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News media literacy among communication majors at Christian University: an evaluation study

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News media literacy among communication majors at Christian University: an evaluation study

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Content Running head: NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

News Media Literacy Among Communication Majors at
Christian University: An Evaluation Study
by
Robert D. Dickson

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

December, 2019

Copyright 2019 Robert D. Dickson
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU
ii

DEDICATION
To my wife, Debbie, who supports me at every turn, and who never complained about the
missed meals and study Saturdays. To my daughters, Darragh and Melissa, who cheered me on
every step of the way. To my dad, Ron, who made me do all my homework growing up, and
who still inspires me to be my best. And to my mom, Ronnie, who never lets me believe I can’t
accomplish my dreams, and who always wanted her son to “be a doctor.” There’s no lab coat,
Mom, but I hope this suffices!

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First off, thank you to my wonderful and supportive dissertation chair, Dr. Kathy Stowe.
From our first meeting at Immersion I all the way through the to my defense and beyond, you
steered me in the right direction. Your insight and feedback were invaluable.
Second, thank you to my two other outstanding dissertation committee members, Dr.
Monique Datta and Dr. Adrian Donato. Your advice and accessibility along the way kept me on
track and helped me complete a dissertation I am proud of. Thank you, also, for your kindness
and friendship along the way. I am honored to call you friends.
Thank you, also, to Dr. Eric Canny, who began as a member of my dissertation
committee and finished as assistant chair to Dr. Stowe. More than once, you talked me off the
ledge and convinced me to fight on. I cannot adequately express my deepest gratitude for
making yourself so available to me when I needed guidance the most. I was moved by your care
of me as a student and I will never forget your example of what it means to be a teacher. You
made me a better student and a better professor.
Finally, thank you to Dr. David Wismer, whose generosity made all of this possible. By
approaching my institution with your offer to financially support my pursuit of a doctoral degree,
you opened all the doors. I will be forever grateful to you for your steadfastness through many
institutional changes, and for your sacrifice. Because of you, I never had to carry the burden of
student loans, and that will bless my family for many, many years to come. It hope to make you
proud of your investment in me.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication ii
Acknowledgements iii
List of Tables viii
List of Figures x
Abstract xi
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Introduction to the Problem of Practice 1
Organizational Context and Mission 1
Organizational Goal 2
Related Literature 3
Importance of the Evaluation 5
Description of Stakeholder Groups 6
Stakeholders’ Performance Goals 7
Purpose of the Project and Questions 8
Methodological Framework 8
Definition of Terms 9
Organization of the Study 10
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 11
Development and Characteristics of News Media Literacy 11
Changes in Journalism and the Necessity of News Media Literacy 14
News Media Literacy and Democracy 17
Effectiveness of News Media Literacy in Higher Education 17
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Stakeholder Knowledge and Motivation Influences 20
Clark and Estes 20
Knowledge and Skills 21
Knowledge Influences 21
Motivation Influences 29
Stakeholder Organizational Influences 35
Cultural Models and Cultural Settings 36
Conceptual Framework 42
Conclusion 49
Chapter 3: Methodology 50
Research Questions 51
Participating Stakeholders 51
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale 52
Interview Group Recruitment Strategy and Rationale 53
Data Collection and Instrumentation 53
Interviews 54
Documents and Artifacts 57
Credibility and Trustworthiness 58
Ethics 59
Limitations and Delimitations 61
Chapter 4: Result and Findings 62
Participating Stakeholders 63
Results and Findings 64
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Results and Findings for Knowledge Influences 65
Results and Findings for Motivation Influences 77
Results and Findings for Organizational Influences 83
Summary 95
Chapter 5: Recommendations 97
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences 99
Knowledge Recommendations 99
Motivation Recommendations 104
Organizational Recommendations 107
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 112
Implementation and Evaluation Framework 112
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations 113
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators 114
Level 3: Behavior 115
Level 2: Learning 118
Level 1: Reaction 122
Evaluation Tools 123
Data Analysis and Reporting 123
Summary 127
Limits and Delimitations 127
Recommendations for Further Research 128
Conclusion 129
References 132
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Appendix A: Interview Protocol 141
Appendix B: C382 Persuasion: Grading Rubrics 146

Appendix C: C472 Rhetorical Criticism: Grading Rubrics 149

Appendix
D:
CU Assessment Rubrics And Signature Assignments 151

Appendix E: Survey Items 156

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Organizational Mission, Global Goal, and Stakeholder 6
Performance Goals

Table 2. Knowledge influences, Types, and Assessments for 25
Knowledge Gap Analysis

Table 3. Motivational Influences and Assessments for Motivation 33
for Gap Analysis

Table 4. Organizational Influences on CU’s Adoption of News 40
Media Curricula

Table 5. Summary of Validated Assumed Knowledge Needs 76
Table 6. CU Communication Department PLO’s by Emphasis, 81
Identified as News Media Literacy Related or Not News Media
Literacy Related

Table 7. Summary of Validated Assumed Motivation Needs 83
Table 8. Participants’ Comments About Whether They Think They 87
Would Be Supported by CU Leadership if a Student Accused Them
of Bringing An Artifact To Class That Violated the School’s Doctrinal
Statement

Table 9. CU Oral Communication PLO’s Connected to the General 92
Education Requirement C100 Spoken Communication Course, Identified
as News Media Literacy Related or Not News Media Literacy Related

Table 10. Summary of Validated Assumed Organizational Needs 94
Table 11. Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Recommendations 97
Table 12. Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 100
Table 13. Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 105
Table 14. Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations 108
Table 15. Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal 114
Outcomes

Table 16. Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation 115
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Table 17. Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors 116
Table 18. Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program 121
Table 19. Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 122

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Interactive Conceptual Framework 44
Figure 2. CU Communication Department Faculty Participants 64
Years of Service and Professional Rank

Figure 3. Level Four (Results) Assessment Results 125
Figure 4. Level Three (Behavior) Assessment Results 125
Figure 5. Level Two (Learning) Assessment Results 126
Figure 6. Level One (Reaction) Survey Results 126

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ABSTRACT
This study employed a mixed method approach to assess the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences affecting full-time and adjunct communication professors’ ability to
add news media literacy curricula to their courses. Eight professors from a small Christian
liberal arts university in California participated in semi-structured interviews. Document review
of department grading rubrics and institutional stated learning objectives was also employed.
Results from the study revealed that professors possessed knowledge of news media
literacy, but felt they needed more if news media literacy were to become a benchmarked
component of department curricula. Professors felt that news media literacy was a mission
match for the school, and were motivated to adopt it, assuming they could receive the training
they felt they needed. In addition, department and institutional rubrics reflected that key
components of news media literacy are currently present in what the school intends its students
to learn. Regarding organizational influences, the study revealed that some professors were
concerned that confronting student confirmation bias, a hallmark of news media literacy training,
could be misconstrued by students and/or administration as contradicting the institution’s strict
doctrinal statement, which could put their employment at risk. Some professors also lacked
confidence that the University would provide support in the form of professional development
and temporary course relief to design and implement news media literacy curricula.
Findings from this study indicate the need for faculty training in news media literacy
pedagogy and clear line of communication between faculty and senior administration to ensure
mutual understanding of how the new curriculum, as well as how it would be taught, fits the
school’s mission. Training and course relief also need to be implemented as part of a
comprehensive plan to design and implement the new curriculum.
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Introduction to the Problem of Practice
The traditional journalism model is undergoing rapid and disruptive change that affects
how news media is being consumed. Thirty-eight percent of people under 30 now get their news
“regularly” or “sometimes” through Facebook, Twitter, or some other social media website (Pew
Research Center, 2011). This trend in media consumption has triggered concern because social
media sites, unlike traditional news agencies, are not held to rigorous journalistic standards
(Burroughs, Brocato, Hopper, & Sanders, 2009), so the shift toward using social media as the
source for news and information puts the onus on consumers to decide for themselves what is
true and what is false (Kahne & Boyer, 2016). The proliferation of poorly vetted, “fake news”
stories across social media platforms has generated a lack of trust in news reporting (Burroughs
et al., 2009) and contributes to an environment where individuals cherry pick their version of the
truth and cannot agree on a common set of facts (Kahne & Boyer, 2016). To combat today’s
“fake news” media culture, which is characterized by loosening journalistic standards and
disappearing news gatekeepers, individuals must become news media literate; they must be able
to discern truth from error in reporting, as well a straightforward news piece from an editorial,
and an editorial from propaganda (Loth, 2012). This problem is important to address because a
media literate, and thus an informed citizenry, is crucial to a healthy democracy (Burroughs et
al., 2009).
Organizational Context and Mission
The school of focus in this study is Christian University (CU), a private Christian liberal
arts University in southern California. The University is home to approximately 900 on-campus
students in its undergraduate and graduate programs, and close to 400 students enrolled in online
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graduate and undergraduate degree programs. Of CU’s on-campus student body, 53% are
female and 47% are male. Eleven percent of the student body are international students.
Approximately 87% of on-campus students are Caucasian. The University endeavors to equip its
graduates to follow their Christian faith in vocational and pastoral career paths. This mission is
articulated by an extensive doctrinal statement that covers central elements of Christianity, such
as the nature of man, the nature of God, the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, salvation, the
role of the church, eschatology, and Christian living. All faculty and staff must agree to the
doctrinal statement as a condition of employment.
Organizational Goal
By May 2021, the Communication Department at CU will implement a department-wide
news media literacy initiative to help communication department seniors score at or above 80%
on a department news media literacy exam by the end of the following year. The goal of
establishing a consistent level of proficiency in news media literacy is consistent with CU’s
organizational need and mission to equip communication graduates to impact the world through
thoughtful, responsible engagement with current events, which involves the critical element of
being able to discern a news story that is true (adequately supported and free from bias) from a
story that is not true (inadequately supported and exhibiting bias). This organizational goal was
established by the entire CU Communication Department faculty, and it reflects CU’s larger
organizational goal of preparing its graduates to be able to think critically about the world around
them and to interact intelligently with ideologies for the sake of advancing the gospel and to be
able to give an answer for why they believe what they believe.

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Related Literature
This section will demonstrate through current literature the lack of news media literacy
among higher education students in the United States. It will also show that the need for news
media literacy is becoming greater in proportion to media consumers’ dependence on social
media as a news source. Finally, this section will demonstrate through relevant case studies that
news media literacy can be effectively taught and applied at the higher education level.
Students attending colleges and universities in the United States lack basic news media
literacy skills. More specifically, students in higher education in the United States demonstrate a
growing lack in ability to think critically in order to discern truth from error when analyzing and
evaluating media (Mihailidis, 2009). Burroughs et al. (2009) reported that students are
demonstrating a greater “disconnect” in their ability to analyze media. They argue that
proficiencies in students’ ability to synthesize, interpret, and verify media messages are falling
below the level needed to cope with the increased volume of messages these students receive.
These findings are supported by Mihailidis (2009), who found in a 2008 study that U.S. college
students cannot consistently analyze for meaning in media messages. College students studied
showed an inability to ask the “right” questions when asked to analyze potential reasons for
violence on television (Mihailidis, 2009).
The problem of media illiteracy is further exacerbated by the ubiquitous nature of
messages coming in the digital age. Loth (2012) asserts that college students and recent college
graduates require greater media literacy than previous generations because they are far more
likely to get their news from “non-traditional” and un-vetted online sources than their
predecessors. This assertion is supported by a 2011 biennial study survey by the Pew Research
Center on People and the Press, which found that 38% of people under the age of 30 get their
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news “regularly or sometimes” through Facebook, Twitter, or some other social media site. Loth
(2012) also reported that a Knight Foundation survey from the same year found that 76% of
people under the age of 30 use social media at least several times a week to get their news.
Moreover, college students believe they are more media savvy than they actually are. In
a questionnaire polling 409 U.S. college students, Schmidt (2012) reported that despite their
comfort and familiarity with digital media, students do not regularly use social media for high-
level learning/inquiry or communicative engagement (i.e., critical thinking and analysis). At
best, Schmidt (2012) found that college students’ interaction with messages in the digital space is
passive; it does not rise to the level of critical inquiry and assessment. This lack of news media
literacy, problematic in its own right, becomes a larger concern when coupled with news
consumers’ growing dependence on non-traditional news sources, and their willingness to
believe whatever they find online.
Flanagin and Metzger (2000) asserted that the delivery system of a message (i.e., social
media vs. a newspaper) does not affect students’ attitudes on the veracity of the content. The
researchers conducted a survey of 1,041 respondents at undergraduate university communication
programs. The study revealed that respondents did not consider news obtained from the Internet
as significantly less reliable than TV or magazines. In fact, respondents ranked the Internet as
the second most reliable source, behind only the newspaper. Moreover, Kahne and Boyer (2016)
reported that college students are more likely to believe false stories that confirm what they
already believe. The authors also found that this confirmation bias is so strong in the subject of
politics that it is unaffected by greater political knowledge.
Recent research indicates that purposeful instruction in news media literacy can have a
positive effect on college students’ media literacy skills, equipping them to participate
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intelligently and effectively in the digital exchange of information and ideas. The key is
intentionality. Where media literacy is made an intentional component of a college’s general
education requirements, news media literacy can be acquired (Fleming, 2014). In a case study of
Stony Brook University’s pilot program in news literacy, Fleming (2014) reports that students
who enrolled in the school’s news literacy course were better prepared to engage with various
news stories than those students who did not. They were able to ask and answer critical
questions about a story’s veracity, its sources, its authors, its evidence, its context, and its
purpose (Fleming 2014). A prior study of Stony Brook’s program found that students taking the
news literacy course reported being “more thoughtful and engaged as readers,” and 56% said
they now verify news stories before reposting them via social media (Loth, 2012). According to
Kahne and Bower (2016), students’ confirmation biases tended to decline after they were
exposed to training in media literacy.
The benefits of media literacy training extend beyond helping students acquire greater
ability to do research and discern truth from error. It has broader positive effects on how the
choices people make as consumers and in the voting booth (Wittebols, 2016). The researcher
argued that the speed and ubiquity of the Internet gives young readers a false sense of trust in its
contents. They are less likely to check facts before sharing stories via social media, which
exacerbates the problem. Without social media training, this vicious cycle creates a whirlpool of
misleading information, and this misleading information forms a basis upon which news
consumers decide what they buy and how they vote (Wittebols, 2016).
Importance of the Evaluation
It is important to evaluate CU’s performance in relation to the performance goal of 100%
of Communication graduates scoring 80% or higher on a department news media literacy test for
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two primary reasons. First, if the Communication Department cannot meet its goal, that would
indicate that it is out of step with its global goal of equipping students to impact communities for
Christ through the purposeful, skilled, and strategic utilization of interpersonal and mass media
messages across all media. Students who cannot claim to be news media literate lack a key
component necessary to responsibly wield various media to affect change. Second, a substantial
gap in achievement would also indicate a failure in Communication Department’s contribution to
achieving CU’s global mission to empower students for a life of enduring commitment to Christ,
intellectual growth, and lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God worldwide. CU’s
communication majors are supposed to make “lasting contributions,” specifically through the use
of media and messages. If graduating seniors do not possess news media literacy at threshold
levels, their contributions will occur in spite of their studies, not because of them.
Description of Stakeholder Groups

There are three stakeholder groups tied to the implementation of a news media literacy
course within the CU Communication Department. The first is the 150 CU communication
majors currently enrolled. These students are either non-emphasis communication majors, or are
pursuing emphases in either Journalism, Creative Writing and Publishing, Cinema and Digital
Arts, or Speech Communication. The second stakeholder group is the CU Communication
Department faculty, of which there are four full-time members and 10-15 adjunct members. The
third stakeholder group is the CU Academic Affairs Council, which would weigh in on the
adoption of such a program, and conceivably benefit from its successful implementation.
Table 1.
Organizational mission, global goal, and stakeholder goals

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Stakeholder Performance Goals
While it is important to note the significance of all three stakeholder groups named in this
study, the key group to meeting the organizational goal is the CU Communication Department
faculty. The full-time professors are the ones who will develop the curriculum, and, along with
the adjunct faculty members, they will execute and assess the curriculum, regardless of the level
of involvement from other stakeholder groups. The stakeholders’ goal is to adopt news media
curricula into current courses by May 2021 for the purpose of seeing all graduating seniors score
80% or higher on a department news media literacy test the following year. The test, which will
be created by the communication department faculty, will assess students’ skill at determining in
veracity of news stories published in print and online formats, as well as via broadcast and social
media platforms. If the stakeholders cannot meet this goal, it is questionable as to whether or not
the department is achieving the organizational goal of equipping its students to make lasting
Organizational Mission
The mission of the Communication Department of Christian University is to empower students for
a life of enduring commitment to Christ, intellectual growth, and lasting contribution to the
Kingdom of God worldwide.
Organizational Performance Goal
By May 2022, 100% of CU Communication Department students will score 80% or higher on a
Communication Deptartment news media literacy test.
CU Academic Affairs
Council

By April 2019, Academic
Affairs will approve the
Communication Department
news media initiative.
CU Communication
Faculty

By May 2021, Communication
Department faculty will adopt news
media curricula into current courses
for the purpose of seeing all
graduating seniors score 80% or
higher on a department news media
literacy test.

CU Communication
Students

By May 2022, 100%
of communication.
students will score
80% or higher on
Communication
Department news
media literacy test.

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contributions to the Kingdom of God worldwide, specifically through responsible utilization of
media platforms.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influences that might help or hinder
members of the full-time faculty at CU in their efforts to successfully develop and implement
news media curricula into their courses. The analysis focused on the areas of knowledge and
skill, motivation, and organizational issues. While a complete performance evaluation would
focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes the stakeholder of focus for this study was the
CU Communication Department faculty.
The questions that guided this study are as follows:
1. What are the CU Communication Department faculty’s knowledge and motivation
related to achieving the goal of 100% of CU seniors scoring at 80% or higher on a
department news media literacy test?
2. What is the interaction between the CU’s organizational culture and context and the
communication department’s knowledge and motivation as it relates to 100% of
communication seniors scoring at 80% or higher on a department news media literacy
test?
3. What are the recommendations for CU’s practice in the areas of knowledge, motivation,
and organizational resources?
Methodological Framework
This project utilized Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis model to identify performance
gaps and evaluate knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences affecting the adaptation
of news media literacy curricula within the Communication Department at CU. Data gathering
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and analysis for this study focused on a qualitative approach. Using a series of one-on-one
interviews, the study collected responses aimed at illuminating stakeholders’ knowledge and
motivational influencers as they relate to stated organizational goals. Additionally, stakeholders’
attitudes regarding organizational culture and resources and their effect of organizational goals
was also examined. Stakeholders’ performance was also studied by examining specified grading
rubrics. Research-based solutions were recommended and evaluated in a comprehensive
manner.
Definition of Terms
Fake News. An intentionally fabricated story, typically published electronically and
subsequently shared, that presents itself as true in order to sow confusion (Pew Research Center,
2016).
Media Literacy. Ability to access, utilize, analyze, and evaluate media
(Aufderheide, 1993).
News Media Literacy. Ability to assess and close the gap between representation and
reality in news media messages (Ashley, Maksl, & Craft, 2013).
Social Media. “Internet-based channels that allow users to interact and selectively self-
present, either in real-time or asynchronously, with both broad and narrow audiences who derive
value from user-generated content and the perception of interaction with others” (Carr & Hayes,
2015, pp. 49-50).
Confirmation Bias. One’s propensity for searching, interpreting, recalling, and
believing information so that it confirms preexisting beliefs. (Plous, 1993).

