CTE's Course Design Institute Empowers Instructors to Transform JMC 302

Redesigning a course can be daunting for any instructor. However, for Gerri Berendzen and Alyssa Appelman of KU's William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, the CTE's Course Design Institute provided crucial guidance and support. 

Berendzen, a lecturer, and Appelman, an associate professor, used the CDI to reimagine their JMC 302: Information Exploration course. The redesign, which Berendzen implemented in the summer semester and will carry forward into Appelman's fall classes, has already shown promising results. 

“In a way, it was great that I could start out right away and put the solutions to use in a summer class as a test run,” Berendzen said. 

Berendzen found that the CDI provided crucial guidance and confidence. 

 "When Alyssa and I decided to take the course, we knew there had to be some changes to JMC 302, and while we had some ideas... we weren't exactly sure how to approach the task," Berendzen said. "The CDI course gave us direction starting on the first day, and over the course of the three days, we refined the direction and added some new wrinkles." 

The key change involved breaking down complex research assignments into smaller, more manageable parts. This scaffolding approach allowed students to focus on specific skills each week, leading to improved understanding and performance. 

 One student attested to the success of this new structure, saying: "Breaking up the assignments helped me out tremendously. This was actually my second time taking J302, and I feel that the way it was structured this summer as opposed to last fall helped me pace myself and better understand the assignments."  

Berendzen noted that the CDI's collaborative environment was particularly beneficial. 

"I think a big bonus of the CDI is we heard ways people in other disciplines were handling issues similar to ours. I think we were sort of stuck in the JMC way of doing things and weren't thinking about how other disciplines approach things."  

The redesign led to more efficient use of class time and improved student outcomes. 

"Overall I had fewer students fail to pass through the class,” Berendzen said “Only 1 for a summer class of 33 students, where I had 6 for a spring class of 30 students."  

As Appelman prepares to teach the same course in the fall semester, the success of the summer course serves as a testament to the power of collaborative course design and the valuable role of the CDI in enhancing teaching methods at KU.