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A Speech Communication Program In Malaysia: Case Study In The Conundrums Of Teaching Abroad, Robert C. Dick, Brenda M. Robinson

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article deals with a study which aims to discover directly the unique elements of the culture of the Institut Teknologi MARA/Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities (ITM/MUCIA) students that affect their speech communication. There are multiple influences on student behaviors and no generalizations can he made to fit all students at MUCIA. But, there were some characteristics that were extremely common. A survey of the ITM/MUCIA faculty and staff, from a wide cross-section of Americans and Malaysians, revealed near unanimity on strengths and weaknesses of Malaysian students, reflecting the nature of their earlier learning styles. The substance of classroom …

The Development Of A Skill-Mastery Assessment For A Basic Speech Course, Shelley D. Lane

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article describes the creation of an interpersonal skill-mastery assessment for a basic course. In order to assess directly students' ability to perform skills, a search was begun to find a workable method to assess the performance of interpersonal skills in a required core course. After concluding that little research exists concerning basic course assessment, and that standardized assessment instruments may not be readily applicable to a basic course, faculty decided to create a new assessment instrument based on objective and subjective criteria. Faculty determined the skills to be tested, the manner in which students were to be assessed, and …

The Troubled Waters Of Communication Research: A Position Paper, Larry Z. Leslie

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article explores some of the problems faced by journalism and communication research. This effort is designed to stimulate thought and further discussion. This position paper calls for action to address some of the problems faced by communication researchers. It might be useful to begin with some basic definitions. Although many differences exist in departments of journalism, mass communication, and speech communication, for present purposes, the term communication shall refer broadly to all these specialties. Curricula, faculty training, students, research agendas, research methodology, teaching loads, and the like all differ. The terms research and scholarship have precise meanings to many, …

Front Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Theory And Pedagogy In The Basic Course: A Summary From Spano And Hickson, Mark Hickson Iii

Basic Communication Course Annual

I, too, have been pleased about the exchange of insights relative to the practical approach to teaching the basic course, as suggested by Spano (1996). While I agree with much of what Spano wrote, I am still concerned about the nature and status of some of the “theory” that has been developed and that is being developed in the discipline. To understand my overall view, however, one must review information about the nature of theory from meta-theoreticians, or critics of theory. And I think that we will find that there are some similarities between a practical view of theory and …

Teaching The Honors Public Speaking Course, Karla Kay Jensen, David E. Williams

Basic Communication Course Annual

The honors student comes to the public speaking class with a unique set of needs and learning preferences which require alterations to the traditional course. This article explores a variety of honors course formats, honors students’ characteristics and learning preferences, and some ideas for restructuring the typical public speaking course to best accommodate honors students. As such, this article can serve as an initial step toward creating a new honors course or restructuring an existing course. The suggested formats and content changes can create added challenge and participatory experience to improve honors education.

Author Identifications

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Policy

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Envisioning A Capstone Course In Communication: The View From A Departmental Armchair, William J. Seiler

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

For many departments, the need to develop an assessment package has been the driving force in the consideration of adding a capstone course to their communication curricula. But there are other reasons to justify the creation of such a course. In general, the capstone course has been described by some as a course in which students are required to integrate diverse bodies of knowledge to solve a problem or formulate a policy of societal importance. The dictionary describes a capstone as the “final or crowning part.” That may be a bit presumptuous, but it illustrates the notion of what most …

The Basic Course And The Future Of The Workplace, Andrew D. Wolvin

Basic Communication Course Annual

The preparation of students to function as effective communicators in the workplace is an important goal of the basic communication course. To meet this goal, students must be equipped with speaking and listening competencies in order to do their work. The basic hybrid course with units in intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and public communication offers a viable framework for workplace communication.

Commentary: The Research Foundation For Instruction In The Beginning Public Speaking Course, Lawrence W. Hugenberg, Barbara S. Moyer

Basic Communication Course Annual

The history of public speaking instruction is rooted in classical rhetorical theories. There is a lack of recent communication research findings cited in textbooks to support instruction in the beginning public speaking course. This research examined five leading public speaking texts in the hopes of finding contemporary communication research findings to support the advice given to students. This survey reveals little research being cited in beginning public speaking texts. The authors conclude with a discussion of reasons why research is not cited and offer communication scholars a challenge to conduct research to support pedagogical claims.