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Organization of the Study
This dissertation is organized into five distinct chapters. Chapter One frames the
proposed problem of practice and the importance of the problem. It also identifies key concepts
the organization, its mission, and key stakeholder groups. Chapter Two provides a review of the
literature as it relates to news media literacy, as well as the methodological framework that
guided the study. Topics addressed in the literary review include the history and growth of the
field, the role of news media literacy in a democracy, the role of news media literacy in light of
changing journalism models of vetting and delivery, and the effectiveness of recent news media
literacy curriculum initiatives in higher education. Chapter Three details the qualitative and
document analysis approaches to data gathering and analysis, including choice of
participants/documents and protocols followed. Issues of credibility, validity, and ethics are also
addressed. In Chapter Four the data and results are described and analyzed. Chapter Five
provides recommended solutions for the problem of practice based on collected data and
literature.
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CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This literature review will examine possible root causes of gaps in student acquisition of
news media literacy at Christian University (CU). The review will begin with an historic
overview of news media literacy in its various forms as defined by current research. It will track
the arc of media literacy from its origins as a form of critical theory, its broadening definition to
incorporate a form of technological fluency providing societal access, and finally its newer,
narrowed definition to mean an individual’s ability to discern truth from error in news reporting
across all forms of media. Next, the review will explore the correlation between news media
literacy and what the literature describes as responsible participation in the democratic process.
It will explore what the literature reveals about the role of news media literacy in a society,
focusing specifically on disruptive changes in the modern journalism model and what it means
for the health of a democracy. Finally, the review will include current research on effects of
news media literacy programs currently in place in institutions of higher education in the United
States. Following the general research literature, this review will apply the Clark and Estes
(2008) Gap Analysis Framework to the acquisition of news media literacy by higher education
students. Specifically, the review will examine the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
factors that affect the ability of communication professors at CU to adopt news media into their
curricula so that communication students become news media literate.
Development and Characteristics of News Media Literacy
History and Growth of the Field
“News media literacy” is a relatively new term, but its antecedent terms, “media
literacy,” “critical media literacy,” “information literacy,” and “new/twenty-first-century
literacy” have been a part of the education vernacular for decades (Kellner & Share, 2007). The
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emergence of each subsequent term reflects changes in the societal and technological landscape
that have necessitated new thinking about how individuals interact with information, and how
educators utilize pedagogical theory to prepare students to interact with media.
“Media literacy” and “critical media literacy.” Media literacy as a focus of formal
study can be traced to the work of the Frankfurt School, since it was from this school of thought
that the ideological critique of media began (Westbrook, 2011). The Frankfurt School resulted
from the exodus of German Jews to Hollywood during the reign of the Nazi Party (Westbrook,
2011). These exiled scholars founded a school of thought that in part examined the function of
mass media’s value-embedded messages on an unsuspecting culture, specifically how the power
elite utilized media to maintain hegemonic control (Westbrook, 2011). Viewed through the
prism of its origins, the cultivation of media literacy can be seen, historically speaking, as
developing a critical understanding of how messages delivered across mass media affect the
ethos of a culture, and how media are manipulated intentionally to enforce or reinforce ways of
thinking (Westbrook, 2011).
As the theory surrounding critical media literacy grew, so too did scholars’ and
educators’ recognition that media literacy was critical to develop through advances in
pedagogical theory and practice. Studies on how to teach media literacy in a classroom setting
produced a broad scope of teaching theory to include academic disciplines such as socio
linguistics, ethnography, cultural anthropology, and political science, and incorporate critical
analysis of themes such as power, social justice, race, class, gender, and culture (Kellner &
Share, 2005). In short, media literacy and critical media literacy became synonymous with an
educational approach aimed at making media consumers aware of their media environments and
increasing their critical thinking about media representations (Silverblatt, 2014). As Kellner and
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Share (2015) put it, media literacy helps people to use media intelligently, to discriminate and
evaluate media content, to critically dissect media forms, to investigate media effects and uses,
and to construct alternative media. Klosterman, Sadler, and Brown (2012) add that educators
must understand that it is essential for students to understand the constructed nature of media and
become better prepared to make critical decisions regarding how to find, interpret, and evaluate
the messages delivered through media.
“Information literacy” and “new/twenty-first-century literacy.” As technological
advances such as the personal computer became ubiquitous, media literacy broadened its
definition. It began to be viewed as the degree to which an individual can utilize the tools of
mass media to create his or her own messages (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2016). From this
perspective, media literacy was considered a passport into society. Educators embraced this new
branch of media literacy in part because it represented a potential equalizer within society, while
at the same time it presented yet another potential gap between those with the access to become
fluent in communication technology and those without (Kellner & Share, 2015). To educators,
literacy became more than just knowing how to read. By the mid 1990s, educators and policy
makers, eager to develop students’ media literacy, began to identify students’ ability to navigate
media messages as vital to a modern education (Vaičiūnienė & Mažeikienė, 2016). This broader
application of media literacy, termed “information literacy,” grew exponentially with the advent
of the Internet and the explosion of available ways of accessing and transferring information
(Martin, 2011). Educators viewed information literacy as providing a framework for addressing
the explosion of information that had become available through electronic means (Martin, 2011).
Because educators recognized information literacy as a means to encourage self-sufficient
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learners in the digital age, they prioritized the need for teaching competency in decoding media
messages, and sought new ways to incorporate information literacy into curricula (Martin, 2011).
Changes in Journalism and the Necessity of News Media Literacy
At this point in the literature review, it is necessary to shift the focus slightly to an
adjacent, historical track. To fully understand the continued development of media literacy into
the arena of news media literacy, and to comprehend the motives behind the development of the
news media literacy field, one must consider the evolution of journalism in the United States.
While the nature of this review will not allow a comprehensive treatise on the undulations of
journalistic history since Jamestown, a general overview will suffice. Of note, newspapers in
America were not traditionally objective. In fact, publications in pre-Revolutionary War
America earned the label, “Partisan Press” for their unabashed allegiance to various economic
and political causes, most notably the growing conflict with England (Campbell et al., 2016;
Kuypers, 2014). For the first 100 years of U.S. history, newspapers were notoriously biased and
sensational, and typically subject to the whims of capricious owners and publishers who openly
feuded with political rivals (Campbell et al., 2016). It was not until civil war broke out in the
1860’s that the reading public, desperate for accurate information, began to demand greater
objectivity in news reporting, and the industry responded accordingly (Kuypers, 2014). By the
end of World War II, according to Kuypers (2014), news reporting was fully entrenched what he
calls the golden age of objectivism.
The next significant shift in U.S. journalism was the move toward a more interpretative
approach to telling the news across all forms of available media. Scholars disagree on precisely
when the shift occurred, however. Kuypers (2014) attributes the shift to the advent of television
news and the complexities in covering the war in Vietnam and the great cultural shift of the
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15
1960s. Campbell et al. (2016) argue that the shift began as early as the late 1920s, when the U.S.
abandoned its isolationist policies and entered World War I, and readers needed more than just
the facts to understand the complexities of global politics and conflicts. Regardless of when the
shift toward interpretative journalism began, by the late twentieth century, it was standard fare
for television, print, and radio journalism; facts provided by reporters, news anchors, and radio
hosts were augmented by commentary and interpretative analysis (Campbell et al., 2016;
Kuypers, 2014; Schiffer, 2018). Readers depended more and more on the news to not only tell
them the facts, but also to tell them how they might think about those facts (Campbell et al.,
2016; Kuypers, 2014; Schiffer, 2018).
News media consumers’ greater dependence on the news to help them interpret the world
around them eventually became the catalyst for media literacy’s next iteration: news media
literacy. It began in the late 1990s with the adoption of the World Wide Web into modern U.S.
cultural practice. The Internet hit the newspapers’ economic model especially hard, as readers
migrated from print to electronic versions of the paper to get their news. During the first decade
of the twenty-first century, print newspaper circulation declined 25%, and by 2013, circulation
dropped an additional 13% (Campbell et al., 2016). Such a precipitous drop in circulation
caused commensurate dips in advertising revenue for newspapers, which remained heavily
dependent on income from print ads distributed with the printed paper; revenue from digital ads
did not keep pace (Campbell et al., 2016). The resulting economic crisis in print journalism can
be seen in industry-wide layoffs in editorial staff and collapsing newspapers in cities across the
United States (Campbell et al., 2016).
The economic squeeze on print journalism, coupled with the rise of strictly digital
journalism sites such as Politco and The Huffington Post, blog sites, and social media platforms,
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16
created a journalistic model where stories can be posted and shared worldwide, at little to no
cost, and with little to none of the traditional vetting that took place under the fading model of
print newspaper dominance, when newspapers acted as the gatekeepers, verifying stories and
placing a premium on accuracy and reliability over speed (Campbell et al., 2016; Kahne &
Bowyer, 2016; Kuypers, 2014; Loth, 2012; Schiffer, 2018).
The breakdown of traditional news agencies as information gatekeepers has disrupted not
only how people receive their news, but also the quality of the news they receive. Thirty-eight
percent of people under 30 say they get their news from social media (Pew Research Center,
2011). Social media news sites do not offer the same rigorous vetting standards as traditional
news sites do (Loth, 2012). Traditional news gatekeepers (newspaper, TV, and radio) are being
challenged by Internet media sources. Gatekeepers as news agencies have given way to
“gatewatchers” and “way-finding,” where users decide what news passes through their filters.
“Way-finders” bypass “gatekeepers” that typically vet stories, which exposes them to “fake
news” (Pearson & Kosicki, 2017). As gatekeepers become less relevant, video news consumers
are vulnerable to PR that poses as fact. Research show that when viewers are not told a virtual
news release (VNR) does not disclose its source, for example, viewers are more likely to accept
it as true (Nelson & Park, 2014). In a survey of PR executives, 92% indicated “distribution of
fake news” as a potential ethical problem for the PR industry (USC Annenberg, 2018). In the
same survey, 91% identified “purposeful distortion of the truth” as a potential ethical problem in
PR. The danger of unreliable news stories is exacerbated by news consumers’ lack of caution
about where and how they get their news. A study of 1,041 undergraduate college students
found that respondents did not consider news obtained from the Internet as significantly less
reliable than TV or magazines (Flanagin & Metzger, 2000).
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News Media Literacy and Democracy
The proliferation of un-vetted “news” sites generates an impact on the health of a
functioning democracy, and this makes the case for the advent of news media literacy as a new
field on academic study. Feldman (2015) argues that voters determine the direction of public
policy in a democracy, and for this reason it is important for voters to have a well-rounded
understanding of the issues. Conversely, he claims that low levels of media literacy leads to a
lack of robust participation in “civil” discussion about issues on social media platforms, that
social media encourages a homogenous approach to information gathering, which confirms
biases while shutting out opposing views (Feldman, 2015).
Kahne and Bowyer (2016) found that college students self-report that their voting
patterns are based “mostly” on the news they receive, and that they are more likely to believe
news stories they read online if those stories confirm what they already believe. This shift
toward social media as a source for news puts the onus on the news consumer to filter truth from
error, as the ubiquity and speed of the Internet gives readers a false sense of trust in its contents
(Kahne & Bowyer, 2016). Without training in news media literacy, news consumers can become
easy prey for purveyors of fake news, which can profoundly affect decisions they make
regarding what they buy and how they vote (Wittebols, 2016).
Effectiveness of News Media Literacy Initiatives in Higher Education
As the need for news media literacy has grown, colleges and universities have begun
exploring ways to build it into their curriculum with mixed results. Ashley et al. (2013) make
the claim that the crux of modern media literacy is an assumed gap between representation and
reality in news reporting, and that the gap must be addressed. College professors agree that
media literacy is important to teach, but do not agree on how to teach it (Ashley et al., 2013).
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Ashley (2015) concluded that the teaching of context in media should be prioritized, especially
political and economic context. The researcher also asserted that the pursuit of this this kind of
contextual teaching will require instructors to implement an approach that leads to more creative
and active student engagement (Ashley, 2015). A study of 170 college students who took a
course in media literacy reported that students became more skeptical and critical of news stories
after taking a course in news media literacy (Mihailidis, 2009). The study also revealed that
students who took the course came away with a stronger sense of the importance of unbiased
news reporting in the function of a democracy. Students who enrolled in the school’s news
media literacy course were better prepared to engage with various news stories than those
students who did not. They could tell the difference between a news piece, and editorial, errors
in logic, and unsubstantiated propaganda (Fleming, 2014).
At the forefront of higher education initiatives to adopt news media literacy curricula is
Stony Brook University in New York. The program was designed by Howard Schneider, a
former editor of Newsday Magazine. In the program, students enroll in a 14-week course
designed to teach them to analyze media stories for accuracy by asking questions such as, “who
is telling me this?” “How do I know this is accurate?” and “What sources corroborate this
story?” (Loth, 2012). The idea behind the program is to scale it to other colleges and
universities, and Loth (2012) reports that 29 universities have experimented with the program
and another 85 high schools and community colleges have adopted a version of it as well.
Early reports attribute a level of success at Stony Brook. Initial program evaluations
have found that students taking the media literacy course reported being “more thoughtful and
engaged as readers,” and 56% said they now verify news stories before reposting them via social
media (Loth, 2012).
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However, there are critics to Stony Brook’s approach. Some argue that scaling the
program is unreasonable given the economic realities within higher education. Stony Brook,
they argue, enjoyed administrative support from a president who is also a former journalist, as
well as a seven-figure grant from the James L. Knight Foundation (Loth, 2012). For other
schools to successfully adopt news media literacy curricula, she argues, they will need similar
support both organizationally and financially. Loth (2012) also reports that there are some who
argue against news media literacy on principle alone, that it is nothing more than a platform for
displaced, out-of-work journalists to decry changes in their profession.
One of the most notable challenges faced by proponents of news media literacy
instruction is how to measure it. One attempt to create a news media literacy scale was
conducted by Ashley et al. (2013). Their study identified three domains of literacy: authors and
audiences (AA), messages and meanings (MM), and representation and reality (RR). From these
three domains, the researchers developed 107 items that were converted into an online survey
administered to 244 students at a large Midwestern university. Respondents were asked to
respond to a Likert scale questionnaire to determine their comprehension of news media literacy
across the three domains. The result of the study was the development of a 15-question test to
determine news media literacy of test participants. Ashley et al. (2013) concluded that while the
results are useful for news media literacy diagnosis, especially as a tool for teachers, they
admitted that “the links among news literacy, news knowledge, and media system knowledge
apparent in these data suggest the need for a broader conceptualization of NML” (p. 18).

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Stakeholder Knowledge and Motivation Influences

Clark and Estes

The Clark and Estes (2008) framework establishes a scholarly approach through which a
researcher can discern root causes for gaps in organizational performance. These gaps are
revealed through systematic study of three assumed key influences on stakeholders: knowledge
and skills, motivation, and organizational factors (Clark & Estes, 2008). Krathwohl (2002)
asserts that knowledge can be categorized into four distinct categories: factual, conceptual,
procedural, and metacognitive. Motivation can be defined as the way a person, or group of
people, generates and sustains momentum toward a stated goal (Clark & Estes, 2008; Mayer,
2011; Pintrich, 2003; Rueda, 2011). Clark and Estes (2008) narrow this definition by identifying
three components to motivation: active choice, persistence, and mental effort. Organizational
factors can include leadership, structure, work processes, resources, and culture.
This study will focus on each of Clark and Estes’ (2008) KMO components as they relate
to CU Communication Department faculty. The goal of the study will be to uncover root causes
that may interfere with the key stakeholder goal of successfully adopting news media literacy
curricula into department courses so that 100% of its graduates achieve an 80% score or higher
on a department-administered news media literacy exam. Each of the three KMO elements will
be discussed below as they relate to the key stakeholders’ knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences. Each of these influences will then be examined further through the
methodology discussed in Chapter Three.
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21
Knowledge and Skills

The mission of the Communication Department at Christian University (CU) is to equip
students to impact communities for Christ through the purposeful, skilled, and strategic
utilization of interpersonal and mass media messages across all media. For the purpose of this
study, the stakeholder goal of the CU’s Communication Department is to successfully adopt
news media curricula into current courses by May 2021 for the purpose of seeing 100% of
graduating seniors score 80% or higher on a university-administered standard news media
literacy test the following year. The purpose of this study was to ascertain CU professors’ ability
to implement and execute an effective news media literacy curriculum in their classrooms, one
that will teach students to discern a factual, balanced news story from one that is non-factual,
biased, and/or untrue. To reach this goal, CU professors will need to possess five knowledge-
based skills which are the focus of this section.
Knowledge Influences
Krathwohl (2002) asserts that knowledge can be categorized into four distinct categories:
factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. According to Krathwohl, factual knowledge
refers to commonly known facts needed to solve a problem in a specific area. Factual
knowledge is simple information that can be easily recalled (Krathwohl, 2002). Conceptual
knowledge is the ability to discern categories and principles related to a specific area. Procedural
knowledge is the understanding of how something is done. The final type of knowledge asserted
by Rueda (2011) is metacognitive knowledge. This is an awareness of one’s own thought
process or, as Krathwohl (2002) puts it, strategic knowledge and self-awareness. Metacognitive
knowledge is important to student learning because, as Baker (2006) asserts, when students are
more aware of their own cognitive processes, learning is enhanced.
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22
The literature reviewed in this section will focus on the types of knowledge CU’s
stakeholders (CU professors) will need to achieve CU’s organizational goals. Five pieces of
knowledge are identified as essential. The first is conceptual in nature, three are procedural, and
one is metacognitive.
Knowing the difference between a news story and an editorial or a column. The first
knowledge component CU professors will need to possess to successfully implement news media
instruction is differentiating between an editorial piece of journalism from a news piece of
journalism. This type of knowledge is conceptual because it involves the ability to differentiate
between types of categories, in this case factual stories from opinion pieces. This is important to
the organizational goal because research shows a correlation between student learning and
teacher knowledge of the subject (Olasehinde-Williams, Yahaya, & Owolabi, 2018). Before CU
professors can teach the basics of news media literacy to others, they must possess a working
knowledge of it themselves.
Knowing how to teach students the difference between a news story and an editorial
or a column. The second element needed for CU professors to implement news media literacy
instruction into their classrooms is they must be able to teach students to tell the difference
between a piece of journalism that is intended to convey facts and one that also includes opinion
and/or commentary. This type of knowledge is defined as procedural because it focuses on a
professor’s ability to perform the task of teaching students to identify unique categories. A
professor must know how to teach students to recognize the patterns associated with a standard
piece of objective news journalism as well as the patterns that identify a piece of journalism as
editorial (Scharrer, 2002). This knowledge is important to the stakeholder goal because news
media literacy hinges on one’s ability make this basic distinction; it is foundational to the process
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23
(Loth, 2012; Vraga & Tully, 2016). CU professors’ ability to convey this skill to students will
determine, to a large degree, whether or not CU meets its organizational goal of all CU
Communication Department graduates achieving threshold levels of news media literacy. This
knowledge is also important to CU’s ability to attain its global goal of helping graduates become
strategic utilizers of interpersonal and mass media as producers and as consumers.
Knowing how to teach students to synthesize several pieces of news journalism on a
single subject story. The third knowledge component needed for effectively implementing
news media curricula involves a professor’s knowledge of how to teach students to synthesize
several pieces of journalism on a single subject. This type of knowledge falls into the procedural
category as it demands that professors know how to perform a task. This knowledge component
is important to achieving both stakeholder and global goals for several reasons. First, news
media literacy depends on a media consumer’s ability to access more than one source of
information on a subject (Fleming, 2014), so CU professors’ success at helping students acquire
news media literacy will depend on their ability to teach this skill. Being able to teach students
this skill is important to the global goal because the ability to synthesize information from
several sources is a fundamental process by which news consumers can protect themselves from
single-sourced news, which can be the source of faulty or fake news (Ashley et al., 2013).
Knowing how to teach students to investigate and vet sources of a news story. The
fourth component of knowledge needed to teach students news media literacy is knowing how to
teach students to look at a story’s sources and discern its credibility, which is procedural
knowledge. If a supposed objective news story cites a source from just one side of a
controversial issue, this should cause readers to become suspicious of the story’s validity
(Fleming, 2014). For example, if a news story on the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima
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24
only cited sources or included quotes from families of U.S. soldiers, that should undermine the
story’s credibility in the eyes of one who is news media literate. In the same way, if the same
story sourced information solely from people living in Japan, that story would be likewise
untrustworthy. The key question to answer in this context is, do CU’s Communication
Department professors possess the knowledge they need to transfer this skill to their students?
CU professors will need to know how to teach this skill if the stakeholder and global goals are to
be met because balance is a key factor in news media literacy (Fleming, 2014). Furthermore, the
ability to see when it is absent is one of the ways CU students can effectively craft and delineate
messages into and out of the culture through interpersonal and mass media.
Self-knowledge of personal biases and their effect on perspective. The final
knowledge component related to news media literacy revolves around the concept of
metacognition. Metacognitive knowledge is important to teaching and acquiring news media
literacy because both teachers and learners must be aware of how their personal attitudes and
biases toward information affects the way they interpret that information (Wittebols, 2016).
Consequently, news media literacy has become the subject of a growing number of recent studies
because news media consumers are falling into the trap of confirmation bias (Goldberg,
Schwarz, & Porat, 2011; Webb, Hine, & Bailey, 2016; Wittebols, 2016). Confirmation bias
occurs when a person seeks only information that confirms or support what he or she already
believes. Such biases also cause news consumers to refuse to consume or reject information that
opposes what they already believe (Vraga & Tully, 2016). For this reason, it is crucial for CU
professors to self-reflect on and self-evaluate their biases and to be on guard to make sure those
biases are not interfering with the way they are teaching students to gather and interpret news
stories.
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25
Table 2 illustrates the assumed knowledge influences on CU communication professors
as they relate to teaching of news media literacy, as well as proposed methods for assessing gaps
in those identified knowledge influences.
Table 2.

Knowledge influences, Types, and Assessments for Knowledge Gap Analysis

Organizational Mission
The mission of the Communication Department of Christian University is to empower students for a life of
enduring commitment to Christ, intellectual growth and lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God worldwide.

Organizational Global Goal
The mission of the Communication Department at Christian University is to equip students to impact communities
for Christ through the purposeful, skilled, and strategic utilization of interpersonal and mass media messages
across all media. The Communication Department will accomplish this by equipping students with the skills
needed to utilize theories and methods of communication to both craft and delineate message delivered to and
from the culture at large.

Stakeholder Goal
By May 2021 CU Communication Department professors will adopt news media curricula into current courses for
the purpose of seeing all graduating seniors score 80% or higher on a department news media literacy test the
following year.

Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type (i.e.,
declarative (factual or
conceptual), procedural, or
metacognitive)
Knowledge Influence Assessment
Professors need to differentiate between
an editorial and a news story.

Conceptual News media literacy is a relatively
new term in higher education. Based
on your experience, how would you
describe or define it?
If a student were to ask you to
explain the major differences between
an objective news article and an
editorial article, what types of elements
would you point out?

Professors need to be able to teach
students how to distinguish a news story
from an editorial.

Procedural Imagine it is your first day of class
and you want to teach your students to
be news media literate, what would
that first lesson look like?
The grading rubric for the Final
Analysis Paper in Rhetorical Criticism
contains some specific language about
assessing students’ ability to discern
the true meaning of a written
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

26
document. How confident are you
addressing that part of the rubric?
Suppose a student demonstrated a
strong case of confirmation bias
toward a news article. What might you
try to do either in the classroom or
through an assignment to try and help
him or her see it?
If a student were to ask you to
explain the major differences between
an objective news article and an
editorial article, what types of elements
would you point out?
If you wanted to create an
assignment to help a student really
grasp the differences between a news
article and an editorial article, what
might you do?
Suppose you found an article that
you felt would challenge your students
to think critically, but might be
considered as presenting a view that is
contrary to the school’s doctrinal
statement. How would you proceed?
Possible probe: How confident
are you that the school
administration would support
your decision if student raised a
complaint?
Possible probe: If you believed
you could show how bringing
that article into the classroom
supported your goal to teach
news media literacy, do you
believe the school
administrators would back you
up?
Possible probe: If not, what do
you fear might happen?
Would that fear be enough to
stop you from bringing the
news article into the
classroom?
Document analysis
Professors need to know how to teach
students to synthesize several examples
of media journalism on a singular
subject.

Procedural Imagine it is your first day of class
and you want to teach your students to
be news media literate, what would
that first lesson look like?
The grading rubric for the Final
Analysis Paper in Rhetorical Criticism
contains some specific language about
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

27
assessing students’ ability to discern
the true meaning of a written
document. How confident are you
addressing that part of the rubric?
Suppose a student demonstrated a
strong case of confirmation bias
toward a news article. What might you
try to do either in the classroom or
through an assignment to try and help
him or her see it?
If a student were to ask you to
explain the major differences between
an objective news article and an
editorial article, what types of elements
would you point out?
If you wanted to create an
assignment to help a student really
grasp the differences between a news
article and an editorial article, what
might you do?
Suppose you found an article that
you felt would challenge your students
to think critically, but might be
considered as presenting a view that is
contrary to the school’s doctrinal
statement. How would you proceed?
Possible probe: How confident
are you that the school
administration would support
your decision if student raised a
complaint?
Possible probe: If you believed
you could show how bringing
that article into the classroom
supported your goal to teach
news media literacy, do you
believe the school
administrators would back you
up?
Possible probe: If not, what do
you fear might happen?
Would that fear be enough to
stop you from bringing the
news article into the
classroom?
If you wanted to bring an artifact
or article into class that might be seen
by students as presenting ideas
contrary to the school’s doctrinal
statement, describe how you would
prepare that lesson plan?
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

28
Possible probe: Do you believe
you could bring such an artifact
or article into the classroom in
way that would help avoid any
possible complaints?
Document analysis
Professors need to know how to teach
students to analyze a news story and
investigate its sources for validity.

Procedural Imagine it is your first day of class
and you want to teach your students to
be news media literate, what would
that first lesson look like?
The grading rubric for the Final
Analysis Paper in Rhetorical Criticism
contains some specific language about
assessing students’ ability to discern
the true meaning of a written
document. How confident are you
addressing that part of the rubric?
Suppose a student demonstrated a
strong case of confirmation bias
toward a news article. What might you
try to do either in the classroom or
through an assignment to try and help
him or her see it?
If a student were to ask you to
explain the major differences between
an objective news article and an
editorial article, what types of elements
would you point out?
Suppose you found an article that
you felt would challenge your students
to think critically, but might be
considered as presenting a view that is
contrary to the school’s doctrinal
statement. How would you proceed?
Possible probe: How confident
are you that the school
administration would support
your decision if student raised a
complaint?
Possible probe: If you believed
you could show how bringing
that article into the classroom
supported your goal to teach
news media literacy, do you
believe the school
administrators would back you
up?
Possible probe: If not, what do
you fear might happen?
Would that fear be enough to
stop you from bringing the
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

29

Motivation Influences

A second dimension of stakeholders’ ability to meet CU’s organizational goals is
motivation. In the broadest sense, motivation can be defined as the way a person, or group of
people, generates and sustains momentum toward a stated goal (Clark & Estes, 2008; Mayer,
2011; Pintrich, 2003; Rueda, 2011). Clark and Estes (2008) narrow this definition by identifying
three components to motivation: active choice, persistence, and mental effort. Motivation is
identified as a significant factor governing whether or not a learner begins or completes a task or
meets a goal (Rueda, 2011; Clark & Estes, 2008). Beyond these broad definitions of motivation,
there is much published research that proposes theories regarding how student motivation is
acquired and affected. For example, student motivation can be affected by: a learner’s emotion
(Pekrun, 2011), a learner’s attitudes and sense of control over learning factors attitude toward
what is being learned (Anderman & Anderman, 2006), and by levels of learner interest (Schraw
& Lehman, 2006).
news article into the
classroom?
If you wanted to bring an artifact
or article into class that might be seen
by students as presenting ideas
contrary to the school’s doctrinal
statement, describe how you would
prepare that lesson plan?
Possible probe: Do you believe
you could bring such an artifact
or article into the classroom in
ways that would help avoid any
possible complaints?
Document analysis
Professors need to self-reflect on their
own biases as they relate to teaching
objectivity in news journalism.
Metacognitive Imagine you are discussing a news
story in class about an issue you have
strong opinions about. What steps
would you take to make sure your own
biases aren’t getting in the way of how
you interpret that story?
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30
For communication professors at CU, two motivational factors affect CU’s ability to
meet its organizational goal of consistent news media literacy. The first is self-efficacy. Self-
efficacy is defined in Bandura’s (1991) seminal work on social cognitive theory as an
individual’s confidence or belief in his or her ability to complete a specific task successfully.
CU professors need to believe they can effectively teach students news media literacy, which is
to say they need to possess a strong sense of self-efficacy regarding the task. The second
motivation factor that affects CU professors’ ability to teach news media literacy is expectancy
value theory. Expectancy value theory, in its broadest sense, asserts that an individual’s
motivation for a task depends on three factors: 1) a person’s expectancies for accomplishing the
task (Expectancy), 2) the value an individual places on the task (Value), which can include, 3)
how much an individual will need to sacrifice to accomplish the task (Cost) (MacDonald,
Williams, Lazowski, Horst, & Barron, 2014; Wigfield, 1994.). Eccles, Barber, Updegraff, and
O’Brien (1998) posit that a motivated person must be able to be able to answer yes to two
questions: “Can I do the task?” and “Do I want to do the task?” This study endeavored to answer
both questions as they relate to CU Communication Department faculty’s development and
execution of new media curricula. Self-efficacy and expectancy value theory as they relate to
CU stakeholder achievement will be the focus of this section.
Self-efficacy theory: CU professors need to believe they are capable of effectively
incorporating news media literacy into the curriculum. Self-efficacy refers to a person’s
attitude about completing a task. It refers to his or her confidence, or belief, in being able to
complete a task successfully. (Pajares, 2006). Mayer (2011) defines this as motivation based on
the belief that they can learn the material, that the hard work of trying to learn it will yield a
positive outcome. Self-efficacy is also identified as a key component to learning and retention of
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

31
knowledge (Grossman & Salas, 2011). Clark and Estes (2008) and Grossman and Salas (2011)
assert that people who are confident in their ability to complete a task are more motivated to
engage in the task. It is important to note, however, that Clark and Estes (2008) also stipulate
that overconfidence can be destructive, and that a balance is important.
For CU professors adapting news media literacy curricula, self-efficacy is critically
important. Research suggests it is crucial for faculty to believe they are capable of learning a
task, and news media literacy is complex (Kellner & Share, 2005; Vaičiūnienė & Mažeikienė,
2016; Vraga & Tully, 2016; Wittebols, 2016). This complexity could affect a professor’s
confidence, which could affect that professor’s active choice to begin the task, persistence to
pursue it, and mental effort to complete it (Clark & Estes, 2008). Research shows that teachers’
self-efficacy can be the most significant and consistent predictor of success in teaching practices
(Thoonen, Sleegers, Oort, Peetsma, & Geijsel, 2011). As such, CU’s ability to meet its
organizational and global goals as they relate to student acquisition of news media literacy will
be affected by CU professor’ sense of self-efficacy about adopting and executing news media
curricula.
Expectancy value theory: CU professors need to see the importance of incorporating
news media literacy curricula to achieving CU’s organizational mission. According to
Eccles (2006), expectancy value theory includes the enjoyment one feels while doing a task
(intrinsic), the connection between doing the task one’s self-image (attainment), and the value
one places on the task as it pertains to his or her goals (utility). The level of value attached to a
task has a positive correlation to one’s desire to engage in it and is a strong indicator of one’s
ultimate success at accomplishing the task (MacDonald et al., 2014). Wigfield, Eccles, and
Schiefele (2006) add that expectancy value leads to greater interest, which generates a positive
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

32
correlation with achieving goals. This conclusion is supported by Rueda (2011), as well as Clark
and Estes (2008). Mayer, 2011 found that students work harder to learn material if that material
has personal value to them and when they believe it will be beneficial to them to learn the
material. In contrast, MacDonald et al. (2014) also state that if an individual believes that the
sacrifices necessary to accomplish the task are too great (cost), this will negatively affect
motivation to accomplish the task.
Expectancy value theory applies to CU professors’ pursuit of the stakeholder goal in
several ways. First, CU professors will be more successful at adopting news media literacy
curricula if believe they believe they can successfully accomplish the task. This expectancy will
be reflected in what they believe about what they know about teaching news media literacy, but
perhaps more importantly, in what they believe about how much support they will receive from
the University administration on tangible and philosophical levels. Do they believe the
University will provide necessary pedagogical training? Do they believe the University will it
support their efforts to challenge student biases, which is critical to news media literacy?
A second factor affecting CU professors’ pursuit of successfully adopting news media
literacy into their curriculum is value/utility. Expectancy value theory indicates that learning and
motivation increase when the learner (or doer) values the task (Eccles, 2009), and that when
learners and/or workers consider the utility value of what they are learning/doing, it can produce
a positive effect on how much they value the task (Eccles, 2009; Pintrich, 2003). For CU
faculty, this is critical because if they are to successfully adopt news media curricula into their
courses, they must be able to connect the utility value of what they are doing to the larger goals
of the institution; they must see that the potential outcomes of doing the work will be worth the
effort. CU professors need to see a direct connection between students’ acquisition of news
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

33
media literacy and CU’s organizational and global goals. Additionally, CU professors need to
believe that adopting news media literacy curricula is worth the cost to them personally and
professionally.
Table 3 illustrates the assumed motivation influences on CU communication professors
as they relate to their implementation of news media literacy curriculum, as well as proposed
methods for assessing gaps in those identified motivation influences.
Table 3
Motivational Influences and Assessments for Motivation for Gap Analysis
Organizational Mission
The mission of the Communication Department of Christian University is to empower students
for a life of enduring commitment to Christ, intellectual growth and lasting contribution to the
Kingdom of God worldwide.

