Visualization as a Tool for Reflection in Journalism Education

By now, it is widely accepted that future journalists must be able to act in a turbulent and fast-changing media reality and in their own unpredictable work life (Allen et al. 2015). It has been argued that journalism educations can best prepare students for this somewhat unpredictable future by changing focus from the discrete, finished product to the process; from primarily developing skills necessary to perform specific routines and tasks to supporting and improving students’ ability to reflect on their own routines, their products and their learnings (Mensing & Ryfe 2013). Reflective activities are already a part of journalism education in many places, but to varying degrees (Allen et al. 2015, Mensing & Ryfe 2013, Niblock 2007), and there is a lack of knowledge about which strategies efficiently improve students’ reflexivity.