration is number seven in Kouzes and Posners ten commitments of
leadership (221). Kouzes and Posner recommend creating an environment where everyone is
comfortable asking questions (222), structuring projects to promote joint effort (237) and
providing face-to-face interactions (240). All of these actions are already very common in
education literature and in many classrooms.
My favorite among Kouzes and Posners collaborative recommendationsand one that is
far less common in educational environmentsis support norms of reciprocity (234).
Cooperation, they explain, relies on equal amounts of give and take (Kouzes and Posner 235).
This idea suggests taking the traditional adversarial attitude out of the student-teacher
relationship. In the transformational leadership classroom, teachers would be as likely to learn as
students. Students would teach as well as learn. And the goal would be creating the best work
possible based on a mutually defined set of standards. It acknowledges that those who cooperate
are most likely to experience success (Kouzes and Posner 235).
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Providing Encouragement. Encouragement is an important part of every successful
leadership. Challenges like those that require transformational leadership require that people
work quite intensely and put in long hours. To persist for months at a demanding pace and to
experiment and try new things, people need encouragement (Kouzes and Posner 281). According
to Kouzes and Posner, encouraging people involves two important components: leaders must
expect the best from constituents and personalize recognition (281).
This first one is particularly interesting. One of the very few mentions of teachers in
Kouzes and Posner reads, As human beings, we tend to live up toor down toour leaders
(teachers, coaches, parents) expectations (282). Leaders who set high expectations and expect
(meaning, consider likely) enjoy an increased likelihood that their constituents will succeed
(282). Teachers must fundamentally believe in the abilities of their students. In believing in
students, students begin to believe in themselves and perform better. In this way, leaders bring
out the best in people (Kouzes and Posner 282).
Giving personalized recognition involves getting to know constituents well enough to
understand what type of recognition would be most meaningful to them. Admittedly, this is
difficult when there are many students and when a uniform method of recognitionnamely,
gradesis already built in. Perhaps the best way to recognize students, above giving a good
grade, is by thanking them for their contribution (Kouzes and Posner 298).
One important aspect of teaching writing is delivering criticism in a sensitive way. No
matter how motivated the student is, he or she will still make mistakes. Writing is a deeply
personal act, and students are frequently ill-equipped to handle constructive criticism directed at
their work. And educators may be too removed from the sensitivities and insecurities of their
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students (Mass 46). One student noted in her journal: "It can take years to build your soul back
up. Professors need to begin realizing the impact they have on their pupils (Mass 46).
Kouzes and Posner fall short in that they do not address delivering criticism in ways that
are appropriate, thoughtful and constructive. (According to the index, the word criticism is not
mentioned in the book at all. When they speak of feedback, they are mostly interested in the
leaders willingness to seek feedback from constituents.) A brief mention of feedback as it is
dished from teachers to student, relates directly to goals. Goals without feedback, or feedback
without goals, have little effect on motivation (Kouzes and Posner 288). It shouldnt be
surprising at this point, that Mass instructs teachers to use "focused instructional strategies" that
sensitively identify the differences between student work and the desired product (46). Like
Kouzes and Posner, Masss conception of redirecting students is related to achieving a goal.
This takes personal worth judgments out of the equations and increases the likelihood that
students will find the feedback constructive and motivational.
All the talk about goals might inspire a person to reexamine the standards-based
methodology, where the word goals is featured so prominently. As it turns out, the method
provides an answer long employed for the sensitive evaluation of highly personal writing
assignments: the rubric. Long used as a consistent way to measure whether or not students have
met instructional goals (Wiggins and McTighe 173), the leadership paradigm highlights the idea
that rubrics are as a way to evaluate work that is as useful to the student as it is to the teacher.
PROPOSAL
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Some may claim that the reason we found so many similarities between writings about
education and journalism education and those about transformational leadership is because
teachers are naturally transformational leaders. In the best circumstances, this is no doubt the
case. Good teachers are good leaders. Kouzes and Posner would likely agree that good leaders
are good teachers. Unlike many of the other methods teachers and journalism teachers often use
to structure the education they provide, transformational leadership provides a way to pull all of
the most effective educational practices under one mental umbrella. Furthermore, because of its
ability to fill the particular gaps many journalism education strategies leave, I believe
transformational leadership is particularly well suited for journalism education scenarios.
To demonstrate how a transformational leadership might operate in a journalism
classroom, I intend to create a course portfolio. William G. Christ recommends course portfolios
as a good method for preparing graduate and post-graduates for positions in academia (Wanta et
al. 226). The course portfolio is different from the teaching portfolio in terms of purpose. The
teaching portfolio is developed to help review a teacher's expertise, while the purpose of the
course portfolio is to identify problematic educational issues and intellectual challenges with a
course (Wanta et al. 226). According to Christ, the portfolio starts with goals for student
learning and teaching practices that the new teacher thinks he or she can use to accomplish the
goals (Wanta et al. 226). A new course portfolio might include teaching and learning statements,
a syllabus, and samples of tests and paper questions (Wanta et al. 226).