Organizational Global Goal
The mission of the Communication Department at Christian University is to equip students to
impact communities for Christ through the purposeful, skilled, and strategic utilization of
interpersonal and mass media messages across all media. The Communication Department will
accomplish this by equipping students with the skills needed to utilize theories and methods of
communication to both craft and delineate message delivered to and from the culture at large.

Stakeholder Goal
By May 2021 CU Communication Department professors will adopt news media curricula into
current courses for the purpose of seeing all graduating seniors score 80% or higher on a
department news media literacy test the following year.

Assumed Motivation Influences Motivational Influence Assessment
Self-Efficacy. CU professors need to believe they are
capable of effectively incorporating news media
literacy into the curriculum.

How do you feel about your current level of
preparation to teach news media literacy if it
were to be adopted into the CU curriculum?
Possible probe: For example, how would
you define for a student a piece of news
journalism you consider to be fair versus
one you consider to be biased or
unbalanced?
Possible probe: Imagine you are
discussing a news story in class about an
issue you have strong opinions about.
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34

What steps would you take to make sure
your own biases aren’t getting in the way
of how you interpret that story?
If the communication department were to
ask you to adopt news media literacy content into
your current courses, how would you feel about
that?
Possible probe: If you can imagine
yourself in the classroom preparing to
teach news media literacy, how confident
would you be?
Do you believe you could bring such an
artifact or article into the classroom in ways that
would help avoid any possible complaints?

Expectancy Value. CU professors need to see the
importance of incorporating news media literacy
curricula to achieving CU’s organizational mission.

In light of the school’s mission and doctrinal
statement, how much value do you place on
adding news media literacy to your curriculum?
Possible probe: Some faculty would say
that news media literacy is [state the
opposite position], how would you
respond to that?
Imagine a student or an administrator where
to ask you why it is important for CU students be
become news media literate. How might you
answer?
Possible probe: To what degree do you
believe news media literacy matches the
mission of the institution?
Suppose you found an article that you felt
would challenge your students to think critically,
but might be considered as presenting a view that
is contrary to the school’s doctrinal statement.
How would you proceed?
Possible probe: How confident are you
that the school administration would
support your decision if student raised a
complaint?
Possible probe: If you believed you could
show how bringing that article into the
classroom supported your goal to teach
news media literacy, do you believe the
school administrators would back you up?
Possible probe: If not, what do you fear
might happen?
Would that fear be enough to stop
you from bringing the news article
into the classroom?
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Stakeholder Organizational Influences

Another key influencer in an organization is culture. According to Schein (2017), culture
creates stability within an organization, and defines both the breadth and depth of its ethos.
Culture is a way to describe an organization’s core values, beliefs, and processes (Clark & Estes,
2008). Culture is never static; it evolves within an organization uniquely over time (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Culture changes as the organization changes (Schein, 2017). However, despite its
significance to the function of an organization, culture is largely invisible, as it exists beneath the
surface (Schein, 2017; Schneider, Brief, & Guzzo, 1996). Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001)
differentiate cultural models, which are the unspoken, expected norms of behavior, from cultural
settings, which refers to tangible scenarios in which culture is played out within an organization.
It is not uncommon for an organization’s cultural models to conflict with its settings (Gallimore
& Goldenberg, 2001). Also, culture may not be universal and often exists within an organization
at multiple levels and in various pockets and micro cultures (Erez & Gati, 2004; Schein, 2017).
Organizational culture is identified by Clark and Estes (2008) as one of three primary
measures for diagnosing performance gaps and driving organizational change. Specifically,
organizations can either enhance or impede organizational performance, depending upon myriad
interactions between organizational, knowledge, and motivation variables (Clark & Estes, 2008).
According to Clark and Estes (2008), effective organizations ensure that their internal and
external messages, recognition/reward systems, policies, and practices align with the goals and
values the organization claims for itself.
This section of the literature review explores organizational influences and their effect on
CU’s organization and stakeholder goals.

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36
Cultural Models and Cultural Settings
Organizational culture can be viewed on two levels: models and settings. Cultural
models are the gestalt of the organization. They are the unseen, assumed influences shared by an
organization’s members that govern thinking and behavior (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001).
They are the shared understanding of how things should work and why, and they create an
unwritten set of codes that inform values and beliefs (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Cultural
settings are the visible, tangible environments in which cultural models become observable.
They are the stage, as it were, on which members of the organization interact with each other and
with organizational policies and procedures (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). By observing the
interplay between these two dynamics, a researcher can uncover inconsistency, which may in
turn explain performance gaps. It may also provide insight into closing those gaps and removing
obstacles to stakeholder goals. This study of CU’s organizational culture assumes two influences
in cultural settings (CS) and one influence in cultural models (CM).
CM #1: The organization needs to foster a culture in which faculty can feel safe
bringing ideas and artifacts into the classroom that might be perceived as not aligning with
the University’s doctrinal statement without fear of administrative reprisal. CU is a Bible-
based, conservative Christian university, and it promotes itself as such. Its constituency of
students, parents, pastors, and donors expect biblical principles and values to be upheld and
espoused in every corner of campus life, including the classroom. This commitment to biblical
fidelity is a defining characteristic of CU and the school identifies it as one of its strengths.
However, the environment this creates can lead to the exclusion of opposing views, which can be
problematic when news media literacy acquisition is a goal. In an environment where the
worldview is narrowly defined and universally accepted, the risk of confirmation bias runs high
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

37
(Wittebols, 2016). As described in Chapter One, confirmation bias is an enemy of news media
literacy (Wittebols, 2016).
To fully understand the reticence faculty associate with bringing what could be perceived
as the “wrong” artifact to class, one must consider the cultural context as it relates the school’s
doctrinal statement. CU’s doctrinal statement governs policy and procedure at the school, and
this includes hiring and firing practices. For example, every member of the faculty and staff
must sign a statement claiming full agreement with the school’s doctrinal statement. If, at any
time during employment, faculty or staff members come to disagree with any part of that
doctrinal statement, they are obligated to disclose this to the executive team and resign.
Additionally, staff and/or faculty members found to be living in a way that contradicts the moral
and behavioral code that flows out of the doctrinal statement will face disciplinary action, which
can include termination. In such an environment, faculty avoid even the appearance of
contradiction with the doctrinal statement. Such avoidance could hamper ability to challenge
student biases, which would create impediments to teaching news media literacy.
Schneider et al. (1996) assert that organizational culture is seen by what the organization
values or worships. In the case of CU, it is the doctrinal statement and the consistency the
statement confers on the institution. CU’s strict doctrinal policy is consistent with the tradition
of Evangelical Christian higher education in The United States, where colleges and universities
have historically battled secularization, especially in the curriculum (Ream & Perry, 2007). The
effects of this conflict can be most clearly seen in historically conservative Christian colleges’
and universities’ vigilance against potential threats. Academic freedom notwithstanding,
Christian colleges and universities do not welcome new ideologies and approaches (Brown &
Brown, 2011; Dosen, 2012; Ream & Perry, 2007). The understandably rigid posture acts as a
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38
roadblock to news media literacy acquisition because the key to acquiring it lies in challenging
one’s assumptions and biases (Vraga, Tully, Kotcher, Smithson, & Broeckelman-Post, 2016).
Faculty members’ hesitancy to bring “non-sanctioned” ideas into the classroom is not
strictly a top-down, fear-based phenomenon. Religious educational institutions tend to feature a
consistent tension between religious identity and cultural plurality and its faculty and
administration tend to be suspicious of new ideas and generally eschew interactions with people
of other faiths (Brown & Brown, 2011). Dosen (2012) suggests this may be more likely in
Evangelical institutions of higher education, which managed to maintain their religious identity
across the curriculum far longer than their Catholic counterparts. As such, one could argue that
while some CU faculty may resist bringing news media literacy materials into class out of fear,
others make the same choice out of personal conviction. This dichotomy is an example of
Schein’s (2017) micro and macro-level cultures converging. This convergence demonstrates the
complexity of addressing the problem of practice, as well as the importance and centrality of the
cultural influences. At CU, where culture as exhibited by a shared value system and an agreed-
upon doctrinal statement, alignment between various stakeholder goals and the organization’s
mission is paramount. Before CU faculty will even consider investing time, energy, and
resources into pursuing any goals or initiatives, it must be fully understood by all stakeholder
groups that such alignment exists. Where there is doubt, or even the potential of doubt regarding
reaching a consensus of understanding, motivation is greatly affected, perhaps even crippled.
For this reason, it was crucial in this study to learn how CU faculty believe their efforts at
teaching news media literacy will be perceived by the University at large. If CU faculty suspect
that corners of doubt and skepticism exist on campus, the stakeholder goal will be difficult to
achieve.
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39
CS #1: The organization needs to provide sufficient professional development
resources and support to allow faculty to seek professional development in the area of
teaching news media literacy. Effective change efforts for an organization involve ensuring
that everyone has the resources needed to do their jobs effectively (Clark & Estes, 2008). As it
relates to stakeholder goals at CU, this means communication department faculty need to receive
adequate professional training and development in order to bring news media literacy into their
respective classrooms. CU faculty must be trained in news media literacy themselves, then they
must be trained on how to adopt it into the curriculum in ways that result in student learning.
These are essential steps faculty must take if they are to act as the authority in the classroom and
be able to give meaningful guided practice. It is also necessary if faculty are to be able to
provide formative feedback, which has been identified by numerous studies as a component of a
strong learning environment (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999; Shute, 2008). Additionally, ample
faculty professional development is needed to provide CU faculty with the skills they need to
adequately evaluate and assess news media learning in the classroom. (Kirkpatrick, 2006).
Finally, change is unsettling because faculty may lose a sense of mastery when the landscape
shifts (Moran & Brightman, 2000). This highlights the need for CU to provide sufficient
financial resources to allow for faculty development (for example, attending external conferences
or training seminars) if the institution is to successfully launch a news media literacy program.
CS #2: The organization needs to create an environment that allows faculty to
adjust its workload to account for the added responsibilities associated with implementing
news media curricula into their courses. In addition to providing sufficient financial resources
to allow CU communication faculty to seek professional development, the organization must
also provide faculty support in the form of some sort of relief from contract-mandated
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

40
responsibilities. As a small, private school, CU’s annual budget leans heavily on enrollment, and
with enrollment numbers maintaining a level below what the school needs to grow, there is little
money available hire new employees. This becomes especially problematic when the
organization asks faculty members to take on additional responsibilities (such as launching new
academic initiatives) because they cannot expect work to be taken away in another area to make
room for the added workload; there is insufficient funding to hire requisite adjunct faculty that
would allow faculty to drop a course or two. Again, this shows CU’s organizational practices in
opposition to what has been defined as a learning organization by neglecting to demonstrate to
faculty that leadership’s commitment to stakeholder goals is more than lip service (Garvin,
Edmondson, & Gino, 2008). If the faculty is to be expected to create new academic initiatives
such as news media literacy, professors must be given the time to pursue such initiatives.
Without leadership’s demonstrated commitment to student news media acquisition, demonstrated
by a willingness to hire additional adjunct faculty to relieve full-time professors’ course loads,
success is unlikely to be achieved.
Table 4
Organizational Influences on CU’s Adoption of News Media Curricula
Organizational Mission
The mission of the Communication Department of Christian University is to empower students
for a life of enduring commitment to Christ, intellectual growth and lasting contribution to the
Kingdom of God worldwide.

Organizational Global Goal
The mission of the Communication Department at Christian University is to equip students to
impact communities for Christ through the purposeful, skilled, and strategic utilization of
interpersonal and mass media messages across all media. The Communication Department will
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

41
accomplish this by equipping students with the skills needed to utilize theories and methods of
communication to both craft and delineate message delivered to and from the culture at large.

Stakeholder Goal
By May 2021 CU Communication Department professors will adopt news media curricula into
current courses for the purpose of seeing all graduating seniors score 80% or higher on a
department news media literacy test the following year.

Assumed Organizational Influences Organizational Influence Assessment
Cultural Model Influence. The organization needs
to foster a culture in which faculty can bring ideas and
artifacts into the classroom that may be perceived as
not aligning with the University’s doctrinal statement.

Qualitative interview questions:
When you bring media into the classroom,
what is your criterion for what you bring and
what you do not?
Under what circumstances would you bring a
media artifact into class that presents a viewpoint
that might be perceived as opposing CU’s
doctrinal statement?
If you wanted to bring an artifact into class that
might be seen by students as presenting ideas
contrary to the school’s doctrinal statement
describe how you would prepare that lesson
plan?
Suppose you found an article that you felt
would challenge your students to think critically,
but might be considered as presenting a view that
is contrary to the school’s doctrinal statement.
How would you proceed?
Possible probe: How confident are you
that the school administration would
support your decision if student raised a
complaint?
Possible probe: If you believed you could
show how bringing that article into the
classroom supported your goal to teach
news media literacy, do you believe the
school administrators would back you up?
Possible probe: If not, what do you fear
might happen?
Would that fear be enough to stop
you from bringing the news article
into the classroom?
Can you describe examples of instances where
you felt the University either supported or
undermined your academic freedom?
Cultural Setting Influence. The organization needs
to provide ample professional development resources
Qualitative interview questions:
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Conceptual Framework

A conceptual, or theoretical, framework is a visual representation that is essential for
defining the structure of a research study (Maxwell, 2013). It provides the scaffolding on which
a study is framed, and it contains concepts and theories associated with the study. Merriam and
Tisdell (2016) assert that a conceptual framework affects all aspects of a study, including the
problem to be studied, the research questions that will drive the study, and the lens through
which findings are interpreted. It is important to note that a conceptual framework is not found,
but built as the process unfolds (Maxwell, 2013). Also, a conceptual framework should align
and support to train faculty to teach news media
literacy.

How do you feel about your current level of
preparation to teach news media literacy if it
were to be adopted into the CU curriculum?
If you were asked to teach news media literacy
at CU, what type of training, would you want to
help you prepare?
Possible probe: What types of skills do
you feel you would most like to acquire?
Possible probe: In what ways do you feel
that is happening for you at CU?
How confident are you in the school’s
commitment to provide training in news media
literacy?
Possible probe: If there is something that
might help you feel more confident, what
would that be?

Cultural Setting Influence. The organization needs
to create an environment that allows faculty to adjust
its workload to account for the added responsibilities
associated with implementing news media curriculum
into their courses.

Qualitative interview questions:
Describe your current faculty workload at CU.
Possible probe: Given your current
workload, how do you envision folding in
the responsibility of developing news
media literacy curricula into your
schedule.
How would you accommodate adding news
media literacy to your curriculum in terms of
your work schedule?
Describe your opinion of CU’s current
protocols and procedures for supporting
professors when they are asked to develop new
curricula.

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43
with a study’s research questions, which ensures the overall alignment of the study (Maxwell,
2013). The conceptual framework for this study revolves around Clark and Estes’ (2008) Gap
Analysis Theoretical Framework. It explores the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences surrounding a problem of practice, exposing potential performance gaps to
organizational goals. Chapter Two presents each of these influencers separately, but none are
mutually exclusive. The three influencers interact with each other in significant and nuanced
interdependent relationships to inform and answer the research questions. This section provides
a graphic illustration and an explanation of how those variables interact to form the conceptual
framework of this study.
This study employed a constructivist worldview, which is a philosophical approach
asserting that individuals develop and attach subjective meanings to their experiences (Creswell
& Creswell, 2018). Thus, the first assumption made is that the primary stakeholders (CU
faculty), though they operate within the same organizational culture and may even receive the
same messages and experience the same phenomena, do not always interpret them in the same
way. Rather, they build unique conclusions based on individual contexts as well as their unique
personal and social histories (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). For this reason, the research was
qualitative in nature, which is recommended by Creswell and Creswell (2018), Merriam and
Tisdell (2016), and Maxwell (2013) because it allows for more open-ended questions intended to
gauge the unique meanings and perspectives of the stakeholders.
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44

Christian University (CU)

Cultural Model Influences: The organization needs to create an
environment where faculty feel safe bringing ideas and artifacts into
that will help students acquire news media literacy, even if they may be
perceived as not aligning with the university’s doctrinal statement.

Cultural Setting Influences: The organization needs to provide ample
professional development resources and support to train faculty to teach
news media literacy.

Knowledge:
1. Conceptual: Faculty
knowledge of news media
literacy.
2. Procedural: Faculty
knowledge of teaching
news media literacy.
3. Metacognitive: Faculty
knowledge of personal
attitudes and biases.

Organizational Goal:

By May 2022, 100% of CU
Communication Department
seniors will score 80% or
higher on a department news
media literacy test.
Legend

__________ Organizational influences

__________ Knowledge/Motivation
influences

__________ Organizational goal
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of Influences on News Media Literacy Acquisition at CU.

Motivation:
1. Self-Efficacy: Faculty need to
believe they are capable of
effectively incorporating news
media literacy into the
curriculum.
2. Expectancy Value: CU
professors need to see the
importance of incorporating
news media literacy curricula
to achieving CU’s
organizational mission.

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45
Overarching Structure: The Dominance of Organizational Culture at CU
At CU, culture is a significant factor and major influencer on all other influencers. This
is due in large part to the solidarity of its faculty and staff along doctrinal lines. Every member
of the faculty and staff must sign a statement claiming full agreement with the school’s doctrinal
statement. If, at any time during employment, faculty or staff members come to disagree with
any part of that doctrinal statement, they are obligated to disclose this to the executive team and
resign. The schools’ conservative Christian culture permeates all corners of campus: academic,
administrative, financial, and social. The cultural influence at CU is consistent with Schein’s
(2017) definition of culture as being largely invisible and yet powerful enough to form the basis
for an organization’s shared assumptions and beliefs. Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) further
identify cultural models as an unwritten set of codes that inform values and beliefs, and thus
affect practices. Because organizational culture is central to the function of CU, the conceptual
framework pictured in Figure 1 represents culture as the largest circle. The knowledge and
motivation influencers exist within this context. The culture can be viewed from two
perspectives: model and setting.
Organizational Model: The Effect on Motivation and Knowledge
The key component of the organizational model at CU is a general resistance among
administration, faculty, and students to introducing ideas and artifacts in the classroom that may
be perceived as not aligning with the school’s doctrinal statement. CU is a conservative
Christian university, and as such, it places a premium on biblical doctrine and values. The
school’s staunch commitment biblical fidelity is its defining characteristic. This commitment is
consistent with cultural phenomena found within fundamental Evangelical Christian colleges and
universities in the United States, where such schools have traditionally assumed a defensive
NEWS MEDIA LITERACY AT CU

46
posture toward non-biblical ideologies, especially with regard to curricular changes (Brown &
Brown, 2011; Dosen, 2012; Ream & Perry, 2007). At CU, this defensive posture creates an
environment that is critical of opposing views, or views which may be perceived as in opposition
to the doctrinal statement, which can be problematic when news media literacy acquisition is a
goal.
A linchpin of the conceptual framework for this study is that the tension between
maintaining the status quo and combating confirmation bias simultaneously creates a negative
relationship with motivation, specifically in the area of expectancy value. Expectancy value is a
motivational theory that focuses on the value a learner places on the subject being learned
(Eccles, 2006). Learners must be able to attach reasons to their learning; they must be able to
connect what they are learning and directly to a felt psychological need or they will not be
motivated (Eccles, 2006). This theory applies to this study’s stakeholder of focus because, given
the organizational factors discussed above, it is reasonable to assume that at least some of the CU
faculty will not see value in adopting news media literacy into their lessons. It is possible that
some CU faculty will see news media literacy adoption as a threat to the school’s doctrinal
statement and not want to adopt it, or that some will see it as too counter-cultural to be safely
taught on campus and therefore not of value to them professionally, which again undermines
motivation.
Also of note is how the organizational model might affect CU faculty on the knowledge
side, specifically the final knowledge component in Figure 1, which refers to metacognitive
knowledge. Metacognitive knowledge is an awareness of one’s own thought process or, as
Krathwohl (2002) puts it, strategic knowledge and self-awareness. Metacognitive knowledge is
important to student learning because when learners are more aware of their own cognitive
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47
processes, learning is enhanced (Baker, 2006). At CU, faculty must be aware of their own biases
toward teaching news media literacy. Faculty wishing to avoid being perceived as falling on the
wrong side of the doctrinal fence may hold biases that affect what they are willing to bring into
the classroom, and they may not be aware of how those biases might affect their teaching, and
how they might interfere with the organizational goal. Metacognition on the part of CU faculty
is important to reaching the organization goal, and culture plays a part in that as well.
Organizational Setting: The Effect on Motivation and Knowledge
There are two key organization setting factors affecting the stakeholder goal. The first, as
discussed above, stems from CU professors’ beliefs about the University’s willingness to support
the proposed curriculum on a philosophical level. It is proposed that CU professors may feel
reticent to teach news media literacy if they believe that the process of doing so may involve
pedagogical strategies that might be perceived as out of alignment with the school’s doctrinal
statement. It is important to note that while no CU professor would intentionally undermine the
doctrinal statement, as it is a condition of employment and essential to the cultural identity of the
institution. However, it is proposed that a CU professor could fear the perception of
undermining the doctrinal statement in the event that a student reacts negatively to being
challenged to consider personal biases. This fear, if it exists, could affect motivation because the
consequences of being perceived as antagonistic to the doctrinal statement is the loss of one’s
job. Therefore, a full understanding of cultural settings and their impact on professor motivation
to incorporate news media literacy in their courses must seek to ascertain the depth of this
concern among CU faculty.
A second key organizational setting at CU is that there is a lack of professional
development and resources available to help CU faculty effectively adopt news media literacy
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48
into their curricula. As a small, private school, CU’s annual budget leans heavily on enrollment.
This has created an unstable financial environment where resources and staff are stretched thin
most years. In 2017, CU’s Executive Team froze the professional development funding that had
been annually allocated to faculty professional development. This exacerbated already limited
access to needed resources available to faculty and made it even more difficult to launch new
academic initiatives such as a news media literacy program within the communication
department. Professional development funding was re-established in 2019, but resulting
perception that there is a lack of available resources generates a palpable effect on CU faculty’s
knowledge and motivation. As Figure 1 shows, knowledge influences in news media literacy
adoption at CU require at least three of Krathwohl’s (2002) knowledge types: conceptual,
procedural, and metacognitive; the conceptual and procedural require professional development.
Moreover, faculty must be liberated from other duties if they are to have the time to learn the
skills needed to effectively adopt a news media literacy curriculum. Thus, organizational
influence is again brought to bear. Organizational setting also affects motivation because faculty
must believe they have been adequately trained and know that they have been given enough time
to prepare if they are to have self-efficacy. If faculty do not believe they have the resources
needed to acquire the skills they need to successfully adopt news media curricula, they will not
believe they can learn it, which is detrimental to their sense of self-efficacy, which hinders
performance (Mayer, 2011; Pajares, 2006; Pintrich, 2003). Unless CU overcomes the lack of
resources for faculty professional development, the gap between organizational goal and
organizational achievement is likely to remain.

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49
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to determine the influences on CU Communication
Department faculty members’ efforts to implement news media curricula. The research
discussed in this chapter examined the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that
can either support or undermine the organizational goal of seeing 100% of CU communication
seniors score 80% or higher on a department news media literacy exam. These influences
include faculty knowledge of news media literacy and how to implement and assess it in a
classroom setting, as well as faculty self-efficacy around implementing the new curriculum, and
faculty attitudes about its value and usefulness. Finally, this chapter explored the organizational
influences on faculty, specifically the availability of adequate resources and professional
development, and the deeper cultural influences related to how faculty believe news media
literacy curricula might be seen in relation to the school’s doctrinal statement. The conceptual
framework presented in this chapter identified organizational culture as the dominant influence
on the stakeholder group, and discussed the interactions between all three influence categories
with the stakeholder group and the organizational goal. Chapter Three will present the study’s
methodological approach.

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50
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influences that might help or hinder
members of the CU Communication Department full-time and part-time faculty in their efforts to
successfully develop and implement news media literacy curricula into their courses. The study
followed the Clark and Estes (2008) framework for studying the knowledge, motivational, and
organizational factors that might influence the stakeholder group of focus, which for this study
was the full-time communication department faculty at CU, as well as members of the
communication department faculty who have taught at CU for at least three years. By utilizing a
blend of semi-structured qualitative data gathering and analysis and document analysis, the study
sought to discover faculty attitudes and capabilities (real and perceived) with regards to
achieving the stakeholder goal.
Because the study was exploratory in nature, it followed a qualitative design approach.
The goal of the study was not to confirm an existing hypothesis, but rather to develop one
(Creswell & Creswell, 2014). In addition, the research questions focused on process and
meaning, which also supports a qualitative design (Creswell & Creswell, 2014). The type of
research conducted was what Merriam and Tisdell (2016) call applied research, in that it
intended to facilitate change by addressing a problem of practice in an organizational setting (in
this case, CU). Data collection took place in the form of semi-structured informal interviews
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) and consisted of largely open-ended questions (Maxwell, 2013)
designed to allow subjects to expound on their understandings and perceptions (Creswell &
Creswell, 2014) of news media literacy and how it is engendered at CU. Document analysis also
informed the study in the form of grading rubrics that shed light on how CU Communication
Department faculty are currently assessing news media literacy. The study aimed to deliver
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“thick descriptions” of how a process might or might not be working (McEwan & McEwan,
2003). Ultimately, the point of the study was to uncover the attitudes and perceptions (the
meaning) surrounding news media literacy for CU Communication Department faculty (Merriam
& Tisdell, 2016), and to understand more fully how those meanings might affect the KMO
influences for the stakeholders (Clark & Estes, 2008).
The research questions that guided this study were as follows:
Research Questions
1. What are the CU Communication Department faculty’s knowledge and motivation
related to achieving the goal of 100% of CU seniors scoring at 80% or higher on a
department news media literacy test?
2. What is the interaction between the CU’s organizational culture and context and the
communication department’s knowledge and motivation as it relates to 100% of
communication seniors scoring at 80% or higher on a department news media literacy
test?
3. What are the recommendations for CU’s practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?

Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholder of focus for this study was the four full-time faculty members that
comprise the Communication Department at CU and four adjunct professors with a minimum of
three years’ experience teaching in the Communication Department at CU. Two of the full-time
professors are female and two are male, and all four have taught at CU for at least two years; one
has taught in the department for 34 years. The four full-time faculty members’ primary area of
expertise is one of the four department major emphases (cinema and digital arts, speech
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communication, creative writing and publishing, and journalism). By incorporating all members
of the communication department, as well as longtime members of the communication
department adjunct faculty, and thereby canvassing all four curricular emphases, the study
investigated the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on the entire stakeholder
group.
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1. Full-time members of the CU Communication Department faculty or
adjunct faculty who have taught at least three years in the CU Communication Department. Full-
time faculty and longtime adjunct faculty are most exposed to the specific culture at CU, which
put them in the best position to comment on the organizational influences within the
organization. Additionally, their longevity within the department made them ideal candidates to
provide data regarding knowledge and motivational influences at CU.
Criterion 2. Full-time CU Communication Department faculty or adjunct faculty who
have taught at least three years in the CU Communication Department who teach courses in the
journalism emphasis, the cinema and digital arts emphasis, the speech communication emphasis,
or the creative writing and publishing emphasis. Interviewing faculty from each emphasis
allowed the study to paint a comprehensive picture of what faculty need to know as it relates to
bringing news media literacy to bear on their areas of teaching. Additionally, motivation levels
may differ between emphases, and it was important to differentiate along curricular lines.
Criterion 3. Adjunct faculty who have taught at least three years in the CU
Communication Department or full-time CU Communication Department faculty who have
worked at the school for at least one year. As noted in the conceptual framework, the
organizational influences at CU are foundational to all other influences. Faculty who had not
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been exposed to the unique organizational culture of CU for a significant amount of time would
not be in position to provide the level of clarity needed to answer the research questions that
pertain to culture and its influence on knowledge and motivation.
Interview Group Recruitment Strategy and Rationale
The selection of interview subjects for this study was purposeful. In-depth interviews
were conducted in a one-on-one setting with each of the four members of CU’s Communication
Department faculty, as well as four members of the CU Communication Department adjunct
faculty with at least three years of experience teaching within the department. This structure
allowed the research to blanket the entire communication department faculty and still provide in-
depth analysis, which is required to answer the research questions, specifically those pertaining
to organizational culture and motivation influences. Following established guidelines for
effective qualitative interviews, questions were open-ended, loosely scripted, and left room for
variation and probes (Johnson & Christensen, 2015; Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
The interview process took place early in the study to allow ample time for follow-up interviews,
which is consistent with the exploratory nature of qualitative research (Johnson & Christensen,
2015; Maxwell, 2013; McEwan & McEwan, 2003; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Data Collection and Instrumentation
The main approach to data collection for this study was purposeful sampling. Purposeful
sampling is a strategy based upon selecting subjects to study that can provide information
relevant to the study’s research questions and goals (Maxwell, 2013). In light of the study’s
research questions, choosing the communication department faculty based on the criteria
described below was the most efficient choice.
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The criteria for selecting this group was purposeful in that each participant represents a
specified academic segment of the communication department, and each has worked for a
duration and at a capacity that suggests a significant interaction with CU’s culture, practices, and
procedures. The choice of professors from each curricular segment of the communication
department is important because while motivational factors may cross curricular boundaries,
knowledge factors may not. For example, while all professors must possess the knowledge
components identified in Chapter Two, the application of that knowledge will vary depending on
the medium each professor specializes in teaching. It is important to note that the subjects of the
study do not fit the classic definition of sample, which Johnson and Christensen (2015) identify
as being drawn from a larger population in order to generalize. For this study, the “sample”
represents the entirety of the stakeholder group.
Interviews
Interview Protocol. Interviews for this study were conducted using a semi-structured
approach. A qualitative interview approach was selected for this study for several reasons. First,
as the conceptual framework illustrates, the most significant assumed influence on the
stakeholder group is organizational culture, which Creswell and Creswell (2018) identify as a
strong candidate for qualitative study. To discern the nature of stakeholder interaction with
organizational culture, it is important to ask the kind of open-ended questions that are the
hallmark of qualitative interviews (Maxwell, 2013; McEwan & McEwan, 2003; Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). The interactive nature of qualitative interviews allowed for probing, which was
essential to reaching the depth of inquiry the research questions require (Johnson & Christensen,
2015; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
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Interview questions for the study were designed to elicit open-ended responses that
addressed all of Clark and Estes’ (2008) knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences.
Qualitative interviews allowed for the collection of rich data (Creswell & Creswell, 2018;
Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) and to ascertain evaluative data regarding the efficacy
of a proposed news media literacy program at CU. According to McEwan and McEwan (2003),
the right questions to ask in such a scenario should reveal whether a model is working, in what
way it is or is not working, and whether or not it is worthwhile. Obtaining rich data that answer
the research questions requires a level of depth and probing that is best obtained through
strategic interviews coupled with rich descriptions and reflection (Creswell & Creswell, 2018;
Maxwell, 2013; McEwan & McEwan, 2003; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Digging deeper into the interview process, subjects were asked 18 questions, each
addressing at least one of Clark and Estes’ (2008) K, M, and O influences. Questions were
aimed at the relationships between those influences as illustrated and described the conceptual
framework, which helped ensure proper alignment in the study (Maxwell, 2013). For example,
the conceptual framework identifies three knowledge types as influences on the stakeholder
group: conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. For this reason, nine of the 18 questions
addressed stakeholder knowledge factors. The conceptual framework also identifies two
motivational influences: self-efficacy and expectancy value, and for this reason four questions
(and four potential probes) addressed motivation. Finally, the cultural framework identifies
cultural settings and cultural models as foundational to all stakeholder influences, and for that
reason, six of the study’s 18 interview questions (and several probes) targeted cultural settings
and five questions (and several probes) addressed cultural models. In addition to the focus of
each question, the type of question was also strategically chosen. Question types for this study
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included experience and behavior questions, feeling questions, interpretive questions, and
opinions and values questions (Patton, 2015), as well as devil’s advocate questions, ideal
scenario questions, and hypothetical questions (Strauss, Schatzman, Bucher, & Sabshin, 1981).
The purpose behind the described interview protocols was to generate in-depth responses, which
yielded rich data collection, and was predicated on the understanding that the best questions
elicit both information and opinion, provide a check on researcher understanding, and yield
descriptive data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). A full list of questions and probes is available in
Appendix A.
Interview Procedures. One-on-one interviews were semiformal/informal in that
questions were prepared in advance, were asked in repeated sequential format, and were
consistent among all interview subjects (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). At the same time questions
were open-ended, with room left for probes and follow-ups as needed (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). The semiformal/informal approach is consistent with the constructivist worldview of the
researcher in that less structured interviews assumes that respondents define the world in unique
ways (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Initial interviews lasted approximately 60 minutes, and took
place in a private sound recording studio on the campus of CU. The setting provided a private,
neutral site away from any potential distraction or intrusions, and provided privacy and
anonymity for the interview subjects. All eight interview subjects were interviewed one at a time
on an as-available basis; no pre-determined order was necessary. Follow-up interviews were not
needed. The total number of hours estimated for face-to-face interviews with the stakeholders is
eight to 14 hours. All eight interviews took place before the collection of documents, as the bulk
of the rich data gathering came from the interviews, as is customary in qualitative research
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Also, collecting data
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from documents took place after the interviews, since the purpose of collecting such data is for
the purposes of triangulation and verifying data collected via interview.
The interviews were recorded directly onto the researcher’s laptop computer, after which
they were transcribed (within 48 hours) through Rev.com for coding purposes. In addition to
recordings, the researcher utilized pen and paper to record non-verbal observations such as body
movement and facial expression. These observations were timestamped and noted so that they
could be synchronized with the audio interview following the interview.
Documents and Artifacts
Documents collected for this study consisted of, 1) assessment rubrics for signature
assignments for the following CU Communication Department core courses: C472 Rhetorical
Criticism and C382 Persuasion (Appendix C), 2) CU Assessment Rubrics and Signature
Assignments for each of the department’s four major emphases (Appendix D), and 3) CU
Communication Department General Education PLO’s (Table 9). Both C472 Rhetorical
Criticism and C382 Persuasion are capstone courses for all communication majors, and all
students in the major must take the courses in their junior or senior year to graduate. This made
it ideal for catching a summative assessment and generating an accurate snapshot of what is
expected from all communication majors at the end of their time in the program.
The purpose of examining the assessment rubrics was to determine knowledge influences
as a way to support the primary means of assessing knowledge factors, which will come via
qualitative interviews. Specifically, this portion of data collection will focus on whether or not
communication department faculty are assessing for what the researcher has defined as news
media literacy, and to determine the extent to which the rubric reflects both declarative and
procedural (Clark & Estes, 2008) knowledge of news media literacy and of how to assess news
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media literacy. Both factors are noted in the study’s conceptual framework as key stakeholder
influences to measure.
One of the pitfalls regarding using documents in data collection is the researcher’s
limitations in determining their authenticity and accuracy (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). For this
study, that pitfall was avoided by the researcher’s proximity to the stakeholder group. As a
member of the CU faculty, the researcher had direct and uninhibited access to department
grading rubrics, so it was easy to confirm document authenticity and accuracy.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
A hallmark of excellence in qualitative research is that the researcher plays an important
role in the gathering of the data; he or she is not an invisible observer, but rather an active
participant (Creswell, 2014). For this reason, it is important the researchers disclose any biases
that might affect outcomes (Creswell, 2014; McEwan & McEwan, 2003). In the case of this
study, the primary researcher is a member of the CU Communication Department full-time
faculty and serves as department chair, although it is also important to note that in this role, the
researcher does not act as the stakeholders’ official direct supervisor; he is not the one who
conducts stakeholder performance reviews. Still, the researcher must practice reflexivity at all
stages of the inquiry. That is, the researcher must constantly reflect on how his participation in
the study affects the responses of both stakeholder groups (Creswell, 2014). The researcher
accomplished this by keeping a journal throughout the course of the study. Entries were made
following every interview and again at the end of the eight-interview process. These entries
were read and considered at the beginning of the data coding phase as well.
Another issue to be considered is the professional bias of the researcher. As he is a
member of the department being studied, it would be impossible to assume complete objectivity.
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However, such biases can be mitigated through triangulation of methods (Maxwell, 2013),
member checking (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), reflexivity (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), and by
maintaining transparency about biases throughout the study and in the subsequent report of its
findings (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Multiple sources of data (interviews and documents) were
also utilized in the study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). It was important for the researcher to be
candid about potential biases and assumptions and how they might affect data collection and
analysis. Bias was not reflected in sampling since in this study, all CU communication faculty
were included in the study. Finally, the researcher mitigated potential issues of trustworthiness
by disclosing upfront the purpose of the study.
Ethics
Whether or not the research findings of a study can be considered valid and reliable
depends greatly on the ethics of the researcher (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). For this reason, it is
important to consider the ethical issues related to this study.
The foremost ethical issue connected to this study was the role of the researcher as it
relates to the subjects. The stakeholder group is the full-time faculty of the Communication
Department at Christian University, of which the researcher is a member. Additionally, the
researcher’s role within the department is chairperson, which creates additional ethical snares to
avoid because the power dynamic between researcher and subject could be seen as exploitive
and/or coercive (Glesne, 2011). Ethics dictate that research subjects must sign an informed
consent form and be made aware of the purpose of the study (Glesne, 2011; Krueger & Casey,
2009; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Rubin & Rubin, 2012;), but this alone will not suffice to counter
ethical concerns related to the power dynamic. It was possible that faculty would still feel
pressure to participate because the request came from the department chair. One solution was to
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avoid asking participants directly to participate. By posting flyers that made it clear that
participation was voluntary, the researcher was able to present the opportunity to participate
passively by not putting them in a position to say yes or no.
Another potential ethical concern stemmed from the researcher’s proximity to the
subjects. As a member of the CU community, the researcher was already aware of some of the
organizational variables that might affect participants’ attitudes and responses toward Clark and
Estes’ (2008) knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences the study explored. Such
familiarity, while it could be seen as a positive because it allows for a more “surgical” approach
to interview protocols, might have also created a scenario where interview questions were
leading in nature, and that interview subjects would sense that. Such an awareness from them
could have affected their responses if they thought the researcher was “fishing” for responses and
if they tried to please him with their answers. However, Patton (2002) argues that the
interviewer’s presence goes beyond that of a cold, distant observer, and that scenarios where his
or her presence alters responses is unavoidable.
Finally, the conceptual design of this study assumes a significant cultural/organization
influence on the stakeholder group. Because of this, interview questions were intended to
generate candid responses designed to shed light on some of the cultural issues at play at CU.
For interview subjects, such candor about cultural issues could have been considered risky if the
information landed in the hands of the CU Executive Team. Because the foundational principle
of human research is to do no harm (Glesne, 2011; Krueger & Casey, 2009; Merriam & Tisdell,
2016; Rubin & Rubin, 2012), it was imperative to maintain confidentiality and protect interview
subjects by safeguarding the recordings by using a non-networked recording device and
destroying the recordings once they were transcribed and made anonymous.
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Limitations and Delimitations
The researcher’s role as a member of the CU Communication Department faculty created
some limitations in the study. It is conceivable that interview subjects were not completely
candid in their responses, especially in response to questions and probes related to the influence
of leadership and organizational culture at CU. This potential limitation is magnified by the
researcher’s role as communication department chair, even though the stakeholders do not report
directly to the researcher for annual performance reviews. Because of the close professional
relationship between the researcher and the stakeholder group, questions relating specifically to
communication department governance, leadership, and culture are absent from the interview
protocol; the potential for interview subjects to feel pressured or manipulated under such
circumstances was too great.
The researcher also chose not to expand the research to include faculty members from
other academic departments at CU. While data collected from other faculty members could have
provider a broader perspective on faculty attitudes about organizational influences, their
connection to the stakeholder goal is thin or non-existent, which would have diluted the impact
of the study’s findings and subsequent recommendations.

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CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
This study evaluated the CU Communication Department faculty’s efforts to design and
implement news media curricula. The analysis focused on the areas of knowledge and skill,
motivation, and organizational (KMO) influences. While a complete performance evaluation
would focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes the stakeholder of focus in this analysis
was the CU Communication Department faculty.
The questions that guided this study were:
1. What are the CU Communication Department faculty’s knowledge and motivation
related to achieving the goal of 100% of CU seniors scoring at 80% or higher on a
department news media literacy test?
2. What is the interaction between the CU’s organizational culture and context and the
communication department’s knowledge and motivation as it relates to 100% of
communication seniors scoring at 80% or higher on a department news media literacy
test?
To answer these research questions, the researcher utilized a qualitative approach to data
collection, supported by document analysis of CU Communication Department grading rubrics
from the following courses: C472 Rhetorical Criticism and C382 Persuasion (Appendix C), and
CU Assessment Rubrics and Signature Assignments (Appendix D). The selected rubrics
measure department learning outcomes for each communication major emphasis by assessing
signature assignments that appear in strategic courses within the major emphasis. Interview
questions were designed to illuminate stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation with respect to
the design and implementation of news media curricula within the CU Communication
Department course offerings, as well as to determine what, if any, organizational factors might
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help or hinder such an endeavor. Document review of grading rubrics and university learning
objectives supported the study by determining the degree to which communication department
faculty are assessing for news media literacy in upper-division capstone assignments, the extent
to which the rubrics reflects both declarative and procedural (Krathwohl, 2002) knowledge of
news media literacy, and the level of alignment between university learning objectives and a
possible news media literacy curriculum (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Participating Stakeholders
For this qualitative study, the stakeholder of focus was eight CU Communication
Department faculty members, four full-time non-tenured professors and four adjunct professors.
The four full-time professors represent a census of the communication department full-time
faculty (excluding the researcher) and represent each of the department’s emphases of study.
The adjunct faculty have taught in the communication department for a minimum of three years.
Of the eight participants in the study, four were female and four were male. The time of
employment at CU among the participants ranged from three to 34 years. The mean time of
employment was 10.25 years. A breakdown of all participants is provided in Figure 2.
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Figure 2. Participants in study by years of teaching experience and professional rank at CU

As Figure 2 shows, none of the full-time communication professors at CU are tenured. Two of
the four adjunct professors have taught at the school for more than 10 years, giving them a longer
span of employment at CU than half of the full-time professors.
Results and Findings
The results and findings section is organized around Clark and Estes’ (2008) knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences in relation the stakeholder of focus and the
organizational goal. Research question one addresses stakeholder knowledge and motivation
influences, while research question two addresses the interaction of CU organizational influences
on stakeholder knowledge and motivation. Research questions one and two are not mutually
exclusive; the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences overlap and intertwine in
ways both obvious and subtle. For this reason, Chapter Four concludes with a summary, which
1
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years
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years
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years
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years
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years
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years
31+
years
CU
Communication
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Faculty
Participants
Years
of
Service
and
Professional
Rank
Full-‐‑Time
(non-‐‑tenured) Adjunct
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highlights these connections and offers conclusions based on the big picture painted by the
study’s component parts as well as its implications.
For this study assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences were
considered validated at the 50% threshold. If 50% of study participants indicated through their
answers evidence supporting an assumed influence, it was considered validated. Because 50%
of the adjunct professors have taught at CU longer than 50% of the full-time professors, no
special weight was given to full-time professors over adjunct professors in calculating if
influences were validated.
Results and Findings for Knowledge Influences
For this study, assumed conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge influences
were examined through the use of semi-structured interviews with four full-time and four adjunct
CU Communication Department faculty. Results from the interviews were analyzed and
compared with data gathered though document analysis of communication department
assessment rubrics. The rubrics enhanced the study by providing insight into what the
department expects or assumes its professors already know.
Knowledge Influence 1 (Conceptual Knowledge): CU full-time and adjunct professors can
confidently differentiate an editorial from a news article
Without exception, 100% of CU Communication Department professors indicated and
demonstrated they could tell the difference between an example of journalism intended to deliver
news and one intended to deliver opinion. When asked how they explain the differences
between an objective news article and an editorial, 100% were able to answer accurately, using
concrete examples. P1 identified a news article as “not landing on one side or the other,” while
P4 said a news piece “shouldn’t lead the reader to a conclusion about how to think about the
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issue at hand.” P7 defined a news article as “objective” and “disinterested.” P6 said a news
article “must stick to the facts,” adding that it “may help the reader form an opinion on an issue,
but through clarity of facts, not persuasion.” There was no confusion among participants over
what constitutes an objective news story.
CU professors were equally clear on how to define an editorial. All eight responses
included the word, “opinion,” and six responses included “persuade.” P8 said an editorial
“delivers and opinion,” and P2 added that “an editorial uses facts to persuade, but does not pose
as objective, at least you hope not.” P3 acknowledged that telling the difference between news
and editorial “isn’t as easy as it used to be,” adding that “news consumers need to be vigilant. A
news story can editorialize by what it excludes, how it weights a particular story.” P4 added a
geographic element to differentiating between news and editorial:
Well, the very first thing that I would show students is that you have to pay attention to
where the story is published. Is it on page one? Well that’s news. Then open if – well
they don’t open the newspapers anymore. But the tabs at the top of the website, when
you click on Op-Ed, or editorial, that means they’re allowed to say what they want.
In the same way CU faculty were able to identify characteristics of a news story, they were
capable of describing the characteristics of an editorial.
A review of the communication department’s assignment grading rubrics (Appendix B)
also indicated that CU professors possessed sufficient knowledge of differences between
objective and editorial journalism content. For example, the Political Campaign assignment
from the C382 Persuasion course includes in its grading rubric several components that measure
students’ intentions and methods of persuasion. Professors are expected to assess the assignment
in terms of “situational analysis” (measure 1), “strategies” (measure #3), and “evaluation”
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(measure #6). Each of the three referenced assessment measures requires that professors
understand when a student’s work is persuasive to a specific audience, which involves a mix of
fact and opinion. From the same course, the grading rubric for Speech Project 1 includes
“audience analysis” (measure #5), in which professor must assess student work on the basis of
how well they execute emotional appeals. This kind of assessment also involves differentiating
between fact and opinion. In the Argument Speech rubric from the Persuasion course,
assessment measure #2 (“body”), asks professors to assess the effectiveness of students’ line of
reasoning, which includes analyzing “two strong pieces of evidence from two different sources
for each line of reasoning.” Such an analysis assumes that professors can tell when a student is
employing facts to make and argument versus when he or she is giving opinion. As it relates to
differentiating an editorial article from a news article, the department grading rubrics reveal an
expectation of professor acumen. It is important to note here that none of the faculty expressed
concern or discomfort related to the presence of the rubric measures that assess this conceptual
knowledge. P6 said the rubrics were “consistent with what I am teaching,” while P2 added that
they were “pretty straightforward” and “easy to use.” These responses are consistent with the
faculty’s expressed level of comfort with the conceptual knowledge influence in question.
Knowledge Influence 2 (Procedural Knowledge): Most CU professors understand how to
teach students to differentiate a news story from an editorial
Interviews with faculty reveal a high level of competence among most faculty to teach
students how to identify an example of journalism as an editorial and/or a news article. When
asked how they would create an assignment to help students grasp the differences between a
news article and an editorial article, faculty responses were comprehensive and robust; 87.5%
indicated a high degree of knowledge in how they teach students to differentiate news from
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editorial content. P4 said that with a specific classroom assignment she has used in the past:
“We would read a news article, we would point out the components of it, the qualities of it. We
talk about the structure of it and then we parallel that with an opinion piece and see what’s the
difference.” P5 already teaches students to “look for confirmed facts in a news piece; understand
when you read an editorial it’s going to be biased.” P6 identified the teaching of such skill as
“pretty straightforward” and “not difficult to assess,” a sentiment echoed by all but one of the
professors interviewed. P8 noted that she had been “teaching that skill for many years already,”
and added the following explanation of how she does it:
I would actually piggyback off of that fundamental curriculum and I would start by
giving them just a basic breakdown of what a claim of fact is, what a claim of judgment
is, what it looks like to dissect evidence and follow it back to the source.
P2 offered an even more detailed explanation of how he already teaches students to identify key
differences between editorial and news content in journalistic stories:
I take a stack of Wall Street Journals from the business department, and I pass them out.
I say, “Look for the sponsored content”…because the statistics tell us that even for
articles that are written by staff journalists, only about 14% of the content was actually
collected by the journalist. The rest of it is coming from public relations agencies, who
are happy to collect and provide that data, for the privilege of having…their moneyed
interests depicted in a favorable way.
P2’s example was especially telling because it indicates that in his classroom, he is teaching
students to discern key differences on a level that goes beyond the basics of objectivity versus
opinion to encompass the source of the information and to consider some of the more subtle
ways a story can be slanted.
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Of the eight professors interviewed, only P1 admitted to being unsure of how to teach
students this skill. As noted above, P1 indicated a clear understanding of the difference between
news and editorial, but when asked how he might teach that to a student he indicated that he
“would have to think about it more,” adding:
It’s not my area of focus. I don’t know that I could give an appropriate answer without
giving it some thought…terms like editorial and news media literacy, I’m familiar with
them, obviously, but they’re not terms I use in the classroom on a day-to-day basis.
Document Analysis. In addition to faculty responses, department grading rubrics
demonstrate at least the assumption of professor knowledge of the assumed influence. The
aforementioned assignments from C372 Persuasion and C482 Rhetorical Criticism point to
professor assessments that indicate the expectation that professors are teaching students to tell
the difference between fact and opinion. For example, the “overall cohesiveness” (measure #5)
rubric element from the Argument Speech rubric in C372 Persuasion includes the language,
“Speech also contains no inferential leaps or fallacies of reasoning.” It is safe to assume that
such a level of analysis would require both professor and student to differentiate fact from
opinion. During the interview process, P3 spoke about this particular grading rubric, saying that,
“[Students] have to be able to know the specific points from articles and they have to draw from
credible sources.” P3 added that the rubric is supposed to measure students’ “ability to know
when they’re drawing from a credible source.”
The CU Assessment Rubrics and Signature Assignments (Appendix D) provide more
evidence to support the assertion. For example, Program Learning Outcome (PLO) 4 from the
Journalism emphasis indicates that professors should be teaching students to “demonstrate
knowledge of journalistic ethics and fairness” and “frame complex issues in a way to present all
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sides to the reader without interpretation or editorializing.” This PLO centers on a students’
ability to objectively, without bias, report on as issue, which also suggests that CU professors are
already teaching it and thus holding them accountable in the grading rubric. The two
performance indicators that CU professors use to assess this PLO provide the following specific
guidance for evaluating student work: “The article must accurately and completely frame both
sides of an issue without bias” and, “The article must include enough quoted sources to paint a
full picture of the subject.” Both indicators require professors possess a solid grasp of the
procedural knowledge addressed in this assertion.
Knowledge Influence 3 (Procedural Knowledge): CU professors need more training and
practice in how to teach students to synthesize several examples of journalism on a singular
subject and in how to analyze a news story and investigate its sources for validity,
especially if they are asked to participate in a news media literacy initiative
As interview questions addressed the more complex skills needed to teach news media
literacy, CU faculty began expressing a greater degree of uncertainty, as well as a broader range
of responses. In general, faculty understood what would constitute student news media literacy,
and they believed they could help students become news media literate. However, 62.5% of the
faculty also expressed that if news media literacy were to become an imbedded, tracked
component of the department curriculum, they would want to be better prepared to implement
such a curriculum. P5 said that teaching students to compare several stories on the same subject
“is critical because even when someone thinks he’s being objective, he may not be.” At the
same time, however, he admitted that while asking a student to find more articles on a subject “is
easy,” teaching them “what to conclude about differences they find is more complex. That’s
deep level thinking.” P8 indicated some acumen in teaching students to synthesize, stating that
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in her classes, she teaches students to “ask what the premises of an article are,” and to
“determine the veracity of an article through cross-referencing” other articles. This answer
suggests that P8 currently practices the requisite synthesis-teaching skill to implement news
media literacy curricula. However, later in the interview P8 said that teaching synthesis “is the
hardest thing I do,” and compared success to “throwing darts at a target, hoping one hits the
bullseye.” P4 also indicated a strong presence of synthesis teaching in her courses:
One thing I tell my college students a ton, especially my journalists, is to cross-reference.
Okay, like this says this here but does it say it in two or three other places? And is this a
news article or is this an opinion article?...I told them all the time, “The only thing I care,
if you walk away with one thing, it’s that you understand how to consume and evaluate
all these media.”
Again, this professor’s response indicates that high-level media literacy training is already taking
place in the classroom. But, as with P4 and P8, P3 admitted that she “feels like [she is] fighting
the tide” when it comes to getting students to learn it. She added: “There’s probably a better way
to do it. I’d love to go to a conference or two, or three!” In reference to bringing students to an
understanding that several supposed news articles on the same subject can offer different and
even opposing perspectives, P2 said, “Those brain explosions are few and far between,
unfortunately, but we try for them.”
P5 spoke specifically to the challenge of teaching students to vet the sources of an article
as a means to uncover perspective and bias. He said he tries to teach students to “look up the
author, find out what else he or she has written.” P5 added that “the more you get to know about
the author, the better you understand the article.” P5’s response indicates that teaching students
to consider an article’s sources, a key component of news media literacy, already takes place in
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his classes. This assertion is supported by the grading rubrics for both C382 Persuasion and
C472 Rhetorical Criticism (Appendix C), as well as Program Learning Outcome 4 from the
Journalism emphasis (Appendix D), as illustrated in Knowledge Assertion 1.
One point of interest when measuring faculty responses is the difference between how
adjunct and full-time professors feel about teaching students to synthesize several examples of
journalism. Of the two groups, it was the full-time faculty that expressed the most doubt in their
preparedness to design and implement news media curricula. All four full-time faculty
interviews expressed concern, while just one of the adjunct faculty member, the one who had
been teaching at CU the longest, indicated the same level of concern.
Document Analysis. Analysis of CU Communication Department grading rubrics from
C472 Rhetorical Criticism and C382 Persuasion (Appendix C), as well as the CU Assessment
Rubrics and Signature Assignments (Appendix D) indicates why some CU professors do not all
feel they are prepared to teach students the more complex elements of news media literacy. As
noted, rubrics and department learning objectives both provide examples of current assignments
that test students’ skill in noted aspects of news media literacy such as vetting sources,
synthesizing many sources of information on a singular subject, and differentiating fact from
opinion. However, it must be noted that not every CU professor teaches from courses that
contain signature assignments, nor do they all teach C472 Rhetorical Criticism or C382
Persuasion. In fact, as the CU Assessment Rubrics and Signature Assignments (Appendix D)
shows, the Cinema and Digital Arts emphasis does not contain a Program Learning Outcome
(PLO) that would fit the definition of a news media literacy skill. Added to that, the Cinema and
Digital Arts emphasis is unique to the rest of the communication major in that its students are not
required to take the Persuasion course, which comprises several of the assignments that include
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news media literacy rubric items. Given the uneven nature of where news media literacy related
courses fall within the faculty’s teaching distribution, and given the fact that one of the four
emphases’ PLO’s do not offer any measured news media literacy instruction, it stands to reason
that faculty responses to preparedness to teach news media literacy would vary.
Professor responses to interview questions, as well as evidence found in communication
department PLO’s support the assertion that a level of knowledge that is present, but not
overwhelmingly so. Seventy-five percent of faculty claim to know how to teach students to
synthesize several examples of journalism, but 50% also admit they are not seeing the kind of
results they want from their students. P7 put it this way:
If I’m being totally honest, when a student gets it, I don’t always know why, you know?
I don’t feel like I can take the credit…students don’t get it too. That’s happening all the
time. Whose fault is it? Mine? Maybe? I don’t know.
Department PLO’s suggest that professors are already expected to possess knowledge
that would apply to news media literacy instruction. However, from the professors’ perspective,
more knowledge is necessary; with regards to executing a full curriculum, CU Communication
Department professors indicate a reticence that cannot be ignored. They possess some of the
procedural knowledge, but they indicate that they would be more comfortable and confident if
they knew more.
Knowledge Influence 4 (Metacognitive Knowledge): CU professors possess a strong sense
of their own biases and how those biases interact with teaching news media literacy
Communication professors at CU indicated a clear understanding about how their
personal biases might affect the way they view examples of journalism. Data reveal that 100%
of study participants understand the importance of perspective and worldview when it comes to
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how they interpret messages. In fact, all eight participants stressed that biases are unavoidable
and could be useful in filtering information, both for themselves and for their students. P8 made
a strong case for importance of understanding one’s biases:
I learned opposing theories about how and what you should do with your own personal
biases. And my little middle ground that I have come to start to believe is that it’s
actually not beneficial to try to entirely shed all of your biases because they make you
who you are and who you are is important because it makes you different from
everybody else.
P6 said, “If something in a story offends me, I want to know why. It’s not always obvious.” P5
also saw the importance of examining one’s bias, saying that “reading the other side is helpful.
Sometimes you’re way off base and sometimes it strengthens your beliefs.” Participants’ close
identification with personal bias is linked to their Christian faith. When asked to consider their
own biases when interpreting a story in class, faculty used the words “faith,” “Christian,” and
“worldview’ in every answer at least once. The data suggest a strong correlation among CU
faculty between bias and worldview, which flow from the participants’ faith. P7 articulated this
correlation clearly:
We’re all Christians here, so we are going to share the same biases, if you want to call it
that. Who we are, how we see ourselves is followers of Jesus Christ – that’s going to
define our worldview. It’s an extension of our faith. So of course we are going to run
everything through that filter.
P2 further articulates P7’s perspective:
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It starts with a theological basis, and that is, as followers of Jesus Christ, we actually
believe that we have an inerrant source of truth in Scripture…That [would be] the
foundation [of understanding bias].
While the data did not validate a gap in CU professors’ understanding and prioritization
of their own metacognition, it did reveal that the professors themselves believe their students
need to develop their own sense of metacognition. In the same way CU professors tied bias to
their worldview, which is anchored to their Christian faith, CU professors see it as their
imperative to foster similarly tight connections between faith and worldview in their students,
though most expressed that doing so is not easy. P4 said she tries to accomplish it by first
challenging students’ biases: “A lot of our students have grown up doing what they’re told and
never being allowed to ask why. I allow them the freedom to ask why, and I think at the
beginning they don’t know how to do that.” P8 takes a similar approach to helping students
understand their biases: “I ask students to play devil’s advocate. It sometimes puts a strain on
them, and some students handle it better than others. I’ve scratched my head over what makes
some students afraid to do it.” P3, who also uses devil’s advocate exercises in class, agreed with
P8’s assessment of student response: “They don’t want to be exposed to counterargument. I
don’t really know why yet. I think they want to live in a protected world – a Christian bubble.”
P3 suggested that students “don’t want to be exposed to so much negativity in the news,” and felt
that it led to avoidance of counterarguments, which she felt was “one of the big problems, one of
the reasons they don’t pursue news media literacy.”
The presence of metacognitive knowledge is not an either/or proposition. As Baker
(2006) suggests, metacognitive knowledge exists in degrees of effectiveness, and it is not
uniformly deployed. Findings from this study support Baker’s assertion in that CU professors
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consistently indicated that their students utilize metacognition in connecting information to their
Christian worldviews, but that such efforts are spotty and underdeveloped. Professor responses
revealed a greater depth and consistency of metacognitive thought among the faculty.
As they relate to the assertion above, findings from participant responses suggest that
professors already possess the requisite metacognitive knowledge to teach news media literacy.
Findings also suggest a new influence – that CU professors need to be able to teach their students
the metacognitive skills they need to become news media literacy.
Table 5

