The Journal-in-Education Professor Blog

Have a Great Summer!

2006-05-08T08:34:00.000-04:00

Thank you for an enjoyable year of sharing my WSJ thoughts and experiences with you. I hope you have benefited.
Have a great summer!

Consider This

2006-05-04T21:30:00.000-04:00

As the school year draws to a close, there are a few things that you may wish to consider. You might be surprised how little time it will take for you to get some inspiration and great ideas to use the Journal in your classes - regardless of your discipline, student body, or class sizes.

Think about using the Wall Street Journal in your classes next fall. As you draft your syllabus sometime this summer, you can add this feature in big ways or in small ways. I have provided numerous integration ideas in previous blogs. Take a few minutes to review some of them to see how you might begin using the Journal in your classroom. Now is the time to take advantage of the incredibly low subscription rate of only $19.95 for 15 weeks this fall.

If you have already integrated the Journal, consider increasing your integration of the Journal in the fall. Maybe now is the time to expand your integration as you reflect on the success of your efforts. A quick review of some previous blog entries might help with some new ideas.

Consider trying the Journal in your summer school classes. The 6-week summer subscription costs only $8.95. If you are concerned about requiring an extra fee for your students for spring or fall terms, you can experiment with integration of the Journal for a very low fee this summer.

Consider an Academic Partnership with Dow Jones. If several professors at your school are using the Journal, you may want to consider joining with the Wall Street Journal in this program. Participants include many of the best business schools in the country. My school has been an Academic Partner for a couple of years and we have appreciated the benefits from the program – even more teaching resources to help us in the classroom. More professors have integrated the Journal and students are seeing connections between courses. Contact the Journal through www.ProfessorJournal.com for more information on this very interesting and beneficial program.

Consider browsing through ProfessorJournal.com. This website is full of valuable resources designed especially for college instructors. You can also sign up to received weekly emails featuring summaries of selected articles written by your peers. You can read, download, and order everything you need to begin using the Journal in your classes.

Have a great, restful, and productive summer!

Encouragement: More Evidence

2006-04-28T10:26:00.000-04:00

This is a great time of year: the end of the semester. Don’t get me wrong, I love my students and find it difficult to see a class end. We have developed such a great classroom community together.

This time of year is great source of encouragement to me as I begin the next set of new classes. I wish it could be like this from the first week through the semester.

I need to remember how great each class becomes as the semester progresses. Many (not all!) of my students are resistant or scared or intimidated or overwhelmed (or many other negative emotions) by having a daily Wall Street Journal discussion in class. The requirement that they read the Journal on a regular basis is simple not appealing to many students. (Hmmm, I wonder why.) But this time of the semester is when I get to hear how much many of them have come to value and even enjoy reading the Journal and discussing current events in class. And that is after the grades are in!

Some of my most resistant students have told me that the WSJ current events discussion is the most interesting part of the class. For example, several traditional-aged students stopped me in the hallway after class to say they really enjoyed the Journal and plan to continue reading it even if it is not required in future semesters.

I was floored! I had no idea that they were so interested and stimulated.

Some of the initial resistant has diminished since so many of my colleagues are now using the Journal. It seems that students expect current events discussion and business applications from WSJ articles to be a part of the class. That is one of the many benefits you have when your school joins the Journal in an Academic Partnership.

Need more encouragement and inspiration? The thrill is not just from student comments. All kinds of excitement comes from using the Journal. Colleagues from my school and from around the country frequently share success stories with me.

One of my colleagues drafted a question for his business statistics exam using the use of statistics in the NBA. He asked the students to develop a model to predict the number of expected victories based on readily available basketball statistics (like the kind found on the back of trading cards). The idea was to show a real-life use of statistics with a fun topic for the students. Less than one week later, the Journal carried an article about how sports teams are using statisticians to aid in drafting, starting line-ups and play-calling. My friend excitedly shared the article with his classes. His students will definitely remember that concept application now.

In many of our classes, students fail to see the value of the material covered. Articles from the Wall Street Journal supply that crucial link for our students too see that it really is applicable to the world.

So remember, no matter how resistant students may be initially, things always get better as the semester progresses. They are different students now at the end of the semester.

Complaining Students: "Why Do We Have to Know That? It's Not Related to this Class."

2006-04-20T20:54:00.000-04:00

Wow, I just had an amazing accounting class. This is a terrific way to end a semester. And it began with an unlikely article.

One of my students selected an article about the growth in sales for expensive jeans for toddlers from Weekend Journal section in the Friday paper. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about the value of this particular article, but I always give my students freedom to fail or succeed. She discussed the basics of the article and how it would impact the financial statements as these sales grew. She also brought in the economics concept of the profit maximizing price point. We were all amused by the topic, as well as informed.

Now it becomes more interesting. One after another, other students chimed in with other, unrelated articles and connected them with the article about high-priced jeans for kids. None of these articles were directly related to denim, toddler clothing, or high-priced clothing. Instead they covered a variety of other topics, but the student still were able to connect the ideas.

One student discussed an article regarding the huge increase in consumer debt over the last 10 years, and she related how that could impact sales in the future, how companies should be careful about expanding (operations management!) and incurring additional fixed costs, and wondered whether debt could continue to fuel consumer purchases of these high-priced items.

Someone else jumped in with an article about the housing market cooling and suggested that home equity debt was not going to be available to fund extravagant purchases forever. He added that the resulting drop in demand would cause a decrease in price (more economics!), and therefore a decrease in revenues.

Another student brought up an article about Wal-Mart relegating its smiley face to second string advertising behind lifestyle ads. The connection he offered was the attempt by the discounter to polish up its image to seem more high-end and the anticipated higher profitability (marketing!).

Another article discussed related to the production scheduling of cyclical pattern in seasonal or faddish-type products (operations management again!).

The discussion continued on for several more articles.

I was thrilled and impressed! My students were able to take unrelated business articles and see connections. Major themes emerged. Concepts from other disciplines were related. They are remembering and applying concepts, so their comprehension and retention is greatly increased. Mission accomplished!

Contrast this with this statement made to one of my colleagues by a student. 'Why do we have to know return-on-investment for this class? This is a management information systems class, not a finance class.' This frustrates me to hear a student more interested in limiting his learning than seeing the connections. I salute this excellent professor for showing his students the importance cost-benefit analysis and payback periods for hardware and software purchases. Unfortunately, despite his valiant efforts, this student missed the point completely.

Using the Journal is a great way to show the connections between business disciplines and helping students to see the big picture. Education is not just memorization of facts and formulas, but more importantly, it should result in the development of thinking processes that utilize that information and see connections.

And my class 'got it!'

Spring Break!

2006-04-13T17:21:00.000-04:00

Happy Spring Break!
The Wall Street Journal has scheduled spring break this week for the WSJ Weekly Reviews and WSJ Professor Blog.
See you next week.

Lesson of Global Competition: The World is Flat

2006-04-06T18:31:00.000-04:00

Using the Wall Street Journal in your classes can introduce the topic of global competition for your students. This is very important because the world has become flat - another important reason to integrate the Journal into your classes.

With daily current-events discussions, international themes constantly emerge in our class discussions. I tell my students that they are not just competing with the student sitting next to them, or worse yet, the student that has already dropped the course! Competition for jobs is cropping up all round the world. Fortunately I don't have to lecture my students about the career challenges facing them - they read about foreign impact on domestic industries and jobs in the Journal everyday.

Reading "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman confirmed my views and efforts on this topic. He is actually pretty rough on parents in their upbringing of our college students. Friedman criticizes the sense of entitlement parents have encouraged, which hampers our young people in adapting to a flat world.

