Teaching is learning and about learning. Learning about the topic in question. Learning about my students. Learning with them. Learning from them. I believe this is the most important lesson I realized when the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication gave me the opportunity to be instructor of record for the first time in 2011. Teaching, I now remind myself, is establishing a dialogue and accompanying meaningful discussion between and among all the people filling the classroom. Sharing of knowledge can only take place when and where there is a desire for communication. This is the approach I use to pursue my main goals as a teacher: encourage collaboration, foster inquiry, and develop professionalism.

The first time I taught—a freshmen-level survey of media industries meant to provide basic elements of media literacy—I ended up mostly lecturing and, in spite of my intentions, inevitably repeating a lot of information that already was in the book my students were required to read. It also felt like an arduous task. It took me some time to realize that, in fact, I was not on my own. There were another 45 people in that room who could help me and, in doing so, actually gain the most out of my expertise. Any and each of them could bring some piece of relevant information to the table and teach it to everybody. What I needed to do was spur them, and myself, to actively participate in a two-way process of “healthy discomfort.” I began to acknowledge that I don’t have all the answers; however, I also made a point of engaging with subjects I might be unfamiliar with. At the same time, I started asking my students to step into the role of co-teachers who also research those subjects and could share what they have learned.

Creating an ongoing conversation with and among the students on the topics of the course is what I have tried to do since that first year. I have them work in groups to analyze issues and case studies, do research on complex subjects, and explain what they have found to the entire class. For example, in classes about the relationship between mass media and popular culture, I assign reviews of the main ideas underlying communication theories. In professionally oriented reporting classes, I ask students to dissect and outline court trial procedures before having them cover an actual hearing. More generally, after reviewing the basics of the topic of the day, I devote the bulk of class time to talking with the students about the subject, asking them questions, giving them time to think and answer, and encouraging follow-up inquiries. I do my best to engage the students in a mutually profitable exchange—first and foremost on a human level.

Providing my guidance while pushing them to share what they know and learn has proven in my case much more effective than the pure lecturing I initially thought my job must be. This method has at least one other advantage: it seems to me to better nourish curiosity and a desire to learn, and to help develop critical thinking. I do my best to try to instill in my students a mindset that has them questioning continuously what they think they know, and applying theoretical knowledge to real life. Back to the courts reporting example, in our first meeting after they attended the hearing, I ask my student to compare the ideal situation described in textbooks with the actual experience of covering that part of the trial. What did they find most difficult? Why? How did they work around the obstacles that they inevitably encountered?

I use this dialogical approach to prod my students into coming up with original ideas for stories as well. I also have them cover real events (in addition to court trials, city council meetings and other public gatherings) from their first days in class. This allows me to motivate as well as push them out of their comfort zone. Then, I have them share all their assignments in order to perform peer review of the first draft of all their articles. They usually make an extra effort to come up with good stories and better writing, and demonstrate toughness but fairness when “grading” their fellows’ work. I still grade their final copy, but my task becomes supervising their work, accompanying and guiding their own learning process.

I believe it is my responsibility as a teacher in the sciences and crafts of media and communication to prepare the young minds I have the chance to encounter for a life filled with uncomfortable situations, and to help them develop the tools necessary to overcome difficulties. Engaging with them as with sensible and reliable professionals and human beings is the least I can do. Teaching them the skills of a trade is going to be of little value if I abdicate helping them internalize the professional and social responsibility that comes with entering the industry’s workforce as educated actors.

I have been a university instructor for only four years and am just starting to discover some of the myriad techniques that can make me an effective teacher. I invented none of these techniques. I have had the chance to work with and observe some great instructors in action and have been borrowing from each of them. Seasoned professors and graduate students alike have been models I already owe much to. It is an obligation of gratitude I am happy to have. I plan to augment my debt constantly, and hope to pay it back little by little, by being one day able to inspire someone else.

(November 2014)