Summary of Validated Assumed Knowledge Needs

Assumed Need Validated Not Validated New Need
Professors need to differentiate
between an editorial and a news
story.
√
Professors need to be able to teach
students how to distinguish a news
story from an editorial.
√
Professors need to know how to teach
students to synthesize several
examples of media journalism on a
singular subject.
√
Professors need to know how to teach
students to analyze a news story and
investigate its sources for validity.
√
Professors need to self-reflect on
their own biases as they relate to
teaching objectivity in news
journalism.
√
Professors need to be able to teach
students to self-reflect on their biases
as they relate to recognizing
objectivity and/or bias in news
journalism.
√

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Results and Findings for Motivation Influences
As with the knowledge influences related to this study, the assumed motivational
influences were examined through semi-structured interviews and supported by document
analysis. Interview questions sought to gauge participants’ sense of self-efficacy with regards to
designing and implementing news media literacy curricula at CU. They also sought to determine
participants’ feelings and attitudes about the value of adding the new curriculum to the
department’s offerings, specifically in light of the school’s mission. Document analysis of
department assessment rubrics and learning objectives brought greater clarity to the relationship
between news media literacy and the school’s stated learning goals for its students.
Motivation Influence 1 (Self Efficacy): Most CU professors believe they can successfully
teach and assess student news media literacy, but also believe they would need more
specific training to design and implement news media literacy curricula
The question of professor self-efficacy as it relates to adopting and teaching news media
literacy curricula in course materials was addressed in questions 4 and 13 of the subject
interviews. Results from both questions were clear and consistent; 87.5% of interview
participants revealed that they felt “confident” or “pretty confident” they could adopt the new
curricula if asked to do so. Only one answered in the negative: “Not very confident at all.”
Seventy-five percent of participants cited specific lessons they already teach in their current
courses which they identified as fitting into news media teaching. For example, P8 said, “I’ve
been teaching Persuasion for so long, news media literacy is a natural next step for me.” P8 also
referenced a colleague within the communication department, saying, “She and I together could
whip up something pretty fantastic [for news media literacy curricula.]” P4 also expressed
confidence: “I came into the University knowing how to teach [news media literacy],” as did P2,
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who has “a background in entertainment media,” and has “seen enough of how messaging is
done.”
In spite of participants’ confidence to execute a news media literacy curriculum, 75% felt
that if CU were to adopt news media literacy as a formal, benchmarked component of the
curriculum, they would want more training. Of the seven professors who expressed confidence,
the following phrases also in appeared in five of the seven answers: “I would want to attend a
conference” (P5), “Since it’s specifically journalism, I’m not 100% comfortable with every
aspect,” (P6), “If this is something we’re going to track, I’d want a clearer idea of how they want
me to do it” (P7), “I feel prepared to teach it, but I’m not as positive or confident as somebody
with the specific vein of training in journalism” (P8), and “News media literacy is in a slightly
different area than rhetorical theory, even though there’s overlap. I’d have to do some
adaptation” (P3).
Self-efficacy theory asserts that if people do not believe they can accomplish a task, they
will lack incentive to pursue it (Pajares, 2006). Therefore, the distinction between how CU
professors feel about teaching news media as a component of a course versus how they feel
about executing a full news media curriculum cannot be ignored. Professors believe they can
teach news media literacy as an isolated skill, but are less confident when a full curriculum is
proposed, which, according to self-efficacy theory, means successful curriculum implementation
will be hindered (Pajares, 2006).
Motivation Influence 2 (Expectancy Value): CU professors place a high value on student
news media literacy, specifically in the context of CU’s organizational mission
Consistent throughout participants’ answers was a strong sense that news media literacy
was a mission match for the school. When asked if they felt there was alignment between news
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media literacy and the school’s mission and doctrinal statement, 87.5% of professors responded
positively. Additionally, both full-time and adjunct professors were able to provide concrete
examples of why CU students should become news media literate. Of note in the answers given
is that in every instance, professors were quick to draw connections between student news media
literacy and a student’s Christian testimony and effectiveness as witnesses for Christ. This
connection creates a direct tie-in between how professors view news media literacy teaching,
professor worldview, and the global mission of the institution. Responses from the seven of the
eight professors strongly identified news media literacy as being in line with the school’s
mission. P8, like her colleagues, was quick to frame news media literacy as a mission match for
the University:
As Christians…we take Scripture and use it as a lens through which we see everything.
But our lens is just a lens. There is the entire world out in front of that lens...News media
is the way that we interact with things that happen outside of our own personal
experience. It’s extremely aligned with a staunch biblical perspective because we’re
commanded by God to…be able to give an answer to anyone for our faith. How are we
going to do that if we don’t know how to interact with the people who are…outside of
our school and outside of our faith?
P2 identified news media literacy as being “perfectly aligned with our mission” for
reasons that mirror P8’s response. P8 added that Christian professors as well as Christian
students at CU are “supposed to be agents of truth,” adding that a key departmental goal is “to
teach students to look at information critically and compare it to objective truth – to evaluate it
from a biblical worldview.” Regarding the teaching of news media literacy at CU, P8 offered
the following admonition: “To somebody who says there is no value in news media literacy, I
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would say, respectfully, ‘Please crawl out from under that rock because you’re going to kill the
next generation.’” P3 also drew a tight connection between news media literacy and CU
mission:
I push my students to go and discover that what we believe is true and that we have
arguments against the opposition. But we also have to understand and learn the opposing
views if we’re going to be able to give an answer for our faith, as Scripture commands. If
we are going to evangelize atheists, we better know what atheism is, as we better know
how to address arguments that an atheist would pose.
P5 was excited enough about prospect of teaching news media literacy on campus that he
suggested the school consider adding it, not just to the communication department, but to the
University curriculum as a whole as a new general education requirement.: “Maybe this is
something we need to do on a campus-wide level. Imagine every student taking a semester-long
course that teaches them to search for objective truth?”
It is important to note that even the one professor whose answer was not as robustly in
favor of news media literacy as the rest, there was very little in terms of resistance. “I’m not
opposed to it. I just have to see that it has a benefit long-term. The first thing I would want to
make sure is that it was applicable to all the different courses that I teach.” Later in the answer,
this professor admitted the connection between news media literacy and the school’s mission: “I
think [teaching news media literacy] is right in line with our biblical stance and our doctrinal
stance.”
Document Analysis. CU faculty’s connection of news media literacy and the school’s
mission and doctrinal statement is supported by document analysis. CU Communication
Department assessment rubrics and PLO’s include numerous examples of assessment items that
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measure elements closely tied to news media literacy. This is significant because the ubiquity of
such measures at the departmental level indicates a commitment by the department to make sure
its students are learning the skills those assessments measure. Also pertinent are the stated
PLO’s for each communication major emphasis, as they represent what the department itself
considers foundational. Table 6 provides a snapshot of all emphasis PLO’s, and identifies those
PLO’s that fall under the umbrella of a news media literacy related skill.
Table 6

CU Communication Department PLO’s by Emphasis, Identified as News Media Literacy Related
(Yes) or Not News Media Literacy Related (No)

# Program Learning Objectives (PLO’s) Yes No
Cinema and Digital Arts
1
Demonstrate a working knowledge of media history and theory.
X
2
Demonstrate basic mastery of film/video pre-production techniques including
conceptualizing, scripting, storyboarding, pitching, critique, general shoot preparation,
location scouting, and casting.
X
3
Demonstrate basic mastery with film/video production skills including producing, directing,
lighting, shooting, and basic sound recording.
X
4
Demonstrate basic mastery of film/video post-production techniques including video editing
and, sound editing.
X
Creative Writing and Publishing
1
Effectively incorporate a biblical worldview in writing as appropriate for the situation.
X
2
Write effectively in several forms and genres, including short stories, essays, memoirs, and
features.
X
3
Demonstrate a working knowledge of photography and photo editing, for the purpose of
producing print and/or digital documents.
X
4
Demonstrate basic proficiency in textual editing for elements of story, style, grammar, tone,
and institutional appropriateness.
X
Journalism
1
Effectively incorporate a biblical worldview in writing as appropriate for the situation.
X
2
Demonstrate proficiency in journalistic reporting and writing (news story, feature, editorial,
and column writing) and Associated Press style. This includes writing a concise journalistic
lead and proper quote attribution.
X
3
Demonstrate proficiency in utilizing forms of multimedia journalism beyond print media—
visual elements in concert with writing and editing elements to produce effective pieces of
visual journalism.
X
4
Demonstrate knowledge of journalistic ethics and fairness. Produce stories that are balanced,
framing complex issues in a way to present all sides to the reader without interpretation or
editorializing. Utilize quoted sources to generate a fair representation of various sides of the
issue.
X
Speech Communication
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1
Engage in discussion as both speaker and listener through interpreting, analyzing, and
summarizing; contribute to discussions in a way that is readily understood by listeners;
present an opinion persuasively; analyze the shape and goals of a discourse.
X
2
Exemplify in communicative settings the highest ethical and moral standards.
X
3
Demonstrate the ability to correctly analyze and interpret a spoken discourse.
X
4
Determine appropriate language and usage in various communicative situations (considering
the peculiarities of language, dialect, and culture).
X
5
Demonstrate a working knowledge of one of the following various theories of rhetoric: Neo-
Aristotelian, Generic, Fantasy-Theme, Feminist, Ideological, Metaphoric, Narrative, and
Dramatic.
X
6
Prepare and effectively present various types of oral discourse: discussions, reports, speeches,
and debates.
X

Table 6 shows 18 separate PLO’s spread across the four emphases, and of those 18 PLO’s, 11
include elements of news media literacy (61.1%). Digging further, removing the Cinema and
Digital Arts emphasis, which operates under a separate set of requirements and also excludes
C382 Persuasion from its list of core requirements, the percentage of remaining PLO’s that
indicate a component of news media literacy jumps to 11 out of 14, or 78.6%. This data supports
the qualitative data indicating a strong connection between news media literacy and CU’s
mission among professors. The professors believe news media literacy is a mission match for
the school, and the communication department PLO’s are weighted heavily in that direction
already. Both data sets support strong faculty motivation in light of expectancy value theory.
The fact that grading rubrics indicate program-mission alignment, and that 100% of the
faculty interviewed for this study agreed that news media literacy is consistent with the spiritual
mission of the school is significant from a motivation perspective. A primary component of
expectancy value theory is that if a person attaches value to an activity, he or she is more likely
to engage in that activity, as well as persist in completing it (Eccles, 2006; Rueda, 2011). In the
case of news media literacy curriculum adoption at CU, it is clear that the communication
department faculty attach the highest value to it, which, according to the expectancy value
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theory, indicates a high degree of intrinsic motivation to the task of implementing and executing
news media curricula at CU.

Table 7

Summary of Validated Assumed Motivation Needs

Assumed Need Validated Not Validated New Need
Professors need to believe they are
capable of effectively incorporating
news media literacy into the
curriculum.
√
Professors need to see the importance
of incorporating news media literacy
curricula to achieving CU’s
organizational mission.
√

Results and Findings for Organizational Influences
This study’s examination of assumed organizational influences focused on cultural
models and cultural settings (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001) that might affect CU
Communication Department professors’ ability to adopt news media curricula. Semi-structured
interviews revealed two perceived cultural setting impediments to successful curriculum
implementation. Interviews also indicated complex impediments related to organizational
culture that may stem from CU’s distinct identification as a Christian institution, and to its tight
adherence to its doctrinal statement. An analysis of university learning objectives served to
provide greater insight into CU’s unique organizational culture.
Cultural Setting Influence: CU professors need the University to provide resources in the
form of education (training in news media literacy pedagogy) and time (temporary course
relief) to design and implement and execute news media literacy into the communication
department curriculum
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As illustrated in Motivation Influence #1, interview data reveal that CU Communication
Department faculty feel mostly confident that they can effectively teach news media literacy in
their classrooms. However, the same data also revealed that all eight study participants
expressed a desire for additional training if news media literacy were to become a benchmarked
component of the department curriculum.
When asked whether or not they felt the University would be willing to provide
additional news media literacy training, the responses were somewhat mixed, though they leaned
more toward the negative than the positive. Of the participants, 62.5% responded with either a
“No” or a “Probably not.” P7 said, “Maybe, but I might need to do a little pushing.” Two
participants said they felt such training would be provided if a request were made. P2 said he
“completely believed the school could and would provide it.” P2 added that he thought the
“biggest limiter” would be time, as in, time for time for faculty to create the curriculum. “If
you’re going to create new curricula, a new course, that time has to come from somewhere, and
sometimes it’s an empty bucket.” With respect to adding new responsibilities to current
workload, P2 indicated that his workload is already maxed out: “I made the decision when I
entered the field that I was basically going to work and sleep. Then, Friday nights I was going to
spend with my wife. And everything seems to be matching up.” P2 did indicate that if need be,
he felt comfortable going to administration for help, saying that, “There are only so many hours
in a day,” and that if he became overwhelmed, he could “sound the alarm and let them know I’m
tasked out. We have a very understanding administration.” P7 said he “probably wouldn’t be
asked to develop new curricula as an adjunct,” but added that if he was, he would “not be able to
just add it to the normal workload of a class.” P1 added that while support for new curricula “is
limited, but I don’t want to say there’s none. But it’s minimal.”
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Of the 62.5% of professors who said they did not believe the University would provide
training, the responses were strong. For example, when asked about his level of confidence in
the school to provide training, P1 said, “Not very confident, honestly. It would have to be
something that I would have to proactively go after.” Asked if he could envision a scenario
where the school would take the initiative and approach him with an offer to train, P1’s simply
said, “No.” P8 echoed P1’s response, saying that she “would have to pitch [CU administration]
in a way that the people who hold the money would be willing to release it.” P5’s response was
stronger. He felt the school’s protocols for supporting new curriculum development were
“poor,” adding that when asked to develop curriculum in the past by CU, he felt like he was
“kind of going in blind.” P5 also suggested that the school “bring in instructional designers to
assist professors” who do not have the training. P4 said, “A lot of things I am asked to teach
weren’t a part of my training,” and wondered, “How are we supposed to teach literacy in any
form if we don’t know how to teach, right?” P6 added that she “would love to get more training
from the University,” but added that “adjunct professors aren’t usually considered for that.” Of
the eight interview participants, 50% of the full-time professors indicated that the institution
would provide needed training to design and implement news media curricula, though all
believed some training would be provided if a strong case could be made to senior
administration. All of the adjunct professors indicated that while the school might provide
training, it would probably not be offered to them.
Faculty response to questions surrounding training and support consistently indicated that
there exists some doubts as to whether training would be made available by the University,
especially among the adjunct professors. Full-time professors, while they expressed greater
confidence in the University to make training available, remained mostly skeptical about
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receiving any course relief to allow them to design new curricula. Such skepticism is significant
in light of Clark and Estes’ (2008) assertion that effective organizational change involves making
sure everyone has the resources needed to effectively do their jobs. Any change in curriculum
would represent a change in the organizational landscape for CU professors, and such shifts can
affect professors’ sense of mastery (Moran & Brightman, 2000). Even when presented with a
hypothetical scenario of executing new curricula, CU faculty responses were consistent with a
perceived loss of subject mastery, which highlights the importance of addressing cultural settings
related to news media literacy curriculum adoption at CU.
Cultural Model Influence: CU professors believe news media literacy fits the mission of the
University, but some fear that challenging student biases might be misconstrued by some
students, which could put their employment at risk
Of all topics covered in the participant interviews, one that elicited some of the strongest
responses stemmed from questions and answers that focused on the potential organizational
influences, specifically, the cultural model. At CU, fundamental values flow directly from the
school’s identification as a conservative Christian university that defines itself first and foremost
by its allegiance to biblical fidelity and a clearly defined doctrinal statement that all faculty and
staff are required to sign annually and live by at all times. In theory, adherence to the doctrinal
statement is established through the hiring process. The school operates under a Title IX
exemption that allows CU to require that every employee profess to be a Christian. More to the
point, to be employed at CU, faculty, staff, and administration profess to be governed by the
precepts extolled in the Bible and reiterated in the school’s doctrinal statement. In such an
environment, the “shared understanding of how things work and why” are not as unseen. In the
case of CU shared values and beliefs exist on the surface and manifest outwardly in annual
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missions in residence, monthly faculty chapels, and Bible devotions and prayer at faculty and
staff meetings, for example.
The doctrinal unity and subsequent predominant and outward influence of Christian
culture at CU is something the school identifies as its defining strength. However, as it relates to
implementing and executing news media curricula within the communication department, the
data reveal that some tension exists. Specifically, some faculty raised concerns regarding how
such a curriculum might be perceived by some students and perhaps even some senior
administrators in the event of any student complaints.
At the heart of the issue is the CU faculty’s understanding of what it would take to
execute a news media curriculum and how it would flesh out in the classroom. Moreover, one of
the precepts of news media literacy is confronting one’s propensity for searching, interpreting,
recalling, and believing information so that it confirms preexisting beliefs. At CU, confronting
students’ biases would involve challenging them to think critically about their Christian beliefs,
not for the sake of undermining students’ faith, but for the sake of teaching them to A) discern
truth from error, B) challenge strongholds of wrong thinking and error, and C) be ready to give a
defense for what they believe, all three of which are tenants of the Christian faith. In practice,
this would involve helping students develop the ability to analyze media messages in order to
discern the ideologies behind those messages. It would involve teaching students to understand
their own hermeneutic of belief and how they apply it to the choices they make about what they
do and how they think. The goal of such teaching would be for CU students to be able to give a
ready defense for their system of belief, and to be able to apply it consistently in their lives.
Table 8 provides an overview of how participants responded to a hypothetical scenario
where they thought bringing an artifact to class would be helpful in teaching students to think
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critically, but could be misinterpreted as contradicting the school’s doctrinal statement.
Participants provided a notable variety of responses. P1 and P2 expressed confidence in
administrative support, while P3 and P4 indicated a lack of confidence in administrative support.
P5 was confident in the current leadership, but not the former leadership. P6, P7, and P8
admitted that they were not sure.
Table 8

Participants’ Comments About Whether They Think They Would Be Supported by CU
Leadership if a Student Accused Them of Bringing an Artifact to Class that Violated the School’s
Doctrinal Statement

Sources Responses

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

“I don’t think that’s a problem, because I can present [an artifact in
class] and then use our doctrinal statement to frame what I would
consider maybe the errors in that artifact.”

“I would feel confident that if I explained it to the department
Chair, or the Dean of the school, and what my goal initially was,
because we’re very aligned in that way, that the support would be
forthcoming.”

“I think that, because whenever you say something that’s counter to
the bubble, then you kind of wonder if that means that you’ll be an
outcast or labeled an extremist yourself.”
“It’s happened. There was a complaint. A student was [made
uncomfortable by] what we discussed in class. It was a video, it
wasn’t an article. But it ended up going to [senior administration].
I wasn’t accused of anything, which is good. I was actually
surprised that I didn't get spoken to about it. But I didn’t know
what would happen.”

“I actually think especially with the current administration that they
would be very supportive of me as long as I’m able to justify what
it is that I did. And I think they would be fine. Again, the current
administration. Past administration, not so much.”