On page 305, he states "Our children will increasingly be competing head-to-head with Chinese, Indian, and Asian kids, whose parents have a lot more... character-building approach than their own American parents. I am not suggesting that we militarize education, but I am suggesting that we do more to push our young people to go beyond their comfort zones, to do things right, and to be ready to suffer some short-run pain for longer gain."

But we cannot control the parents of our students - we take them as we get them! So what can we share with them? Friedman writes on page 264, "One cannot stress enough: Young Chinese, Indians, and Poles are not racing us to the bottom. They are racing us to the top. They do not want to work for us; they don't even want to be us. They want to dominate us - in the sense that they want to be creating the companies of the future that people all over the world will admire and clamor to work for."

I try to help them see the importance of lifetime learning and career flexibility, the value of critical thinking, and adding value to an organization. Our students, more than any generation before them, must be ready to change jobs or career paths as the need arises. Only then will they be the Americans who benefits from globalization, rather than suffer from it.

The Journal has been an important tool for these discussions, with articles serving as real-life verification of the challenges they will. It's our job to educate them, but also to prepare them for the future - instructing them in both knowledge of business information, as well as the realities of this new world economy.

Using the Journal in Your Summer Classes

2006-03-30T17:40:00.000-05:00

It is getting to be the time of year that we make plans for summer classes. I know many instructors do not teach summers, but for those of us who do, now is about the time when we must submit book orders. Also we might be thinking about how to change courses for the summer or for next fall.

Why not add the Journal this summer? Summer is a good time to experiment. The setting and tone is somewhat different in a summer class. The mood on campus is more relax and quiet. It could be the perfect time to try a new dimension for your course.

Another good reason to try to Journal in the summer: the subscription price is very low! This spring semester, I was surprised and delighted to see that the price had dropped. And the summer price is even less! Students can purchase short subscriptions so it is less of an expense for your students.

I contacted the terrific sales rep for my school, Marty Jakubek, and he reported the following price cuts:
A 6-week subscription for both the print and online (wsj.com) editions will be only $8.95.
The price for 8 weeks for both print and online is only $11.95.

For me, this is really great news. I am very sensitive to additional expenses for my students. This is especially important if you are thinking about adding the Journal to your class. At these low prices, cost to the student is less of a concern.

After a test run in the summer, you can develop the concept further in the fall semester. And the price for the fall 2006 semester will remain at the new low price of $19.95.

If you are considering using the Journal and have any questions, please let me know. You can reach me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.

It Really Works: Reading the Journal Helps Students Get Jobs!

2006-03-23T19:35:00.000-05:00

Great news from class last night. As we were getting ready to begin, one of my students said that the reading the Wall Street Journal got her a job. And I have heard this story over and over.

Here goes: "CT" is a student in my business law and ethics class. She has a part-time intern-type job at a major corporation in the area. She was interviewing for a sought-after position in management that featured a job-rotation program which usually leads to a promising career. This was an important interview, so she arrived early. Very early, allowing extra time for any potential delays. So as she waited, she read her copy of the Wall Street Journal. When the executive who were to interview her came out, they caught her reading the Journal. The two interviewers talked about her reading material several times throughout the interview, discussing some of the stories and current events she had read. Then they offered her the job. She is convinced that the Journal had something to do with her getting the offer.

One of the interesting parts of her story is that she did not intentionally set the scene to impress the interviewers. Instead, she admits that she was just reading when she had a free moment in order to be prepared for class! But she also said that she enjoys reading the Journal now after the 10 weeks we have used it in class.

This is not an isolated incident. I have heard similar stories from a number of my students. An awareness and understanding of current events and potential ripple effects are important to employers. Additionally, that knowledge is important for our students to hit the ground running in new careers. Integrating the Wall Street Journal into business courses is the best way to use a daily, "living" textbook to bring our students up-to-date with current events. They are able to see how the course material applies to the business world.

And then they can talk about it in an interview.

Using "Context" and "Stickiness" to Improve the Learning Experience

2006-03-17T21:52:00.000-05:00

Here are some final thoughts on the book called "The Tipping Point" as it applies to using the Wall Street Journal for current events discussions in class. The book, written by Malcolm Gladwell, talks about how some small ideas or items catch fire and become big. The tipping point is that point when the large change happens.

My classes have already reached that point this semester. More specifically, this particular tipping point occurs when the students begin to see how the course material relates to the real business world. They feel at ease reading the Journal and discussing current events. Students begin to get excited and gain confidence as they begin to see connections with what we are studying. They also begin accumulate information from articles throughout the semester, making connections between various articles over time.

As I read "The Tipping Point," it inspired me reflect on what I can do to make sure reach this tipping point as early as possible each semester. How can we move our students to that point and do it quickly? In blog postings over the last couple of weeks, I have discussed a few ideas we can adopt. I can see a couple more application from the book.

The "stickiness" of an idea or an item is its memorability. This is another factor from the book involved in pushing an idea over the tipping point into something big. How can we make newspaper reading and student interest in current events 'stick' with our students?

To make the ideas stick, we can use the concepts I have already outlined in previous blog postings, for example using active students in the class to ignite others, in addition to our instruction and enthusiasm. Real life is much more interesting than manufactured examples.

Another factor we can use is "Context," meaning whether the environment provides conditions to encourage or discourage change. The learning environment has a lot to do with a teaching idea moving forward. Gladwell uses the example of New York City cleaning up subways as one factor contributing to a drop in crime. The message is that the subways were no longer a crime-dominated environment; that crime was not acceptable. The context of the city at the time set a tone and allowed safety to increase.

We can do the same thing in class by setting a positive tone and environment with high expectations for student growth and change. If we set the standards and expect our students to have dynamic discussions, it is far more likely to happen. I expect and model interesting, dynamic current events discussion, and it happens. For further evidence, I have noticed as more of my colleagues use the Journal, my students accept the assignment and more quickly 'tip' into willing and successful integration!

Hopefully some ideas from "The Tipping Point" have inspired you to help your students over the tipping point to greater academic success!

People Make the Difference

2006-03-09T20:48:00.000-05:00

Last week I discussed the application of some ideas from the book "The Tipping Point" to current events discussions in my classes. The basic premise the book is little changes can have big effects. Wouldn't that be a great return on our efforts as educators if we can use those concepts to produce that kind of leverage?!

In his book, Gladwell discusses how different types of people affect the growth of big trends or changes. Connectors are people who bring people together, Mavens accumulate information and like to help others by passing it on, and Salesmen are those who persuade.

First Connectors. "Sprinkled among every walk of life ... are a handful of people with a truly extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances. They are Connectors." In a way, our classes are somewhat connected by definition - the same people in the same room at the same time for a semester. But valuable classroom community goes beyond that and forms when the group connects on a cohesive level. Ideally we as instructors, and a few of our more influential students can serve as Connectors. Sure, we cannot control which students enroll in our classes, nor can we make them influence others positively. We can encourage connections through classroom exercises and with encouraging comments and enthusiasm.

Both we and our star students can play the role of Mavens. We, as academics, researchers, and educators, specialize in collecting and sharing information for the special purpose to share and educate others. That's our job! In fact, Gladwell describes a Maven as a teacher. "The one thing that a Maven is not is a persuader. To be a Maven is to be a teacher. But it is also, even more emphatically to be a student." He chose the name because "the word Maven comes from the Yiddish, and it means one who accumulates knowledge."

Our students can also serve as Mavens in the classroom. Several in each class will have read many articles and will begin to accumulate information over the semester. They are the students who jump in as others are presenting, to add more information or to mention other related articles. We should encourage them! Some students will follow the lead of a peer before they will model themselves after the instructor. If we are both acting as Mavens, students will have the examples of both peers and the faculty member.

Finally, we can serve as salesmen. Our enthusiasm for our discipline and student learning can't help but spill out, and is displayed to a greater extent when we incorporate current events into class discussions. I am not saying that we have to sell the material to students, but using this vehicle can show the students just how interesting and applicable the course coverage is.

