Education Commons^™

Communication Apprehension In The Basic Course: Learning Styles And Preferred Instructional Strategies Of High And Low Apprehensive Students, John Bourhis, Charlene Berquist

Basic Communication Course Annual

Students who experience high levels of communication apprehension are at a distinct disadvantage in school when compared to those who do not. This is particularly true in basic courses in public speaking and interpersonal communication which students may be required to take to satisfy general education requirements. This study examines the relationship between communication apprehension, learning style, and preferred instructional strategies for students enrolled in a basic course in interpersonal communication. The results indicate that communication-apprehensive students are more passive than active in their learning styles. Both low and high communication-apprehensive students prefer instructional strategies which are consistent with their …

Some Student Perceptions Of Grades Received On Speeches, Ted J. Foster, Michael Smilowitz, Marilyn S. Foster, Lynn A. Phelps

Basic Communication Course Annual

Frequent evaluation of student work is standard practice in basic courses. Frequent evaluation assumes a relationship between the evaluation and improved performance. In higher education, evaluations are often expressed as grades. This study examines the relationship between twelve grades students receive on their speeches, and the affective and motivational effects those grades might have.

Generally, the study found that students prefer higher grades but are motivated by lower grades. Specifically, the study indicates disparity between instructor intention in using pluses and minuses with grades and student reaction to the pluses and minuses.

The Basic Course: What Do We Know? What Do We Need To Know? Where Do We Go From Here?, Nancy L. Buerkel-Rothfuss, David L. Kosloski

Basic Communication Course Annual

Research in the basic course in the 1980s was largely atheoretical and limited in generalizability, both inside and outside of speech communication.

While there is nothing wrong with an applied approach to teaching and learning, that approach needs to be augmented by more generalizable studies. Research guided by theoretical frameworks or based on prior findings tends to be more valuable than the tendency for basic course directors to search for hypotheses in less systematic ways.

The review of literature presented in this paper reveals an extensive typology of basic course variables but no clear framework within which to conduct future …

Beyond Writing: A Case For A Speech-Based Basic Course In A Vid-Oral World, W. Lance Haynes

Basic Communication Course Annual

Recent developments in media studies research suggest ways basic course curricula may be inappropriately biased toward written mediation and the forms of cognition writing engenders. This paper explores the media-cognition relationship to argue for teaching oral communication from a different perspective.

First, the concept of "ways of thinking" reveals some ways media inherently affect communication. Then parallels between the new "vid-oral" media and the pre-literate oralist tradition suggest foundations for a speech-based basic course.

A Program Of Rater Training For Evaluating Public Speeches Combining Accuracy And Error Approaches, Nancy Rost Goulden

Basic Communication Course Annual

Systematic rater training results in higher validity and reliability for scores from either classroom speeches or speeches from wide-scale testing. This paper includes a complete script for rater training using a combination of two training methods: error training to sensitize raters to their biases and accuracy training to insure rater understanding of criteria and processes of rating.

The script is designed to provide training for either the analytic or holistic method and has been shown to result in reliable, valid speech scoring.

The Required Course And The Advanced Student: A Placement Perspective, Michael R. Schliessmann, Laurie B. Haleta

Basic Communication Course Annual

Advanced placement describes a system in which incoming freshman students are invited to elect an advanced speech course, in lieu of taking the university required Speech course. The system is not an exemption system, like practiced in other colleges and universities. It allows the speech faculty to choose qualified students who have competence beyond the basic course. The paper describes the system, analyzes its advantages and discusses perceived disadvantages.

An Investigation Into The Communication Needs And Concerns Of Asian Students In Speech Communication Performance Classes, Ester Yook, William J. Seiler

Basic Communication Course Annual

The University of Nebraska is one of the many institutions of higher education in the United States with a growing foreign student enrollment. Consequently, the numbers of foreign students enrolled in speech communication classes has been increasing. There, however, is currently a lack of systematic investigation into the needs and concerns of foreign students in speech performance classes. This study investigates the needs and concerns of Asian students in speech performance classes.

