Setting Up a Successful Journalistic Learning Community

Author: Esther Wojcicki
Subject: Social Sciences
Institution Name: Palo Alto High School
Collection: Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in K-12 Education
Grade Level: Secondary

Abstract: In this website, Wojcicki describes how participation in a journalistic learning community can motivate even the most recalcitrant student. The website includes sample copies of the newspaper, The Campanile and the magazine, Verde, which are examples of the kinds of student outcomes that can be achieved when students are excited about learning and have ownership of their learning and the product of their learning: the publications. Wojcicki's students have won several major national and international competitions over the past fifteen years. Both publications are self-supporting which means that all students in the program are responsible for learning how to sell ads and to interact with the community. This helps students develop important interpersonal skills and also acts as a public relations mechanism for the school and for the newspaper. It also brings the community closer to the school and makes people feel as though they are active participants in the education process.