communication / language / culture / multimedia ~~~ Applied Learning with James Dyer

My Teaching Philisophy

For several years while I taught writing and communication at both the college and university level, I’ve used a quote from the renowned author and narrative journalist, Jack London, who once acknowledged that writing could be hellishly difficult, but rebuked those who didn’t try. “Don’t loaf and invite inspiration,” he said. “Light after it with a club, and if you don't get it you will nonetheless get something that looks remarkably like it.”

During the past three-plus years I taught writing for courses in journalism, public relations, culture and literature, and I have often imparted London’s credo to my students because, despite the vast technological changes in writing, editing and media presentation, the reportorial process really has not changed much since he uttered those words a century ago. Students still become anxious about writing. They still wait for some inspiration, an encouraging muse to enter their lives and start the creative juices flowing. They still look for the quick, easy and comfortable way to finish an interview and scrawl out a story.

So when I’m faced with a group of students who want to learn reporting and writing skills, my approach to teaching is simple. I inform them that reporting and writing are vital skills that anyone can learn by getting up, ignoring the anxiety and starting the process. In essence, I teach them that one learns to report by reporting and write by writing. Getting nervous and making mistakes are inevitable and necessary parts of growing as a writer in journalism, public relations or corporate media.

When I design courses, I begin with theoretical or conceptual frameworks that help provide social, historical or cultural context to the course and also serve as a template for the students to begin the research and writing process. Students are then given writing assignments in which they explore and analyze the theories. Invariably, the assignments make the students uneasy because they discover that reading about social or cultural theories in textbooks is much easier than examining them through face-to-face interviews. Students who have taken classes in journalism, oral history or public relations that I’ve taught have acknowledged that they became very nervous about a series of interviews I made them do with complete strangers. The interviews, I explained, were necessary for them to get out of their comfort zone and to learn how to engage sources and make them willing to talk. “That was so hard,” they invariably said, but later on they would admit it was an invaluable and rewarding experience. Sometimes I send an entire journalism class out on city buses and tell them to stop anywhere they like but that they must interview some adult that they do not know and tell his or her story. “Dig deep,” I say. “Every single person has a story to tell.” Often I hold a series of mock interviews where I play the role of mayors, CEOs or police chiefs and I tell the students to uncover information to include in a press release or a news story. Many students later told me that these exercises were the most terrifying yet most informative learning experience in writing in college.

Whether I am teaching a lecture on writing, reporting, public speaking or theoretical approaches to the study of modern media, I try to force students to apply the knowledge they have learned in the texts or in lecture and to create a project – an essay, a persuasive speech, a press release, a photograph, a class lesson, an interview transcript – that underscores the importance of what they’ve just learned and connects them in some way to the professional world of multimedia production. Making this connection is as vital now as it was when I was a student. I remember that the best courses that I took were ones in which I was compelled to synthesize the knowledge from the readings to conduct interviews, teach a class, produce news copy or take photographs for a class or campus publication. It was and still is a daunting task, but I, like my past professors, use a healthy dose of humor to make it clear to students that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable and make mistakes, as long as they are taking risks and learning.

As a communication and multimedia journalism instructor, I try to introduce and develop in my students the various styles of media writing, from stories with punchy or straight, hard-news ledes that are produced for the web, to articles with anecdotal or narrative ledes written for newspapers or magazines, to stories with spin written for public relations. As their classroom “managing editor,” I provide hard and inflexible deadlines as well as candid feedback to accustom them to the professional world. I also encourage collaborative projects with their peers that blend writing with photographs, video, audio and the internet. I strive to create a professional atmosphere in the classroom that encourages creativity and innovation, where students are encouraged to make presentations, create multimedia projects based in good solid reporting and writing, and to provide and accept constructive criticism from their peers. I use my professional ties as a former journalist and public relations assistant and invite former colleagues who continue to work in the field to visit the classroom, review the students’ work and provide invaluable professional feedback during group sessions with students.

I have underscored the importance of applying practical training in writing, editing and the production of multimedia projects, but as I mentioned before, the concept courses in communication and journalism history, media law and ethics, media theory and criticism are the cornerstones to a strong understanding of modern communication. Teaching students to write a compelling, anecdotal lede is no more important than teaching them the intricacies of media law and ethics through notable case histories. A student who becomes a gifted narrative writer or multimedia blogger would be shortchanged academically if he or she did not have a strong grasp of the history of communication and journalism in the United States, from the battlefield dispatches filed by reporters during the Civil War, to the famous exposés of Nelly Bly and Seymour Hersh, to the yellow journalists, the new journalists and most recently, the downsized journalists. I strive to teach students how communication and journalism have changed throughout history and continue to change now, underscoring the impact that media ownership, consolidation, politics and the economy have on how the news is produced, censored and distributed.

I believe that exposing students to a wide spectrum of practical skills and applied theoretical, legal and historical concepts is more important today than ever before. It helps them to integrate their knowledge and talents and adapt them to an ever-changing world of media. Yet perhaps more salient is that it helps them to do what the Fourth Estate has historically done: produce compelling and responsible work that effects change and addresses issues that are critical for society.

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My Teaching Experience

Journalism Program, Knox College
Assistant Professor and Chair, 2013-present

Digital News; Multimedia Journalism and Oral History; Media Law and Ethics; Media and Politics; The Mind of the Journalist: Newswriting and Reporting; The Centrality of Media; Feature Writing and Narrative Journalism; In-Depth Reporting and Writing, Senior SDM Capstone Project

Communication Studies Department, Augustana College
Visiting Assistant Professor, 2009-2013

News Literacy; Media Law and Ethics; Multimedia Reporting I: Information Gathering and Writing; Multimedia Reporting II: Web and Photo; Multimedia Reporting III: Audio and Video; Converged Multimedia Practicum; Newspaper Practicum; Radio Practicum; Senior Inquiry Capstone Project – Converged Multimedia Portfolio; Public Relations (guest lecturer)

Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Iowa
TA Supervisor, 2008-09; Teaching Assistant 2002-09

Spanish literature and language, 2004-2008 Readings in Spanish Literature and Culture; Elementary Spanish I; Elementary Spanish II; Intermediate Spanish I; Intermediate Spanish II; Journalistic Writing in Spanish (co-taught); Spanish American Poetry of the 19th century (guest lecturer); Chicano Literature (guest lecturer); Spanish American Love Poetry (guest lecturer); Latino Popular Culture (guest lecturer)

Department of Languages and International Studies, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA
Adjunct Professor, 2002-04

Cultures of the World, Elementary Spanish I and II

School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Iowa
Teaching Assistant, 1991-92

Photojournalism, In-depth reporting and Writing; Advanced Reporting and Writing