Teaching

FACULTY POSITIONS

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS, SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION, CONWAY AR

• Visiting Lecturer, August 2022 to Present

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDIA, BOWLING GREEN, KY
• Assistant Professor of Journalism, August 2017-2022

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDIA, BOWLING GREEN, KY

Fleischaker-Greene Scholars Program/First Amendment Reporting (SJB 402), Fall 2018: Selective senior-level class, with outside financial sponsorship, open to students in journalism, history, and political science.
• This course provides 10 students with an opportunity to undertake an in-depth study of an issue relating to the First Amendment across an entire semester; in Fall 2018, the topic was dissent and protest.
• Students participate in readings, discussions, and write reflective essays on a variety of First Amendment topics.
• Students complete an in-depth research or reporting project for publication on a dedicated website (wku-flesichaker-greene.com).
• Organized and supervised a field trip for students to augment their understanding of the First Amendment issue under study; in Fall 2018, students traveled to Kent State University in Ohio for research into the May 4, 1970 shootings.
• Communicated class activities to outside donors who provide financial support for this class; organized events to present student work to donors.
• Created website for the class on WordPress and coordinated posting of essays, projects, photos, and multimedia elements.
• Used Blackboard course management software to organize and manage this course

American Press History (SJB 421), Spring 2018 and Spring 2019: Junior/senior-level elective class open to students across the university.
• This course provides provide students with a grounding in the history of American journalism, from the Colonial Era through the advent of television and into latter-day developments. Journalism history is evaluated from political, social/cultural, economic, and technological perspectives, with an emphasis on the role that journalism plays in a democratic society.
• Minority perspectives, including the African American, Native American, and Latino presses, are considered, as are the role of women in journalism and journalism’s role in fostering and sustaining efforts at social reform.
• Prepared lectures, reading quizzes, discussions, exams, and other class materials for a class of 15; graded assignments and provided feedback.
• Provided instruction in how to prepare an academic research paper on a journalism history topic, which students must complete in this course; oversaw progress of research projects and provided feedback and evaluation.
• Used Blackboard course management software to organize this course and facilitate discussions.

Intermediate Reporting (JOUR 302), Spring 2019: Lab-based intermediate newswriting and reporting class for majors and minors in the School of Media.
• This course builds student skills in reporting and newswriting needed to work as a media professional.
• Skills emphasized include finding and reporting information, effective storytelling techniques, producing error-free copy and using critical thinking in the journalistic process.
• Students gain proficiency in techniques and standards for beat reporting, including politics, education, business, law enforcement, and courts.
• Students complete eight writing assignments over the course of the semester, including four stores from a beat of their choice and an enterprise story on a newsworthy topic.
• Students learn how to obtain and use public records, including filing freedom of information requests.
• Media law and ethics issues are explored, particularly public access, libel, and privacy.
• Students learn how to use Google and other online tools in reporting.
• Created a syllabus, lectures, writing assignments, and progress assessments for up to 20 students each semester; graded writing assignments providing coaching and feedback.
• Used Blackboard course management software to organize and manage this course.

Newswriting (JOUR 202), Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019: Lab-based beginning newswriting class required for sophomore-level majors and minors in the School of Media.

• This course provides students proficiency in the craft of newswriting and the skills they need to work as a media professional. Story structure, grammar, comma use, and journalistic conventions such as AP Style are emphasized.
• Students complete eight writing assignments over the course of the semester, culminating in an enterprise story on a newsworthy topic of their choice.
• Additional topics covered include legal and ethical practices in newswriting, how newsrooms work and how the journalism profession is organized, and writing for public relations and digital platforms, including use of Twitter as a journalistic tool.
• Created a syllabus, lectures, writing assignments, and progress assessments for 40 students each semester; graded writing assignments providing coaching and feedback.
• Used Blackboard course management software to organize and manage this course.

Understanding Media Content, Ethics, and Technology (SJB 101), Fall 2017 & 2018: Required large-lecture introductory media studies course primarily for freshman majors in the School of Journalism & Broadcasting.

