Collaborative Team-Based and Experiential Learning: A Path to Student Innovation in Communication

This handbook provides innovative teaching strategies designed to enhance collaboration, critical thinking, and community engagement in communication classrooms. Focusing on practical, experiential learning, it equips educators with assignments and activities that align with the needs of today’s college students.

Incorporating insights from various communication subfields, this handbook emphasizes a flexible approach. It features assignments that promote deep learning through real-world applications, such as project-based learning, team activities, and community-engaged projects. These strategies prepare students for future careers by fostering skills in problem-solving, teamwork, and critical analysis.

The handbook also addresses the importance of equitable pedagogy, offering methods to create inclusive learning environments. It aims to cultivate an atmosphere where students actively participate and engage with the material.

Whether you are a seasoned educator or new to college teaching, this handbook serves as an adaptable resource, offering step-by-step instructions, reflections from educators, and supplemental materials adaptable to multiple classrooms and a diversity of student learning needs.

Elizabeth Johnson-Young is an Associate Professor of Communication and the Associate Director of the Center for Teaching at the University of Mary Washington. Dr. Johnson-Young teaches courses including research methods, campaigns, and health communication. In the classroom she focuses on classroom collaboration and often partners with community members.

Adria Y. Goldman is an Associate Professor of Communication and Director of the Speaking Intensive Program at the University of Mary Washington. Her scholarly interests include rhetoric, media, and identity. She co-authored Black Women in Reality Television Docusoaps: Media Depictions and Reflections and co-edited insecure, Awkward, and #Winning.

Alexis Romero Walker is an Instructor at Fordham University and a Senior Researcher at the Geena Davis Institute. Their scholarly interests include media literacy education and media representation. They were awarded the Higher Educator award from the NAMLE and the AEJMC Mass Communication and Society Distinguished Educator Award.