“It depends on which boss and what kind of offense. I trust my
immediate supervisor to support me within reason. With senior
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P7

P8

management, I don’t know. I mean, we all believe in the doctrinal
statement, so I’m not going to intentionally violate that.”

“There’s definitely a line, but you know where it is. It’s a good
line, right? I do wonder sometimes if my students will always
understand my motives. I just have to be able to justify them.

“I would say I’m 80% sure the administration would support me in
a complaint. I have 2,000% confidence in being supported by my
immediate boss, but once it goes over his head, which it invariably
does, then I don’t know…I have less confidence.”

It is important to note that at other instances during the interviews, when professors were
asked about the CU culture and its potential impact on teaching news media literacy, responses
varied, even from answer to answer from the same professor. For example, P3, who indicated
concern in Table 8, later said that she had “never had anyone come talk to [her] about anything
she brought into the classroom” despite regularly teaching material that challenged student biases
for years. She acknowledged the pitfalls of such an approach, but reiterated the school’s
commitment to foster spiritual growth in its students:
[Administration] may believe that they have to protect students from anything that might
cause potential discontinuity, anxiety, or cause them to question their faith. If
individuals, say in administration, hold that perspective, they’re not going to want the
[news media literacy] program. So I think a person who teaches that class has…to be
aware of where [students] are coming from, in terms of their schooling. We want them to
grow wise in their faith.
P5 framed the potential tension over teaching news media literacy as something that can be
mitigated in the way material is presented in the class. He acknowledges the risk, but say the
onus falls on the professor for the way in which the material is presented:
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So really the end goal is how am I handling that [tension] with the students, and how am I
pulling in what our doctrine states? Like, “Look, this might be perceived as going
against our doctrinal statement,” but it’s my job to tie in how it goes in with our doctrinal
statement…If not, I think I’d be putting my employment as risk because we signed an
agreement that we agree with [CU’s doctrine].
P8 offered similar insight into how she might handle bringing material into the classroom
that might be perceived as opposing the school’s doctrinal statement. She stated that she might
be “a little more strategic” about how she presented it, or even if she presented it: “I don’t want
to die on this hill. I love my job so much and I take what I do so seriously that do I really want
to get fired over this thing.” She added:
And I have been met with opposition by my students. And there’s always this chance that
a really well-connected student who you know, has family or close friendships with
higher ups in the organization could report me and that I would have to give an answer
for why I have included something.
P8’s concern over losing her job as a result of teaching news media literacy was not unique.
Half of the eight participants acknowledged that they have felt that way at one time or another
during their time at CU, which, incidentally, does not offer tenure to professors. P3 believes the
fear is real, but not unhealthy in light of CU’s doctrinal identity. She thinks, “Protecting students
is valuable, and I like it, but sometimes I wonder where…might there be something that’s
problematic based on maybe a parent that is disgruntled or upset, and then how far will that go?”
P2 also acknowledged an understanding of the protective component of CU’s culture as it relates
to teaching students:
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91
Yeah. I mean, part of our beliefs, biblically, is we’re not supposed to give offense. We’re
not supposed to do anything that’s going to cause someone to stumble. I never really feel
a conflict in that way. I feel like I’m able to bring my points to bear without offending.
I’ve never felt a sharp conflict there. I never feel that my academic freedom is limited.
Regarding the concern over losing his job over a student dispute, P2 said, “I’ve been involved
with the institution, first as an adjunct, and now as full time, for over a decade, and I’ve never
heard of anybody getting fired for bringing material into a classroom.”
A common theme among all respondents was that bringing material to class that
challenged student biases is something that must be handled with care, and that if the material
were presented in the “right way,” or if it could be defended, much of the fear dissipated. P3
said, “I do have to modify or guide, in terms of a student that might feel uncomfortable.” P1
said, “I don’t think it’s a problem because I can present the material and then use our doctrinal
statement to frame what I would consider maybe the errors in that article.” He added:
We show films all of the time that don’t necessarily fall within our doctrinal statement,
but there’s certain themes and ideas within the film that we can use to, again, show the
counter to what we believe. That doesn’t lessen what we believe. If anything, I think it
emboldens what we believe, because it shows the error and the faulty thinking.
P6 said that not everything she teaches “can just be dropped into the class raw. I have to lay the
groundwork first. Sometimes I have to allow students to opt out.” P2 share an example of a
movie he would like to bring to class, but does not because “it’s loaded with innuendo, and also
language.” He says there are “situations like that, where you just wouldn’t show that at the
school because some student is going to go tell his parent and now that parent only has the one
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fact and not the context.” P4 summed it up this way: “I feel like here I need to be way more
careful about what I say.”
For this study, validating cultural model influences through document analysis became a
search for evidence of organization support of or resistance to what the faculty define as a news
media literacy curriculum. As indicated, CU’s stipulation that faculty adhere to the school’s
doctrinal statement provides strong evidence of what the organization prioritizes. At the same
time, adherence to the doctrinal statement generates some concern among some communication
department faculty who wonder if their efforts to teach news media literacy might be
misinterpreted as opposing the doctrinal statement. Communication department grading rubrics,
and most notably, the department’s own PLO’s (see Table 9) indicate that an affiliation with
news media literacy teaching already exists within the communication department itself, as well
within the school’s general education curriculum. Such documentation exists in the form of
CU’s General Education Core Competency indicators, which articulate the specific skills the
University expects all of its students to acquire by graduation. One of those core competencies,
Oral Communication, intersects with the CU Communication Department General Education
requirement course: C100 Spoken Communication. C100 Spoken Communication is a required
course for all CU students, and carries its own set of PLO’s that reflect University standards.
Table 9 provides a breakdown of Oral Communication PLO’s tied directly to C100 Spoken
Communication, and identifies those PLO’s that fall under the umbrella of a news media literacy
related skill.
Table 9

CU Oral Communication PLO’s Connected to the General Education Requirement C100 Spoken
Communication Course, Identified as News Media Literacy Related (Yes) or Not News Media
Literacy Related (No)

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# Program Learning Objectives (PLO’s) Yes No
1
Demonstrate a baccalaureate-degree-level spoken communication competency within the
context of the major academic disciplines.
X
2
Demonstrate ability to prepare and present a range of speeches that a) presents information
ideas, positions, or opinions in a manner that reflects the virtues of clarity, concision,
accuracy, and persuasion; b) adapt words and rhetorical strategies according to varying
situations and audiences; c) make assumptions clear; d) use relevant logical arguments and
appropriate examples; e) incorporate various aspects of nonverbal communication, including
intonation, pause, gesture, and body language; and f) present creative and original thoughts
and ideas, extending beyond summary and repetition of readily available published
information.
X
3
Identify and evaluate basic concepts at the heart of a spoken communication, including
purpose, assumptions, evidence, argument, and inference.
X
4
Engage in discussion as both speaker and listener through interpreting, analyzing, and
summarizing; contribute to discussions in a way that is readily understood by listeners;
present an opinion persuasively; analyze the shape and goals of a discourse; and recognize
and take notes on important points in lectures and discussions.
X
5
Determine appropriate language and usage in various communicative situations (considering
the peculiarities of language, dialect, and culture).
X
6
Prepare and effectively present various types of oral discourse: discussions, reports, speeches,
and debates.
X

Table 9 indicates that all six of the PLO’s established by the University for the core competency
of Oral Communication fall under the umbrella of what this study identifies as news media
literacy skills. This alignment is significant in that it demonstrates alignment between CU
Communication Department goals and University goals. It affirms the assertion that
communication department faculty believe news media literacy to be aligned with the mission of
the school.
CU professors’ responses to questions regarding organizational culture, combined with
the supporting examination of communication department learning objectives, were complex and
revealing. Ultimately the research painted a picture of a department faculty that is very much
aligned in their core beliefs and deeply aligned to the school’s mission and its stated learning
objectives for students in the communication department as well as in the broader, general
population. The tension CU faculty feel stems from a desire to meet a standard they want to
meet. P5 framed it this way:
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Universities are built as fortresses, where people should have the freedom of exploration.
But, you’ve got to understand, at a missional institution, we believe that we have the
objective standard against which all other truth claims must be measured, which, is
Scripture. So, my academic freedom involves investigating the details of a broad picture
that’s already been laid out for us.
The study indicated that organizational influences – both cultural settings and cultural models –
are significant factors with respect to the stakeholder goal. Faculty want more training if a news
media curriculum is to be embedded into communication department courses. At the same time,
faculty indicate they need time, perhaps in the form of temporary course relief, to allow them to
design and implement the new curriculum. Finally, the shared system of belief and the
sovereignty of the doctrinal statement within the organizational culture at CU creates challenges,
perceived or real, to faculty buy-in when it comes to delivering news media curricula on campus.
Table 10

Summary of Validated Assumed Organizational Needs

Assumed Need Validated Not Validated New Need
The organization needs to foster a
culture in which faculty can bring
ideas and artifacts into the classroom
that may be perceived as not aligning
with the University’s doctrinal
statement.
√
The organization needs to provide
ample professional development
resources and support to train faculty
to teach news media literacy.
√
The organization needs to create an
environment that allows faculty to
adjust its workload to account for the
added responsibilities associated with
implementing news media curriculum
into their courses.
√

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Summary
The results and findings of this study provided answers to both RQ 1 and RQ 2. In
relation to RQ 1, both qualitative interviews and document analysis indicate that faculty possess
much of the conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge they need to design and
implement news media literacy curricula, though they would like more training. At the same
time, they are motivated by the alignment between news media literacy and the school’s mission.
Similarly, many components of news media literacy appear in CU’s Communication Department
PLO’s as well as the University’s General Education PLO’s, which suggests the communication
department faculty’s beliefs about a mission match are aligned with what the University says
about itself.
In relation to RQ 2, the two potential roadblocks appear to be organizational. On the one
hand, faculty want more training and they want temporary course relief to give them time to
implement the new curriculum. Some do not believe such training would be made available
should the department decide to pursue a news media literacy initiative, namely the adjunct
professors. Full-time faculty doubt that course relief would be provided. Of greater concern is
some of the faculty’s misgivings about how news media literacy might be perceived by some
students, and whether or not CU senior administration would support the faculty in the event of a
student complaint. However, none of the faculty who were interviewed for this study could
point to a specific example of a faculty member losing his or her job because of such a dispute.
That fact, combined with the clear mission match of news media literacy and the school’s
published learning objectives and mission statement, present a case for genuine feasibility for
success in news media literacy curriculum adoption. Success will require that the right approach
be taken to provide the requested training and eliminate the possibility of student complaints, or
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at the very least, mitigate faculty concerns about how such complaints could be handled for the
benefit of all parties involved. Strategies for adopting the right approach will be discussed in
Chapter Five.

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CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS

In the previous chapter, the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences were validated by qualitative research in the form of semi-structured interviews with
CU Communication Department full-time and adjunct faculty. Interview responses were
supported by document analysis of communication department assessment rubrics and
University general education PLO’s for the purpose of answers research questions 1 and 2.
Chapter Five will discuss the third and final question posed by the study:
3. What are the recommendations for CU’s practice in the areas of knowledge, motivation,
and organizational resources?

Data collected from this research project indicated several recommendations aligned
with Clark and Estes (2008) Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational influences as described
in Chapter Three. Those recommendations, identified in Table 11, will be presented in this
chapter.

Table 11
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Recommendations
Knowledge Influence
Professors need to know how to teach students to synthesize several examples of
journalism on a singular subject. (P)

Professors need to know how to teach students to analyze a news story and
investigate its sources for validity. (P)

Motivation Influence

CU professors need to feel capable of effectively incorporating news media literacy
into the curriculum. (Self-Efficacy)
Organizational Influence
The organization needs to foster a culture in which faculty can bring ideas and
artifacts into the classroom that may be perceived as not aligning with the
University’s doctrinal statement. (Cultural Model)
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The organization needs to provide faculty with news media literacy training and
create an environment that allows faculty to adjust its workload to account for the
added responsibilities associated with implementing news media curriculum into
their courses. (Cultural Setting)

The recommendations are implemented in a blended training and evaluation program following
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) New World Model. This model prescribes a four-level
approach to training and evaluation: Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). Level 1, Reaction, refers to how much the participants enjoy the training and
how relevant they feel it is to their jobs. (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Level 2, Learning,
describes the degree to which participants actually learn during the training and how confident
and committed they are to putting what they learned to use (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Level 3, Behavior, refers to how much participants apply what they learned during the training
when they are back on the job (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Level 4 measures targeted
outcomes to determine effectiveness of the training to meet identified objectives (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Following this model, the program’s design will begin with Level 4 and work backwards
toward Level 1. For the CU Communication Department faculty, Level 4 results will be
measured by how communication major seniors perform on a department news media literacy
test. To reach the stated goal of all seniors scoring at least 80% on this news media literacy test,
the proposed training and evaluation plan will tie knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences described in Table 11 to each of the four levels of training and evaluation (Kirkpatrick
& Kirkpatrick, 2016). The training and evaluation plan will include incremental and measurable
critical behaviors and required behavioral drivers for each level to ensure success as well as
make it easier to diagnose gaps in performance (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
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Level 2 (Learning) will consist of a one-day (eight hour) in-house workshop where CU
faculty (full-time and adjunct), as well as at least one member of CU senior leadership, will
receive training in news media literacy pedagogy. Following Anderson and Krathwohl’s (2001)
revision of Bloom’s taxonomy (Bloom & Krathwohl, 1956), the program will build from factual
knowledge to conceptual to procedural to metacognitive. Throughout the workshop, attendees
will engage in guided practice and receive corrective feedback to reinforce learning (Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006). Following the New World Model, each level will involve targeted
measuring of defined outcomes to create accountability and a basis for diagnosis along the way
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
The following section presents validated knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences affecting the stakeholder goal provides recommendations based on current theory and
aligned with Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) New World Model for training and evaluation.
Validated knowledge influence are organized by knowledge type: procedural and metacognitive;
self-efficacy theory is addressed as a validated motivation influence; organization influences
address both cultural models and cultural settings.
Knowledge Recommendations
Table 12 presents the assumed knowledge influences presented in Chapter Three and
identifies which of those influences have been validated by the research. Additionally, Table 12
identifies which of the assumed knowledge influences are identified as a priority by the research
and data analysis, and provides the foundational theoretical principle(s) for their inclusion in the
recommendation. The final column of Table 12 presents recommendations for closing
performance gaps related to knowledge influences. Clark and Estes (2008) assert that
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performance gaps can be addressed through providing relevant information, job aids, training,
and education. This evaluation study revealed significant performance gaps in the area of
procedural knowledge of news media education.
Table 12
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Knowledge
Influence
Validated
as a Gap?
Yes or No
(Y, N)
Priority
Yes,
No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Professors need to
differentiate
between an editorial
and a news article.
(C)

N

N

Professors need to
be able to teach
students how to
distinguish a news
article from an
editorial. (P)

N

N

Professors need to
know how to teach
students to
synthesize several
examples of
journalism on a
singular subject. (P)

Y

Y
To develop mastery,
individuals
must acquire
component skills,
practice integrating
them, and know when
to apply what they
have learned (Schraw
& McCrudden, 2006).
Provide professors with step-
by-step training/guided
practice and corrective
feedback in how to teach
students to synthesize
examples of media
journalism on a singular
subject.
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Professors need to
know how to teach
students to analyze
a news story and
investigate its
sources for validity.
(P)

Y

Y
Acquiring skills for
expertise frequently
begins with learning
declarative knowledge
about individual
procedural steps (Clark
& Estes, 2008).

To develop mastery,
individuals must
acquire component
skills, practice
integrating them, and
know when to apply
what they have learned
(Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006).

Provide professors with a job
aid that conveys the
difference between a news
story with and without
validity.

Provide professors with step-
by-step training/guided
practice and corrective
feedback in how to teach
students to analyze a news
story and investigate its
sources for validity.
Professors need to
self-reflect on their
own biases in
response to
journalistic articles.
(M)

N

N

Professors need to
be able to teach
students to self-
reflect on their
biases as they relate
to recognizing
objectivity and/or
bias in news
journalism. (P)

Y

Y
To develop mastery,
individuals must
acquire component
skills, practice
integrating them, and
know when to apply
what they have learned
(Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006).

The use of
metacognitive
strategies facilitates
learning (Baker, 2006).

Provide professors with step-
by-step training/guided
practice and corrective
feedback in how to teach
students to reflect on and
evaluate their biases in
response to journalistic
articles.

Procedural Knowledge recommendations: Increasing professors’ knowledge of how
to teach students to synthesize several examples of media journalism on a singular subject,
and how to analyze a news story and investigate its sources for validity. The results and
findings of this study indicated that 87.5% of CU Communication Department faculty need more
training in the following procedural knowledge influences: 1) how to teach students to synthesize
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several examples of media journalism on a singular subject, and 2) how to how to analyze a news
story and investigate its sources for validity. Both procedural knowledge components are
necessary to teaching news media literacy and must be addressed if the news media literacy
initiative is to be successful. To close these procedural knowledge gaps, a recommendation
based in information processing theory has been selected. To develop mastery, individuals must
acquire component skills, practice integrating them, and know when to apply what they have
learned (Schraw & McCrudden, 2006). This indicates that learning would be enhanced by
training that would allow professors to receive guided practice and corrective feedback through
each step of teaching students this skill. Additionally, Mayer (2011) asserts that learning is
enhanced in environments that allow for knowledge transfer. The recommendation is for CU to
provide all full-time and adjunct communication department faculty with training that would
include guided practice and corrective feedback in how to teach students to synthesize various
news articles on a singular subject, and that the training be interspersed with professors’
opportunities to apply this training in their classes to encourage transfer.
Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) identify procedural knowledge as knowing how to
perform a specific task and can refer to methods of inquiry, algorithms, techniques, and
particular methodologies to accomplish a task. Information processing theory indicates that
learning is enhanced through the use of accurate and task-specific feedback and by utilizing
learning activities which encourage active processing (Rueda, 2011). Clark and Estes (2008)
state that training should be implemented when learners must acquire “how-to” knowledge,
which they characterize as information combined with guided practice and corrective
feedback. The learning of new information does not take place in a vacuum. Learning is
maximized when learners can effectively move new information from sensory memory to
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working memory and ultimately, to long-term memory (Schraw & McCrudden, 2006). To best
accomplish this transfer, Schraw and McCrudden (2006) suggest following several principles,
one of which is that learning is amplified when learners connect learning to prior knowledge to
construct meaning, and that learners can be overwhelmed by too much new information, so
trainers must be careful not to overload learners. The recommendation is that training CU
professors to teach students how to synthesize several news articles should be introduced during
the one-day workshop, then revisited periodically over the span of at least one semester. Such an
approach will give professors opportunities to practice what they are learning, receive corrective
feedback, and work this procedural knowledge into their long-term memory.
Metacognitive Knowledge recommendations: Strengthening professors’ skill at
teaching students to self-reflect on their biases as they relate to recognizing objectivity
and/or bias in news journalism. This study indicated that 100% of CU Communication
Department faculty need more training in how to help their students learn to be aware their
biases as they relate to news journalism. This gap is procedural knowledge, but it also entails
components of metacognitive theory as well. As such, to close this gap, a recommendation
based in information processing theory has been selected. Utilizing the principles of task-
specific guided feedback (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001; Clark & Estes, 2008; Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006), the recommendation is that training offered to CU professors in teaching
students to be more aware of their own biases would take place in one initial seminar, and then
reinforced throughout the semester. In addition, Baker (2006) asserts that the use of
metacognitive strategies facilitates learning. This assertion would suggest that CU professors’
knowledge of teaching news media literacy would be aided if they self-reflected on their
attitudes about what they are learning. Therefore, the recommendation is for CU to provide all
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full-time and adjunct communication department faculty with training that demonstrates how to
reflect on and evaluate their own biases in response to journalistic articles.
Reflecting on one’s thinking and attitudes and, in this case, one’s personal biases,
produces opportunities for performance growth (Ferraro, 2000; McCabe, Walsh, Wideman &
Winter, 2009). Making training available to CU professors that will help them reflect on and
evaluate their own biases in response to journalistic articles will help them engage in guided self-
monitoring and self-assessment (Baker, 2006). Baker (2006) also suggests that such training
provide opportunities for learners to debrief the thinking process upon completion of learning
task and model their own metacognitive process by talking out loud and assessing strengths and
weaknesses. This training is necessary because both teachers and learners need to be aware of
how their personal attitudes and biases toward information affects the way they interpret that
information (Wittebols, 2016). Further, since news media consumers are falling into the trap of
confirmation bias (Goldberg, Schwarz, & Porat, 2011; Webb, Hine, & Bailey, 2016; Wittebols,
2016), it is important that the professors who teach it are first aware of any confirmation bias
they may be bringing into their own teaching, and then be able to show students how to be aware
of it in their own thinking. Training made available to CU Communication Department
professors should allow for ample opportunity to practice self-monitoring and self-assessment
and to speak out loud in order to better assess their attitudes, specifically how those attitudes
might affect how they interpret information.
Motivation Recommendations
The assumed motivation influences for this study were self-efficacy and expectancy
value theory. As Table 13 shows, a need for professors to connect news media literacy to the
mission of the University was not validated. CU professors already see the connection between
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news media literacy and the school’s mission. However, a need for professors to feel confident
in their ability to design and implement news media curricula was validated. The data show that
CU professors possess a degree of confidence in teaching news media literacy, but that they also
believe they need more training in the event that news media curricula were adopted within the
communication department as a benchmarked feature of the major. Table 13 summarizes the
study’s assumed influences and provides organization-specific recommendations for addressing
motivation gaps the research revealed.
Table 13
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Motivation
Influence

Validated
as a Gap
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Priority
Yes,
No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
CU professors need to
feel capable of
effectively
incorporating news
media literacy into the
curriculum. (SE)
Y Y Modeling to-be-
learned
strategies or
behaviors
improves self-
efficacy,
learning, and
performance
(Denler,
Wolters, &
Benzon, 2009).

Feedback that is
private, specific,
and timely
enhances
performance
(Shute, 2008).

Observe and provide regular
peer and supervisory feedback
based on classroom
observations of CU professors
teaching news media literacy,
as well as immediate feedback
on assignments and
assessments related to teaching
news media literacy.
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CU professors need to
consider it important to
incorporate news media
literacy curricula to
achieving CU’s
organizational mission.
(EVT)
N N

Self-Efficacy solutions. Fifty percent of the full-time CU professors and 75% adjunct
professors interviewed for this study indicated that they do not feel capable of effectively
incorporating news media literacy into the curriculum. The recommendation to close this gap is
based in self-efficacy theory. Denler, Wolters, and Benzon (2009) found that modeling to-be-
learned strategies or behaviors improves self-efficacy, learning, and performance. Moreover,
feedback that is private, specific, and timely enhances performance (Shute, 2008). Current
theory suggests that the self-efficacy of CU professors would be enhanced by modeling effective
news media curriculum development and by giving them opportunities to practice and receive
feedback. The recommendation is to provide regular peer and supervisory feedback based on
classroom observations of CU professors teaching news media literacy, as well as immediate
feedback on assignments and assessments related to teaching news media literacy. This
combination of modeling, practice, and immediate, direct feedback could, according to theory,
should bolster CU faculty’s self-efficacy as it relates to teaching news media literacy.
Teachers’ self-efficacy can be the most significant and consistent predictor of success in
teaching practices (Thoonen, Sleegers, Oort, Peetsma, & Geijsel, 2011). Rueda (2011) asserts
that self-efficacy becomes important when a learner is tackling a complex task, which is
pertinent to the study because teaching news media literacy is considered a complex task
(Kellner & Share, 2005; Vaičiūnienė & Mažeikienė, 2016; Vraga & Tully, 2016; Wittebols,
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2016). This complexity could affect a professor’s confidence, which could affect that
professor’s active choice to begin the task, persistence to pursue it, and mental effort to complete
it (Clark & Estes, 2008). Finally, enhancing CU professors’ self-efficacy is important to
successfully adopting news media literacy into the CU curriculum because high self-efficacy can
positively influence motivation, and because learning and motivation are enhanced when learners
have positive expectancies for success (Pajares, 2006). If the CU Communication Department
faculty are to be successful in their efforts to implement news media literacy curricula, it will be
important to bolster their self-efficacy both during and after the training program.
Organization Recommendations
Organizational culture is identified by Clark and Estes (2008) as one of three primary
influences for diagnosing performance gaps and driving organizational change. Specifically,
organizational culture can either enhance or impede organizational performance, depending upon
interactions between knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences (Clark & Estes,
2008). According to Clark and Estes (2008), effective organizations ensure that their internal
and external messages, recognition/reward systems, policies, and practices align with the goals
and values the organization claims for itself. Culture creates stability within an organization, and
defines both the breadth and depth of its ethos (Schein, 2017). Culture is a way to describe an
organization’s core values, beliefs, and processes (Clark & Estes, 2008). Culture evolves within
an organization uniquely over time (Clark & Estes, 2008). It changes as the organization
changes (Schein, 2017). However, despite its significance to the function of an organization,
culture exists beneath the surface, and is largely invisible (Schein, 2017; Schneider, Brief, &
Guzzo, 1996). Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) differentiate cultural models, which are the
unspoken, expected norms of behavior, from cultural settings, which are tangible scenarios in
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which culture is played out within an organization. It is not uncommon for an organization’s
cultural models to conflict with its settings (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001).
The assumed cultural model influence for this study revolved around professors’
concerns over how a news media literacy curricula might be perceived by CU senior
administration in the event of a student complaint. Specifically, the assumed cultural model
influence was that CU faculty did not feel they could rely on senior administrative support if a
student were to raise concerns that a professor introduced an idea or artifact in class that they felt
was in opposition to the school’s doctrinal statement.
The validated assumed cultural setting influence in this study was that CU faculty felt the
University would need to allow for training in news media literacy and allow for temporary
course relief to allow them the time they need to successfully design and implement news media
literacy curricula.
Table 14 summarizes the organizational influences along with their priority and
validation status in the first two columns. Column three indicates whether or not the influence is
considered a priority to the change initiative. Column four contains research germane to the
influence, and column five summarizes context-specific recommendations.
Table 14
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Organization
Influence

Validated
as a Gap
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Priority
Yes,
No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation

Context-Specific
Recommendation
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The organization needs to
foster a culture in which
faculty confidently bring
ideas and artifacts into the
classroom that may be
perceived as not aligning
with the University’s
doctrinal statement
(Cultural Model).

