{"id":2731,"date":"2021-11-02T16:40:25","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T16:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/?p=2731"},"modified":"2025-07-11T14:06:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T13:06:28","slug":"professionalisation-and-practice-based-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/2021\/11\/02\/professionalisation-and-practice-based-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Professionalisation and practice-based learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong style=\"color: #003f80\">Barbara Henderson<\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><strong style=\"color: #003f80\">Degree Programme Director, MA Media and Journalism<\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4 class=\"entry-content\"><strong style=\"color: #e96556\">School of Arts and Cultures<\/strong><\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>What did you do?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>We introduced initiatives focused on professionalisation and practice-based learning for our postgraduate students.<\/p>\n<p>The ethos of the\u00a0postgraduate\u00a0courses\u00a0is very much\u00a0focussed on\u00a0multimedia. We\u00a0cover video, audio\u00a0as well as\u00a0writing for online\u00a0and print.\u00a0This reflects how industry has developed\u00a0and when students begin their\u00a0careers,\u00a0they will be expected to\u00a0have skills in\u00a0all of\u00a0these areas.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Who is involved?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>MA Media and Journalism students<\/li>\n<li>MA International Multimedia Journalism students<\/li>\n<li>Barbara Henderson, DPD,\u00a0MA Media and Journalism students<\/li>\n<li>Hannah McMahon, DPD for MA International Multimedia Journalism<\/li>\n<li>Bethany Usher, previous DPD for both programmes who initiated the whole ethos of the courses<\/li>\n<li>Travis Roush, Culture Lab and the Culture Lab Tech Team<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>How did you do it?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Multimedia first<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>International Multimedia Journalism was the first programme in the institution to have a full taught semester online in summer 2020. Colleagues came together quickly to redesign from 3 x 20 credit FT modules during which students worked in the newsroom for around 30 hours a week to a distance taught final project with intensive learning.<\/p>\n<p>The use of well-designed interactive digital learning materials became key pedagogical practice, informed by the teams own multimedia journalism practice and scholarship and using primarily Microsoft Sway. This proved popular with students and was supported by focused community spaces where students and staff could come together both synchronously (online sessions) and asynchronously (chats and sharing of materials) as part of the learning journey. This meant both the Media and Journalism and International Multimedia Journalism programmes were well placed for the entire online delivery of 2020-21 and for the blended learning model of 21-22.<\/p>\n<p>This allowed our \u201cmultimedia first\u201d practice model to become also a model for learning and teaching and has now supported subject-wide steps towards meaningful blended learning. In compulsory modules and many options, digital interactive lecture materials act as a base-line supplemented by in person lectures and seminars. This also builds resilience into the programmes should there be a move to off-campus teaching.<\/p>\n<p>There was a significant re-development of the practical strand of learning across the MA Journalism programmes (International Multimedia Journalism and Media and Journalism) which culminates in a 60credit practical final project module for students studying MA International Multimedia Journalism. This replaces the traditional dissertation and MA IMMJ was the first programme in the institution to do this. The practical final project supports students to develop their professional skills and graduate with a portfolio of practical work to show to employers. This is already proving effective in promoting employability.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mobile first approach to journalism<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We provided all students with a\u00a0Rode Vlogger\u00a0kit to\u00a0enhance\u00a0their mobile\u00a0so they could shoot\u00a0and\u00a0edit\u00a0footage\u00a0using\u00a0just\u00a0their mobile phone. This\u00a0is in line with how industry works, focussing\u00a0on a mobile first approach to journalism.<\/p>\n<p>The kit included a\u00a0clip-on\u00a0microphone\u00a0to enhance sound quality\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0tripod for handheld or static use.\u00a0For students who\u00a0weren\u2019t\u00a0able to\u00a0attend campus last year,\u00a0we\u00a0provided\u00a0vouchers\u00a0so they\u00a0could\u00a0buy\u00a0equivalent kit themselves.<\/p>\n<p>As well as\u00a0supplying\u00a0the kit,\u00a0we made sure that students had the skills to use this. We\u00a0used LinkedIn\u00a0learning\u00a0videos to\u00a0help develop those skills as well as getting the wonderful tech team at Culture\u00a0Lab involved. They\u00a0run regular\u00a0sessions\u00a0for students\u00a0who need\u00a0some\u00a0extra tech\u00a0help\u00a0and during lockdown they ran triaged drop-in every weekday.<\/p>\n<p>We also ran sessions\u00a0to cover\u00a0techniques\u00a0that were particularly relevant last year;\u00a0concentrating on how to frame a Zoom\u00a0shot,\u00a0how\u00a0to direct an\u00a0interviewee\u00a0remotely\u00a0and approaches\u00a0to picking up extra shots when students\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0get out to film this footage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bringing\u00a0Industry to our students<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Civic Journalism Lab is a forum for journalists to meet and collaborate and our students have the valuable opportunity to get involved in this through events, masterclasses, and Q and As with prestigious speakers and industry leaders. It\u2019s a fantastic opportunity for students to learn and network in their field.<\/p>\n<p>Over the last year these events have\u00a0covered\u00a0a diverse set of\u00a0topical areas\u00a0including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Creating a home studio for smartphone journalism<\/li>\n<li>Reporting race and racism: What does doing better actually mean?<\/li>\n<li>TikTok\u00a0for journalism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We also have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/CivicJournalismLab\">Civic Journalism Lab YouTube channel<\/a> and podcast.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Why did you do it?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The main reason for moving towards a mobile first approach is because that is what is happening in industry and we want students to have these skills ready for when they begin their careers.<\/p>\n<p>There were also practical benefits as students didn\u2019t have to hire cameras that they had never used before. Instead, they were able to use their mobile phones, a device they were already familiar with, to produce broadcast quality footage.<\/p>\n<p>We want students to get involved in the Civic Journalism lab to develop connections across the industry and to benefit from the expertise of leaders in this field.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Does it work?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The quality of the outputs from students shows that our mobile first approach really works, and students enjoy being able to work with a device they are already familiar with.<\/p>\n<p>We also have good engagement with the Civic Journalism lab events and are exploring other opportunities to work with industry. Currently we are working with the Careers Service to develop an employability event where we engage with national and local employers, allowing students to meet them in a speed dating style event to present their CV. We hope that this will raise the aspirations of students to apply to top quality employers when they graduate.<\/p>\n<p>PGT Media, Journalism and Communications had the most positive quartile outcomes receiving results with seven sections in the 1st quartile and three sections in the 2nd quartile. Media, Journalism and Communications had the most positive results at Newcastle relative to the Russell Group benchmarking. Within this subject, Newcastle had an aggregate score 9% higher than the Russell Group benchmark.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Graduate Framework<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>This approach develops the following attributes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Future-focused<\/li>\n<li>Confident<\/li>\n<li>Digitally Capable<\/li>\n<li>Curious<\/li>\n<li>Collaborative<\/li>\n<li>Engaged<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Find out more about the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/careers\/graduateframework\/\">Graduate Framework.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With a focus on professionalisation and practice-based learning, these Masters programmes demonstrate a successful multimedia and mobile first approach to journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3007,"featured_media":2744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,305,272,591],"tags":[611,608,614],"class_list":["post-2731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-arts-and-cultures","category-hass","category-video-and-audio","tag-collaboration","tag-digital-skills","tag-future-focused"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3007"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2731"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2739,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731\/revisions\/2739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.ncl.ac.uk\/casestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}