Graduate Teaching Assistant Training: Preparing Instructors To Assist Esl Students In The Introductory Public Speaking Course, Brooke L. Quigley, Katherine G. Hendrix, Karen Freisem

Basic Communication Course Annual

Much research identifies the need to assist English as a Second Language (ESL) students in our classrooms. Some communication educators have addressed this need by enrolling students in special sections of introductory courses for ESL students only. With a focus specifically on graduate teaching assistant (GTA) training, this paper suggests ways to assist ESL students, along with native speaking students, enrolled in regular sections of the introductory public speaking course. We first identify steps for assessing whether an ESL student is appropriately enrolled in a course. We then focus on ways instructors can assist ESL students with: 1) pronunciation, comprehensibility, …

The Debate On The Uses Of Practical Theory Continues, Lawrence W. Hugenberg

Basic Communication Course Annual

The first two essays by Spano and Hickson (Basic Communication Course Annual 8, 1996) involved some crucial issues about where the basic communication course stands in relation to theory, research, and practice. In this second round, specific examples are discussed by Spano. Hickson attempts to contextualize them. Such specificity involves delineating the nature of communication theory from a pragmatic perspective, not ideological from either a phenomenological not a positivistic stance. The importance of context is stressed and outlined as an aspect of human nature—perhaps the element which separates us from other living beings.

Contents

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Predictors Of Self-Perceptions Of Behavioral Competence, Self-Esteem, And Willingness To Communicate: A Study Assessing Impact In A Basic Interpersonal Communication Course, Sherwyn P. Morreale, Michael Z. Hackman, Michael R. Neer

Basic Communication Course Annual

Considering the emergent role of evaluation in higher education, it is important that assessment procedures be developed for all communication courses. Courses such as public speaking already have well established assessment programs while other courses are in need of additional attention. This article describes an assessment program that examines the impact of an interpersonal course on undergraduates' self-perceived behavioral and affective competence. Using a pre- and post-test model, assessment was based on administration of the Communication Behaviors Inventory, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Willingness to Communicate Scale. These outcomes were measured as a function of gender, age, and ethnicity. …

Learning Style Preferences And Academic Achievement Within The Basic Communication Course, Charles A. Lubbers, William J. Seiler

Basic Communication Course Annual

Students enrolled in a basic communication course taught using the personalized system of instruction (PSI) were studied to determine the influence of learning style preferences on academic achievement. The twenty measures of the Canfield Learning Style Inventory (CLSI) were regressed with three measures of student academic achievement. Eight of the twenty were significant in at least one of the three equations. Two of the learning style measures (class organization and performance expectations) were significant with all three measures of achievement. Two applications of the findings for basic course instructors are presented.

Applying Multiple Intelligences Theory To The Basic Public Speaking Course, Kristi A. Schaller, Marybeth G. Callison

Basic Communication Course Annual

This article examines the theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) (Gardner, 1983; 1993) as it applies to the basic public speaking course. According to MI theory, intelligence is not a single dimension but is a composite of several aptitudes and talents. Gardner believes that individuals possess more than one intelligence, and MI theory defines seven. We argue that the basic public speaking course is an excellent forum for addressing students’ multiple intelligences while teaching oral and written communication skills. This paper introduces MI theory and provides suggested course assignments and activities that correspond with the multiple intelligences.

Delineating The Uses Of Practical Theory: A Reply To Hickson, Shawn Spano

Basic Communication Course Annual

Let me begin by thanking Professor Hickson for his comments on the article I published in the 1996 issue of the Basic Communication Course Annual (Hickson, 1996; Spano, 1996). I consider it a compliment that my ideas about practical theory interested him enough to write a rejoinder. More importantly, Hickson’s response provides us with an opportunity to “continue the conversation” on the role of theory in the basic course. It might be useful here to provide some background on how this conversation started.