Moreover, the building of a course portfolio is ongoing. [It] is really like a scholarly
manuscript: not a finished publication, but a manuscripta draftof ongoing inquiry (Wanta
et al. 226). Portfolios for classes that have been taught through might include notes about the
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course from students, the teaching assistant, and the instructor; a sample of student work; and
student and peer evaluations, reviews, and commentaries (Wanta et al. 226).
The creation of my course portfolio will combine Christs concept of the course portfolio
with the conventions of transformational leadership. My portfolio will include several
documents meant to help me clarify my values, including personal definitions for what
journalism is and what journalists do, teaching and learning missions, beliefs regarding the
classroom environment, stories and other personal language that can be used to communicate
values and objectives in ways that relate to students.
The portfolio will include questions that seek out students conceptions of what
journalism is and what journalists do and questions that seek students personal and classroom
missions. Both of these relate to building a shared vision and fostering collaboration. In addition,
the portfolio will define the content and curriculum standards as defined by Marzano and
Kendall (12) and rubrics as defined by Wiggins and McTighe (173). The standards will serve as
instructional goals, while the rubrics will serve as methods to deliver useful encouragement.
Finally, the portfolio will include experiential and group assignments meant to help students
recognize the importance of journalism in democracy and present ideas for the continuation of
journalism in the future.2
2Because I have neither an academic position nor a classroom, much of the material in the course portfolio will beby necessityhypothetical. The content and curriculum standards, for instance, will be based on my own well-
researched concepts of what should be taught and how. In the case that the portfolio were actual, those standards
would be adjusted based upon the institutions goals for both the class and the program and based on students
career and classroom goals.
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I hypothesize that a course portfolio based on the principles of transformational
leadership will help me meet my instructional goals3 in ways that are successful, complete,
practical or true to professional reality.
3As stated in the introduction, students should be able to describe journalisms role in democracy, make a set ofclaims regarding the fundamental nature of journalism in the future, and produce high-quality journalistic texts.
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PART II: Course Portfolio
DEFINING THE PROJECT
The following is based upon pages 20 26 of Kouzes and Posners The Leadership Challenge
Workbook.
The project: The development and implementation of an effective leadership-based introductory
journalism class.
The project goals: To be an effective teacher of journalists.
Time Frame: One semester.
Budget: Minimal, based upon the budget of the employing institution.
Challenges: I have never done this before. It is difficult to know how to begin.
Immediate project team: Myself, the employing institution, students.
Stakeholders: Other journalism teachers and professionals, the wider college community, the
community in which the institution is situated and consumers of news.
Relevance of the project to me: This is fulfilling, important work. I anticipate the satisfaction
of doing a really good job while earning a modest income.
Relevance of the project to my organization: For students, the project has the potential to
provide a really fulfilling learning experience and some important journalistic skills. I hope that
colleagues at the institution that would employ me would be interested in exploring ways to
teach journalism in different and potentially more effective ways.
Relevance of the project to others: For the community and media at large, there is the potential
to improve the craft, its service to the public, and the health of democracy.
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REFLECTION
The following is based upon pages 29 31 of Kouzes and Posners The Leadership Challenge
Workbook.
What are the characteristics of the successful projects you have contributed to in the recent
past? Two notable experiences come to mind. During the first, I was an agricultural extension
agent in the United States Peace Corps. I was tasked to work together with a womens group of
over 500 members to build a community garden that would increase income and nutrition for the
villages families. It was a lofty goal in a region with few natural or economic resources. It was
complex multi-step process. It involved much intercultural education and personal commitment
from every member of the group. In this case, the motivation for the project came from the
members. They originated the goal, which made it easier for them to buy in. I remember having
to spend several months listening and earning their trust and changing my methods drastically
based on the members input. Ultimately we were successful, and the garden was built. The
garden continues to thrive after nearly five years.
The second experience related to a teaching position I held at Southern Vermont
Colleges Summer Upward Bound Program. Upward Bound is a college preparatory program for
high school students from grades 9 12. I was tasked to teach world literature, English
composition, and an interdisciplinary course. The first two courses I taught in a rather
conventional mode despite including projects I considered innovative. For the last courseID
Block, as it was calledI took an entirely different approach. We carried out my ideals for the
first week of class, so that the students would have an example of the type of work I expected,
but then I put the students in charge. I guided. I facilitated. I found and allocated materials.
Honestly, they set their goals higher and performed more diligently than I expected. They had a
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wonderful time, and they learned in ways that were personal and memorable. Among the five
other ID Blocks, ours alone was singled out to present their project at the end of the summer. It
was an amazingly fulfilling experience.
