DR. VOLHA KANANOVICH
Teaching
My teaching portfolio ranges from an introductory general-education course to more advanced journalism courses:
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Journalism Matters:
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News Reporting and Writing
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Multimedia Storytelling
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Data Journalism
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Mobile Journalism
My teaching philosophy is grounded in creating space for students to develop into resourceful, knowledgeable communicators who are excited — and equipped — to take ownership of their professional and personal growth and recognize the value of journalism in public life.
I’m grateful that this approach resonates with my students and colleagues, as reflected in several teaching awards:
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Second Place, Linda Shockley Award for Excellence in Teaching (2025)
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
Newspaper & Online Newspaper Division; Scholastic Journalism Division
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First Place Award, Best Teaching Idea competition (2024)
AEJMC Political Communication Division
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Best Professor Award (2023)
The Appalachian, “Best of Boone” readers-choice edition
Below are excerpts from my students’ anonymous feedback:
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“Dr. K is clearly very knowledgeable about journalism and is extremely accessible outside of class. I also believe Dr. K is a very fair grader, and she is extremely willing to help me when I was struggling with some of the material” (Journalism Matters).
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“Dr. K was always willing to answer questions, help students in any way possible, and provide valuable insight into complicated journalistic situations. By far, Dr. K's biggest strength was having our class ready and willing to engage in conversations. I have yet to have a professor at ASU who is as effective at having students interact during class. Dr. K was always open to criticism and critiques that could help improve our classroom environment and our education in this course as a whole” (Journalism Matters).
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“Dr. K is an incredible professor. She was always encouraging students and truly cared about their well-being and success. She made the material easy to understand, and I was eager to go to her class every day” (Journalism Matters).
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“Overall great knowledge on journalism and how it works. Could easily answer any questions students had. Very kind and approachable, makes you feel comfortable to ask questions” (Journalism Matters).
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“Dr. K was a fabulous teacher. I felt like she definitely knew the answer to any questions we had. She gave us grace to learn and edit the different types of news stories” (News Reporting and Writing).
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“This course had a lot of practice activities that benefited my understanding of reporting and will be very beneficial to me once I'm actually in the field” (News Reporting and Writing).
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“She was very organized, enthusiastic, and genuinely cared about all of her students. I feel like Professor K really took the time to get to know me and was always willing to meet with me outside of class to ensure my success (News Reporting and Writing).
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“Dr. Kananovich is a really kind and understanding professor. She provided really good feedback that gave me room for improvement and it was definitely beneficial and made a difference”
(News Reporting and Writing).
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“Dr. Kananovich is one of the most impactful instructors I have ever had during my time at App State. She is very clearly passionate and knowledgeable about journalism and mobile journalism as a field and in a technical sense. Not only was she always prepared and energized for class, she was also consistent and communicative outside of the classroom. She changed the way I view reporting and I have considered being a writer in a serious way because of this class” (Mobile Journalism).
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“I really enjoy Dr. K's teaching style; it is very engaging and informative. I feel as though I am fully engaged and participating in every class period” (Data Journalism).
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“Really interesting subject matter; the pacing of the course was absolutely perfect, complex topics broken down into understandable terms, and a flexible yet structured class semester schedule” (Data Journalism).
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“She always made sure students were 100% prepared to do a project, and if not, she worked with students to get them to that point” (Multimedia Storytelling).
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“She cares about her students more than any teacher I've ever had. She makes such an effort to get to know us and our goals personally, and that means so much. She's available outside of class for help, and she knows so much about what she teaches. I’ve seen so much growth in my photography/videography skills. Thank you, Dr. K!” (Multimedia Storytelling).