Workshops
Communications and Media Studies: Balancing the “Social” and the “Science” to Inspire Academic Excellence
Workshop Presentation Ellen Derwin, Leigh Ann Wilson
Social Science disciplines are typically shaped by leaders in fields such as sociology, economics, psychology, and history. Communications and Media Studies, however, lives academically within and alongside many social science and other disciplines. With the omnipresence of global social media, “practitioners” are noticeable in everyday life outside of academia and range widely in age and experience. We could argue that anyone posting, tweeting, blogging and the like is a journalist, and we cannot deny everyone is a communicator. As a result of ever-present media in daily life, faculty at Brandman University observed that many students in their Bachelor’s degree program in Communications and Media tend to address assignments superficially as informal citizen practitioners rather as future communications professionals. Yet it is paramount for students to understand the “science” and not just the “social” component of social science in the media/communications field. This workshop will address pedagogical approaches to helping students dig deeper and prepare for careers. Participants will engage in activities to meet this challenge. They will also critique and brainstorm assignments that require the application of critical thinking skills and demonstrate relevance in the professional world. This session is relevant for faculty seeking to encourage students to go beyond the casual relationship with communications and media and inspire them to apply a sophisticated scientific lens to their studies. The session is also applicable to employers seeking to improve their pool of candidates by sharing ideas for student projects representing needs in the current and future workplace.
Building Relational Trust Beginning with Myself: Self-Reflection as an Equity Tool for Teachers
Workshop Presentation Dorothy Shapland Rodriguez
To successfully lead, reach, and teach a culturally and linguistically diverse set of students, teachers must become culturally responsive practitioners (Gay, 2002). The first steps in this journey center on self-examination and building relational trust with students (Gay 2013) in order to develop affirming views of students from diverse backgrounds (Villegas & Lucas, 2002). While this is true globally, it is also essential that this journey be driven by local context in order to effect educational change (Gay, 2015). Through discussion, reflection, and goal setting, participants will examine Culturally Responsive Teaching as a teacher's journey toward building stronger relationships within a specific community context so that every child can equitably express their own perspective in the classroom. Using personal identity, experience and background as the starting place, participants will explore ways to reach more students, without shame or blame for what was not known previously. Participants will consider their own background and perspectives as a jumping off point for more cultural responsiveness within their own community of learners, and develop tools for self-reflecting and supporting every student they encounter more equitably.