In both of these situations, the members of the group had complete ownership. They set
the goals. They defined their roles. The group abided by norms of mutual respect, hard work, and
enjoyment. In the second of the two experiences, students evaluated the class and instructor (me)
each week for six weeks. The feed back was tremendously useful. In both cases the groups
enjoyed great success.
What two or three things would you hope that students say about the class one year after
its completion? This was the most useful and fulfilling class I have ever taken. I learned
attributes about journalism that have changed my everyday behavior, reinvigorated my love of
learning, improved my skills and increased the likelihood that I will make a valuable
contribution to my field.
What are you already doing to help create this legacy? I have researched journalism in order
to clarify my own beliefs and goals. I have researched journalism education in order to learn
what skills students need and the best ways to encourage professional and academic growth. I am
positive regarding the potential of leadership methods to make a positive impact on the education
of journalists. I am actively pursuing ideas that will help me incorporate leadership into a
journalism classroom.
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What remains to be done in order to make this legacy a reality? I need to create a plan, of
which this document is a start. It will imagine the best ways to build credibility, identify my
values, and engage students in the creation of a values-driven group of new journalists.
IDENTIFYING VALUES
Unless noted, the following is based upon pages 31 35 of Kouzes and Posners The Leadership
Challenge Workbook.
Values are enduring beliefs about the way things should be done or about the ends we desire,
intrinsic principles, consistent thoughts that guide decision making and the foundations of
credibility (31).
What values are most critical to the successful completion of this project? Kouzes and
Posner recommend choosing and prioritizing as many as seven values (33). This is a difficult
task.I have chosen eight.In order of importance, my values for this project include optimism,
example setting, realism, self-determination, creativity and exploration, respectful collaboration,
immediate and purposeful feedback and encouragement and organization and consistency. A
short description of each follows:
Optimism. I believe that good teachers are optimistic regarding their students
capabilities. Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, the fathers of transformational leadership theory,
wrote, Constituents look for leaders who demonstrate an enthusiastic and genuine belief in the
capacity of others, who strengthen peoples will, who supply the means to achieve and who
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express optimism for the future. Believing in students is the first step in students believing in
themselves, their accepting responsibility for tasks, and their achieving success.
Example Setting. I believe that teaching begins when the teacher sets an example.I am
saddened that there are rarely many writers in writing class rooms; teachers have stopped writing
before students have begun. I am a teacher who exemplifies the roles of learner, journalist,
academic theorist and leader in ways that students can see. This increases the likelihood that
students will assume these roles for themselves.
Realism. I believe that the best classrooms represent reality.Dr. Yousey, the professor of
my Principles of Education class, said one thing I will always I remember:Professional practice
starts here. As prospective teachers, he expected students to behave as teachers immediately.
The same should be expected of communications students. Real writing assignments, actual
interviews and genuine networking experiences are all a part of my educational plan for new
professionals in communications.
Self-determination. I believe that constituents exhibit higher levels of commitment and
accountability when they are empowered to set their own goals and make their own
determinations regarding their successes.When reviewing my own personal-best leadership
experiences, I found that they had these two attributes in common. Bringing these ideas into the
classroom might involve using student-provided goals to draft the syllabus and requesting
student input in the creation of grading rubrics.
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Creativity & Exploration. One of the most powerful mandates I encountered in my
research was from New York University journalism education researcher Mitchell Stephens. He
wrote, Dont pretend we know how things should be done. Doing so underestimates and
devalues student contributions (Dates et al.). The world of professional communications is
ready for new ideas. I believe students have valuable and creative contributions to make to this
important conversation.
Respectful Collaboration. Collaboration has been much lauded within education circles
in recent years. Working together in an educational environment mirrors collaborative
environments many communicators are likely to find in the work place. Building ideas together
makes classes more interesting, more memorable and more effective.
To me, respectful collaboration includes purposeful feedback. Providing feedback is one
of teachers foremost responsibilities in traditional education systems. Indeed, it is an important
act. Students must understand how the skills they possess measure up against those expected of
them in the professional world. In addition to this traditional form of feedback, my plan for
educating new communicators includes opportunities for students to evaluate regularly their own
work and the work of their teacher. I believe teacher evaluations that occur only once a class is
over are too late.
Organization & Consistency. Someone reading these values might assume that my
classroom might be quite loose and maybe disorganized. Honestly, unpredictable learning
situations have always been personally frustrating for me. I believe that teachers can work with
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students to create a culture of learning that is at once creative, empowering, well organized and
consistent.
What are your organizations values? Do they align with the values of the project? What is
the potential alignment or conflict? At this point, I do not have an organization. For the
purposes of this assignment, I will use documents produced by The College of Saint Rose and
their communications department.According to the information posted on the communications
department Web site, The College of Saint Rose values discovery, storytelling, problem-solving,
big ideas, collaboration, exploration, challenging the status quo, and pioneering unexpected
solutions. All of these words are among those that appear frequently in work produced by
Kouzes and Posner.