Next week: I have a few more lessons from "The Tipping Point" to share with you.

The 'Tipping Point' of the Semester

2006-03-02T15:16:00.000-05:00

We are at the midpoint of the semester. This is when I can see a very positive classroom community forming. Students are settled into the semester and my class. I can tell that they are really enjoying the Wall Street Journal. We have reached our “tipping point.”

Have you read the book “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” by Malcolm Gladwell? It is a quick, light, and enjoyable read. While reading it recently, I frequently thought of how it applied to my use of the Journal in class. Now the book is not always completely on point (some just does not apply), but I see a lot of application to success in my classroom.

Gladwell discusses what it takes for an idea or product to take hold. In other words, how do small things or ideas grow to become an epidemic? How when a few people begin to act differently, that behavior can cause a big ripple effect.

A tipping point is the place where an idea or trend goes from being small to having a wide impact. We have reached that point this semester. The atmosphere with the current events discussions has become lively and interactive as the students have lead and participated in Journal-related discussions throughout the semester.

I don't ever presume that every student in my class enjoys discussions on current events. You can't please everyone, and that should never be our goal. Additionally, we will always have some interested students who jump in and want to absorb everything possible. They will likely read the Journal at our mere recommendation of its value. The students affected by the 'tipping point' phenomenon are included in that large group in the middle - not particularly aggressive, but also not wanting to just slide by. That is the group most positively impacted by the integration of current events into the curriculum. As the class 'tips' over to enjoying the discussions and appreciating the real world applications in the Journal to the course material, the classroom environment becomes so positive: the sense of community forms and grows as individuals add to a presentation, and the learning experience improves.

As you use the Journal, you will notice the changes. Next week, I will continue this discussion. What can we do to facilitate and accelerate the tipping? What do you do? If you have some ideas, please email WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.

Including the Quiet Student

2006-02-23T17:06:00.000-05:00

My classes continue to do well with the Journal. I have had so many students volunteering to offer to present an article. And they are doing a terrific job with it. Some students are beginning to think that I will not call on people and are gambling on not being prepared. There are always pros and cons either way, and someone will think the easy way out.

One challenge from having such great participation is that my quiet students can easily hide. This is exactly what is happening in my classes right now. Part of this is remedied by calling on them from my grading list. In larger classes, I learn the names of active students much sooner than my quiet students so I am less likely to call on them early in the semester.

Another tactic I use to draw in all students is to solicit reactions on the presentation from students who do not actively contribute. Risky, but with a lot of positive reinforcement, I hope the students see how good it feels to contribute.

I have seen over the years using this exercise that many quiet students will become much more active in class once they have experienced a successful presentation. Because this is not a formal presentation and they choose the article to present, it can be a big confidence booster for the more formal presentation to come in the program. Many students have told me how much fun the discussions were even though they had rarely participated in class in the past. You can see it on their faces!

But it does not always work well. This past week I was summarizing and typing comments from my “Student Evaluations of Teaching” for my 2005 annual report. While comments on usage of the Wall Street Journal were overwhelmingly positive, as you would expect, it was not unanimous. Out of the 233 students I taught last year, only one (undergraduate) said that the current events discussions were too uncomfortable for him/her. A student normally will be called between one and three times in a semester if he or she does not volunteer. I do not envy this student for what is yet to come in upper-level business classes, and the required speech class.

But you cannot please everyone all the time in class. In fact, if I don’t have some students resistant to the something in the class, I usually know that I am not doing my job. I am here to facilitate learning and not everyone enjoys being stretched.

So if you have any concerns about using the Wall Street Journal in your classes, I would like to allay those concerns. Not everyone will be thrilled, but you will be greatly rewarded by the energy and success of the majority.

More Education Program Resources

2006-02-17T07:48:00.000-05:00

Whether you want to use the Journal for the first time or you want to increase your usage, you have a wealth of resources at your fingertips. And your keyboard.

One of the best reference that Journal offers for educators is Faculty Resource Guide. You can either download a copy or request a mailing by going to www.professorjournal.com and clicking on the link (listed under Teaching Tools on the left). This guide offers all kinds of great information.

The section headings in this booklet include:

Free Teaching Tools for the Journal
Resources Available at WSJ.com
Integration Ideas
Using Journal Content in Your Discipline
Special Programs from the Journal
Contact Information
Frequently Asked Questions

This booklet suggests all kinds of tools available to you, such as Student Guide, quizzes, videos, WSJstudent.com, and the Weekly Reviews discussed in last week’s blog. And these are available at no charge for you.

Next is a summary of WSJ.com features. Every faculty and student Journal subscription also includes a complimentary subscription to the online Journal. Remember that your WSJ sales rep is also always happy to conduct a workshop for you for WSJ.com, as well as any other types of workshops you would like.

Integration ideas include class discussions, assignments and activities, projects, exams ideas, and quizzes.

Another very valuable part of this guide is section offering direct connections between specific academic disciplines and Journal content. Each section lists various regular columns and features appropriate for particular classes. Detailed lists for 10 disciplines are included, with brief listings for another seven.

Finally, the Frequently Asked Questions section will help you with all the logistics of the sign-up process.

If I can help you, please let me know. I will be happy to do what I can or refer your questions to the appropriate party. Email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.

Education Program Resources

2006-02-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

I often have people ask me about ideas for using the Journal in class. I have shared my uses in earlier blog entries. For a wealth of other ideas, you should take a look at www.professorjournal.com.

The first stop on the website would be signing up for “The Weekly Review.” The website describes them as “Free Weekly Emails summarize selected articles from this week's WSJ in 16 business disciplines, with questions for class discussion.” I look forward to receiving these emails every Friday. (I happen to write the business law weekly review.) The writers offer you three or more articles specially selected for your discipline that have appear in recent issues of the Journal. Also included are questions, and sometimes group projects, research projects, internet activities, and links to related articles. You can cut-and-paste what you would like to use, and add your own questions. All of these can save you time as you use the Journal articles in class or for quizzes or tests. We have done some of the work for you.

My students often read and select to reference in class the articles appearing in the reviews. The last few weeks they have discussed almost all of them. The Weekly Reviews can help keep you up to date with some interesting current developments in your field during those times when we do not have time to read all the news ourselves.

Signing up for Weekly Reviews online is easy. On the professorjournal.com website, click on “sign up now” under “The Weekly Review” and enter some basic information.

You can select one or more of the 16 disciplines listed. Your choices are:

Accounting
Business Ethics
Business Law
Economics: Macro
Economics: Micro
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Healthcare Business and Policy
Hotel Restaurant Travel Management
Information Technology
International Business
Introduction To Business
Journalism and Media
Management
Marketing
Political Science

Another great feature of the Weekly Reviews is the five-year archive feature in that same section of the professorjournal.com webpage. If you click on “Search the Five-Year Archive” in the Weekly Review section, you can access all the Weekly Reviews, searching by discipline, by topic, and/or by keyword. I have found a number of ‘classic’ articles that age well and continue to be good case studies or the basis of discussion over many years. (Note: You will need a subscription number for this service.)

Next week I will have more suggestions regarding other resources from the Education Program at the Wall Street Journal.

Application to Your Classes

2006-02-09T16:28:00.000-05:00

Last week I chronicled the differences between my classes this semester in contrast with many classes in the past. This semester the students are doing really well from the very beginning. There has been little of the initial awkwardness so common with discussion current events in a sophomore-level class.

So how does this help you? If you are one of the few using the Journal at your school, expect some awkwardness and maybe some resistance early in the semester. This is not necessarily a bad thing. You have the potential to facilitate more growth in your students. This is an incredibly rewarding situation! And hopefully your colleagues will join you as they see the changes in students.

