A Transformative Approach
Journalistic Learning is an inquiry-based, project-based approach that teaches research skills, critical thinking, writing, collaboration, and oral communication. By engaging in self-directed learning, students of all socioeconomic backgrounds discover their voice and improve academic outcomes.
What better way to learn journalistic skills than by doing as journalists do?
What Students Do
What Students Learn
Origins
Before Journalistic Learning was developed, the now globally-recognized educator, Esther Wojcicki founded Palo Alto High School’s scholastic journalism program in Palo Alto, California. If you were to walk into her classroom then, you’d hear students chattering and keyboards clicking. For Wojcicki, these were the sounds of an authentic educational experience. By treating her class like a newsroom, she enabled students to become the drivers of their own learning—chasing leads and covering topics that they were intrinsically passionate about.
In 2010, future JLI co-founder and Executive Director Ed Madison shared a panel with Wojcicki and three of her students at an academic conference at Stanford University. Wojcicki and her students left a lasting impression on Madison, and he wondered how such an approach might impact students in less affluent communities. What followed were years of research and collaboration between Madison, Wojcicki, and researchers at the University of Oregon, where Madison was pursuing his doctoral degree.
They discovered that by infusing journalistic strategies into required English Language Arts courses, students of all socioeconomic backgrounds exhibited high levels of engagement, improved academic outcomes, and increased confidence. This approach, now known as Journalistic Learning, empowers students to discover their voice and engage in self-directed learning through project-based storytelling. Today, more than 200 teachers across 19 states have led Journalistic Learning units in their classrooms by implementing JLI’s Effective Communicators Course. Students who complete journalistic projects emerge as critical thinkers, effective communicators, and conscientious digital citizens.
Issues JLI Students Have Covered
A core component of our approach is centering student interests. By inviting them to cover issues they’re passionate about, students are shown that their interests and experiences matter. These topics and more have been covered by students in our Effective Communicators course throughout the years and across the nation.
Issues JLI Students Have Covered
A core component of our approach is centering student interests. By inviting them to cover issues they’re passionate about, students are shown that their interests and experiences matter. These topics and more have been covered by students in our Effective Communicators course throughout the years and across the nation.