The study uses three methods to determine the needs of Asian students: (1) participant observation, (2) survey and (3) focus group interviews. The findings show that Asian students …

The Future Of The Basic Course, Judy C. Pearson, Paul E. Nelson

Basic Communication Course Annual

This article recommends some changes that should occur in the basic course. The prescriptions are based on four notions: the course must include accurate information; it should be inclusive in nature; it must be responsive to our contemporary world and to our students' current and future communicative needs; and it must provide a unique contribution to our students' education. The authors suggest that the course has not been sufficiently attentive to accuracy, inclusiveness, responsiveness and uniqueness; furthermore, contemporary changes require increased vigilance in these areas.

Evaluating The Basic Course: Using Research To Meet The Communication Needs Of The Students, Lyn B. Bendtschneider, Douglas M. Trank

Basic Communication Course Annual

This paper presents a rationale for evaluating the basic course to determine the extent to which it meets the communication needs of the students. The results of a study undertaken at one institution are offered to illustrate the questions and implications such an evaluation might address. The literature relevant to basic course assessments are reviewed, and suggestions for basic course programs undertaking this type of evaluation are discussed.

A Communication Based Model Of Friendship For The Interpersonal Communication Course, Rod Troester

Basic Communication Course Annual

This paper presents a model of friendship drawn from the friendship research of S.W. Duck and the management approach to interpersonal communication of S.A. Deetz and S.L. Stevenson.

Duck's research is briefly summarized and offered as a theoretical and conceptual foundation for understanding the psychological or cognitive dimensions of friendship. The Management Approach to interpersonal communication, researched by Deetz and Stevenson, is developed as a means for understanding the behavior dimensions associated with the conduct of friendship.

These complementing approaches are integrated using the general systems notions of structure, function and evolution. The approaches and model are discussed as they …

The Basic Course At U.S. Colleges And Universities: V, James W. Gibson, Michael S. Hanna, Greg Leichty

Basic Communication Course Annual

This paper reports the results of a survey undertaken to determine the nature of the basic course in speech as it is now taught at United States colleges and universities, and to identify important trends in instruction of the basic communication course.

It appears that enrollment in the basic course is increasing. Findings are also reported concerning the orientation taken in the basic course, along with information on instructional methods used and administrative concerns connected with the basic course. The various implications of the findings are discussed.

Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 2

Basic Communication Course Annual

Full issue (285 pages, 9.75 MB)

The Interaction Of Teacher And Student Social Styles And Learning Styles On Learning Outcomes Of The Basic Communication Course, Michael Smilowitz, Lynn A. Phelps

Basic Communication Course Annual

There has been considerable research that indicates the importance of the type and quality of teachers' communication. Too little of this research has considered the possibility of interrelationships between teacher's social and preferred learning styles with the social and preferred learning styles of students. This study examines students in basic communication courses for the effects of actual correspondence in styles as well as students' accuracy in describing the styles of their teachers. The results indicate that accurate perceptions of teachers' social styles influence course grades and actual correspondence influences student evaluations of the course.

A Unit On Relationship Termination For The Basic Course, Lynn A. Phelps

Basic Communication Course Annual

Basic interpersonal communication courses stress relationship development but seldom address the concept of relationship termination. If addressed, termination is often viewed from a negative perspective. Yet in today's mobile society, the concept that a person will continue to develop new relationships throughout their life without terminating any of their previous relationships is ludicrous at best. The purpose of this article is to suggest units on relationship termination which are appropriate for the basic communication course.

What We Know About The Basic Course: What Has The Research Told Us?, William J. Seiler, Drew Mcgukin

Basic Communication Course Annual

Research in the basic speech communication course is vital to our understanding of what we know about it, how it is administered and taught. The paper examines theoretical as well as empirical literature relevant to the basic course. Our examination suggests that the literature is deplete of a consistent base of knowledge on which to design the basic course. The paper concludes by discussing a proposal for systematic research to help provide a foundation for teaching and administering the basic course.