Y Y Effective change
begins by
addressing
motivation
influencers; it
ensures the group
knows why it needs
to change. It then
addresses
organizational
barriers. (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
Increase communication
between communication
department faculty and
CU administration
regarding goals and
concerns surrounding
news media literacy
adoption. Establish a
solid base of support and
understanding of how
news media literacy fits
the organizational
mission.

Generate ways to receive
feedback that encourage
participation from people
who are afraid to tell you
things.

The organization needs to
provide faculty with news
media literacy training, and
it needs to create an
environment that allows
faculty to adjust its
workload to account for
the added responsibilities
associated with
implementing news media
curriculum into their
courses (Cultural Setting).
Y Y Effective change
efforts ensure that
everyone has the
resources
(equipment,
personnel, time,
etc.) needed to do
their job, and that if
there are resource
shortages, then
resources are
aligned with
organizational
priorities (Clark &
Estes, 2008).

Provide CU faculty with
training in news media
literacy pedagogy.

Conduct an audit to
ensure that CU budgets
for faculty development
and temporary course
relief for faculty asked to
incorporate news media
literacy.

Cultural Model: Increase communication between CU Communication Department
faculty and CU senior administration regarding goals and concerns surrounding news
media literacy adoption. Sixty-three percent of CU Communication Department faculty
interviewed believe that teaching news media literacy on campus could present risk to their
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employment. The source of this unease stems from faculty concerns that CU administration
might perceive their approach to teaching news media literacy as opposed to the University’s
doctrinal statement. Because this concern results from a perceived lack of understanding
between CU faculty and senior administration, the recommendation for closing this
organizational gap stems from communication theory. Clark and Estes (2008) assert that
organizational change is augmented when stakeholders “communicate constantly and candidly to
those involved about plans and progress” (p. 118). This assertion suggests that CU
Communication Department faculty and CU administration should communicate formally and
informally about curricular changes regarding news media literacy.
The recommendation is to increase communication between the communication
department faculty and CU senior administration regarding goals and concerns surrounding news
media literacy adoption, and to establish a solid base of support and understanding of how news
media literacy fits the organizational mission. For example, a preliminary meeting in which the
communication department faculty could share their lesson plans with senior administration to
ensure that leadership understands the purpose of the lessons and how they fit into the
organization’s goals and doctrinal statement.
Lewis (2011) identifies communication practices as critical to organizational
change. She defines communication as both formal and informal. By formal, Lewis refers to
communication that flows through official channels, often in the form of policies set down by
leadership. By informal communication, Lewis refers to spontaneous interactions between
stakeholders within an organization. She considers both essential. Clark and Estes (2008) echo
the importance of communication to effective organizational change. They claim that clear and
candid communication among stakeholders engenders trust, which increases organizational
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commitment to change goals on all levels. Clark and Estes (2008) specifically identify top-level
management’s continual involvement in change initiatives (through communication) as pivotal to
successful change. Clark and Estes (2008) also assert the importance of addressing motivation
influencers; it ensures the group knows why it needs to change. It then addresses organizational
barriers. Lewis (2011) suggests that communication is most effective when input is solicited
from all stakeholders consistently. If the communication department faculty is to successfully
implement news media literacy curricula, they need to feel safe. Once way to alleviate current
concerns will involve opening lines of communication between faculty and senior administration
so that both parties agree on the goal of the new curriculum as well as the methodology for
teaching it.
Cultural Setting: Conduct an audit to ensure that CU adequately budgets for
professional development and temporary course relief for faculty asked to incorporate
news media literacy curricula. Seventy-five percent of CU Communication Department
faculty interviewed for this study expressed concerns that the University would not support their
efforts to incorporate news media literacy curricula into their courses by providing necessary
training and workload relief. According to Clark and Estes (2008), effective change efforts
ensure that professors have the resources needed to do their job, and that if there are resource
shortages, then resources are aligned with organizational priorities. In the case of CU
Communication Department faculty, such training would take the form of professional
development. In addition, communication department faculty would require temporary course
relief while they take on the extra workload of designing and incorporating a new curriculum.
The recommendation is that before adopting news media literacy curricula, the communication
department should conduct an audit to ensure that CU adequately budgets for faculty
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development and temporary course relief for faculty asked to incorporate news media
literacy. For example, a professor teaching news media literacy for the first time could attend a
conference on news media literacy and then be expected to teach one less course during the
ensuing contract year.
Clark and Estes (2008) found that organizational performance increases when
processes and resources are aligned with goals. Additionally, Waters, et al. (2003) indicate a
correlation between meeting staff resource needs and increased student learning
outcomes. Clark and Estes (2008) also note that the change process must prioritize training, and
that it is important for the organization to provide adequate knowledge, skills, and motivational
support for all stakeholders. Following this principle, when news media literacy is found to align
with organizational goals at CU, the administration should allocate the necessary resources to
incorporate it into the curriculum.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
The implementation and evaluation plans are based on Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s
(2016) New World Model, which is derived from the original Four Level Model of Evaluation
established by Don Kirkpatrick (1958). The New World Model presents a model for
professional evaluation that adheres to the following steps and sequence: Results, Behavior,
Learning, and Reaction. The revised 2016 model presents the original steps in reverse order,
beginning with the final step (Results) and working backward to build a measurable scaffolding
to achieve the desired outcome (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The Kirkpatrick New World
Model employs leading indicators and behavioral drivers to establish incremental outcomes that
can be measured to steer training along the way. This step-by-step approach, beginning with the
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end in focus and working backward to establish, measure, and reinforce behaviors result in a
high probability of success in creating desired outcomes for organizational change (Kirkpatrick
& Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations
The mission of Christian University is to empower students for a life of enduring
commitment to Christ, intellectual growth, and lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God
worldwide. Within CU’s Department of Communication, the goal is to see the school’s mission
manifest in preparing communication majors to think critically about the world around them,
specifically in the arena of information processing and dissemination, what this study refers to as
news media literacy. Currently, communication department seniors do not consistently
demonstrate high levels of proficiency in news media literacy.
To achieve the goal of student mastery of news media literacy, new curricula must be
folded into the current curriculum for CU Communication Department students. Since such an
endeavor depends heavily on the participation of communication department faculty, this study
examined the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that might hinder CU
Communication Department faculty in making the attempt. The recommendations to incorporate
a faculty training program, conduct an audit to ensure ample budget to support temporary course
relief for affected faculty during training, and consistent, candid, and purposeful communication
of goals and procedures between communication department faculty and CU senior
administrators should produce the desired outcome of seeing all communication department
seniors scoring 80% or higher on a department-administered test for news media literacy by May
2022.

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Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Table 15 shows the proposed Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators in the form of
outcomes, metrics, and methods for both external and internal outcomes for CU. The Level 4
goal in this plan is that 100% of communication seniors at CU will score at 80% on a news
media literacy test. If the internal outcomes are met as expected as a result of the training and
organizational support for the incorporation of news media literacy, it should lead to success in
meeting the external outcomes as well.
Table 15

Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes

Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
1. Students discern truth from error
in examples of journalism.
1a. Percentage of increased
discernment on a department-
administered news media literacy
test.

1b. Student performance on a
capstone written assignment.
1a. Gather data from a
department news media
literacy test given to
graduating seniors every
semester.

1b. Gather data from the
capstone written
assignment in C472
Rhetorical Criticism
every semester.
2. Student proficiency in
argumentation and debate.
2a. Percentage increase in student
proficiency in argumentation and
debate.

2b. Student performance in graded
debates and presentations.

2. Gather data from
grading rubrics for
debates in the course,
C382 Persuasion every
semester.
Internal Outcomes
3. Decreased level of concern
among professors regarding
bringing ideas and artifacts into the
classroom that could be perceived
as misaligned with CU’s doctrinal
statement.
3. Percentage of faculty reporting
less anxiety teaching news media
literacy.
3. Conduct follow-up
interviews with faculty at
the end of the fall and
spring semesters.
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4. Greater understanding between
professors and administration
regarding how news media literacy
is pursued in the classroom.
4. Percentage decrease in reports of
confusion/need for clarification by
administration over professors’
methods/approach of teaching news
media literacy.

4. Quarterly meetings
between department
Chair and Provost or
other CU senior
administrator.

Level 3: Behavior
Critical behaviors. The stakeholders of focus are both full-time and adjunct professors
within the CU Communication Department. The study identified four critical behaviors
necessary to successfully meet the stakeholder goal. The specific critical behaviors, metrics,
methods, and timing are delineated in Table 16.

Table 16

Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
1. Faculty regularly
identify and utilize
effective strategies for
teaching news media
literacy.
1. Number of
occurrences of
embedding strategies.
1a. Lesson plan audits.

1b. Classroom
observations.
1a. Semi-
annually.

1b. Regularly
throughout the
fall and spring
semesters.
2. Faculty reflect on their
performance.
2. Faculty reflection
journals.

2b. Lesson plans.
2a. Faculty reflection
journals reviewed by the
communication
department chair (peer
benchmarking).

2b. Number of changes in
subsequent lesson plans
tied to reflection journal
observations (standards-
based benchmarking).

2a. Semi-
annually.

2b. Semi-
annually.
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3. Faculty communicate to
senior administration any
job-related concerns related
to teaching news media
literacy.
3a. Number of faculty
meetings with senior
administration.

3b. Number of follow-up
meetings with faculty
and the communication
dept. chair.

3c. Department chair
reflection journal.

3d. Number of meetings
with communication
dept. chair, the school
dean, and CU senior
administration.
3a. Department audits.

3b. Department audits.

3c. Reflection journal
reviewed by the school
dean.

3d. Meetings between the
communication dept.
chair, school dean, and CU
senior administration to
discuss faculty fears,
concerns.

3. Semi-
annually.

3b. Semi-
annually.

3c. Semi-
annually.

3d. Semi-
annually.
4. Administration
temporarily realign full-
time faculty workload to
allot for the extra workload
required to incorporate
news media curricula.
4a. Number of reduced
teaching loads for
faculty affected by
curriculum development
and implementation.

4b. Percentage increase
of budget for additional
teaching support.
4a. Full-time faculty
teaching stipulation on
faculty contract.

4b. Department adjunct
budget.
4a. Annually;
2021.

4b. Annually;
2021.

Required drivers. To ensure that critical behaviors are executed, it is critical to establish
what Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) call required behavioral drivers, which are systems and
processes designed to provide support and accountability for critical behaviors. Table 17
identifies drivers in support of CU Communication Department faculty’s successful
incorporation of news media literacy.
Table 17
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical
Behaviors
Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing

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Provide a job aid that helps faculty identify and utilize effective
strategies for teaching news media literacy.
Initially 1, 2
Faculty meetings to reinforce news media literacy training for both
lesson planning and in-class execution.
Monthly 1, 2
Faculty meeting with senior-level administration to discuss vision
and concrete plans for teaching news media literacy.
Quarterly 1, 3, 4
Faculty meet with department leadership to map out course relief
plan for the year that curriculum implementation will occur.
Semi-
annually
3, 4
Encouraging

Designate peer mentors who have experience teaching news media
literacy to mentor less experienced teachers.
Initially 1, 2
Establish a community of practice for full-time and adjunct
professors to share ideas, network, and offer support.
Initially 1, 2, 3
Arrange a department lunch for full-time and adjunct faculty to
share experiences, ideas, and challenges related to teaching news
media literacy.
Semi-
annually
1, 2, 3
Rewarding

Select faculty members to demonstrate successful practices for
teaching news media literacy at future faculty meetings.
Annual 1, 2, 3
Award faculty bonuses when benchmark is met (100% of
communication department seniors scoring 80% or better on a
summative exam).
Annual 1, 2
Monitoring

Conduct planned classroom observations and provide corrective
feedback.
Monthly 1, 2
Provide feedback for faculty on less plans for teaching news media
literacy.
Semi-
annually
1, 2
Assess reviews of grading rubrics for courses that incorporate
assignments that assess news media literacy.
Semi-
annually
1, 2
Meet with department faculty (full-time and adjunct) to review
summative test results.
Annually 1, 2
Conduct one-on-one meetings between faculty and department
administration to discuss progress and share concerns.
Monthly 1, 2, 3, 4
Conduct meetings between comm. dept. chair, school dean, and
CU senior administration to discuss faculty reflection journals.
Semi-
annually
1, 2, 3, 4

Organizational support. The organizational influences for this study and evaluation
plan focus on perceived lack of faculty professional development, as well as and the need for
greater communication between faculty and administration. To adequately support the key
behaviors from faculty members, the organization should provide appropriate levels of support
and create opportunities for regular, purposeful communication between faculty and
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administration. Specifically, the organization should provide faculty guidance and resources to
allow professors to successfully incorporate news media literacy curricula, and implement semi-
annual meetings between internal stakeholders to discuss the goals and methods of teaching
news media literacy within the communication department. Organizational leaders must
designate professional development as a priority and budget for training for faculty members
within the communication department who will teach news media literacy. Additionally,
organizational leaders must allow for course relief for professors asked to develop new curricula.
Financial support would include release time for attending professional development activities
and a policy driven endorsement for increased workload hour allocation for developing and
teaching news media literacy.
Level 2: Learning
Learning goals. Following completion of the recommended solutions, the stakeholders
will be able to:
1. Differentiate between a news story and an editorial, (C)
2. Clarify for students the differences between a news story and an editorial, (P)
3. Integrate curricula that will teach students to differentiate between a news story and
an editorial, (P)
4. Design lessons that teach students to synthesize several examples of media
journalism on a singular subject, (P)
5. Design lessons that teach students to analyze news stories and investigate sources for
validity, (P)
6. Deconstruct their students’ biases in response to journalistic articles, (M, P)
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7. Demonstrate confidence that they can effectively incorporate news media literacy
into the curriculum, (Confidence)
8. Demonstrate confidence that they can bring ideas and artifacts into the classroom
that may be perceived as not aligning with the University’s doctrinal statement,
(Confidence) and
9. Value incorporating news media literacy curricula by recognizing its relationship to
achieving CU’s organizational mission (Value).
Program. To achieve the learning goals listed in the previous section, the CU
Communication Department will implement a synchronous, on-site training program in the form
of an all-day training workshop. The workshop will focus on training CU professors (full and
part-time) in news media literacy: how to acquire it, how to teach it, and how to assess that
teaching. In addition, the program will connect the teaching of news media literacy to the
school’s mission. The program will consist of one face-to-face application workshop. The total
time for completion is 560 minutes (8 hours).
The workshop will provide learners with a job aid of key terms and examples of news
and editorial pieces of journalism as well as pieces of journalism that purport to be news but are
in fact slanted and/or inadequately sourced and/or supported. Examples of slanted articles will
be presented in two versions: one without comments and the other with examples of slant and
unsupported statements highlighted and explained. The job aids will be demonstrated by the
presenter. The presenter will interact with learners to check their understanding. Following the
demonstrations, the learners will have the opportunity to practice using the job aids and receive
feedback from peers as well as review by the instructor.
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The workshop will focus on applying what the professors have learned during the initial
phases using training groups, role-playing, discussions and peer modeling and teaching back to
each other. Learners will receive guided practice in each of the learning objectives and time will
be devoted to discussing the ways in which administration will partner with department
professors to alleviate professor concerns regarding teaching news media literacy.
It is important to note that a key component of the workshop will be the attendance of at
least one member of CU senior administration. This will be critical for two reasons. First, it will
create a pathway to communication and understanding among CU senior administration
(identified as a key organization influencer). By including a representative member in the
training, this participant will experience the training firsthand, which will help this important
stakeholder to understand the goal and approach of the communication department faculty in
teaching news media literacy. Second, by seeing a senior administration member participate in
the training, communication department faculty will gain confidence that they will be supported
in the execution of the curriculum, which has also been identified by the data as a key influencer.
Evaluation of the components of learning. A training plan needs to include evaluation
that confirms the occurrence of intended learning. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) define the
following components of Level 2 learning that should be included in such an evaluation:
knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and commitment. Evaluating knowledge measures if
participants know and understand the training content. Evaluating skills measures the degree to
which trainees can demonstrate their new knowledge by putting it into practice. Evaluating
attitude focuses on whether or not learners see the value of applying the training content.
Finally, evaluating confidence and commitment reveals whether trainees retain uncertainty or
barriers to implementation so trainers can clear a path for committing to and actually applying
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their new learning. Level 2 evaluation is formative, occurring both during training, allowing
trainers to make adjustments, and after training. Table 18 lists the methods of evaluating
learning and timing for each component.
Table 18
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge “I know it.”

Knowledge checks through discussions and other
individual/group activities.
Periodically during the in-person
workshop and documented via
observation notes.

Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”

Demonstration in groups and individually using the job aids
to successfully perform the skills.
During the workshops.
Reinforce the job aids by having learners identify story
examples with the type of story (editorial or news).
During the workshops through
“matching” games and via small
group problem solving.
Quality of the feedback from peers during group sharing. During the workshops.
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment survey asking
participants about their level of proficiency before and after
the training.
At the end of the workshop.
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”

Instructor’s observation of participants’ statements and
actions demonstrating that they see the benefit of what they
are being asked to do on the job.
During the workshop.
Discussions of the value of what they are being asked to do on
the job.
During the workshop.
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment item. After the workshop.
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”

Survey items using scaled items regarding confidence in
applying new skills on the job.
Following completed training on a
topic.
Discussion with participants. During the workshop.
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment item. After the workshop.
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”

Discussions following practice and feedback. During the workshop.
Survey using scaled items regarding commitment to apply
new skills on the job.

Following completed training on a
topic.
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Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment item. After the workshop.

Level 1: Reaction
The final area of training measurement captures participant reactions. Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2016) define reaction as the level of customer satisfaction. Do trainees find the
learning experience engaging and relative to their work? There tends to be a correlation between
participant reactions and the level of learning achieved, perceived value of training, and eventual
application of learning on the job. Level 1 evaluation comprises formative and summative
assessment. Evaluations take place during the training in the form of pulse checks and corrective
feedback, as well as at the end in the form of multiple choice questions, Likert surveys, and
follow-up interviews. Formative feedback is two-way; it allows for adjustments by both the
trainee and the instructor to maximize workshop effectiveness. Table 19 details methods and
timing of measuring Level 1 reactions.

Table 19
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement

Pulse checks During the workshop
Observation by instructor/facilitator During the workshop
Attendance During the workshop
Course evaluation 12 weeks after the workshop
Relevance

Checks with participants via survey and discussion After each module in the workshop
Course evaluation 12 weeks after the workshop
Customer Satisfaction

Checks with participants via discussion After each module in the workshop
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Course evaluation 12 weeks after the workshop

Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. For Level 1, during the in-
person workshop, the instructor will periodically ask participants about the relevance of the
content to their work and the organization. Level 2 will include checks for understanding, role
playing, and group discussions focusing on real-world scenarios that might emerge in the
classroom and/or with CU senior administration.
Delayed for a period after the program implementation. Approximately 12 weeks
after the implementation of the training, leadership will administer a survey to measure
participants’ satisfaction and relevance of the training (Level 1), confidence and value of
applying their training (Level 2), application of the training to the implementation of news media
literacy curricula (Level 3), and the extent to which their confidence in and execution of the
curriculum has become stronger and more effective in relation to the mission of the school.
Data Analysis and Reporting
Level 4 goals will be measured by student scores on a department-administered news
media literacy test. Level 3 goals will be measured by faculty classroom observation, lesson
plan review, quarterly reviews of faculty reflection journals by the communication department
chair, and quarterly meetings between CU faculty and department chair. Level 2 goals will be
measured through classroom observation. Level 1 goals will be measured by a summative
survey. Three times each semester, CU faculty will meet together to discuss any concerns over
teaching the new curricula, which ideally will include success stories of the administration
demonstrating its support for faculty’s efforts. Additionally, the communication department
chair will review faculty reflection journals and meet periodically with the professors. Finally,
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the summative exam given each spring will be monitored closely for improvement and also for
holes in the curriculum, after which the curriculum will be fine-tuned to target maximum results.
Examples of how training data will be represented are shown in Figures 3-6. Figure 3
demonstrates that the goal of the training and evaluation would be measured by communication
department seniors’ improvement on the department news media literacy test. Figure 4 displays
three key behavioral measures: A) meetings between communication department faculty and CU
senior administration to discuss goals and methods for teaching news media literacy, B)
frequency of news media literacy engagement in CU faculty lesson plans, and C) faculty reports
of confronting student bias. Figure 5 shows observed instances of news media literacy
touchpoints in the classroom. Figure 6 reflects faculty responses to a survey immediately
following the one-day workshop.

Figure 3. Level Four (Results) Assessment Results
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Figure 4. Level Three (Behavior) Assessment Results

Figure 5. Level Two (Learning) Assessment Results
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Figure 6. Level One (Reaction) Survey Results
Summary
The New World Kirkpatrick Model (2016) established the foundation for planning,
executing, and assessing the recommendations for Christian University to achieve its goal of
implementing news media literacy curricula so that all graduating communication major seniors
score 80% or higher on a department-administered news media literacy test. The model focuses
on whether the training met expectations for all four levels of evaluation: Reaction, Learning,
Behavior, and Results. Following Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) prescription, the
program provides for data collection, evaluation, and assessment on an ongoing basis, rather than
at the conclusion of the training. This blend of formative as well as summative assessment
allows for necessary modifications to the training to maximize results in real time. By
continuously evaluating the effectiveness of the school’s professional development and training
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of professors who teach news media literacy CU should see an increase in news media literacy
skills among its graduates as reflected in increased summative test scores.
Limitations and Delimitations
The researcher’s role as a member of the CU Communication Department faculty created
some limitations in the study. It is conceivable that interview subjects were not completely
candid in their responses, especially in response to questions and probes related to the influence
of leadership and organizational culture at CU. This potential limitation is magnified by the
researcher’s role as communication department chair, even though the stakeholders do not report
directly to the researcher for annual performance reviews. Because of the close professional
relationship between the researcher and the stakeholder group, questions relating specifically to
communication department governance, leadership, and culture are absent from the interview
protocol; the potential for interview subjects to feel pressured or manipulated under such
circumstances was too great.
The researcher also chose not to expand the research to include faculty members from
other academic departments at CU. While data collected from other faculty members could have
provider a broader perspective on faculty attitudes about organizational influences, their
connection to the stakeholder goal is thin or non-existent, which would have diluted the impact
of the study’s findings and subsequent recommendations.
Recommendations for Further Research
One recommendation for future study into the cultural models addressed in this study is
that CU senior administration be interviewed in an effort to shed light on the other side of CU
faculty’s concerns over teaching news media literacy. Any research into the attitudes of CU
senior administration would either confirm or contradict the attitudes of CU Communication
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Department faculty. Regardless, results from such a study would paint a fuller picture of cultural
models by showing it from a different perspective.
A second recommendation for further study would be to examine both full-time and
adjunct professors at CU, focusing on years of service and on the similarities and differences in
how cultural models affect teacher attitudes and emotions. For example, such a study might
yield useful insight into the source of faculty trepidation to address sensitive subjects,
specifically those that may create tension with the doctrinal statement. It may reveal that the
concern stems mostly from a perception that dissipates over time. Conversely, it may show that
the concern is something more than perception and grows more concrete over time.
A third recommendation for further study would be to expand the research to all of the
CU faculty. This study indicated cultural models and settings based on data collected from only
the communication department. It would be illuminating to discover if some of the concerns and
affirmations expressed by communication department faculty are shared by faculty from other
departments. Recognizing the concept of micro-cultures (Schein, 2017), it is not unreasonable to
assume there would be departmental differences in how faculty view issues related to teaching
news media literacy.
A fourth recommendation would be to examine the accuracy and reliability of data that
reflects student performance on department summative assignments. Currently, data collected
by the University that measures student acumen in the ability to analyze supporting material for a
discourse is entirely self-reported by CU faculty.
A fifth recommendation would be to broaden the study to include other schools with a
doctrinal statement and schools without a doctrinal statement. Is the concern felt by some
faculty in this study shared by faculty at other schools governed by a doctrinal statement?
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Additionally, such a study could examine differences in cultural models and settings between the
two types of schools to discover strengths and weaknesses of both organizational models.
A final recommendation involves broadening the scope of the research to include the
field of news media literacy pedagogy. As this study revolved around a final measure of primary
stakeholder success, which is a department-given test on news media literacy, an adjacent area of
study would be to determine best practices for creating such a test.
Conclusion
This study set out to evaluate the influences that would help and/or hinder the
communication department’s initiative to teach its majors to be news media literate. Utilizing
the Clark and Estes (2008) model, a data collection plan was implemented to discover the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences governing CU professors’ efforts and
attitudes about adopting a news media literacy curriculum. Where gaps existed,
recommendations were made and a step-by-step training and evaluation protocol was established
for closing those gaps, following the Kirkpatrick New World Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2016).
Using the Clark and Estes (2008) framework, data revealed that CU Communication
Department professors possess the necessary conceptual knowledge skills to teach news media
literacy, but need more procedural knowledge in how to teach news media literacy if the
department’s initiative is to succeed. Furthermore, communication department faculty place a
high value on teaching news media literacy because they can draw a clear connection between
such a curriculum and the school’s organizational mission. Many communication department
professors are confident in their ability to teach news media on a small scale, but lack confidence
in implementing robust, benchmarked news media literacy curriculum.
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At the organizational level, some of communication department professors are concerned
that the school will not provide the training they need to design and implement news media
curricula at the level they expect from themselves, and 75% of them did not believe the school
would provide them with the necessary course relief they believe they need to meet the demands
of designing and implementing the new curriculum.
Finally, several communication department professors expressed concern that teaching
news media literacy presents a risk to their jobs in the event that a student raises a concern over
how they might attempt to teach it, specifically in the area of challenging students’ confirmation
biases. Some professors expressed concern over whether or not CU senior administration would
support them in the event of such a complaint, although others did not express this concern. In
both cases, no professor could identify a case where either they or a colleague at CU ever lost his
or her job because of such a complaint. None of the data collected for this study suggested
faculty misalignment on a doctrinal level, but professor responses did suggest that
misconceptions regarding alignment (in theory or practice) generated most of the concerns.
Ultimately the research painted a picture of a department faculty that is very much aligned in
their core beliefs and deeply aligned to the school’s mission.
Successful implementation of CU’s news media curriculum would mean communication
department seniors score higher on a news media literacy test. However, the potential
implications of such success are more far-reaching than the CU campus or its students. As
described in Chapter One, a disintegrating journalism infrastructure and the ubiquity of a minute-
by-minute news cycle propelled by unvetted stories shared across social media has created an
information crisis (Fleming, 2014). The decline of traditional news gatekeepers has left a
vacuum into which anything that poses as news can now enter the public arena unchallenged
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(Burroughs, et al., 2009). As such, the burden to discern fact from fiction in news reporting rests
more than ever in the hands of the news consumer.
If, even on a small scale, CU can demonstrate a way to effectively teach students to be
more news media literate, then perhaps a solution can be found to address the problem of “fake
news” on a more global scale, beginning in schools. If education exists to further knowledge,
and knowledge is defined as knowing what is true, then perhaps institutions of higher education
can become the fountainhead of greater news media literacy.

