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Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Speech and Rhetorical Studies
Help? Not If You Don’T Know What To Look For: Applying Social Cognitive Theory To Program Evaluation In Competitive Forensics, Audra R. Diers
Help? Not If You Don’T Know What To Look For: Applying Social Cognitive Theory To Program Evaluation In Competitive Forensics, Audra R. Diers
Speaker & Gavel
Jessica Furgerson offered an important call to action by arguing Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives should be applied as a way to evaluate research skill acquisition in forensics participation. I have used her analysis as a way to show that more than just understanding what we do (and should do) in forensics, we should use theory to guide team goal-setting and program evaluation. In addition, I have argued forensics program administrators should establish theory-based program evaluation using Bandura’s social cognitive theory to demonstrate the value forensics offers to the overall university education mission.
I Need Help Finding It: Understanding The Benefits Of Research Skill Acquisition In Competitive Forensics, Jessica L. Furgerson
I Need Help Finding It: Understanding The Benefits Of Research Skill Acquisition In Competitive Forensics, Jessica L. Furgerson
Speaker & Gavel
Research skill acquisition is an invaluable but under explored benefit of forensics participation. Although coaches, students, and administrators acknowledge that participants gain research skills via forensics, little is known about what these skills are and how they specifically benefit students. This paper isolates three specific research dimensions students learn while participating in competitive speech and debate: locating, examining, and applying source mate-rial. Connections are then drawn between these dimensions and the attainment of high level learning resulting in the creation of educational outcomes related to research skill acquisition via forensics. Understanding the process and importance of research skill acquisition is …
What’S In A Name? Defending Forensics: A Response To Kimble’S “By Any Other Name”, Christopher P. Outzen, Daniel Cronn-Mills
What’S In A Name? Defending Forensics: A Response To Kimble’S “By Any Other Name”, Christopher P. Outzen, Daniel Cronn-Mills
Speaker & Gavel
Our essay is a response to Kimble’s “By Any Other Name: On the Merits of Moving Beyond Forensics.” We argue forensics has not lost the battle for its name, since the battle does not necessarily exist. We contend changing the name is unnecessary since forensics is the most accurate label one may apply to inter-scholastic speaking and debating. Furthermore, changing the name would have considerable negative repercussions. Instead, the forensic community needs to return to its roots as educators and activists to enhance public understanding of the term to include forensic speaking and debate. We conclude the name forensics is …
By Any Other Name: On The Merits Of Moving Beyond Forensics, James Kimble
By Any Other Name: On The Merits Of Moving Beyond Forensics, James Kimble
Speaker & Gavel
This essay argues that the interscholastic speaking and debating activity that calls itself forensics has effectively lost the battle for its own name. As students of and experts in rhetoric and performance, members of the forensics community should be the first to recognize the importance of an undisputed name. Yet the community continues to call itself by a name that medical science has overtaken. The resulting confusion does the community no favors and weakens the activity within the academy. The essay concludes that it might be time for a new name that the activity can claim for its own.
Stressing A Developmental Approach Toward Persuasion In Interscholastic Forensics, Jim Schnell
Stressing A Developmental Approach Toward Persuasion In Interscholastic Forensics, Jim Schnell
Speaker & Gavel
A variety of models exist for teaching persuasive speaking to beginning speakers. A common shortcoming of models is that they require additional instruction to ensure student understanding. The Developmental Speech Sequence Model (DSSM) is an approach that can be applied effectively with beginning forensics competitors. The 10-point model described in this report is detailed but it also allows the speaker degrees of creative freedom. Forensics coaches can modify use of this model depending on the experience and skill level of the beginning competitor, allowing for a more customized approach that can benefit the student. Ten points within three sections comprise …
How Coaches Maintain The Status Quo: An Application Of Chaim Perelman’S Values And Universal Audience To Npda, Crystal Lane Swift
How Coaches Maintain The Status Quo: An Application Of Chaim Perelman’S Values And Universal Audience To Npda, Crystal Lane Swift
Speaker & Gavel
Chaim Perelman is explored as a rhetorically significant figure, beginning with a bit of background, delving into his theory, and finishing with some of his critics. His theories are still applicable today. All in all, Perelman is primarily concerned with the relationship between argumentation and value judgments. Overall, coaches and debaters alike could benefit from revisiting Perelman. This paper serves as a starting point to the current meta-debate over values and audiences within intercollegiate NPDA, where the same issues regarding value judgments and the universal audience are still raised.