If you are part of a faculty where the Journal is widely used, take advantage of the connections you can make between your course and others. And if you have not yet integrated the Journal but many of your colleagues have, you can take comfort knowing you will probably have an easier time from the beginning.

Early Progress Report

2006-02-03T07:16:00.000-05:00

My students are doing so well discussing current events article from the Wall Street Journal this semester. It has been a banner semester already. I just have not experienced the awkwardness that a new class usually exhibits. This causes me to reflect on reasons for this – I want to make sure to encourage this in future semesters.

Of course, one obvious reason could be that my classes are aberrations, just a fluke semester. Could I just be lucky this time? I just don’t think that is the cause. Sure, every now and then we all have classes that overall perform better than the rest, or a group that struggles more than other semesters. (During my first semester of teaching, I taught two sections of the same course and one was really rough. Fortunately the other was successful and an absolute joy to teach so I surmised that it was serendipity of the students, not my teaching. I would not be a professor today if I had taught only the one!)

I have been calling on students at random. Could it be that I have randomly selected the overachievers? Perhaps…

Has the student body changed over time? Not that I can see. There seems to be a mix of backgrounds and demographics very similar to those of previous semesters.

My first guess is that this semester I asked for volunteers the first few times, and so it is likely that the more confident students led the discussions. They set an excellent example for those who have followed. In other words, they set the bar for fellow classmates. Usually I demonstrate the type of preparation and discussion they model. But it seems to have worked well to have students set the example instead. I still flesh out the articles more and lead socratically some of the thought process, but not as much as in the past. These students already analyze, discuss, and present similar to other classes much later in the semester.

The other likely reason is that more of my colleagues are using the Journal in their class. And they are doing a really great job! Many students are getting practice before taking my class. Although my undergraduate accounting classes are only 200-level courses, they are seeing the Journal in some 100-economics courses and in other 200-level course, such as business law. This is a huge change from the years that I was one of the very few using the Journal. I can already see increased sophistication and reasoning in these students that I did not see in years past. The progress of the students is building as more and more instructors use the Journal.

How are your classes going? Are your students struggling, or are they enjoying reading the Journal and discussing the articles? I will talk about how my experiences could apply to your situation more next week. Also if you have any questions or comments, please free feel to email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com. I will answer questions in future blogs or to you directly if you have a specific question.

Dealing With Differing Levels of Abilities

2006-01-26T21:36:00.000-05:00

Last week I began using the Wall Street Journal in my classes. As I mentioned last week, at the beginning of a new semester, reading and utilizing the Wall Street Journal is usually awkward for students. Many students are not accustomed to reading newspapers daily (except maybe the sports page!). Usually the first few weeks are awkward and rough. Things always improve as the semester naturally progresses. (For more detail, please see my blog postings for early in the fall 2005 semester.)

This semester I seem to have the opposite challenge. My teaching schedule includes two undergraduate Introduction to Financial Accounting classes (A201) and one graduate course in business law and ethics. In each of the first classes we were to begin using the Journal, several students volunteered to present an article and lead a discussion - and they did a great job.

The students selected articles that related to industries that were interesting to the students. They thought beyond the information in the article to application to course material, connections to concepts from other courses (ex. supply-demand-price relationships from economics), and connections with articles on similar topics in other issues of the paper. Wow! I was blown away. My Supplemental Instructor (student helper) Jessica who has worked with me for many semesters in A201 was pleasantly surprised as well. I never thought I would ever have such a great and well-poised start to the semester. Jessica and I had never seen such enthusiastic volunteering at the beginning of a semester. Imagine where we will be as the semester progresses!

That's the good news. Now the challenge: I could tell that many of the other students were intimidated by the success and accomplishments of the first volunteers. How can I encourage high standards but encourage students who are starting at different levels as they learn and develop?

Many of my students are not sophisticated in current events and the business world. A relatively high percentage are first-generation college students. Almost half of our student body is considered non-traditional (over 25 years of age). These statistics are what tend to make using the Journal awkward initially, but so rewarding by the end of the semester.

A big key to this success is that many other instructors in my school are beginning to use the Journal now. By the time students enter my class, many have read the journal for other classes in previous semesters. But for other students, this is their first introduction to reading a major newspaper and discussing current events in class.

My solution to helping students who are intimidated by the 'pros' who are performing at high levels right off the bat is to do what I always do - be honest. I told the class that these students were modeling where we are heading. Everyone should shoot for that kind of analysis and current event discussions. The bar will rise as we proceed through the semester.

One of the best parts of using the Journal in business classes is the flexibility it offers for individual growth. For those who are not as gifted in this area, I encourage their efforts. Any gains in these skills are productive. For those who are more advance, I use the Socratic Method to push them to higher levels. Now that is a great teaching/learning tool!

A Couple of Interesting Articles

2006-01-23T11:03:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Journal included a couple of interesting article for college instructors that might interest you and your colleagues.

Legalized 'Cheating': Text-messaging answers. Googling during exams. In the Internet age, some schools have a new approach to cheating: Make it legal.
(January 21, 2006; Page P1)
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB113779787647552415.html

Many College Graduates in U.S. May Lack Complex Literacy Skills
(January 21, 2006; Page B4)
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB113781203659552748.html

The Second Week of the Semester

2006-01-19T11:11:00.000-05:00

The first week of class I do not require the students to read the Journal. I introduce and explain the assignment, but we begin discussion of current events during the second week. It usually takes about a week for everyone to get subscribed and for delivery to begin. To warm things up, I mention some recent articles I have read to begin modeling what I would like the students to do. This also sparks some interest in reading the paper.

I begin each class by asking a few students (selected at random) to informally present an article they have selected from the WSJ. Each student then gives a brief overview of the article, tells the reason for selecting that article, the relationship to course material or topics, connections with previous articles we have discussed, etc. Then I and/or fellow students ask questions, offer comments, or mention related articles.

I grade using a class list in my textbook for just this assignment. As the students discuss an article or immediately after, I note write down the date and a check mark if they presented at an appropriate level, or the date and a 'no' if they were unprepared. At the end of the semester I assign the points for this exercise based on the percentage of times they were called and prepared times the total points allocated to this exercise. (If they were prepared every time I called them, they are assigned all the possible points. If they were prepared half the times I called them, they are awarded half the possible points.)

(For a more detailed explanation of my main WSJ exercise, please read my blog posting for the second week of last semester, September 5, 2005. I also use the Journal for testing and assessment purposes.)

One tip: Be open with your students from the very beginning! Share with them the fact that you do not read every article in the Journal everyday (unless you do!). I would not expect that from my students. When my students bring up an article I have not read, I tell them and say how excited I am to hear what they have to say. Win-win: I am not judged as unprepared, and the student gains a feeling of importance and contribution.

Don't Miss This!

2006-01-12T19:55:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to a new semester! Here is the best news of my new year so far - the price for a semester (15-weeks) of papers delivered and full access to WSJ.com has dropped to only $19.95. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw such a low price on the new subscription forms. Over the years, I have seen the prices fluctuate in the $20-30 range and even remember it going above $30 for a semester or so. This new price is great news for our students! And for us.

I consider price in my decision-making process when I select textbooks and other course materials. Sure, I would never sacrifice the quality of the course to help my students save a few bucks, but I do seek and consider less expensive alternatives. While it is very true that the previous, higher student WSJ prices are still much lower that the regular full-price subscriptions for the paper subscription and the online version, it likely has discouraged some instructors from choosing to require the Journal. Some could consider the additional cost difficult to require, given the high cost of textbooks these days. Additionally, if an instructor is one of only a few using the Journal, the cost is not spread over other classes taken by the students. I have considered the cost to students as I have used the Journal, evaluating the pedagogical compared to the cost.