On the masters degree page of The College of Saint Rose Web site, the goal of being and
creating leaders is evident in the colleges mission and in the programs degree requirements.
The colleges mission uses its final lines to emphasize leadership: Engagement with the urban
environment expands the setting for educational opportunities and encourages the Saint Rose
communitys energetic involvement and effective leadership in society. The fact that course
Group Communication and Leadership is prominent among graduate courses is an indicator that
the colleges faith in the potential of leadership practices to make a positive and lasting impact.
Finally, because the books I am relying upon for much of my information were assigned
by a member of The College of Saint Rose faculty, I believe these ideas would be welcome for
discourse. Based on feedback from my project advisors, I believe these ideas are open for
discourse and possibly for implementation.
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A few of my values are unconventional for education settings, namely self-determination.
In most classes, teachers set the priorities, the activities, the assignments, etc. Judging success
upon students goals is also unconventional. Handled properly, I think these unconventional
ideas could be integrated into even an institution more traditional than The College of Saint
Rose.
BUILDING AND AFFIRMING SHARED VALUES
The following is based upon pages 36 41 of Kouzes and Posners The Leadership Challenge
Workbook.
When youre the leader, other folks values need to be considered if they are going to be
committed (36). In an educational situation, this involves teachers asking students what they
care about and the educational culture or group norms they would like to establish. Kouzes and
Posner recommend the following steps: (1) Gather the group to discuss values and principles that
will guide group decisions. (2) Set the example by being the first to communicate your values.
Then ask everyone to share. (3) Once everyone has shared, look for commonalities and conflicts.
(4) Discuss how tension can be resolved. (5) Create a team credo that articulates the principles
that will guide the group during the project. (6) Display it prominently.
Honestly, theres not much here that would surprise most teachers or students. Anyone
who has participated in organized group building likely has participated in an exercise like this
one. In the classroom, I envision this process differently than the typical group-building exercise.
Second only to introductionswhich, in order to value realism, might take place in a networking
environmentthis process might occur in the following way: Borrowing from Mino and Butlers
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education research, which is also cited on page 28 of my proposal, I would ask students to
remember their most satisfying educational experience, what the student in that experience did to
make it successful, and what the teacher did. This may help student envision their ideal
educational scenario and discover their values (495). A plan for this exercise may take the
following form:
HOUR 2:
Essential questions: What is your personal-best educational experience? What did your value
about that experience? How can we develop culture of learning that reflects those values?
Procedure:
1. For the first 5 minutes, present storytelling as a journalistic skill and as a way to express
values.
2. For the second 5 minutes, edit experience into three sentences.
3. For the next 30 minutes, share/note values.
4. For the next 20 minutes, draft and finalize a credo.
Thought questions: What is journalism? How does our definition of journalism affect our
standard of academic and professional achievement? Write it down.
INSPIRING A SHARED VISION
The following is based upon page 43 51 of Kouzes and Posners The Leadership Challenge
Workbook.
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According to Kouzes and Posner, vision is a unique and ideal image of the future for the
common good (43). To inspire others, leaders must be able to articulate the vision in
meaningful ways. In my proposal, I drew a connection between the leadership step of inspiring
a shared vision and building educational standards or goals. Based on my research, I believe
that there are three important goals that must be a part of any introductory journalism class.
Students who complete this course should demonstrate understanding of the connection between
journalism and democracy, use journalistic and expressive abilities and mechanical skill to
produce professional-quality journalistic texts and make insightful assertions regarding the
nature of journalism and its future. In order to achieve success, constituents and the leader must
work together to build a vision that belongs to the entire group.
Kouzes and Posner recommend the following steps: (1) articulate your personal vision of
the future to the members of the project, (2) engage members in a dialog about their aspirations,
(3) Enlist others in the common vision and (4) communicate the common vision in an attractive
way (45). The following lessons work to inspire a shared vision by uniting the classs thoughts
about journalism, goals for ourselves and for the industry and how we should spend our time to
accomplish these goals.
HOUR 3:
Essential questions: What is journalism? What is our standard of academic and professional
achievement?
Procedure:
1. For the first 10 minutes, use your networking experience to gather in groups of about four
people. Synthesize your ideas.
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2. For the next 20 minutes, present your groups thoughts in one or two refined sentences.
3. For the next 10 minutes, synthesize again until the definition is finalized.
4. For the next 15 minutes, create a rubric for our work based on our definition. Discuss and
agree.
5. For the last 5 minutes, debrief and look forward.
Thought questions: What do you read? How does our definition of journalism affect our
choices as media consumers? Bring a list of three smart ideas regarding your text for this course.
HOUR 5:
Essential questions: What