Journalism Through Learning Design
A project exploring the connections between teaching, learning, and journalism.
By Geoff Decker
By Geoff Decker
Project Summary
Journalism Through Learning Design
At its core, journalism is a civic enterprise with a mission to help citizens better understand their world and communities. Fulfilling this lofty mission in today's digital media landscape poses new and evolving challenges, but it also presents a unique opportunity to reexamine the relationship between storytellers and their audiences. Advancements in the learning sciences in recent decades offer important and groundbreaking insights into how the mind works. In teaching and learning, pedagogical experts and practitioners increasingly utilize these insights to refine and implement instructional strategies that increase student engagement, motivation, and learning.
This capstone project for the CUNY Newmark Graduate School of Journalism aims to establish a framework for storytelling that engages audiences as learners, not merely as consumers. Read the full abstract here.
This capstone project for the CUNY Newmark Graduate School of Journalism aims to establish a framework for storytelling that engages audiences as learners, not merely as consumers. Read the full abstract here.
What if we thought about our audiences in the same ways that great teachers think about their students?
Framework Principles
Journalism Through Learning Design is organized into four learning principles.
Learning / Activation(Practices that spark interest, activate prior knowledge, surface misconceptions, and establish learning objectives.
Examples/Tools- Show, Ask, Gather, Co-Create (Starter Toolkit)
- News Quiz (NYT)
- Knowledge Quiz (San Dimas Community Post)
- Reader Survey (Chalkbeat)
- True/false Quiz (WaPo)
- Matching games (The City)
- Welcome videos (Geoff Decker – Notion)
- Quiz Creator (UT Austin Center for Media Engagement)
- Retrieval Practice Tech Tools
Knowledge / BuildingContent that is clearly organized, multimodal, and aligned with the story's learning objectives.
Examples/Tools- Visual storytelling (Knight Lab)
- Weekly Obsession Newsletter (Quartz)
- News Fluency Templates (API)
- Texting (AmericaAmplified)
- Plain-language writing (Nieman/ProPublica)
- Axioms (AxiosHQ)
- Audience-centered content (Hearken Voter Guide)
Community / CollaborationA collaborative learning environment that is inclusive, welcoming, and civil. Structured, effectively facilitated social gatherings and activities that promote discussion.
Examples:- Reader focus groups (Local News Lab)
- Community Playbook (Listening Post Collective)
- Personalized videos (Learning Without Walls)
- Digital learning communities (Out-of-Pocket Slack Channel)
- Reader advisory boards (Chalkbeat)
- Listening tours (Chalkbeat)
- Virtual town halls (New York Times Events)
Application / ReflectionApproaches that promote deeper reflection, drive civic action, and build competencies.
Examples:- Game-based interactive elements (Meet Your Mayor – The City)
- Simulations (Miami Herald)
- Crowdsourcing local news (Brian Lehrer Show)
- Summative news quizzes (NYT Weekly News Quiz)
Articles
Examples that activate prior knowledge, engage audiences, and embrace "multimodal" content.
Service journalism, explanatory journalism, learning outcomes, plain language writing, and more.
Four principles for storytelling that promote audience learning.
Video Overview
In this 3-minute video, I share three examples of journalism that promotes audience learning.
"The conventional 800-word news story is maybe the closest thing there is to a 'lecture.'"
Get in touch.
Educating Storytelling Portfolio
I am an award-winning journalist and education writer with more than 15 years of working in multimedia storytelling. This capstone project for the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY includes a selection of published work that demonstrates mastery and application of a wide range of reporting skills, media tools, and subject knowledge.
"Needless to say, the last two weeks have really tested our character and our resilience and, in my opinion, you guys passed in flying colors."
"I tell them that I am Indian," said Mr. Meza, a parade participant from the Tlaxcala tribe. "They say, 'But you're Mexican.' And I say, 'But I'm Indian.' "
Test your knowledge on the best practices and latest research about how students learn.