If you have had these or other cost concerns, now is your chance to add this valuable element to your classes. Even if you have drafted your syllabus and begun classes, you can still offer this resource to your students. Discussing current events based on recent articles would add great value to student learning even if you did not allocate points to the exercise. The new low price makes it easier for us to use the Journal in smaller ways if desired. At least consider offering this great deal to your students. They may want to subscribe to both the paper and the online version at this price even if it is not used in class!

The easiest way to offer the subscription is to have students register directly by visiting www.WSJstudent.com. You may even accumulate enough student orders to earn a free subscription yourself!

I have contacted the sales rep for my school to thank him for the drop in price. What a nice surprise to begin the semester!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com

Have a great semester!

Time to Plan For Next Semester

2005-12-05T14:33:00.000-05:00

This is my last blog posting for the semester, so now is the time to look towards the next semester or quarter. Even as we write, give, and grade final exams and projects, we also must plan because the next semester is just around the corner. As part of your planning you might consider including the Journal for next semester or improving on what your current usage.

If you used the Journal this semester, now is a good time to reflect on the exercise and to prepare for next semester. Is there anything to change? What worked well for you that you should keep?

This semester, like most, my students have had varied success with the Journal. Most of my graduate students were not regular readers of the Journal. Almost all are now dedicated readers who appreciate the opportunity for encouraging exposure to the Journal.

My undergraduate students are not so unanimous. That is to be expected. But many students are regular dedicated readers. I am so pleasantly surprised how relaxed the majority of them are discussing, referring to previous discussion, and bringing up other articles they have read. They really see the application of the course materials to real-life situations. They also are making connections between the course material and other discipline areas.

If you did not use the Journal this semester, think about adding it next semester. Look back through my previous blog entries for integration ideas. Not sure you can take time from your current course content to add another dimension to the class? There is even a blog entry on using the Journal in small ways to add great value for students in your classes. I understand that it can be challenging to add a new aspect to a class that is going well. Give the Journal a try one semester to see what it could add.

And please feel free to email me for help. I would be happy to share my knowledge or to point you in the direction of great WSJ and professor resources. I have been at this for years now, trying several different kinds of exercise, and surviving all types of students! The Journal is a tremendous resource for business classes.

I wish you much success. Best regards and have a great break!

Classroom Community

2005-11-28T12:49:00.000-05:00

As the end of the semester nears, I am reflecting on the semester and also some of my blog postings. My students are doing so well reading the Journal and discussing current business events. This is how semesters always end! It has really become very fun and valuable. The early challenges are worth the effort. I often forget this when students are struggling in the beginning of the semester.

One of the best results of using the Journal in my classes is the classroom community it helps to create. After using the Journal for years, I sometimes take for granted what the Journal current events discussion adds the classroom atmosphere. I was reminded once again of how important it is pedagogically to build classroom community when I read the book "My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student " by Rebekah Nathan (Cornell University Press, 2005). Dr. Nathan is a college professor who chose to move into a dorm and take classes - to become a college freshman - as her sabbatical project. The book is a quick read with some interesting insights into the other side of our world - college from a student viewpoint. It opened my eyes on a few points.

Dr. Nathan seems to value classroom community as much as I. On pages 93 of her book, Dr. Nathan states that "Despite the fact that classes rarely function as communities, this ideal is powerful within the American classroom - at least for teachers. A good class is often thought of as one in which students speak repeatedly, and the teacher's role…focuses on the elicitation and clarification of each student's viewpoint." She laments the lack of this atmosphere in the classes in which she was enrolled.

In discussing the importance of classroom community, Dr. Nathan also quotes French anthropologist Herve Varenne, who "would characterize as the shared American ideal of community: a place of equality, informality, intimacy, and reciprocity." Isn't that what we would all want to provide for a learning environment for our students?

Students often tell me how much fun the classroom discussions are. Once they get beyond the initial awkwardness of speaking in class about current events, they enjoy it. So perhaps incorporating WSJ current events would build important community in your classroom as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-21T09:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving Week!
Look for another post next week.

WSJ.com

2005-11-16T15:45:00.000-05:00

WSJ.com offers a wealth of information and resources for your students and your classes. A WSJ sales rep would be happy to conduct a faculty workshop to show you all the wonderful features. And your rep can also provide you with all kinds of tools and resources associated with the Journal. I have had the pleasure of meeting with the education sales reps. They are dynamic and dedicated people who want to serve you!

Student Selection of Articles

2005-11-14T19:44:00.000-05:00

What do you do when a student selects a weak article? Since I allow my students to select articles, sometime the choice is not a strong one. Recently in my law and ethics class, a student selected an article about schools being set up for hurricane evacuees. While it was a fine article and important topic, she was attempting to use the article to apply business ethics tools and analysis methods we were learning in class. The article raised the issue of whether schools set up specifically for the evacuees violated laws against separate but equal education. The article absolutely did not work for what we were learning in class at that time. I initially allowed the discussion to continue, but the discourse was going in all different directions. Some were getting caught up in whether the laws were ethical or not; others discussed whether a school was a business - all at the same time! A discussion about this topic could be very interesting indeed, but was not an appropriate vehicle for our particular material. I halted the discussion and moved to another article, explaining that we needed to spend our time with a more appropriate article.

Not every tangent is so drastic. I often have students select an article to present just because they like the topic. Examples would include cars, fashion, television shows, and technology. Certainly I want to encourage my students to read what interests them, but I also have to make good use of valuable class time. On the first day of the semester, I tell them that for any article they select, they must show connection to the course topic. And I ask each time for that connection if it is not obvious or first offered.

I am amazed at the creativity of some students in the ways they apply course material to all types of situations. In accounting class, they often do a great job of relating the article to a financial statement or managerial accounting concepts, such as segmenting for example. But sometimes they have no connection, so they earn no points for that presentation. Such are the rules of the assignment. I gracefully move on to the next article or to the class material if time is running short.

I am more lenient with the required connection to the course material at the beginning of the semester. To help the students, I model the analysis I want my students to develop, by fleshing out the article more for them with articles early in the semester. But I warn them that the bar gets higher as the semester progresses. And they almost always rise to the occasion!

More Integration Ideas

2005-11-07T07:42:00.000-05:00

Last week I shared some integration ideas. This week I am continuing in the same vein. The possibilities are endless. Take an idea, modify it the serve your purpose, and make it your own.

Weekly Reviews - If you are interested in assigning group projects or discussions, research projects, or longer questions, the Weekly Reviews sometime include projects in addition to the standard questions. Some require Internet searches, while others are appropriate for break-out sessions during the class session. You could assign these several times each semester as they seem interesting to you.

Some instructors assign particular articles to the class rather than having students select any article. This is an easy way to integrate current events and to have all the students prepared for the discussion. You can use a very recent article, or alternatively you can assign articles you have found in past years that are 'classics.' I have an article about mistakes in Internet pricing from several years ago that is so complete that I still use as a comprehensive question on contracts. Every now and then I will find an article that is so good that it can work well indefinitely. Real-life can be far more interesting than some of the questions I write!

Weekly Quizzes - Another tool that the good people in the education area of the Wall Street Journal provide to us is the Weekly Quiz. Similar the Weekly Reviews, the quizzes are prepared weekly and posted to professorjournal.com. They are available in various formats (such as Word and Power Point, among others) so that you can cut-and-paste the questions you wish to use. Each week, 25 multiple-choice questions cover articles on the front pages of each section of the paper that week. You can select questions pertaining to your discipline, or use all the questions to test general reading of the Journal.

Finally, some colleagues ask the students to select and write a short paper on several articles related to course topics. The assignment requires the student to demonstrate some understanding and application of course material to the information in the articles.

As you notice, each of these exercises requires and assesses mixtures of different skills. Find one or more that serve your pedagogical purposes. The Journal articles are class resources just waiting to be utilized!

