PRACTICES OF THE «PERSONAL PRODUCING» COURSE TEACHING IN THE STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING CONTEXT

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to systematize the practices of the «Personal Producing» course teaching in the student-centered learning context.

Research methodology. To systematize the practices of teaching the free choice discipline «Personal Producing» and to estimate students’ satisfaction with the level of the course teaching, as well as to adjust the content of the said discipline based on the study results, the following methods were used: document analysis (to track the transformation of the course work programs’ content over three years); analysis of projects presented within the «Personal Producing» elective discipline for 2020–22 (to collect primary information and select the best examples); selective anonymous survey of students who chose the discipline in the 2022/23 academic year using Google-forms to determine the level of satisfaction with the course learning (11 persons choose the discipline, 6 persons took part in the survey). The questionnaire contained 7 questions: 5 with multiple-choice answers and 2 open-ended questions. To process the information received, the following methods of generalization and analysis of information were used: systematization, grouping, qualitative (text analysis, classification) and quantitative (digital data) methods of data interpretation.

Results. It was established that the implementation of the student-centered learning principle within the «Personal Producing» course occurs at several levels: 1) the actual choice of discipline; 2) the possibility to influence the course content formation; 3) the choice of project type (work with a producing subject or self-producing); 4) the choice of the project itself (from idea to its implementation) – allows students to acquire knowledge, as well as master practical skills and abilities, develop general and professional competencies, including creativity and innovation. The project-based approach to teaching and the course content construction based on such components as: the producer person in the creative industries system and the producing-subject person + personal brand (formation or rebranding) + producing strategy + project report (in a creative form) allow students to implement their own projects from idea to potential/actual monetization.

The involvement of students (through surveys) in adjusting the discipline content makes it possible to properly update the course and ensure justified interest in it, which, in turn, helps students become competitive professionals.

Novelty. Based on the data obtained, it is possible to update the «Personal Producing» course content by deepening the topics of the «psychological block» (communication with the producing subject, producer’s orthobiosis, the professional «burnout» problem, stress resistance), and also, taking into account the trend that students have begun to choose business representatives as producing subjects more often, to add to the practical activities more cases with the analysis of business people’s personal brands and to reformat some practical sessions into master classes, involving representatives of business, media in particular, as speakers.

Practical importance. The results obtained will be used in the process of updating the «Personal Producing» discipline content for bachelors and for the development of the «Personal Brand: Creation and Promotion» course curriculum for second (master’s) degree students majoring in 061 «Journalism».

Key words: personal producing, personal brand, student-centered learning, project, project approach.