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I taught this course for the first time since 2018 and developed an entirely new course concept for it. What I took from the last course evaluation was that the only change that was suggested was to take out some texts from the syllabus that the students didn't experience as relevant and replace them by others. Since I - as part of the new concept - changed the entire syllabus (with the exception of two texts), I think the measure was implemented. I had the impression during the lectures, in the reflection notes the students had to write and in the course evaluation that the students were satisfied with the syllabus this year and experienced it as relevant and useful (both for their studies and socially).

The course had the goal to introduce the students into important theories in the field of media and communication research (they have many different backgrounds, so their previous knowledge on theories and which theories they know varies strongly) and to train their understanding of the link between theory and empirical research. Particularly the latter results from my experiences as supervisor of master theses which shows that the students often struggle with this link when working on their own projects. I think this course is a good opportunity form practicing this and therewith help the students acquire and improve an important academic skill and prepare them better for their further studies and writing their master theses. In order to reach these goals the course concept was as follows: After a short introduction into what theories are, each lecture focused on one theory. The students should read one theoretical text and one empirical study which based on the respective theory upfront the lectures. The lectures were very interactive. I always gave some input on the theories, showed its relevance to today's society, prepared exercises on which the students worked in small groups, and we had always also joint discussions in the entire group, which works well in such a small group (16 students). I encouraged the students to ask questions and make comments whenever they felt a need to, and they made extensive use of it. I originally planned to discuss the empirical studies during the lectures, but this turned out to be challenging since only part of the students read the texts in advance. A consequence of this focus on recent research is that the entire syllabus was in English. According to the evaluation, some students would have preferred (also) Norwegian texts in the syllabus. I considered that when planning the course but didn't find any suited studies on the theories I wanted to include, and I also think for students at the master level it's important to train their capacities of reading English literature since this is the language in which a broad part of current research in the field is published. However, I taught the course in Norwegian which certainly lowered the threshold for the students to actively participate in it. As compulsory assignment, each student had to write two reflection notes on theories they could choose themselves, based only on the texts included in the syllabus. This was meant to them training to work intensely with academic literature and to reflect more intensely on the relationship between theory and empirical research. The reflection notes (1500-2000 words each) based on questions which the students received from me that addressed both the theory and how this theory was used/implemented in the empirical study from the syllabus. The students delivered the reflection notes on Blackboard, and then each of them had to write a feedback to at least one reflection note of another student. Afterwards, each student received detailed feedback from me. The reflection notes showed that the students were actually stimulated and motivated to reflect on the content on the course, and I could see improvements from the first to the second reflection note for several students and in the feedback they provided to one another. Personally, I experienced the learning atmosphere very good. We had good conversations, lively discussions, and the students asked many questions. I enjoyed teaching this course very much, and I take it as a good sign that in most of the lectures the majority of the 16 students showed up, even towards the end of the semester. In the last lecture, we evaluated the course in the entire group. The students worked together in 3 groups and provided their feedback (see attachment). The feedback was very positive. The students enjoyed the course, experienced it as useful, relevant and motivating and highlighted the trustful atmosphere which allowed them asking questions. They considered the reflection notes a very useful learning activity and said that they learnt a lot from them (which is in line with what several of them also wrote in their reflection notes). A small point of criticism raised by the students after the first reflection note was that they experienced some of the questions for the reflection note repetitive. I asked them for concrete information where they experienced this since I wanted to change that for the second reflection note, but since I didn't receive any concrete information, I couldn't implement that. Nevertheless, for future use of the reflection note, I will reconsider the set of questions and make adjustments where I think it makes sense. Concerning the syllabus/pensum, I think it was a good decision to restrict it to two texts (articles/book chapters) per lecture and rather motivate the students to read these extensively and in-depth. Several students said the reflection note was useful for them because for the first time they really had to read texts in great detail for writing the reflection note. The form of examination in this course was a school exam, as it was traditionally done in this course. Personally, I don't think a school exam is the best form of evaluation in this course, but since I was assigned responsibility for this course in spring 2022, I didn't have any influence on the form of evaluation. NTNU's structures are far too inflexible in this respect. I had a conversation with the colleagues involved in the study program, and they agreed that a term paper would fit the learning outcomes of this course better. Therefore, we already decided to change the form of examination to a term paper from 2023. The students agreed that this is a good decision. The students have reached the learning outcomes to different degrees (as I would expect since students are individuals). However, I think the reflection notes, their contributions to the discussions during the lectures and also the school exams show that many students have developed an in-depth understanding of the theories, an in-depth understanding of the role of theory in research, and an in-depth understanding of the relationship between theory and empirical research. For 2023, we updated the learning outcomes in the course description so that they now focus more strongly on in-depth (instead of basic) knowledge and on the relationship between theory and empirical research. We think this fits the actual content and focus of this course at the master level better. This is one of the course the students take in their first semester, and since they come from many different bachelor programs, it's not possible to make any statements on the progression in this course compared to previous courses. However, the different backgrounds are both a challenge and a chance when teaching this course. The differing levels of previous knowledge can be challenging but are also a strength since the students can thus bring in different perspectives. Based on these positive experiences, if teaching the course again, I would keep the concept but change a few texts that either the students or I (or both) experienced as too difficult, not useful enough or not focused enough. Also, it might make sense to update some the empirical studies included in the syllabus if more recent ones using the theories are published. This is a good way of introducing the students into latest developments in research. However, since I won't teach this course in 2023, this decision is up to the colleague teaching it.

NTNU:TIA:REST

Institutt for sosiologi og statsvitenskap

Department of Sociology and Political Science

Ingen hjelpemidler tillatt.

