Presented by Bo Brusco, Communications Manager, Journalistic Learning Initiative; Ed Madison, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Journalistic Learning Initiative; and Melissa Wantz, Instructional Design Consultant, Journalistic Learning Initiative

Sponsored by Journalistic Learning Initiative

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For today’s “scroll-happy” adolescents, the pace of classroom routines can seem glacial. How can educators engage students and prepare them for a world riddled with complex issues?

Journalistic learning, an approach that uses project-based storytelling to develop critical communication skills, puts language arts into action by allowing young people to research, write, and publish articles aligned with their intrinsic interests. Student-led interviews are an essential component of this approach as it teaches students how to set up and conduct professional interviews while connecting them with their community in meaningful ways. No journalism experience required. In this edWebinar, viewers:

• Understand what journalistic learning is and why it’s effective
• Identify learning outcomes of, and life skills acquired through, student-led interviews
• Feel confident in their ability to successfully orchestrate student-led interviews and help students connect with their community
• Brainstorm ways in which journalistic learning and student-led interviews can be implemented in the classroom

In addition to covering the basics of journalistic learning, we guide viewers through how to facilitate student-led interviews step by step and share tips and free resources to help implement them in the classroom. By the end of this edWebinar, middle and high school teachers and school and district leaders will be excited to incorporate journalistic learning in their schools!

About the Presenters

Bo Brusco is a former English language arts teacher and multimedia journalist and is currently the Journalistic Learning Initiative’s Communications Manager.

Ed Madison is an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication and a seasoned media professional with over 30 years of distinguished work in journalism. Since 2010, Ed has passionately researched and pioneered journalistic learning, a systemic approach infused with journalistic strategies that empower students of all socioeconomic backgrounds to discover their voice, improve academic outcomes, and engage in self-directed learning through project-based storytelling. His fervor for this transformative approach led him to cofound the Journalistic Learning Initiative (JLI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students become effective communicators through journalistic learning. He currently serves as the JLI’s Executive Director. Ed has published several books related to his work, most recently including one he co-authored titled Language Arts in Action: Engaging Secondary Students with Journalistic Strategies.

Melissa Wantz develops writing projects and supports teachers at the Journalistic Learning Initiative in Eugene, Oregon. During two decades as a middle and high school English teacher, she drew on her earlier professional experience as a newspaper reporter to create curricula that sparked curiosity and built communications confidence in students. A highlight of her teaching career was founding the award-winning student news outlet at Foothill Technology High School in Ventura, California. That project showed her the rich possibilities of student-led inquiry and publication, and led to an invitation to serve as President of the Columbia Scholastic Press Advisers Association in New York City and to present community-focused journalistic learning models nationally and abroad. She is the lead designer of JLI’s Effective Communicators courses for teachers and students and the co-author of Language Arts in Action: Engaging Secondary Students with Journalistic Strategies, published in August by Norton Professional Books.

Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.

Join the Language and Literacy community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

The Journalistic Learning Initiative empowers students to discover their voice, improve academic outcomes, and engage in self-directed learning through project-based storytelling.