New methods emerge to teach ‘trauma-awareness’ in j-schools
Journalism students at Kent State University in Ohio used virtual reality to practice covering a violent rally (photo provided, Prof. Gretchen Hoak.)
J-school educators are turning to virtual reality, actor simulations and video ‘micro-learning’ to better prepare journalists to cover disasters, violence and human suffering.
These innovations were featured at the second-ever conference of JETREG (Journalism Educators Trauma Research Group) held in June at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
“We know we need to improve curriculum for students entering the field,” said Desiree Hill, conference organizer and journalism professor at the University of Oklahoma.
”We are learning from each other on how to do simulations to prepare journalists. More universities are adding specialized courses. Our research is becoming more sophisticated,” said Hill.
Conference organizer professor Desiree Hill (left) moderated a discussion with survivors of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, a domestic terrorist attack that killed 168 people and injured 680 others.
JETREG is a network of academics and journalists formed in 2020 that aims to tackle a lack of research and j-school curriculum designed to train students on how to report on traumatic events and to care for their own mental health.
Until now, ninety per cent of journalists got no ‘trauma training’ in j-schools according to a 2022 industry survey in Canada (Taking Care Report, Carleton).
Virtual reality allows immersion, without leaving classroom
Throwing journalism students head first into a disaster zone or real-time high-stress event is both dangerous and impractical.
Gretchen Hoak, assistant professor of journalism at Ohio’s Kent State University, is experimenting with virtual reality simulations to train students on how to report on a protest that turns violent. She says she jumped at the opportunity after being approached by VR training firm Head Set Immersive.
“I was intrigued with the idea because part of my research is looking at the best ways to try and introduce the trauma discussion to students and prepare them for the real world, but it's so challenging to make that lesson stick,” says Hoak.
“Especially in a rural setting like ours at Kent State, we don't have a lot of opportunities for our students to be exposed to potentially traumatic stories, so this seemed like a great way to get them that exposure in a safe and educational environment.”
Hoak presenting Virtually Prepared: Using VR to Build Trauma Awareness & Resilience in Journalism Students in June.
Students wear VR visors, headphones and hand controllers to interact with aggressive protestors, police and bystanders all within the safety of a virtual environment.
“It's incredibly valuable. The more you can make students aware of the dangers of the work, the more resilient they become,” says Hoak. “I think it's also important to remember that this scenario created very real emotions in the students who went through it. Therefore, it's not something I would introduce to freshman. This is something that is best suited for upperclassmen who are sure they plan to pursue journalism when they graduate and are mature enough to handle the material.”
Hoak also conducts advance and post-simulation debriefs to monitor student reactions and discuss lessons from covering the simulated events.
Students practice with actors playing trauma roles
At Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, journalism professor Matthew Pearson is employing actors to play victims and survivors to allow students to practice trauma-intensive interviews.
“{It} allows students to get a feel for what it might be like to interview someone who has experienced a traumatic event without the added pressure of worrying about that person’s capacity to cope during the interview,” says Pearson.
Students interact with actors in simulated trauma-based interview scenarios (Illustration: Sara Mizannojehdehi )
Done over video-conferencing, the interview exercise can be time consuming and comes with a price tag to employ actors. But Pearson says students benefit from the live-action realism.
“It’s boosted their confidence for doing trauma-intensive interviews well, and for handling themselves throughout what can be stressful or upsetting conversations. Students have also noted how realistic the experience has been, which is credit to the actors we’ve worked with over the past two years.”
Read more on J-school actor simulations here
New “Trauma-Aware” video library launched
I also attended JETREG to promote the launch of TraumaAwareJournalism.org, a new website of “micro-learning” videos I helped produce for the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, CBC/Radio-Canada and the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence & Trauma.
The website offers short educational videos, study guides, tip sheets and a special section for educators which details free curriculum on topics such as trauma interviewing, working with children and taking care during difficult assignments.
The TraumaAwareJournalism.org website launched in May 2024 offering a library of expert videos and study guides.
“We're giving you practical tools and practical skills, but we also want to launch a conversation between you and your colleagues… that improves our own practice, that improves the ways we take care of ourselves and look out for our colleagues,” says Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center in an introductory video.
Advances in trauma awareness
These new approaches to teaching - video micro-learning, virtual reality, actor simulations - are still very new to journalism education. The conference also heard about the lack of basic “trauma literacy” or curriculum in most j-school classrooms around the globe due to economic disparities, stigma and cultural barriers.
Conference organizer Desiree Hill says the industry is making progress.
“But not enough…taking a long view, I am optimistic,” she said.
“Thirty years ago, there was no systematic research regarding journalism, education, and trauma. Ten and twenty years ago, there was very little. Now this conversation has the chance to be in every corner of the journalism education community.”
