Post-practicum debriefing: Putting the ‘wise’ into wise practice within university-led work-integrated learning projects

Abstract

Like journalism globally, journalism education in Australia is trying to find its way in a constantly evolving convergent and shrinking news culture. Provision of industry experience now lies with the university, and educators are rapidly adjusting to accommodate shrinking industry demand and the expanding needs of soon to graduate student journalists. Work-integrated learning (WIL) plays a significant role in journalism education and reflective ‘debriefing’ has been identified as one of the important factors contributing to positive WIL outcomes for students. A wise practice framework for university-led WIL projects suggest group debriefing sessions highlight student development and transformation around key attributes of journalism graduates. This chapter critically evaluates the impact of reflective group debrief sessions incorporated within a university-led WIL project for journalism students. Ensuring the debrief sessions are aligned with student expectations for feedback was a major challenge for researchers in designing the sessions. While participants were overwhelmingly supportive of the debriefing sessions, recognising their value for improving their practice, the format and structure of group debrief sessions can place a lot of pressure on discussion leaders. The structure and format of group debriefing sessions providing group and individual feedback while facilitating the reflective process for the larger group requires careful consideration.