Problem-based learning and critical analysis of practice in online news media

Abstract

Continuing assertions that undergraduate education must improve, in order to meet the needs of today's news media, challenge journalism teachers on two fronts: deciding what students need to know so they can serve as the next generation of journalists; and working out how to help students transfer their learning to real world situations. This paper examines the power of problem-based learning (PBL) as a teaching strategy. It demonstrates how PBL was applied to present students with a challenging problem, rooted in the real world of online news reporting, for which they did not have all the information needed to develop a solution. A positive outcome of this PBL episode was the depth of student reflection on their role (as future journalists) in responding to issues such as gender representative reporting.