• This course explores the nature of media and media content, the role they play in society, and their effects on audiences and culture. Media development is explored from both historical and technological dimensions for both legacy and digital media. Media purposes and practices are considered, including ethics and media law.
• The course is designed to foster critical thinking and analysis through participation in class discussions and by encouraging students to become thoughtful media consumers.
• Used Blackboard course management software to create a shell to organize and manage this course and facilitate weekly class discussions.
• Created a model syllabus for this class for use by all SJB 101 instructors.
• Created reading quizzes, discussions, unit exams, lectures, and course materials for a class of 80-120 students; evaluated and graded assignments.
• Conceived and coordinated a class project in which teams of four students conceived multimedia projects expressing their own point of view on how media affects audiences or a new media product that fulfills an unmet need.

Media Content, Collaboration, and Community (SJB 102), Fall 2017: Required lab-based introductory course that provides hands-on experience for students in photography, video and audio production, writing, and design; required for freshman majors in the School of Journalism & Broadcasting.

• Provided instruction for two sections of 20 students in the five areas of hands-on media production.
• Coordinated and supervised student production efforts; graded assignments.
• Created new course materials for use by all instructors in teaching the writing module, including lecture slides and assignments based on expertise in best practices for journalistic writing.

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATIONS, GAINESVILLE, FL
• Teaching Assistant, 2014-2018
• Winner, 2017 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award

Media and Politics (MMC 3614), Instructor of Record, Spring 2017 & Summer 2017: Elective junior-senior level course for journalism majors in the College of Journalism and Communications.

•This is an online course that explores how the media, politicians, and the voting public interact with and affect each other and how and why media-based politics have become ascendant in the United States.
•Used Canvas course management software to create a shell to organize and manage this course and facilitate weekly class discussions.
•Created a syllabus, assignments, lesson plans, grading rubrics, and course materials for a class of 40; evaluated and graded assignments.
•Topics covered include media influence on the political process; the media’s watchdog role; how politicians shape media coverage; covering campaigns; polling, debates, and political advertising; use of new media in politics; and incivility, negativity, and media bias in politics.

Applied Fact Finding (JOU 3110), Instructor of Record, Summer 2015 & Summer 2016: Required junior/senior level course for all journalism majors in the College of Journalism and Communications.

•The emphasis of this course is teaching undergraduate journalism majors how to find, access, and use public records and publicly available information as a reporter.
•Topics covered include using the Florida Sunshine Law, the Florida Public Records Law, and the federal Freedom of Information Act to obtain information; using public records ethically in reporting news stories; computer-assisted reporting; and using public records in covering specific beats, including local government, education, legislatures, courts, police, and business.
•Created a syllabus, lesson plans, grading rubrics, and course materials for a class of 20; evaluated and graded assignments, including news stories utilizing public records and a final project that was a comprehensive analysis of all available records related to a single address.
•Coordinated guest appearances by industry experts and working journalists to discuss specific examples and techniques for using public records.

Multimedia Writing (JOU 3109c), Lecture Assistant, Fall 2015 & Spring 2016: Required junior-level course for all journalism and public relations majors in the College of Journalism and Communications.

•Under the guidance of Dr. Julie Dodd, helped manage a class of up to 210 undergraduates.
•Periodically lectured to the class on topics such as online journalism, media ethics, and AP style.
•In charge of managing the grading of the class, through use of the Canvas course management system.
•Helped coordinate the activities of six lab instructors, both graduate students and adjuncts.
•Served as a mentor for new lab instructors with no previous teaching experience.
•Guided one lab section of 20 students in honing their skills in news writing, editing, and writing press releases, as well as using social media journalistically.
•Evaluated and graded 20 lab assignments each week, which is 280 assignments over the course of a semester.
•Worked with Dr. Dodd to migrate Multimedia Writing to an online course in preparation for making the public relations major available online, including creating online lecture materials and quizzes and working with the university’s instructional design team.
•Created a set of comma drills designed to strengthen students’ punctuation skills, which were used by the entire teaching team.
•Created a set of exercises in use of AP Style to strengthen students’ newswriting abilities.
•Facilitated the use of a UF-hosted cloud service for use by the teaching team.
•Created a Qualtrics-based midterm evaluation tool for use by the teaching team.