The Next 50 Years Of Forensics: Acknowledging Problems, Preparing Solutions, Christopher P. Outzen, Lucas J. Youngvorst, Daniel Cronn-Mills
The Next 50 Years Of Forensics: Acknowledging Problems, Preparing Solutions, Christopher P. Outzen, Lucas J. Youngvorst, Daniel Cronn-Mills
Speaker & Gavel
In previous decades, forensics was a well-respected co-curricular activity, with students becoming involved as early as middle school and moving into colleges across the country. The activity provides a multitude of meanings for individuals, teams, and colleges across the nation conjuring feelings of friendship, community, education, leadership, and competition. Many within the forensic community know the reputation of this activity can be attributed to influential individuals such as Grace Walsh, L. E. Norton, and Larry Schnoor, among others. Despite the great past and present of this activity, the future is looming with potential pitfalls that could damage the activity. We …
Dsr-Tka: Reflective Thoughts, Larry Schnoor
Dsr-Tka: Reflective Thoughts, Larry Schnoor
Speaker & Gavel
When I was asked to write a short article about Delta Sigma Rho – Tau Kappa Alpha for the 50th anniversary issue of the Speaker and Gavel, I had no idea of how the project would bring so many memories. As with many former directors of forensic programs that were involved with DSR-TKA, I realized that when I had the opportunity to visit with some of them, we would have some memories we shared about a specific DSR-TKA national tournament. In doing some research for this article however, many additional memories came floating back into my mind.
Experiential Learning And The Basic Communication Course: A New Path To Assessing Forensic Learning Outcomes, Ben Walker
Experiential Learning And The Basic Communication Course: A New Path To Assessing Forensic Learning Outcomes, Ben Walker
Speaker & Gavel
Scholars have often touted the educational benefits of forensics (e.g.: Bartanen, 1998; Beasley, 1979; Brownlee, 1979; Ehninger, 1952; Gartell, 1973; Jensen, 2008; McBath, 1975; Millsap, 1998; Schroeder & Schroeder, 1995; Stenger, 1999; Yaremchuk, 1979). Critics, most notably Burnett, Brand, and Meister (2003), have argued forensics is only a competitive game with the idea of education used as a crutch to uphold the activity in the eyes of schools. While attempting to counter critics, many forensic educators have scrambled to find proof of student learning. Besides theoretical approaches to potential learning methods (e.g., Dreibelbis & Gullifor, 1992; Friedley, 1992; Sellnow, Littlefield, …
Hosting A Tournament, Larry Schnoor, Ben Stewart
Hosting A Tournament, Larry Schnoor, Ben Stewart
Speaker & Gavel
There comes a time in one's tenure as a Forensic Coach when one may think of hosting a tournament for various reasons. This can be a wonderful and meaningful experience for both you and the attending coaches and students, but it carries with it many challenges and a great deal of work. In trying to deal with what needs to be considered and planned in order to host a successful tournament, there are numerous elements that need to be given consideration. This article will at-tempt to provide you with guidelines and conditions to consider before one makes the final decision …
The First-Year Coach, Keith Bistodeau
The First-Year Coach, Keith Bistodeau
Speaker & Gavel
The first year coaching a team is both exciting and terrifying. The first year coaching a team is your first taste of the career you may be doing for the rest of your life, on top of teaching, research, having a family, and having social life. Some of you reading this article may have a plethora of experience in forensics as a competitor, graduate student assistant, judge, sibling, or friend, while others may have no experience in forensics at all. Don’t worry; we have all been in your shoes in one way or another. This article is a checklist for …
Budget Considerations, Larry Schnoor
Budget Considerations, Larry Schnoor
Speaker & Gavel
There are many responsibilities and duties for the director of forensics. One such responsibility that every coach will have to give very careful consideration and attention is the budget necessary for a sound forensic program. Yes, the question of funds is very important when one considers beginning and maintaining a sound forensic program in any college or university. We only have to look at how the events of the past few years have provided us with the evidence that our administrators are under the gun to tighten financial expenditures and in doing so, have begun to look closely at departments …
Judge Training: Judging Individual Events, Judging Parliamentary Debate, Judging Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Todd T. Holm, Justin Foote
Judge Training: Judging Individual Events, Judging Parliamentary Debate, Judging Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Todd T. Holm, Justin Foote
Speaker & Gavel
This article provides a tournament di-rector with a self-contained judge training packet that can be copied and handed to judges or modified with your tournament specific information. This article ex-plains the mechanics of judging Individual Events, Parliamentary Debate, and Lincoln-Douglas Debate by providing lay judges with help in terms of how to express their thoughts about the event they just watched. The following material does not, nor should any judge training, mandate what is good or bad in a perfor-mance, but rather describes how to provide valuable feedback based on their ed-ucated reactions to the performances.