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Appendix
APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW PROTOCOL
Introduction: I want to begin by thanking you for taking the time to participate in this
interview. Your perspective as a member of the CU faculty is vital to this study on news media
literacy curriculum. As we discussed, this is a voluntary interview; please just answer the
questions you are comfortable answering. Everything you share will be kept strictly
confidential. I will be using a pseudonym when I address you today and will refer to you only
by that name in the study, so you can feel free to be honest and know that you will remain
anonymous at every stage of this process. I will have the interviews transcribed through
Rev.com within 48 hours, and then I will delete the recording from my computer. If you are
ready, I’d like to move onto the interview questions. Is that OK?
Let’s begin by talking a bit about news media literacy in a general sense.
1. [K-Declarative] News media literacy is a relatively new term in higher education. Based
on your experience, how would you describe or define it?
2. [K-Procedural] Imagine it is your first day of class and you want to teach your students
to be news media literate, what would that first lesson look like?
3. [K-Procedural] The grading rubric for the Final Analysis Paper in Rhetorical
Criticism contains some specific language about assessing students’ ability to
discern the true meaning of a written document. How confident are you addressing
that part of the rubric?
4. [M-Self-Efficacy; O-Cultural Setting] How do you feel about your current level of
preparation to teach news media literacy if it were to be adopted into the CU curriculum?
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a. Possible probe: For example, how would you define for a student a piece of news
journalism you consider to be fair versus one you consider to be biased or
unbalanced?
b. [K-Metacognitive] Possible probe: Imagine you are discussing a news story in
class about an issue you have strong opinions about. What steps would you take
to make sure your own biases aren’t getting in the way of how you interpret that
story?
5. [K-Procedural] Suppose a student demonstrated a strong case of confirmation bias
toward a news article. What might you try to do either in the classroom or through an
assignment to try and help him or her see it?
6. [K-Conceptual] If a student were to ask you to explain the major differences between an
objective news article and an editorial article, what types of elements would you point
out?
7. [K-Procedural] If you wanted to create an assignment to help a student really grasp the
differences between a news article and an editorial article, what might you do?
8. [K-Procedural] Suppose you wanted your students to understand that even objective
news articles can be biased? How would you try to help see that?
a. Possible probe: If you were successful in showing them how this could happen, how
might you teach them to be able to test supposed objective stories for that bias?
Next, let’s talk about some ways news media literacy curricula might be implemented at CU.
9. [O-Cultural Setting] If you were asked to teach news media literacy at CU, what type of
training, would you want to help you prepare?
a. Possible probe: What types of skills do you feel you would most like to acquire?
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b. Possible probe: In what ways do you feel that is happening for you at CU?

10. [O-Cultural Setting] How confident are you in the school’s commitment to provide
training in news media literacy?
a. Possible probe: If there is something that might help you feel more confident, what
would that be?
11. [O-Cultural Setting] Describe your current faculty workload at CU.
a. Possible probe: It sounds like you are very busy. Given your current workload,
how do you envision folding in the responsibility of developing news media
literacy curricula into your schedule.
12. [O-Cultural Setting] What is your opinion of CU’s current protocols and procedures for
supporting professors when they are asked to develop new curricula.
a. Possible probe [M-Self Efficacy]: Given your response to the previous question,
what is your attitude when you are asked to develop new curriculum?
13. [M-Self-Efficacy] If the communication department were to ask you to adopt news
media literacy content into your current courses, how would you feel about that?
a. Possible probe: If you can imagine yourself in the classroom preparing to teach news
media literacy, how confident would you be?
14. [M-Expectancy Value - Utility] In light of the school’s mission and doctrinal statement,
how much value do you place on adding news media literacy to your curriculum?
a. Possible probe: Some faculty would say that news media literacy is [state the
opposite position], how would you respond to that?
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15. [M-Expectancy Value – Utility] Imagine a student or an administrator where to ask you
why it is important for CU students be become news media literate. How might you
answer?
a. Possible probe: To what degree do you believe news media literacy matches the
mission of the institution?
As we wrap up this interview, I’d like to ask you a few final questions about culture of CU and
impact in news media literacy.
16. [O-Cultural Model; K-Procedural] Suppose you found an article that you felt would
challenge your students to think critically, but might be considered as presenting a view
that is contrary to the school’s doctrinal statement. How would you proceed?
a. Possible probe: How confident are you that the school administration would support
your decision if student raised a complaint?
b. Possible probe: If you believed you could show how bringing that article into the
classroom supported your goal to teach news media literacy, do you believe the
school administrators would back you up?
c. Possible probe: If not, what do you fear might happen?
d. Would that fear be enough to stop you from bringing the news article into the
classroom?
17. [K-Procedural; O-Cultural Model] If you wanted to bring an artifact or article into
class that might be seen by students as presenting ideas contrary to the school’s doctrinal
statement, describe how you would prepare that lesson plan?
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a. Possible probe (O-Cultural Model; K-Procedural; M-Self Efficacy): Do you
believe you could bring such an artifact or article into the classroom in way that
would help avoid any possible complaints?
Last question, and this one is somewhat sweeping in scope, so feel free to take as much
time as you need to answer.
18. [O-Cultural Model] Can you describe examples of instances where you felt the
University either supported or undermined your academic freedom?

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APPENDIX B
C382 PERSUASION: GRADING RUBRICS

Persuasion:
Political
Campaign
Rubric

Criterion
Possible

points

1. Situation Analysis: Demographic characteristics: show
categorization, two general audience needs and two appeals to
those needs your product satisfies; Psychographic characteristics:
Beliefs, Attitudes and Values; Geographic characteristics; and a
well-developed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the
issues and the opponent.
18
2. Objectives: Gives TEN clear, specific and measurable statements
of desired outcomes of the events of the campaign. Give dates,
times, amounts, etc. That can be evaluated to see if these are met.
4
3. Strategies: Give well developed explanations of how the above
objectives will be accomplished concerning 1) Message
construction, 2) Media selection, 3) Tactic selection, 4) Publicity,
and 5) Promotional activities. Discuss all five areas for EACH of
the ten objectives (some objectives may be combined if they relate
to the same event).
15
4. Budget: Well developed explanation of the projected costs for each
of the key events of your campaign in five areas: 1) Labor, 2)
Materials, 3) Media, 4) Talent, and 5) Production. Itemize at least
three costs for each of the five areas (i.e. Food, chairs, microphones
for "Materials") for EACH OF THE KEY EVENTS of your
campaign.
5
5. Implementation: Outline the timing of your campaign by giving a
one year “time-line” (broken down into weeks and months).
Include such things as committee meetings, telephone campaigns,
events and important planning dates for the events, dates for
evaluating key parts of the campaign, etc.).
3
6. Evaluation: Discuss how you will systematically evaluate each of
the key events of your campaign from the beginning through to the
end. How will you address such areas of concern as awareness
(knowledge, recall, or recognition), attitudes (positive and negative
5
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feelings or preferences), and behaviors (purchase, vote, or
support)?

Persuasion:
Speech
Project
1
Rubric

Criterion
Possible

points

1. Introduction: well developed attention getter, clear purpose
(thesis), clear organizational plan.
10
2. Body: Five clear, well developed (at least one example) needs, and
five clear, well developed (at least one example) "satisfactions" of
the needs with your product.
25
3. Conclusion: Well developed summary (visualization step is more
than a repeat of your organizational plan), and a strong, well
developed “call to action.”
5
4. Delivery: includes such factors as vocal variation and expression,
conversational tone, proper use of pauses, appropriate diction (no
"filler" words: um, uh, ya know...), facial expression, eye contact
(watch reading), use of gestures, posture and stance, and use of
visual aids.
5
5. Audience Analysis: Demographic categories include categorization
(i.e. age = 18 to 24 years old), at least two needs, and at least two
"satisfactions" of each need. Psychographic analysis includes well
developed paragraphs for Beliefs, Attitudes and Values.
Geographic analysis is well developed. Motivational appeals: five
appeals and a brief explanation (drawn from the audience analysis).
20

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Persuasion:
Argument
Speech
Rubric

Criterion
Possible

points

1. Introduction: Developed Attention Getter, Contract Thesis (no
position given away), Organizational Plan.
10
2. Body: Developed Neutral Ground; Two well developed Lines of
Reasoning with topic sentences that do not give away a position;
two strong pieces of evidence from two different sources for each
line of reasoning; complete citations for each source in the speech
that includes author and author's credentials (if available), title,
publication (volume and page numbers), publisher, date of
publication, and for online sources, give enough of the URL so that
listeners can look up and find the citation on the internet during the
speech.
25
3. Conclusion: Well developed summary of each part of the "body"
that shows the progression of thought to prove the claim; a clear
statement of the position; and a strong, developed call to action.
5
4. Delivery: Follows criteria for a well delivered speech (see
evaluation form).
5
5. Overall Cohesiveness: Overall cohesiveness concerning:
organization, structure, development, coherence, and transitions.
Speech also contains no inferential leaps or fallacies of reasoning.
5
6. Outline Format: Outline follows the following requirements: 1)
each unit in the outline contains only one idea, 2) proper
subordination of supportive details/evidence, 3) use proper
indentation and a consistent set of symbols, 4) write ideas in full
sentences, 5) every "level" (indentation) must have a minimum of
two points.
10

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APPENDIX C
C472 RHETORICAL CRITICISM: GRADING RUBRICS

Rhetorical
Criticism:
Small
Group
Theory
Presentation
Rubric

Criterion
Possible

points

1. Summarizes and explains the rhetorical theory fully and
completely. Includes key theorists who contributed to the theory's
development, key terms and concepts, and the step by step
analytical procedure used in the critical technique (including
important questions to ask). Examples to explain key concepts are
used throughout the presentation.
25
2. The examples (2 to 3 artifacts) should be carefully chosen to allow
maximum illumination of the examples/artifacts. Students must
provide answers and insight into the artifacts, rather than the
“teachers” (your group) providing answers and insights to the
questions (or procedures) in the exercise.
25

Rhetorical
Criticism:
Author
Paper
Rubric

Criterion
Possible

points

1. Introduction: Developed Attention Getter/Sentences on Popularity
of the artifact/Strong Purpose statement/Clear Organizational
Plan/Description of criterion.
10
2. Body: Well developed biography paragraph. Four strong Author
characteristics that are then seen shaping the artifact (presented in
four well developed paragraphs). Clear topic sentences that
introduce each section. A strong closing sentence (or two) that
wraps up the importance of the author characteristic. Description of
criterion.
25
3. Conclusion: Well developed summary of the importance of each
Author characteristic presented in the paper (one to two sentences
per characteristic)/Several sentences that refer back to and discuss
the purpose for the paper/Several sentences that show how the
10
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perspective of Author illuminates the artifact better than any other
perspective. Description of criterion.
4. Bibliography: Bibliography perfectly follows the Chicago Manual
of Style.
5

Rhetorical
Criticism:
Audience
Paper
Rubric

Criterion
Possible

points

1. Introduction: Developed Attention Getter/Sentences on Popularity
of the artifact/Strong Purpose statement/Clear Organizational Plan
10
2. Body: Five well developed paragraphs on each of the five audience
types: Intended, Real, Implied, Ideal and Universal. Clear topic
sentences that introduce each audience type. Appropriate support
and citation of sources for each audience type (note: not all
audience types require citation of outside sources). Strong closing
sentence (or two) for each paragraph that wraps up the importance
of the audience type.
30
3. Conclusion: Well developed summary of the importance of each
audience type presented in the paper (one to two sentences per
audience type)/Several sentences that refer back to and discuss the
purpose for the paper/Several sentences that show how the
perspective of Audience illuminates the artifact better than any
other perspective (refer to your genre and author papers).
10

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APPENDIX D
CU ASSESSMENT RUBRICS AND SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENTS

Creative Writing and Publishing Emphasis

Division
&
Department
Degree
Program
Created
/

Updated

Communication Department BA in Communication – Creative Writing and
Publishing
9/12/2018
DLO/PLO
Ref.

Num.

Department
or
Program-‐‑level
Learning
Outcome
(DLO
or
PLO)

U.BA.COM.CWP.1 Effectively incorporate a biblical worldview in writing as appropriate for the situation.
Assessment
Rubric
for
this
DLO/PLO

Performance
Indicator

1
–

Unacceptable,

Clearly

Inadequate

Lacking
Basics

2
–
Basic,
Weak,

Barely
at

Threshold

More
is
expected

at
this
level

3
–
Proficient,

Clearly

Adequate

Well
informed
&

skillfully

executed

4
–
Strong,

Exemplary

Worthy
to
be

imitated

U.BA.COM.CWP.1.PI1
The memoir adequately
frames an experience in a
way that indicates
understanding of God’s
sovereignty. (50%)
Inadequate or
absent framing of
a past event from
a biblical
perspective. Little
to no connection
to biblical
themes. No
understanding of
why God could
use the event for
sanctification.
Some framing of a
past event from a
biblical
perspective. The
event is loosely
related to biblical
themes or
connected using
non-specific, broad
strokes. Writing
reveals some
inkling of how
God might use the
event.
The event
written about is
framed from a
clear and
discernible
biblical
perspective. The
framing indicates
a burgeoning
understanding of
the event and
how God might
use it to shape
the life of the
writer.
Exemplary in
every way. The
event or memory
is clearly
connected to a
biblical
perspective, with
strong ties of
understanding to
how God used the
event to grow the
student in
Christlikeness.
U.BA.COM.CWP.1.PI2
The memoir demonstrates
an understanding of a facet
of God’s divine attributes as
illustrated through the
students’ reflections on an
experience.
(50%)

Little to no
framing of an
event in order to
illustrate an
attribute of God’s
character.
The beginnings of
a connection
between the
subject and the
character of God
are present, but not
adequately
explored or
communicated.
The writer
adequately uses
the subject of the
piece to highlight
a characteristic
of God, though
more
thoroughness and
specificity would
help.
The writer does an
exceptional job of
writing the subject
in a way that
clearly and
seamlessly
articulates or
illustrates a facet
or facets of the
character of God.
There is no
ambiguity and no
margin for
misunderstanding.
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Creative Writing and Publishing Emphasis: U.BA.COM.CWP.4

Division & Department Degree Program Created / Updated
Communication Department BA in Communication – Creative Writing and
Publishing
9/12/2018
DLO/PLO Ref.
Num.
Department or Program-level Learning Outcome (DLO or PLO)
U.BA.COM.CWP.4 Demonstrate basic proficiency in textual editing for elements of story, style, grammar, tone,
balance, and institutional appropriateness.

Assessment
Rubric
for
this
DLO/PLO

Performance
Indicator

1
–

Unacceptable,

Clearly

Inadequate

Lacking
Basics

2
–
Basic,
Weak,

Barely
at

Threshold

More
is
expected

at
this
level

3
–
Proficient,

Clearly

Adequate

Well
informed
&

skillfully
executed

4
–
Strong,

Exemplary

Worthy
to
be

imitated

U.BA.COM.CWP.4.PI1
The article is expertly edited
for style, mechanics, usage,
and flow. (50%)

The article is
full of un-caught
errors of all
kinds: spelling
usage, typos,
word choice,
etc. It appears
unedited.
The article is
absent of only the
most egregious
errors, but much is
left un-caught. The
writing lacks
clarity, flow, and
focus, contains
many AP errors,
misspelled names,
usage issues. The
piece shows some
signs of editing,
but remains
unpublishable in its
current form.
The article show a
decent amount of
polish, though it is
not perfect. It
flows well from
lead to body to
conclusion, with
only a bit of
unnecessary
verbiage. Most AP
style errors are
caught, and no
typos or misspelled
words are present.
The article is
polished and ready
to be published.
There are almost no
errors of any kind:
No AP errors, no
typos, no
grammatical errors,
no misspelled
words, no usage
errors. The flow of
the story in clear
and the writing is
concise.
U.BA.COM.CWP.4.PI2
The article is expertly edited
for content: fairness and
institutional appropriateness.
(50%)

The article is not
edited for
content at all.
The story is
slanted and
leans heavily to
one editorial
side. The tone
does not come
close to fitting
the publishing
entity.
The article is
slightly edited for
content. The edit
weeds out some
editorial content,
but it is still slanted
by what is included
or by what is
excluded. Bias is
clearly visible. The
tone is barely
appropriate for the
publishing entity.
The article is
edited fairly well
for content. There
is a bit of
editorializing
visible, but only
under careful
inspection. Both
sides of an issue
are given mostly
equal time and
weight. Bias has
been mostly edited
out. The tone
mostly fits the
publishing entity.
The article is edited
expertly for
content. There is no
bias present in the
story, even under
careful scrutiny.
Both sides of an
issue are fairly
represented and
given equal weight
in the piece. There
is no bias present.
The tone perfectly
fits the publishing
entity.
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Journalism Emphasis: U.BA.COM.JNL.1

Division & Department Degree Program Created /
Updated
Communication Department BA in Communication - Journalism 9/12/2018
DLO/PLO Ref.
Num.
Department or Program-level Learning Outcome (DLO or PLO)
U.BA.COM.JNL.1 Effectively incorporate a biblical worldview in writing as appropriate for the situation.

Assessment
Rubric
for
this
DLO/PLO

Performance
Indicator

1
–

Unacceptable,

Clearly

Inadequate

Lacking
Basics

2
–
Basic,
Weak,

Barely
at

Threshold

More
is
expected

at
this
level

3
–
Proficient,

Clearly

Adequate

Well
informed
&

skillfully

executed

4
–
Strong,

Exemplary

Worthy
to
be

imitated

U.BA.COM.JNL.1.PI1
The feature incorporates a
biblical worldview.
(100%)

The feature lacks
any mention of or
reference to a
biblical
worldview or a
sense of framing
from a biblical
perspective.
The feature
moderately
incorporates
biblical
worldview, but
only enough to
demonstrate a
rudimentary depth
of thought about
the feature topic
and Scripture.
The feature
adequately
incorporates a
somewhat mature
sense of biblical
context and
worldview.
Without
preaching or
sermonizing, the
writer weaves
biblical
perspectives into
the narrative in a
way that is
appropriate to the
subject matter.
The feature
demonstrates a
mature biblical
perspective, both
in broad strokes
and in a nuanced
way as it relates
to the subject.
Scriptural
premises are
brought to bear in
a way that is
subtle, yet
powerful and
complete,
without the sense
that the writer is
giving a sermon.
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Journalism Emphasis: U.BA.COM.JNL.4

Division & Department Degree Program Created / Updated
Communication Department BA in Communication - Journalism 9/12/2018
DLO/PLO Ref.
Num.
Department or Program-level Learning Outcome (DLO or PLO)
U.BA.COM.JNL.4 Demonstrate knowledge of journalistic ethics and fairness. Produce stories that are balanced,
framing complex issues in a way to present all sides to the reader without interpretation or
editorializing. Utilize quoted sources to generate a fair representation of various sides of the
issue.

Assessment
Rubric
for
this
DLO/PLO

Performance Indicator
1 – Unacceptable,
Clearly
Inadequate
Lacking Basics
2 – Basic, Weak,
Barely at
Threshold
More is expected
at this level
3 – Proficient,
Clearly
Adequate
Well informed &
skillfully executed
4 – Strong,
Exemplary
Worthy to be
imitated
U.BA.COM.JNL.4.PI1
The article must accurately
and completely frame both
sides of an issue without
bias. (50%)

Article is clearly
biased by an
unbalanced
emphasis on one
side and/or an
omission of
pertinent detail on
the other. News
piece reads more
like an editorial.
Article makes a
token effort to be
fair, but is mostly
unbalanced in its
treatment of the
subject. Quotes are
weighted on one
side; the writer’s
bias is evident.
Article is fair and
balanced, with
only minor
indications of
bias as evidenced
by minor
weighting of
copy or quotes
on one side.
Readers do not
feel led in one
direction over
another.
Article is perfectly
balanced. Both sides
of the issue at hand
are treated equally in
content and through
quoted sources.
Readers are fully
and fairly educated
in the subject.
U.BA.COM.JNL.2.PI2
The article must include
enough quoted sources to
paint a full picture of the
subject. (50%)

One or fewer
sources used in
story; or sources
are improperly
identified; much
info is given
without
attribution;
inaccurate or
vague info. It is
evident that no
research was
conducted or
included.
Two or fewer
sources are used;
some sources are
improperly
identified or some
info or opinion is
given without
attribution; most
info is accurate but
may not be as
thorough; missing
key sources; may
use too general
info. Unclear if
research was
conducted.
A minimum of
three sources are
used and are
clearly identified;
most information
is attributed to
sources;
information is
accurate; may
use some
anecdotal info.
Relevant
research is
included.

Reporter gets as
many relevant and
credible sources as
necessary to
thoroughly present
all sides in the story;
all are identified;
info is properly
attributed; is
accurate, thorough;
reporter conducts
relevant and
sufficient research
on the topic
presented.
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Speech Communication Emphasis

Speech Communication Emphasis
Program Learning Outcomes (PLO’s)
COMSC1: Engage in discussion as both speaker and listener through interpreting,
analyzing, and summarizing; contribute to discussions in a way that is readily understood by
listeners; present an opinion persuasively; analyze the shape and goals of a discourse.
COMSC2: Exemplify in communicative settings the highest ethical and moral standards.
COMSC3: Demonstrate the ability to correctly analyze and interpret a spoken discourse.
COMSC4: Determine appropriate language and usage in various communicative situations
(considering the peculiarities of language, dialect, and culture).
COMSC5: Demonstrate a working knowledge of one of the following various theories of
rhetoric: Neo-Aristotelian, Generic, Fantasy-Theme, Feminist, Ideological, Metaphoric,
Narrative, and Dramatic.
COMSC6: Prepare and effectively present various types of oral discourse: discussions,
reports, speeches, and debates.

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APPENDIX E
SURVEY ITEMS
CU Post-Training Survey
This survey will be given immediately following the training workshop.
1. The training held my interest. (Level 1 Engagement)
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree
2. What learned in this training will help me develop news media literacy. (Level 1 Relevance)
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree
3. What learned in this training will help me teach news media literacy. (Level 1 Relevance)
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree
4. I am satisfied with my training experience today. (Level 1 Customer Satisfaction)
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree
5. I understand the difference between a news story and an editorial: (Level 2 Declarative
Knowledge)
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree
6. I can view an example of news journalism and find examples to show that it is objective or not
objective. (Level 2 Procedural Knowledge)
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree
7. Understanding how teach news media literacy will make me a better teacher. (Level 2
Attitude)
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree
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8. Teaching my students to be more news media literate will help students impact communities
for Christ through the purposeful, skilled, and strategic utilization of interpersonal and mass
media messages. (Level 2 Attitude)
9. Understanding how teach news media literacy will make me a better teacher. (Level 2
Attitude)
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree
10. I believe I can effectively develop news media curricula and teach it to my students. (Level 2
Confidence)

Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree
11. I believe the University’s senior administration supports the department’s efforts to teach
news media literacy. (Level 2 Confidence)
12. I am committed to implementing the department’s news media literacy curriculum into my
applicable courses. (Level 2 Commitment)
Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree

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CU Blended Evaluation
This survey will be completed 12-14 weeks after the training workshop, which would put it at
about halfway through the subsequent academic term.

Level 1: Reactions
Relevance

1. What information from this training continues to be the most relevant to your goals as a
teacher at CU?

2. Now that the training is complete, what questions do you still have about how adopting news
media literacy?

Satisfaction

3. This training continues to be a valuable use of my time.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Agree
c. Disagree
d. Strongly Disagree

Level 2: Learning

4. What tools or job aids continue to be most useful in helping you teach news media literacy in
your courses?

5. How would you describe news media literacy?

Level 3: Behavior

6. Since you have started teaching news media literacy, in what ways have you applied what
you learned?

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7. How much do you incorporate the news media literacy curriculum into your courses :
a. Not at all
b. Somewhat
c. Often
d. All the time

8. Describe any challenges you are experiencing in teaching news media literacy in your
courses.

Required Drivers

9. What additional support or help do you need to be successful in teaching news media literacy
in your courses?

Level 4: Results

10. My students are more news media literate as a result of taking my courses.

Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree

11. I have successfully implemented news media literacy curricula into my courses.

Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This study employed a mixed method approach to assess the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences affecting full-time and adjunct communication professors’ ability to add news media literacy curricula to their courses. Eight professors from a small Christian liberal arts university in California participated in semi-structured interviews. Document review of department grading rubrics and institutional stated learning objectives was also employed. ❧ Results from the study revealed that professors possessed knowledge of news media literacy, but felt they needed more if news media literacy were to become a benchmarked component of department curricula. Professors felt that news media literacy was a mission match for the school, and were motivated to adopt it, assuming they could receive the training they felt they needed. In addition, department and institutional rubrics reflected that key components of news media literacy are currently present in what the school intends its students to learn. Regarding organizational influences, the study revealed that some professors were concerned that confronting student confirmation bias, a hallmark of news media literacy training, could be misconstrued by students and/or administration as contradicting the institution’s strict doctrinal statement, which could put their employment at risk. Some professors also lacked confidence that the University would provide support in the form of professional development and temporary course relief to design and implement news media literacy curricula. ❧ Findings from this study indicate the need for faculty training in news media literacy pedagogy and clear line of communication between faculty and senior administration to ensure mutual understanding of how the new curriculum, as well as how it would be taught, fits the school’s mission. Training and course relief also need to be implemented as part of a comprehensive plan to design and implement the new curriculum.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Dickson, Robert D. (author)

Core Title News media literacy among communication majors at Christian University: an evaluation study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 11/08/2019

Defense Date 09/17/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag confirmation bias,critical thinking,fake news,media bias,news literacy,news media literacy,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Stowe, Katherine (committee chair), Datta, Monique (committee member), Donato, Adrian (committee member)

Creator Email bobsfactory@gmail.com,rddickso@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-230871

Unique identifier UC11673868

Identifier etd-DicksonRob-7903.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-230871 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-DicksonRob-7903.pdf

Dmrecord 230871

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Dickson, Robert D.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA