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 Teaching cases Project work with communication product

Project work with communication product

Short description

The purpose of the course is to provide students with knowledge of historical trends and characteristics within the most recent literature and to enable students to collaborate with others in presenting academic issues to a defined target group. In the course, the students will work both theoretically and analytically with several focus points within new literature and with product-oriented project work, in which the students collaborate on a communication product, in this case a podcast production. In the project, the students will collaborate with external partners and communicate to a defined target group.

Teacher's motivation

The purpose of the project-based work is:

  • to build a bridge to the outside world at the beginning of the degree programme through the inclusion of external collaboration partners; to provide the students with concrete collaboration which reflects their own academic competences;
  • for the students to acquire proficiency in defining and processing a specific issue within new literature with a view to communicating this to a defined target group, and in conducting defined user surveys;
  • for the students to acquire production competences as regards the planning, production, editing and execution of a communication product.
  • for the students to acquire the competences required to collaborate in concentrated project work processes, and to plan and structure tasks appropriately within limited time and resources, including keeping deadlines and performing efficiently.

Description of the activity

Before the course begins, the teacher will find collaboration partners that match the course theme and make an agreement with them on the collaboration framework. In this case, collaboration partners (and their student interns from Comparative Literature Master’s degree level) participated before the first teaching session, where the teacher and the collaboration partners jointly introduced the project to the students.

  • The students were introduced to the production of podcasts in two workshops (six hours each) by Jacob Kreutzfeldt, who has produced for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), is head of Sound Tracks Struer, and has taught auditive culture and radio formats for several years.
    • The two workshops were scheduled as teaching sessions 3 and 7 and focussed on 1) An introduction to Literary Communication using sound, and an introduction to and exercises in recording equipment and open source audio editing software and 2) Prototyping of communication formats and further production guidelines.
    • At workshop 2, a group of Master’s degree students presented their second semester literature communication project and their product in the shape of a published podcast series.

  • The students worked with their projects between and after the two workshops.  This included a design process from Idea Generation to communication project, Status on ideas and the path to a prototype, Prototype and Production; the students continued to work on this between the teaching sessions.  

  • The students presented their prototypes in an exhibition format – story pitch, visual presentation and quotation – at a public communication event about the literary theme of the course with authors and external collaboration partners.  At this event, it was also announced that the students’ podcast series might be listened to at an exhibition at the Aarhus Public Libraries in the spring of 2019.De studerende får feedback på deres prototyper og det færdige produkt. The students received feedback on their prototypes and completed product.  

  • Finally, a launching event was held (spring 2019) in collaboration with external partners (using the library as a platform)

Outcome of the activity

The students have gained experience in working with a topical theme and have learnt how their academic subject is relevant in the real world. They have also learnt to work with and produce podcasts for communicating a theme.

Worth considering

It may seem overwhelming for first-semester students to be plunged into project work with an external collaboration partner. Therefore, teachers should remember to set up a good framework for the collaboration and make sure that expectations are aligned with both students and collaboration partners.

Activities

    Examples of practice

      Basic information

      • Faculty: Arts

      • Degree Programme: Comparative Literature

      • Course: New literature and communication

      • Study level: First year of study

      • Course size: Approx. 40 students

      • Teaching method: Small class teaching

      • Extent: Short series

      • How the case was conducted: Campus teaching

      Links and materials

      Marianne Ping Huang

      Associate Professor
      M
      H 1580, 127
      P +4551371208
      P +4551371208

      This example of practice is developed in connection to "Projekt 1. studieår", where initiatives for retention at the faculty of arts at Aarhus University was mapped.

      Revised 09.10.2023
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