Norsk

Mer om vurdering

Vurderingsform: 4 timers skriftlig prøve.

Forkunnskapskrav

Fordypning i medievitenskap, samfunnsvitenskap eller tilsvarende. Forkunnskapskravet må være innfridd for å få starte på emnet.

Faglig innhold

Emnet tar for seg teorier som forklarer hvordan medier og kommunikasjon forholder seg til sosialt liv og samfunn. Det presenterer perspektiver på medieutvikling og forholdet mellom massemedier og nettverksmedier. Alle studenter skal holde muntlige seminarinnlegg som kritisk undersøker teorier, metoder og resultater i medie- og kommunikasjonsforskningen.

Kursmateriell

Læringsutbytte

Kunnskapsmål - studenten skal:<ul><li>få grunnleggende kunnskap om sentrale teorier innenfor medie- og kommunikasjonsfaget.</li><li>få grunnleggende kjennskap til samfunnsvitenskapelige tilnærmingsmåter for å studere medienes rolle i samfunnet.</li><li>få kunnskap om forholdet mellom tradisjonelle medier og nettverksmedier.</li><li>kunne reflektere og kritisk evaluere teori knyttet til medier og kommunikasjon.</li></ul>Ferdighetsmål - studenten skal:<ul><li>kunne behandle temaene som tas opp i undervisningen på en selvstendig måte, både muntlig og skriftlig.</li></ul>

Læringsformer og aktiviteter

Forelesning og seminar tilsvarende 2 timer pr. uke, herunder veiledning i gruppe og individuelt. Deler av undervisningen vil kunne foregå på engelsk. Vurderingsform: 4 timer skriftlig eksamen

Muntlig seminarinnlegg

Medie- og kommunikasjonsteori

Medier og kommunikasjon

Medier, kommunikasjon og informasjonsteknologi - masterstudium

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Vi vurderer kvaliteten som meget god. Faget dekker en betydelig bredde av teoretiske perspektiver, men men god sammenheng mellom de ulike perspektivene. Studentene gir god tilbakemelding på at de selv må legge frem deler av pensum som obligatorisk aktivitet. Faget er basert på forelesninger og studentpresentasjoner. Vi prøver å få i gang samtaler og diskusjoner i alle forelesningene. Vi har fått tilbakemelding på at et par av artiklene i pensum ikke oppleves helt relevant, og satser på å erstatte disse neste år.

Vi vurderer kvaliteten som meget god. Faget dekker en betydelig bredde av teoretiske perspektiver, men men god sammenheng mellom de ulike perspektivene.

Vi har fått tilbakemelding på at et par av artiklene i pensum ikke oppleves helt relevant, og satser på å erstatte disse neste år.

Anbefalte forkunnskaper

Kunnskapsmål - studenten skal:<ul><li>få grunnleggende kunnskap om sentrale teorier innenfor medie- og kommunikasjonsfaget.</li><li>få grunnleggende kjennskap til samfunnsvitenskapelige tilnærmingsmåter for å studere medienes rolle i samfunnet.</li><li>få kunnskap om forholdet mellom tradisjonelle medier og nettverksmedier.</li><li>kunne reflektere og kritisk evaluere teori knyttet til medier og kommunikasjon.</li></ul>Ferdighetsmål - studenten skal:<ul><li>kunne behandle temaene som tas opp i undervisningen på en selvstendig måte, både muntlig og skriftlig.</li></ul>

Muntlig seminarinnlegg som vurderes til Godkjent/Ikke godkjent

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Vi vurderer kvaliteten som meget god. Faget dekker en betydelig bredde av teoretiske perspektiver, men men god sammenheng mellom de ulike perspektivene. Vi fikk dessverre ikke gjennomført referansegrupperapport i år grunnet en full karantenesituasjon med studentene og faglærer ved avslutning av semesteret, men tilbakemeldinger fra studentene og tidligere erfaringer gir oss grunn til å tro at studentene også opplever det slik.

Studentene gir god tilbakemelding på at de selv må legge frem deler av pensum som obligatorisk aktivitet. Faget er basert på forelesninger og studentpresentasjoner. Vi prøver å få i gang samtaler og diskusjoner i alle forelesningene.

Faget er basert på forelesninger og studentpresentasjoner. Vi prøver å få i gang samtaler og diskusjoner i alle forelesningene. Årets kull var meget aktive i forelesningstimene, mange deltok i diskusjoner, pausene måtte som regel kuttes ned, og studentene tok flittig notater.

Godkjent/ ikke godkjent på obligatorisk fremlegg, 4 timers digital hjemmeeksamen. Dersom hjemmeeksamen skal brukes ved flere anledninger, vil vi foreslå å endre den til 48 timers med mer kreative og utfordrende oppgaver, det var noe vanskeligere enn vanlig å skille dem ved årets eksamener enn tidligere.

Kunnskapsmål - studenten skal: 
- få grunnleggende kunnskap om sentrale teorier innenfor medie- og kommunikasjonsfaget.
- få grunnleggende kjennskap til samfunnsvitenskapelige tilnærmingsmåter for å studere medienes rolle i samfunnet.
- få kunnskap om forholdet mellom tradisjonelle medier og nettverskmedier. 
- kunne reflektere og kritisk evaluere teori knyttet til medier og kommunikasjon.

Ferdighetsmål - studenten skal kunne: 
- behandle temaene som tas opp i undervisningen på en selvstendig måte, både muntlig og skriftlig. 

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Medie- og kommunikasjonsteori - SOS3051