"It's Only A Hired": An Instructional Look At The Forensic Ballot, Kittie Grace
"It's Only A Hired": An Instructional Look At The Forensic Ballot, Kittie Grace
Speaker & Gavel
The judge’s ballot, within the forensic community, is used as an educational tool. Yet, the tool is often dismissed by the students it is designed to help (Choui-nard, 2010). College forensic competitors repeatedly discredit ballots, especially if they are written by a “hired,” or nontraditional, judge (Hanson, 1998b). Through a content analysis, this study identifies that ballots from both hired judges or non-traditional judges and traditional judges (coaches) provide “speech acts” that in-struct students about their performances (Austin, 1962, p. 5). This research looks at the specific speech act differences identified between nontraditional and tradi-tional judge messages. The analysis suggests …
(Re)Building A Team Culture, Todd T. Holm
(Re)Building A Team Culture, Todd T. Holm
Speaker & Gavel
The purpose of this article is to provide a director of forensics who wishes to rebuild a forensics program with advice, ideas, and guidance based on organiza-tional theory, organizational change research, and lived experience. This article approaches organizational culture as a dynamic construct of an organization. “Proponents of the perspective of culture as a dynamic construct are interested in both a better understanding of organizations through application of a cultural per-spective and a conscious development of organizational culture” (Sackmann, 1990, p. 133). This perspective treats culture as something an organization is and something an organization has. The shaping of forensics …
Copycat Forensics: How Social Learning Problematizes Intercollegiate Forensic Performances, Alyssa Reid
Copycat Forensics: How Social Learning Problematizes Intercollegiate Forensic Performances, Alyssa Reid
Speaker & Gavel
This paper highlights noticeable problems stemming from students adopting forensic norms without critiquing practice. Although many pedagogically sound reasons account for some structural similarities in events, many performance choices enacted in forensic competition are not grounded in educational principles but are learned and fostered through social learning. Currently, students can achieve forensic success without developing sound reasons for performance choices. Uncovering the ways in which students, judges, and coaches, produce and reproduce copycat performances can improve overall academic and competitive rigor.
The 2015 State Of Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha, Ben Walker
The 2015 State Of Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha, Ben Walker
Speaker & Gavel
Brief history and update of the Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha organization.
This House Would Not Mix Burdens: The Conflation Of Fact, Value, And Policy In Npda, Crystal Lane Swift
This House Would Not Mix Burdens: The Conflation Of Fact, Value, And Policy In Npda, Crystal Lane Swift
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal
This paper explores the dispute in the forensic community over whether there is (or ought to be) a distinction between resolutions of fact, resolutions of value and resolutions of policy. This dispute is informed by philosophical literature on the subject in this paper. The philosophical positions are applied to the dispute in NPDA, and the author sides with the distinction rather than the collapse of the distinction. Theoretical, rhetorical, and pragmatic implications are drawn from the analysis, and pedagogical recommendations are made.
Dusting Off The Trophies: Filling The Gaps In The Forensics Collective Memory, Brian T. Taylor
Dusting Off The Trophies: Filling The Gaps In The Forensics Collective Memory, Brian T. Taylor
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal
With any organization or group, certain areas, events, and individuals eventually become forgotten and left out of the collective memory. Forensics, at the institutional level, is no exception. This essay explores the concept of collective memory, with particular attention to how some areas are left out. It examines how and why certain areas of forensics history are lost, and the impact that has on the forensics community. Finally, it offers some suggestions for forensics educations on how to keep desired stories from being left out of the collective memory. Advice includes recording the stories in written or audio/visual format, bringing …
Sit, Stand, Speak: Examining The Perceptions Of The Basic Public Speaking Student On Normative Forensic Practices And Their Effect On Competitor Credibility In Oratory, Katie Marie Brunner
Sit, Stand, Speak: Examining The Perceptions Of The Basic Public Speaking Student On Normative Forensic Practices And Their Effect On Competitor Credibility In Oratory, Katie Marie Brunner
All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects
This paper examines basic public speaking students' perceptions forensic competitor credibility based on normative factors present within the forensic community. Anecdotal and experiential evidence provided this researcher with reason to believe that the unwritten rules and normative expectations of forensics were so far-removed from what students were used to seeing in their classrooms and in the media, that they could have a negative impact on a competitor's ethos, from the basic public speaking students' perspective. This research was performed in an attempt to determine whether these anecdotal and experiential assumptions were accurate and also to gain insight into the how …