Special Issue

The GIFT Exchange: Innovative Assignments to Build Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Traits for Career Success

Note from the Editors:

The GIFT (Great Idea for Teaching) concept is simple — providing instructors with tangible resources to implement innovative class assignments and activities to support student success. In 2022, we had a casual conversation at the AEJMC conference about the growing popularity of GIFTs at conferences but noted that there were few publication outlets where this pedagogical scholarship could be published. From this conversation emerged “The GIFT Exchange,” a special issue devoted to GIFTs that features classroom assignments, activities, and projects that develop unique knowledge, skills, abilities, and traits (KSATs) that are most desired of emerging public relations practitioners.

We approached the call for this special issue in two unique ways. First, we aligned our call with the results of the Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE) report “Fast Forward: Foundations + Future State. Educators + Practitioners” (2018). This public relations education report identified unique KSATs identified by educators and practitioners as most desired by entry-level employees in the field of public relations (see Table 1). Over the past three comprehensive state-of-education reports (and a fourth that launched while this issue was in production), certain KSATs such as writing and ethics consistently rank at the top for entry-level public relations practitioners. The purpose of this issue was to provide a showcase for innovative GIFTs that directly align student learning outcomes with the most-desired KSATs identified by CPRE.

Table 1

CPRE “Fast Forward” KSATs that PR Practioners Agree Entry-Level PR Practitioners Should Have

^a 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree

^b Number of respondents noted in open-ended questions

The second unique contribution of “The GIFT Exchange” was the development of a standardized and comprehensive format for GIFT submissions. The purpose of this robust set of submission requirements was for JPRE readers to easily understand the scope of the GIFT, its pedagogical objectives and outcomes, and guidance for successful implementation of the GIFT in their own classes. Each GIFT includes:

• An overview that describes how it integrates the most-desired KSATs and evidence of learning outcomes
• A template assignment guide
• A description of grading criteria or rubric
• A teaching note that provides information and resources to implement the GIFT

We are thrilled with the positive response to this call with a record 19 submissions to the special issue (including several first-time submitters). We hope this call can act as a first step in creating a standard GIFT model that complements other forms of pedagogical research.

Contributions to the Special Issue

In this issue, we are pleased to offer a curated collection of eight GIFTs in this issue that address several KSATs identified by CPRE. While each GIFT addresses multiple KSATs identified by CPRE, we organized this issue by key themes: writing, media relations, audio/video production, ethics, and crisis management.

We lead this issue with two GIFTs that develop students’ writing skills. “Social Advocacy Statement Writing for Entry-Level Public Relations Practitioners” by Lee, for which students write a social organizational social issue statement to learn about corporate social advocacy, and “Generative AI in the Classroom: Teaching a Critical Skill for the Public Relations Writing Student” by Ryan explores how to effectively use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to improve student outcomes in writing assignments.

Media relations is the focus of the third GIFT “Inoculating Vaccine Disinformation: A Digital Media Kit Exercise” by Bradshaw. This GIFT describes a real-time class activity that tasks student teams to create a digital media kit to promote influenza vaccine participation.

The fourth GIFT, “Express Yourself: Developing Creative Storytelling Skills” by Kinksy and Gallicano shares how to teach storytelling skills through multimedia production using Adobe Express.

Ethics is featured in our fifth and sixth GIFTs. Kleinmann’s “The Quiet Place Journal: Reflective Learning to Bridge the Gap Between Ethical Concepts and Practice” facilitates students’ understanding of ethical literacy and decision-making through reflective journaling activities and “Infusing Real-world Social Issues and Ethics into Research Methods Instruction” by Gray and Thompson explores the ethical practice of research to address inequities during societal disruptions.

The final two GIFTs surround crisis management. “Implementing Sequential Assignments and Media Training Guidelines to Crisis Communication: Case Study and Press Conference Simulation” by Yook shares a two-part assignment where students write a crisis communication case study that is subsequently used to plan a press conference using media training guidelines and finally, Gallicano develops students’ understanding of crisis management from a cultural perspective in “Spilt Milk: Navigating a Response to a Moral Dilemma.”

Acknowledgments

Special issues take a scholarly village to produce, often requiring additional reviewers and an expedited timeline for success. Our volunteers were up for the task, and we are grateful for their efforts in bringing

“The GIFT Exchange” from a pre-conference idea to publication. Their valuable insights, constructive feedback, and thorough reviews were crucial in aiding authors to refine and enhance their contributions. We are deeply grateful for the chance to work on this issue regarding pedagogy and extend our sincere thanks to everyone who supported it with their submissions and curiosity. Most importantly, our profound gratitude is extended to Dr. Pamela Bourland-Davis, Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Public Relations Education, and her editorial team. Their support and guidance were essential in making this special issue possible.

Reference

Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE). (2018). Fast forward: Foundations + future state. Educators + practice. http://www.commissionpred.org/commission-reports/fast-forward-foundations-future-state-educators-practitioners/

Table of Contents

Great Ideas for Teaching (GIFTS)

Writing

Social Advocacy Statement Writing for Entry-Level Public Relations Practitioners
Ejae Lee

Generative AI in the Classroom: Teaching a Critical Skill for the PR Writing Student
Steve Ryan

Media Relations

Inoculating Vaccine Disinformation: A Digital Media Kit Exercise
Amanda Bradshaw

Storytelling

Express Yourself: Developing Creative Storytelling
Emily S. Kinsky and Tiffany Derville Gallicano

Ethics

The Perspectives Quiet Place Journal: Reflective Learning to Bridge the Gap Between Ethical Concepts and Practice
Christie Kleinmann

Infusing Real-world Social Issues and Ethics into Research Methods
Instruction
Jasmine Gray and Jacob Thompson

Crisis Management

A Sequential Approach in Crisis Communication: Integrating Case Study, Press Conference Simulation, and Media Training Guidelines
Bora Yook

Spilt Milk: Navigating a Response to a Moral Dilemma
Tiffany Derville Gallicano

Read the full issue here:

A publication of the Public Relations Division of AEJMC
© 2024 AEJMC Public Relations Division

The Journal of Public Relations Education (JPRE) is devoted to the presentation of research and commentary that advance the field of public relations education. JPRE invites submissions in the following three categories:

• Research Articles
• Teaching Briefs
• Book/Software Reviews

Learn more by visiting the About JPRE page and the Authors/Contributors page for submission guidelines. All submissions should follow the guidelines of the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Questions? Contact the Editorial Staff