Listening Circles for Journalism Placements

The Listening Circles for Journalism Placements at RMIT University was adapted from a similar small group peer-led discussion used by medical students at Monash University (Harrison, Molloy, Bearman, Newton, & Leech, 2017). Medical students and journalism students are similar in that students in both cohorts often work in isolation from student peers during professional placements, and often have vastly different learning experiences. Some journalism students, for example, will spend their time covering breaking news stories, such as attending an inner-city rampage or murder scene, while others will write about coffee shops or use social media to promote another journalist's interview with a famous sports person. For this teaching and learning experiment at RMIT, the Listening Circles brought together students from the Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) and Graduate Diploma of Journalism to reflect upon their internship experiences, and to share what they had learned from those placements. The Listening Circles were not part of the mandated curriculum or assessment process in 2017 or 2018 and, as a result, drew small attendance numbers. However, in 2018 the Listening Circles were built into the teaching schedule for students in the Bachelor program, and were held on alternative weeks in the same room and at the same weekly time slot as the usual seminars. The competitiveness of journalism students was also foreseen as a potential issue for group reflective practice. It has previously been observed by the chief researcher that in groups of generally high achieving students who will ultimately be competing against each other in an increasingly competitive job market, that one-upmanship between the students could become a problem, and there was a concern that the conversations would focus on current structural problems with the industry or placement providers rather than upon self-reflection. However, each Listening Circle was different. For groups dominated by high achieving students the conversation was more jobs-focused, while in groups dominated by students who generally require more pastoral support (for example, quieter students and students with mental health issues) the conversations were generally more self-reflective and collegiate. Building Listening Circles into the assessment process in future years will ensure a larger attendance, however, care will need to be taken to balance the needs of the high achieving students against those who generally require more support.