Integration Ideas

2005-10-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have shared my ideas for integrating the Journal in my classes. Many of my colleagues and friends have shared with me interesting ways they use the Journal in other ways. Each of these different exercises shows the flexibility available with Journal integration. You can choose the integration method that works best with your teaching style, course structure and material, and grading issues.

Many instructors use the Weekly Reviews for class discussions, assignments, quizzes, or exams. I discussed the Weekly Reviews in greater detail in a recent blog post dated October 17. The Reviews are an excellent resource of discipline-specific articles with questions and projects specially prepared for your use. One of my colleagues requires written answers to Weekly review articles only a few times each semester. As a result, she can wait until a reviewed article is just right for her class.

One interesting idea suggested by a professor in Colorado is to have each student, or a group of students, follow a company throughout the semester. The students must track the company, as well as event related to the company and its competition. They must also follow the industry in general, and how the economy if affecting the industry. He grades this project in two ways. On any given day, he calls on several students or groups to give a short presentation on the status of the company. A report on the company is required to be submitted at the end of the semester.

You do not necessarily need to make a formal assignment to integrate the Journal into your courses. One of my colleagues is new to our faculty this semester. As a result, he did not think to assign the Journal. But because he has had professional positions in his industry for years, he reads the Journal regularly and finds it important to bring current events into class. When he finds interesting and pertinent article, he brings the paper to class. He has been pleasantly surprised that many of the students are reading the articles as well without assignment or grading in his class. Even without a formal vehicle, he and his students enjoy likely discussions about current issues related to his course topic. His professionalism and high expectations for the students are making a valuable contribution for his students.

There are many terrific ways to use the Journal in business courses. Next week I will have more ideas for integration of the Journal into your classes. If you have any interesting ideas or any questions, please contact me at WSJprofblog@hotmail.com.

Halfway Through the Semester: Progress and Classroom Community

2005-10-26T09:09:00.000-04:00

Now that midterms are completed and graded, I am taking a moment to reflect upon my students' progress. We should be seeing some of the fruits of your labor and patience at this point in the semester. Your students should be increasing in comfort, poise, and proficiency when discussing current events and seeing connections to the course material.

This semester has been a great one my classes. My classes, both graduate and undergraduate, have excelled in this real-life application to the course material. A couple of days ago, one of the students in my undergraduate accounting class selected an article about the price of gas, noting that supply is up and demand is down resulting in lower prices - clearly the classic supply/demand/price relationship he learned in economics. He then related to how it could impact financial statements and offered ripple effects of the changes in price, supply, and demand. Many students added observations from other related article they had read. How exciting that he and other students were able to see the relationship between what they are studying in economics and accounting. They are connecting a series of articles to see the evolution of a situation. They are successfully integrating course material between classes and applying the information in the analysis of an article!

Another recent exciting connection involved an article I used for the midterm exam in my business law and ethics class this semester. The article topic discussed specific instances of eminent domain conflicts. (Article) In yesterday’s class, a student brought to our attention that the developer featured in the article has written a letter to the editor. (Letter) We briefly discussed his comments, and in the process ‘closed the loop’ on the exam topic. We asked: Did his letter affect the analysis in exam answer? Why would he write that letter? It was a nice addition to the class.

The discussion is becoming very active and several of the more quiet students are jumping in to add comments. This exercise is building a classroom community. Students are gaining confidence in themselves and a comfort level in offering input. Many are already far more poised that when we began.

Weekly Reviews

2005-10-17T10:27:00.000-04:00

The Wall Street Journal Education Program offers many tools to support usage of the Journal in our classes. One great tool that the Journal offers to educators is the Weekly Reviews.

Reviews are written for 16 different disciplines, including: Accounting, Business Ethics, Business Law, Economics: Macro, Economics: Micro, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Health Care Business & Policy, Hotel Restaurant Travel Management, Information Technology, International Business, Introduction To Business, Journalism and Media, Management, Marketing, and Political Science.

Each review is sent to subscribers as an email on Friday mornings. It includes summaries of each article, a listing of topics covered, and several questions related to each article. Group or research projects are sometimes offered as additional questions for professors seeking more involved classroom experiences. The reviewer frequently includes a listing of supporting articles related to the main article.

The reviews serve well as a teacher's guide for class discussion. Subscribers to the weekly reviews are provided a list of questions from which to choose or you can adapt the questions to suit your class, topical coverage, and teaching styles. Some professors use the articles immediately for current event coverage, while others save the review for when they cover that particular topic in the course or as a source of exam materials. One of my colleagues distributes reviews to her students and requires that they answer the list of questions as a writing exercise. Many instructors use the reviews as test or quiz material.

You can sign up for the Weekly Review by clicking here. Sign up for the reviews that would interest you and might apply to your classes. They are sent 39 weeks per year, including some in the summer.

Do you use the Weekly Reviews? If you would like to share any ideas, please contact me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.

In Case You Are Interested: Writing the Business Law Weekly Reviews

2005-10-17T10:26:00.000-04:00

This is the approach I take when I write my reviews. While the professor writing for your discipline may take a slightly different approach, I think we all share the same goals and follow a similar path. I scour the week's worth of papers, looking for at least three good business law articles. My goal is to find articles that discuss current hot topics that would also add to the discussion in some area covered in business law classes. Sometimes I can find a long article detailing the history of a law, a current event, or an area of law. Other articles may be short but offer a great basis for discussion of an interesting point. My favorites are ones that offer an interesting story to engage the students.

I frequently print out 10 or more articles to narrow it down to the most appropriate ones. I write a summary of the article so that the professor can skim the summary and decide if he or she would like to read the entire article. It is much shorter than the article, but details the main points.

My strategy for writing questions loosely follows the theory of Blooms Taxonomy. The taxonomy includes six levels of learning: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. I try to structure my collection of questions so that it covers most or all of these levels. Some of my questions require only recall of the information offered in the article to see if the students read and understood it. Other questions reach to higher levels of learning, asking the student for the reasons behind the information offered in the article. Finally, I frequently write questions that push beyond the article and ask them to apply the information - lessons learned, ripple effects of the event described in the article. This range of questions help to test the degree of student understanding, as well as train students to think beyond just the facts offered. As a result, the article becomes a mini-case study.

Using the Journal in Small Ways in Your Classes

2005-10-10T15:40:00.000-04:00

Would you like to use the Journal but not quite sure about the commitment? Or not exactly sure how to begin? I encourage anyone who wants to incorporate the Journal for the first time, to take a small step. You can increase your involvement as you discover what works well for you, your courses, and your students.

It begins to seem very natural to open class with a discussion of current events, even if you do not formalize it as an assignment as I have. (Please see one of my earlier posts for a detailed description.) In my classes, many students only see introductory accounting as an obstacle (and tough one at that!) to their ultimate goal of graduation and getting in a job in another area of business. If we can show them that a particular subject has application to business in general, they will have a greater incentive to learn.

If you are contemplating using the Journal in a small way, you may be hesitant to require your students to purchase the subscription. I had these exact thoughts before I started to use the Journal. I was a reader myself, and would frequently discuss articles, but I did not require the purchase. Because I am well aware of the high cost of textbooks these days, I was reluctant to add the Journal as a requirement. If this concerns you, here are a few points to consider.

First, are other professors at your school already requiring purchase of the Journal? If other instructors are already using the Journal, your use will not cost your students an additional fee.

Second, the subscription is heavily discounted for students. It is competitively price, usually less expensive than textbooks or casebooks. I found that a subscription was less than a casebook I had been using, and ultimately was a better resource for my class.

Third, the student subscription also includes a subscription to WSJ.com, which is a very valuable resource for students to use in many business classes. The website provides a very nice search feature for all kinds of business research.

Also, while books and supplies are very expensive, I find that most of my students have enough money to pay for many 'extras' unrelated to school. The benefits my students experience are so great, that it is easy for me to justify that cost.

Finally, is your school an Academic Partner of the Journal's or considering this partnership? If a business school partners with the Journal, many of the professors use the Journal and all the students have subscriptions. I used the Journal for years before my school became an Academic Partner. Before the partnership, usage of the Journal was more of an individual decision. Now the students see the integration across the curriculum and come to expect usage in many classes as they progress through the program. The difference in student awareness and sophistication between before and after our partnership is amazing. This might be an option for your school.*

Small integration is a terrific way to begin using the Journal into your courses. It is much better to start small and enjoy it, than to jump into something large and unfamiliar. And as you evaluate the venture, you can gradually increase involvement as it works for you.

* * WSJ Academic Partnerships - This is a special arrangement in which the WSJ partners with individual schools with some special advantages. For more information see http://info.wsj.com/professor/academicPartners.html, contact your WSJ sales representative through http://info.wsj.com/professor/educationalRep.html, or contact Stephanie Major at stephanie.major@dowjones.com.

Emerging Themes

2005-10-03T07:54:00.000-04:00

If you are using the Journal in your classes as general business discussions, you probably notice that certain recurring themes emerge. This semester is obviously the hurricane semester. Have you noticed how many articles deal with hurricane-related issues - business and otherwise? I remember the fall 2001 semester when most of our discussions related to the ripple effects of 9/11.

But even in semesters where no dramatic occurrence takes place, I find that my classes tend to build their own themes. For example, one semester, one class talked about the AOL/Time-Warner problems as they developed throughout the semester, while another class that same semester focused on articles related to fuel prices and the potential ripple effects from commodity pricing. It seems that once they have discussed a particular issue, students will feel more comfortable and gravitate to related articles.

I am always sweetly amused when a student begins a discussion with "I chose this article because it relates to something we have discussed before about…" They are 'getting it!' The exercise is helping them to see the connections between articles over time. The Journal is not only a 'living,' daily casebook, but also an evolving casebook. This is an exciting pedagogical development!

A semester is enough time for students to see some progression of an issue or event. While I would always love to have more time with them, I have planted a seed that will bloom for many of them. Sometimes I have the immense pleasure of having students for more than one course. In those cases, I get to see even greater transformations in those students. And many times, former students will come to my office to tell me that they have continued to read about ideas or topics we have discussed.

My students are very special to me, but they are not any more sophisticated than yours. As I have stated in earlier postings, my students are fairly typical, and many times we have rough spots in the beginning of the semester. These semester themes are rewarding proof that most students are hungry to see the relevance of course work to the real world. Encourage these recurring themes. Your students will be just as excited as mine.

I welcome your questions and comments at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.

How Much Time to Spend Discussing Current Events in Articles

2005-09-26T05:44:00.000-04:00

People frequently ask me how much time I devote to WSJ articles in my classes. Others ask how I can find any extra time to add a WSJ component. Here is what I do. Hopefully this will inspire you to find some time too.

Our undergraduate classes meet twice a week for one hour and 15 minutes each. I have about 30-45 students in those classes. My graduate classes usually meet once a week for almost three hours and those classes tend to be somewhat smaller than the undergraduate classes. As I discussed in a previous posting, I begin each class with discussions on WSJ articles. How much time to allocate to the discussions? How many articles are covered each session? It depends. You just have to see how it is progressing and make a judgment call. Generally, I allow for about eight to 15 minutes in the undergraduate classes. Sometimes we cover two or three articles briefly, especially if students bring up other articles related to the one being presented. Other times we might cover only one article in depth. Much of it depends on what happens to be in the paper the last few days, and also whether I have a lot of course material to cover that particular day.

At the graduate level, I use the Journal as a daily case book, so we usually spend much more time discussing current events as they relate to the course material. Obviously graduate students are expected to be able to understand most of the assigned reading materials. Generally, class is for discussion and analysis of the current course topic, more than coverage of the reading. In my business law and ethics course, we spend up to 30-45 minute discussing the legal and ethical aspects of the stories in the articles. If the articles that particular week are on point and the discussion sufficiently compelling, we might spend half the class on the discussion. Again, it is a judgment call. Take every day as it develops.

As a another example, when I teach an MBA elective entitled "Fraud Issues In Business" we spend about half the class analyzing the fraud schemes from the week (How was the scheme perpetrated? How could it been prevented? How could it have been detected earlier? What were the internal control breaches? etc.) With the events of recent years, the Journal offers plenty white collar crime stories to qualify it as a daily fraud casebook (unfortunately).

You might be wondering how I can make this kind of time for this exercise. Before I started using the Journal, I wondered that same thing! Before I incorporated the Journal in my classes, it seemed I needed every minute to cover course material. But using the Journal in this fashion has actually made me a better teacher and my classroom environment is greatly improved. The students are more accustomed to being interactive. They participate and prepare more; I lecture less!

So adapt my ideas into your personal style and philosophy to make using the Journal work for you and your students. Make it your own!

A Great Surprise!

2005-09-19T14:26:00.000-04:00

My students surprised me in the nicest way. The first time we tried the WSJ discussion, they hit a home run! The student I chose at random selected an article from the Science Journal entitled “Man-Made Mistakes Increase Devastation Of 'Natural' Disasters” (September 2, 2005, B1, Click here for WSJ.com link.) (Note: please see an earlier post for a full explanation of my assignment.)

The article was an interesting discussion of how the impact of natural disasters is greatly impacted by human actions and development. One example is the attempted control of the Mississippi and increased development have destroyed wetlands. The loss of wetlands results in increased the size of storm surges, resulting in increased damages.

The reason this student selected this article is because he is a science major also earning a business minor. He discussed how decisions that were made to increase commerce and development have actually caused greater damages from the hurricane. He shared some ripple effects to the economy, business, and financial statements from the devastation. He did such a nice job, especially given that this was the first time. Many of the students jumped in with amazing observations and additional ripple effects. Quite impressive!

None of my former sophomore classes had taken to the WSJ discussion so well this early in the semester. So after I complimented them lavishly, I just had to ask – Why are you so comfortable with the Journal? How were you able to think of so many interesting aspects of the issue? How did you come up with links to other classes (supply-demand-price from economics, for example)? Their answer – the use of the Journal in previous classes.

Wow! My job just got a little easier! Our students take this introduction to financial accounting course early in their business school curriculum, but many have introduction to business and economics before taking this class. In years past, I was one of the very few professors to require or even use the Journal in my classes. I would have to ‘break the ice’ so to speak. Now that most of our professors require the Journal, our students come to expect it as part of business school. It is no longer an unknown or a burden to them. So when they start my class now, they hit the ground running.

When a faculty uses the Journal throughout the curriculum in many of the classes, it raises the critical thinking skills and business knowledge of all students at each level. Whether you are the ‘lone wolf’ as I was for years, or part of a mass integration (my situation now), you can add to the professionalism and career potential of your students. I got to see that so clearly this past week. And that is precisely my goal as a professor!

If it is Rough in the Beginning

2005-09-12T07:56:00.000-04:00

As I have said before, the Journal exercises do not always go well in all of my classes at the beginning of the semester. Some of my students or classes struggle to read and present an article well. Take heart, this is only temporary. Most of them will not only catch on, but begin to enjoy it. It gets so good in most classes that I hate to see the semester end!Of course, my graduate classes are usually pretty good from the start and keep getting better. The undergraduates usually need more time and practice. Many in my classes are first-generation college students. Some are 'non-traditional' students who have enrolled in college later in life. As a result, most do not read any newspapers (unless you count the sports page!). It takes a while for them to become interested and comfortable. That's ok - in fact, I am excited that they will progress even further that semester!I believe that any student who tries will feel comfortable reading and discussing Journal articles by mid-semester. The key is that you model for them how to read, analyze, and discuss an article. Do more of the talking earlier in the semester, but gradually step back as the semester progresses. Show them how to go beyond just the main points in the article; show them how to connect different articles and topics. I have found that this is more important for undergraduates; my MBA students catch on very quickly.