Multimedia Writing (JOU 3109c), Lab Assistant, Fall 2014 & Spring 2015: Required junior-level course for all journalism and public relations majors in the College of Journalism and Communications.

•Worked as part of a collaborative team of six teaching assistants, managing and guiding two lab sections of 40 students in honing their skills in news writing, editing, and writing press releases, as well as using social media journalistically.
•Evaluated and graded 40 lab assignments each week, which was 560 assignments over the course of a semester.

NORTH LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT, NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR
Substitute Teacher, 2013-14. Worked in a wide variety of classes at all levels, including elementary, middle, and high school.

TEACHING EVALUATIONS

Spring 2019, WKU, News Writing (2 sections)
Instructor is Effective
• Mean, 4.78 out of 5; median, 5
Instructor is Organized and Prepared
• Mean, 4.67 out of 5; median, 5

Spring 2019, WKU, Intermediate Reporting
Instructor is Effective
• Mean, 4.33 out of 5; median, 4.5
Instructor is Organized and Prepared|
• Mean, 4.5 out of 5; median, 5

Spring 2019, WKU, American Press History
Instructor is Effective
• Mean, 3.57 out of 5; median, 4
Instructor is Organized and Prepared
• Mean 3.93 out of 5; median, 4

Fall 2018, SJB 101, WKU, Understanding Media
Instructor Is Effective
• Mean 4.15 out of 5; median 4
Instructor Is Organized and Prepared
• Mean 4.55 out of 5; median 5; above department and college means.
Fall 2018, JOUR 202, WKU, News Writing

Instructor Is Effective
• Mean 4.36 out of 5; median 4; at or above department and college means.
Instructor Is Organized and Prepared
• Mean 4.73 out of 5; median 5; above department and college means.

Spring 2018, SJB 421, WKU, American Press History
Instructor Is Effective
• Mean 4.78 out of 5; median 5; above department and college means.
Instructor Is Organized and Prepared
• Mean 4.78 out of 5; median 5; above department and college means.

Spring 2018, JOUR 202, WKU, Newswriting (2 sections)
Instructor Is Effective
• Mean 4.61 out of 5; median, 5; above department and college means.
Instructor Is Organized and Prepared
• Mean 4.52 out of 5; median, 5, above department and college means.

Fall 2017, SJB 101, WKU, Understanding Media
Instructor Is Effective
• Mean 4.12 out of 5; median, 4.
Instructor Is Organized and Prepared
• Mean 4.53 out of 5; median, 5; above department and college means.

Fall 2017, SJB 102, WKU, Media Collaboration (2 sections)
Instructor Is Effective
• Mean 4.17 out of 5; median, 4.
Instructor Is Organized and Prepared
• Mean 4.24 out of 5; median, 4.

Summer 2017, MMC 3614, UF, Media and Politics
Overall Rating: Mean 4.75 out of 5; median, 5; above department and college means.

Spring 2017, MMC 3614, UF, Media and Politics
Overall Rating: Mean 4.6 out of 5; median, 5; above department and college means.

Summer 2016, JOU 3110, UF, Applied Fact Finding
Overall Rating: Mean 4.69 out of 5; median, 5; above department and college means.

Spring 2016, JOU 3109, UF, Multimedia Writing Lab
Overall Rating: Mean 4.88 out of 5; median, 5; above course, department, and college means.

Fall 2015, JOU 3109, UF, Multimedia Writing Lab
Overall Rating: Mean 4.58 out of 5; median, 5; above course, department, and college means.

Summer 2015, JOU 3110, UF, Applied Fact Finding
Overall Rating: Mean 4.44 out of 5; median, 4.5; above department and college means.

Spring 2015, JOU 3109, UF, Multimedia Writing Lab (2 sections)
Overall Rating: Mean 4.57 out of 5; median, 5; above course, department, and college means.

Fall 2014, JOU 3109, UF, Multimedia Writing Lab (2 sections)
Overall Rating: Mean 4.66 out of 5; median, 5; above course, department and college means.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY (shumate_teaching_philosophy.pdf)

I didn’t consciously set out to become a teacher; rather, it was one of those happy accidents of life. But I have developed a passion for this profession for one reason — students. Interacting with them and seeing them learn and grow is tremendously rewarding, and that is why my teaching philosophy is student-centric. After all, they’re why we’re here.