In 1995 I presented a paper on practical theory on a SCA program sponsored by the Basic …

Back Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 10

Basic Communication Course Annual

Full issue (174 pages, 6.4 MB)

Careers In Communication: An Update, Andrew D. Wolvin

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

The article presents an update on career in speech communication. Research supports that communication skills are critically important for entry-level jobs and for career success. Graduates were asked to identify their first job and their present job in an effort to determine how people are able to use a Speech Communication degree to advance in their careers. The positions reported by our graduates are found throughout the workplace: educational institutions; businesses; trade associations; law firms; public relations firms; health organizations; media; religious institutions; government; entertainment; and financial institutions. Respondents were asked to identify what communication issues are the most pressing …

Course Fee Assessments: University Of Tennessee, Knoxville, Bill Black

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article provides information on several student fees assessed in various departments at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as of May 1998. In the Department of Music, the music fee, $60 for one half-hour lesson per week, per semester and $120 for one hour lesson per week, per semester is published in the undergraduate catalog. This amount is up from $45 and $90 in the 1994-95 catalog. This fee is collected as a part of registration to help defer the additional costs of one-on-one teaching. Some portion of the revenue from this fee is returned to the department for the …

Administering The Hybrid Department: A National Survey Of Combined Communications/Theatre Arts Departments, Ellen Halperin-Royer

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

The article presents a study which aims to discover characteristics of hybrid speech/theatre departments that describe themselves as highly cooperative and collegial. To test the hypothesis that departments that are highly integrated between disciplines enjoy higher degrees of cooperation than departments where the disciplines function independently, a national survey of combined speech/theatre departments was conducted. The first procedure was a mail survey, which was followed by a telephone survey. The mail questionnaire began with a question regarding the types of degrees offered by the department. The survey then included a series of yes/no questions pertaining to the degree of integration …

The Praxis Of Narrative Assessment: Communication Competence In An Information Age, Pat Arneson, Ronald C. Arnett

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

The article suggests addressing communication competence from a perspective outside the behavioral orientation to communication. Dialogue presupposes both the general public and the academy meeting one another in serious conversation about educational assessment. Ignoring assessment will not make persistent calls for accountability disappear. The routine use of negation of authority leads the way for a powerful enemy to take the public stage from the spectators who by that time have confused the critical life of a spectator with active participation in the culture for too long. Assessment is an inescapable part of the evaluation process. How to determine when communication …

Developing An Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Program In Communication: Values, Curriculum, And Preliminary Assessment, Thomas J. Socha

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article describes a case study of a Communication Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) program and reports a limited, preliminary assessment of the teaching effectiveness of 25 UTA. The article concludes by identifying various benefits and drawbacks of Communication UTA programs and offers recommendations for departments interested in developing similar programs. Communication faculty were initially skeptical of the idea of having undergraduates serve as teachers. This prompted discussions about the underlying values that might serve as building blocks of a UTA program. The label UTA is used to refer to a supervised teaching role occupied by an undergraduate. The role of …

Strategies For Effective Mentoring And For Being Effectively Mentored: A Focus On Research Institutions, Deborah Borisoff

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article focuses on the positive aspects of mentoring teachers within the field of communication. Department chairs ought to question the usefulness and effectiveness of this type of mentoring and consider strategies that will be helpful when new faculty are ultimately reviewed for promotion and tenure. The article examines the mentor's functions and indicate special concerns that may affect mentoring in academia. The paper argues that a formal mentoring process benefits the new hiree. The paper provides concrete guidance that a mentor can offer in the areas of scholarship, teaching, and service. These strategies focus on institutions where scholarship counts …

A National Survey Of Core Course Requirements, Department Names, And Undergraduate Program Titles In Communication, Corwin P. King

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article presents a survey which assessed the typical number of core courses college departments have, the most commonly used ones, and, in a general way, their contents. The article also provides data on department names and undergraduate program areas for a picture of the communication discipline in the 1990s. First, with regard to core course requirements, the following observations are noted: Though a majority of departments now have some type of core course requirement, a strong minority don't. Departments that have a core typically have a small one. There is a good deal of variation in cores, but one …

The Development Of An Interactive Video Masters Program In Communication Education, Ronnie Bankston, Mary Bozik

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

The article offers a model for other institutions that may be considering the development of an interactive video Masters Degree program, to share the process by which this program was designed and approved, and examines the issues and challenges confronted. This article is an attempt to help communication administrators benefit from our experience and gain insight into the considerations involved in the development of an M.A. offered via distance learning. The course offerings are based on a view that secondary and community college teachers are required to be generalists since they most often teach a wide variety of topics in …