The Necessity Of Separating Idealized Accountability From Realized Accountability: A Case Study, Karen Greenberg

Basic Communication Course Annual

This essay presents the hidden distinction between the idealized accountability and the realized accountability of the basic communication course. It illuminates this difference as this difference is evidenced in the ethical dimension of the rhetoric of basic communication course instructors'manuals. Contrary to popular myth, the basic communication course does not aim to reinforce the importance of the creation and maintenance of students' or instructors' identities, but aims to reinforce the importance of the creation and maintenance of educational systems. That is, this course mystifies one type of social hierarchy rather than elucidating many.

A Comparison Between Psi-Based And Self-Contained Formats Of Instruction In The Introductory Speech Communication Course, Pamela L. Gray, Nancy L. Buerkel-Rothfuss, Richard W. Thomas

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study assesses differences between two instructional methods in a basic speech communication course: a modified Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) and a self contained format. Communication skills, communication apprehension, self-esteem, and academic achievement in, perceptions about, and satisfaction with the course are compared. Using t-tests to compare means and mean exchange scores, the PSI-based format was found to be more effective than the self-contained format. Comparing these data with an earlier study designed to compare the PSI-based format with more traditional lecture-recitation format, the self-contained approach appears to be a better alternative than the lecture-recitation for teaching the course, …

Using Plays And Novels As Case Studies In The Basic Course, Roger Smitter

Basic Communication Course Annual

Article presents a rationale for the use of case studies and the case study method in the undergraduate speech communication classroom. Examples are provided for using plays and novels. The advantages and disadvantages of using plays and novels as cases are presented.

Teaching Ethics In The Basic Survey Speech Communication Course, William A. Haskins

Basic Communication Course Annual

The teaching of ethics in speech communication courses is not new to most communication curricula. Emphasis upon teaching ethics in speech communication courses, however, appears to be growing. Attention on the teaching of ethics appears to be growing as well as in many basic speech communication classes. This paper, then, provides general suggestions on teaching ethics in a basic speech communication course.

The Basic Course In Speech Communication: An Historical Perspective, Pamela L. Gray

Basic Communication Course Annual

The purpose of this paper is to trace some of the changes that have taken place in the basic course in speech communication through the use of representative literature concerning the basic course.

In addition, a direction for the future, indicated by the literature, will be suggested. This paper should serve as both an historical perspective of this course and a summary of the changes that may have occurred as this course has responded to philosophical/ intellectual and/or pragmatic pressures.

Implications Of Student And Instructor Involvement In The Basic Course, Samuel P. Wallace, Don B. Morlan

Basic Communication Course Annual

The purpose of the study is to test the notion that students in the basic course who possess high levels of communication competence will perform better in and subsequently will be more satisfied with the course than their counterparts with low levels of competence. Results show no support for the initial hypothesis. Further analysis, however, showed that the level of instructor competence has a significant effect on student evaluation of instructors.

Training Or Teaching? A Professional Development Program For Graduate Teaching Assistants, Douglas M. Trank

Basic Communication Course Annual

Basic course directors are urged to consider the range of roles available to them in working with graduate teaching assistants. The key element in establishing an effective professional development program is the development of an appropriate atmosphere where the graduate instructors know they are viewed as valuable members of the faculty. Such a program must remain flexible enough to meet the needs of the graduate instructors and the department it serves. Treating graduate instructors as colleagues and involving them in the process, giving them power and freedom, and valuing the teaching they do benefits the students, the graduate instructors, the …

Teaching Basic Courses: Problems And Solutions, Richard L. Weaver Ii, Howard W. Cotrell

Basic Communication Course Annual

Basic speech courses enroll many students. Basic course instructors are often under great pressure to succeed and to be effective. Because of the numbers of students and the pressures, they experience many problems. Five are discussed in this article: rigor versus leniency, independence versus dependence, theory versus skills, being close versus being distant, and objective evaluation versus subjective evaluation. Solutions to these problems are likely to affect both student and instructor motivation. Solutions are also likely to affect how students perceive instructors. That's why, with respect to basic course instructors, you have to have solutions for the problems.