I believe in challenging students by setting and articulating specific expectations. However, I realize students (usually!) don’t know as much about the topic I’m covering as I do, so those expectations have to be kept within reason. Being student-centric means going the extra mile to help students who might be struggling, always trying to find what’s positive in their work, instead of only pointing out what’s wrong with it. Teaching is not imparting knowledge from a lofty perch; rather, it is coaching and mentoring students at their level.

Many years ago, a journalism professor said something that has stuck with me ever since — “An education is more gotten than given.” I use that quote in every class I teach because I believe it articulates the higher mission we have as educators. We should not just be teaching students a specific slice of curriculum; rather, we should be teaching them how to think critically and how to motivate themselves. After all, to function effectively, journalists must be lifelong learners.

Journalism is a unique because a) it is more of a calling than a profession and b) it is something you learn by doing. Teaching the next generation of journalists requires cultivating both of these aspects, both by imparting my enthusiasm for the journalistic life and by providing hands-on instruction in the skills they will need to succeed. However, in addition to practical skills, students need to develop good news judgment — knowing what news is, how to find it, and how to process and present it. As a journalism educator, I need to embed news judgment in everything I do.

Journalism students come to the field with different strengths and weaknesses. Some are great writers, but reporting doesn’t come naturally; others are imaginative and tenacious reporters, but they struggle with the written word. Recognizing the areas where students shine and where they need improvement is part of what I need to do as a journalism educator, so that my students are as well-rounded as possible.

One thing I always tell my students is that once they are my students, they are always my students. The bond doesn’t end just because the class does. There is nothing more gratifying than coming across a student a semester or two after our time together and seeing how they well they are succeeding, in school and in life.

Having the opportunity to change lives is what motivates me to be the best teacher I can be. That is what gets me out of bed in the morning. That is why I’m a teacher.

SYLLABI

WKU SPRING 2019
SJB 421 American Media History: SJB 421 (1) SP 19 Syllabus
JOUR 202 News Writing: JOUR 202(5) SP 19 Syllabus
JOUR 302 Intermediate Reporting: JOUR 302(2) SP 19 Syllabus

WKU FALL 2018
SJB 402 First Amendment Reporting (Fleischaker/Greene Scholars): SJB 402 FA 18 Syllabus
SJB 101 Understanding Media: SJB 101(3) FA 18 Syllabus
JOUR 202 News Writing: JOUR 202(4) FA 18 Syllabus

WKU SPRING 2018
SJB 421 American Media History: jour421_syllabus_spring 18
JOUR 202 News Writing: jour202_syllabus_spring 18

WKU FALL 2017
SJB 101 Understanding Media: sjb101_syllabus_fall 2017

Media and Politics (MMC 3614), University of Florida
mmc3614_Syllabus_Spring 17
This is a syllabus developed for Media and Politics (MMC 3614), an elective junior/senior level course for all majors in the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. In this course, students explore the ways in which media affect American politics and how politicians utilize both traditional and digital media and advertising to communicate with voters.

Applied Fact Finding (JOU 3110), University of Florida
jou3110_summer16_syllabus
This is a syllabus developed for Applied Fact Finding (JOU 3110), a required junior/senior level course for all journalism majors in the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. In this class, students learn how to find, access, and use public records and publicly available information as a reporter and gain an understanding of how to use open meetings and public records laws in the practice of journalism.

Multimedia Writing (JOU 3109), University of Florida
jou 3109_spring 16_syllabus
This is the syllabus used in Multimedia Writing (JOU 3109), a required course for journalism and public relations majors in the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications in which students learn news writing basics and digital media skills. I was the lecture assistant for this 200-student course in the Fall 2015 and Spring 2017 semesters, in charge of coordinating lab instructors, grading, and providing lectures on a number of topics, including media law and using AP Style. I was a lab instructor in the Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 semesters, guiding 40 students through weekly labs in which they perfected their multimedia journalism skills.

JRN SCRIBE (jrnscribe.wordpress.com)
This is a mini-curriculum for high school students that I developed to spark their interest in the craft of writing by exposing them to the basics of writing as a journalist.