In the undergraduate classes, after we are into it for a few weeks and I have modeled how to extend the discussion, I tell them that during their preparation, to try to think what I would ask or say as they present an article. As they have seen more articles and are gaining confidence, I appoint one student to present an article and another to 'play Linda.' In other words, the second student should ask questions and comment on the presentation of the first. Less than half way into the semester, most students have grown in thinking, analysis, and application. They begin to volunteer comments on articles they have read. The discussion is driven much more by my students and I say much less. I become the facilitator of the discussion, usually only calling for the articles and adding some history or other dimension as needed. Isn't that where we want them to be? They cannot take me to higher-level classes or to work with them!

Have confidence that they will be doing it themselves well before the end of the semester! And if they start well, you have the opportunity to help them grow to an even higher level.

The Second Week of Class

2005-09-05T08:27:00.000-04:00

This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. I begin to use the WSJ in class this second week. Now for a more detailed description of my main classroom use of the WSJ.

I begin each class by asking a student (selected at random) what article they have selected from the WSJ. They must select articles from editions published since the last class session, but that day's issue is not an option because many students would not have had time to read it. The student announces the article title, date, and page while the rest of the class turns to that article in their copies. The student then gives a brief overview of the article, tells the reason for selecting that article, the relationship to course material or topics, connections with previous articles we have discussed, etc. Then I and/or fellow students ask questions, offer comments, or mention related articles. If other students have prepared the same article, they can chime in as well.

The grading is easy. That is very important to me as an assistant professor with many other demands! I keep a class list in my textbook for just this assignment. As the students discuss an article or immediately after, I note write down the date and a check mark if they presented at an appropriate level, or the date and a 'no' if they were unprepared. If they are absent (unexcused) that day, no points. At the end of the semester I assign the points for this exercise based on the percentage of times they were called and prepared times the total points allocated to this exercise. (If they were prepared every time I called them, they are assigned all the possible points. If they were prepared half the times I called them, they are awarded half the possible points.) I am more lenient in the beginning of the semester and ratchet up the required level of discussion, analysis, and application as they become more accustomed to the discussions.

I have to tell you that it does not always go well in all of my classes initially. Some of my students or classes struggle to read and present an article well. I will talk more about this as the semester progresses.

The First Week of Class

2005-08-29T05:43:00.000-04:00

Here we go! For this first week of class, I do not require the students to read the Journal. I introduce and explain the assignment, but hold off until the second week to begin for a couple of reasons. First, unless your school is an Academic Partner* with the WSJ, it takes a few days for everyone to get subscribed and for delivery to begin. Also things are very busy the first week, just getting the class started. To warm things up, I mention some recent articles I have read to begin modeling what I would like the students to do. This also sparks some interest in reading the paper.

I suggest you have your students subscribe through WSJstudent.com. That seems to be a good way to get the subscription rolling quickly. And it is easier for you because you do not have to do any of the paperwork, mailing or faxing. The alternative to web registry is to have each student complete subscription forms, which you can fax to the WSJ. This was my method for many years.

One tip: Be open with your students from the very beginning! Share with them the fact that you do not read every article in the Journal everyday (unless you do!). That may seem obvious to you or unnecessary to mention, but I find that revelation makes reading the Journal seem more attractive and less of a burden for them. Students can now view the paper as it should be viewed - something to inform and to be enjoyed, not a huge assignment. Another significant benefit for me is that I do not have to pretend that I have read an article if I have not! In fact, when my students bring up an article I have not read, I am open with them. I tell them that I did not read it and also say how excited I am to hear what they have to say. I must have missed a good article if they thought it should be selected! You would be amazed how that student sits up a little straighter and speaks with a little more authority. I then ask questions based on what I might know about the topic in general. I have had great results. Win-win: I am not viewed as unprepared; the student gains a feeling of importance and contribution.

Have a great week!

* WSJ Academic Partnerships - This is a special arrangement in which the WSJ partners with individual schools with some special advantages. For more information see http://info.wsj.com/professor/academicPartners.html, contact your WSJ sales representative through http://info.wsj.com/professor/educationalRep.html, or contact Stephanie Major at stephanie.major@dowjones.com.

Journalism and Communications Professors

2005-08-25T19:01:00.000-04:00

Attention all Journalism and Communications Professors:
If you teach in the areas of Journalism, Communications, or Public Relations, this message is for you. One of your colleagues emailed me asking if I knew of professors using the Journal in her discipline with the intent of sharing ideas. So if you are in any of these areas and use the Journal or are considering adopting it for your courses, please email me and I will share names and email addresses with others in your discipline who contact me.

By the way, you might want to consider another resource. The Journal offers Weekly Reviews for Journalism and Media. You can sign up for these free weekly emails at http://216.65.45.181/educators_reviews/sign_up.cfm. I have read these reviews and they are very well-written.

And these Weekly Reviews are not just for Journalism professors only. There are 16 various disciplines from which to choose. So professors in many disciplines can take advantage of this great teaching tool.

Preparation for the New Semester

2005-08-23T21:20:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! We are about to begin a new school year here at IU Southeast. My classes begin August 29th, but some of you may already be in the thick of things. I am in the midst of that eerie, quiet time of year before the students hit and I am trying to benefit from that last bit of concentrated research time in between my class prep and beginning-of-the-year retreats, workshops, and orientations. Along the way, I have drafted my syllabus to incorporate the Wall Street Journal into each of my fall classes. I invite you to join me through this blog.

I teach a variety of subjects in which the WSJ is a valuable research. For many years, I have used the Journal on virtually a daily basis in all my classes to bring my students to a new level. I have enjoyed the success of my students and the enhanced classroom environment resulting from using real-world application to connect with course material. I am excited to share the details of my learning goals and student progress in the coming weeks.

I teach both in the graduate and undergraduate business programs, lower-level and advanced classes, in the areas of accounting, business law, and business ethics. As a result, I have experienced different aspects of application for the Journal in a variety of subjects and levels.

In the next few weeks, I will share more details of my assignment using the WSJ in class. But briefly, I begin each class session asking a student (selected at random) what they have read in the Journal. Every student must be prepared each class session to discuss an article, but no formal write-up is required. All students turn to that particular article in their own newspapers and follow along with the presenter. If others have read that same article, they are very welcome to jump in the discussion. I grade on a pass/fail basis, making grade notations during the short presentation. This assignment counts for around 10% of the total grade, which I quickly calculate at the end of the semester. It is a terrific way to begin each class period, and the students progress very well.

This is only one of many ways you can incorporate the Journal in your class. I will go into more detail next week!

Throughout the coming weeks, I plan to share my classroom experiences, successes and challenges, usage ideas, incorporation of the Journal to help in achieving learning goals. To add an interactive component to the blog and to benefit other readers, I would also like to include some comments, questions, or ideas from you, as you use or consider using the Journal in your classes, as they would benefit WSJ blog readers. (Please indicate if you would like to remain anonymous.) Feel free to email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.

Welcome

2005-08-08T17:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to The Wall Street Journal professor blog! I am Linda Christiansen, a professor at Indiana University Southeast. I have used the Journal in my classes for years, and see the value of this tool, as well as the benefits for my students. Each week during the Fall 2005 semester, I will chronicle my use of The Journal in my accounting, business law, and business ethics classes, describing my methods for classroom integration, as well as sharing reactions from students and colleagues.

You can always reach this blog by visiting the Journal-in-Education Web site at http://ProfessorJournal.com.