The Epistemography of a Journalism Practicum: The Complex Mechanisms of Developing Journalistic Expertise

Hatfield, D. & Shaffer, D. W. (2010). The Epistemography of a Journalism Practicum: The Complex Mechanisms of Developing Journalistic Expertise. (WCER Working Paper 2010-10). Madison: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Center for Education Research.

http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/publications/workingPapers/Working_Paper_No_2010_10.php

As bloggers and mobile phone eyewitnesses increasingly supplement the “news,” understanding how professional journalists develop their expertise is more important than ever. This paper examines the learning processes within an intermediate-level reporting practicum course. Using epistemic network analysis, the authors explore emergent relationships within developing journalistic expertise. Understanding these relationships should be useful for journalism education as well as the design of research on learning environments.