Curriculum Library

In May 2013, the Journalism Education Association began work on its curriculum initiative, creating lesson plans across 14 content areas, complete with learning outcomes, assessments, evaluation guides, models and alignment to standards including the Common Core and Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Over the course of the next 11 months, JEA worked with 14 of its members — identified as national leaders in their area of expertise — to develop nearly 200 weeks worth of lessons to complement high school journalism classrooms across the country. Helping them were dozens of other JEA members, professionals and student journalists who volunteered their own ideas, materials and examples to benefit scholastic media advisers.

As important as this electronic resource is, it’s merely a portion of JEA’s curriculum initiative. Just as important is the ongoing commitment the organization is making to the effort. Curriculum leaders keep the curriculum current and dynamic by providing updated lesson plans and examples that reflect the newest trends and technology. They collaborate with other JEA committees such as certification and Career & Technical Education to ensure that the organization is at the forefront of defining 21st century journalism. They coordinate with our national Professional Advisory Committee to ensure our student learning objectives align with industry standards. They showcase their curriculum and lessons at national conventions and conferences. And they host online chats to not only discuss implementation of their module, but to coordinate discussion of best practices that will guide future development.

We welcome your feedback, suggestions, plaudits and corrections. Please feel free to email mfromm@d51schools.org, or contact specific curriculum leaders directly.