According to Ed Madison, a professor at University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, “Acknowledging and honoring students’ intrinsic interests is often a gateway to deeper and more complex learning.”

This belief, and his subsequent research around it, led Madison to work with Esther Wojcicki, the creator of the esteemed journalism program at Palo Alto High School, and Tara Lynda Guber, the founder of Yoga Ed to establish the donor-funded Journalistic Learning Initiative (JLI), a program for middle and high school students. JLI is a collaboration between the School of Journalism and Communication and the College of Education.

It all started when Madison decided to pursue his Ph.D. in Mass Communications and Society. After a successful 30-year career in journalism, where he served as one of founding producers for CNN and then produced content for a number of major networks, studios, and record companies, Madison was ready for a change and went back to school.

“As part of my doctorate work,” explained Madison, “I had the opportunity to meet Esther Wojcicki and learn about the journalism program she created. Woj, as she is affectionately called, and the other dynamic instructors at Palo Alto High School are having a tremendous impact on kids. Their work inspired my dissertation and then the creation of JLI.”

Each year nearly one-third of Palo Alto High School’s 1800 students participate in its journalism program and they produce seven different publications, many of which consistently win top national honors. In addition, the program helps these students learn key skills around critical thinking, research, and collaboration that will help them throughout their lives.

Guber also has had a long commitment to transforming education. In addition to Yoga Ed., she was a founding member of the board of directors of The Accelerated School, an internationally recognized charter public school in South Central Los Angeles and TIME magazine Elementary School of the Year. When she heard Wojcicki speak about the Palo Alto program, she got involved.

Madison soon began to explore high school language arts instruction methods and journalism’s potential influence on the overall student learning process. His research found that high school journalism students rated social-situated learning, intrinsic motivation, and skill enhancement higher than their non-journalism counterparts did. This became the cornerstone of the JLI curricula.

Instead of learning from lectures and textbooks, journalistic-learning students complete situational-based work, which is aligned with their current course work or individual interests. For instance, one instructor asked her students to select a beat – such as robotics, arts or gaming – and find an expert to interview. Leveraging online databases and articles, students identified and scheduled in-person or Skype meetings with them. They then produced articles summarizing their findings.

From this activity, students gained practical experience citing sources, improved their proficiency in non-fiction reading, and developed better writing and editing skills. Students also benefited by having their work reviewed by peers before they published it online.

Another key element of the program is ensuring that busy middle and high school teachers have the right support. To address this issue, the JLI works with UO’s College of Education to match recent UO Journalism graduates with teachers. The graduates provide teachers with support helping them to identify and design specific projects. They also help each week in the classroom to answer technology questions, and they assist students with research.

The cost of implementing this program varies by location, but it is not as expensive as one might imagine. For $10,000 to $20,000, donors can underwrite a semester and make a huge difference in students’ lives. Moreover, donors have the opportunity to visit classrooms to see firsthand the impact they are making.

“We have quite a unique model and initial results have exceeded our expectations,” explained Madison. “Our intent is to aggressively scale these programs nationally.”  The first JLI pilot program took place during spring 2016 in Oregon. Additional pilot projects will take place in Los Angeles in 2017.

For more information on these programs, or to hear about them from the students themselves, please check out these videos.

• Student Engagement: https://vimeo.com/189396523
• Research Skills: https://vimeo.com/189396526
• Collaboration: https://vimeo.com/189396525
• Deep Questions: https://vimeo.com/189396638