Education Commons^™

The Horse's Ass: A Survey Of Comediology, William M. Fisk

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

What is comedy? Can someone learn to be funny? Are there rules or guidelines for the production of laughter, the universal language? This paper, which outlines an investigation of successful comedians and the production of a short film, determines to aggregate as many of the relevant prerequisites of inducing giggles as possible, especially as they relate to the audiovisual medium of cinema.

Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety: Practical Applications For Classroom Instruction, Joshua N. Westwick

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

During the 2013 Speech Communication Association of South Dakota annual conference, there was a lively discussion surrounding students’ Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA). During the dialogue, numerous strategies on how to help reduce students’ speaking anxiety were discussed. However, I was surprised at the number of suggestions that refuted tested and proven strategies for PSA reduction. Moreover, I was startled and dismayed to hear comments such as “I have just given up and allowed my students to read from a manuscript” or “the only way I can get [my students] to stay calm is when I allow them to write as …

So, You’Re A New Forensics Coach?: Establishing An Oral Interpretation Program And Culture Of Success, Barb Kleinjan

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

As many new English and Speech instructors quickly realize, their first teaching contract will most certainly include forensic extra-curricular activities. By the simple virtue of training to become fine arts teachers, administrators and principals may assign the coaching of Debate, One Act Plays or Oral Interpretation to their contracts, even though the individual may have had no experience in any of those activities. In my first secondary school contract, I was required to coach Oral Interpretation, three One Act Plays and the spring All School Play. My drama background consisted of a knowledge and appreciation for Shakespeare, yet with no …

Guide To The Pyschological Development Of Expression Collection, College Archives & Special Collections

Collection Guides / Finding Aids

This guide describes the organization and scope of the Psychological Development of Expression books from the Columbia School of Oratory archival collection, housed within the College Archives and Special Collections at Columbia College Chicago. The Psychological Development of Expression is four-volume set of texts on expression, public speaking, and oratory for practical use by students of the Columbia School of Oratory in Chicago.

Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On a campus where women make up a majority of the student population, it is especially important that female voices are heard and given a platform on which they can control their own narrative. I wanted to give those female-identifying voices that platform. I conducted a series of interviews to examine how college-aged female-identifying students feel about their identity and how they construct that identity within the climate of the JMU community. I was particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, and ability. I asked each person to share their stories of times when they …

Argument Education In Higher Education: A Validation Study, Paul E. Mabrey Iii

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Argument education can play an important role in higher education for leadership development and responding to increasing calls for post-secondary accountability. But to do so, argumentation teachers, scholars, and practitioners need to develop a clearer definition and research agenda for the purposes of teaching and assessing argumentation. The research conducted here contributes to this project by first establishing a definitional construct and observable behaviors associated with learning and practicing argumentation. Second, an argument education assessment instrument was created based off of the literature-supported definition of argumentation. Third, debate and argument education subject matter experts reviewed the definition, behaviors, and assessment …

Communication Apprehension Among Community College Students: A Phenomenology, John R. Bragg Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore the phenomenon of communication apprehension among a purposeful sample of five community college students with high levels of communication apprehension. The phenomenon of Communication Apprehension (CA) is “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (Beatty, McCroskey, & Heisel, 1998, p. 197; McCroskey, 1970, p. 269). All individuals experience some level of CA, and between 30% and 40% of individuals are estimated to experience high levels of CA. For the community college student with high levels of CA, the introductory communication course …

A Rhetorical Criticism Of Waiting For Superman, Jordan L. Baxter

Communication Studies

This project analyzes the documentary Waiting for Superman in order to better understand the rhetoric surrounding public education in America. I perform a close textual analysis of the documentary and explore the rhetorical strategies the film uses to persuade its audience. Through my analysis I argue that Waiting for Superman employs rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to successfully characterize the public school system as a failing institution. This failure is largely blamed on teachers unions who are vilified throughout the film and shown to be preventing progressive reforms from passing. Lastly, through the use of identification Waiting for …

Call For Manuscripts, Joseph P. Mazer

Basic Communication Course Annual

Submissions are invited for publication consideration in Volume 30 of the Basic Communication Course Annual (2018). Managed by the Basic Course Division of the National Communication Association and published by the University of Dayton, the Annual publishes the best scholarship available on topics related to the basic course and is distributed nationally to scholars and educators interested in the basic communication course. Each article will be published online and indexed on the journal’s website.

All manuscripts submitted to the Annual will undergo blind peer review. Two or three members of the editorial board read and review each manuscript. The …

Centering Information Literacy (As) Skills And Civic Engagement In The Basic Communication Course: An Integrated Course Library Collaboration, Liliana Herakova, Jennifer Bonnet, Mark Congdon Jr.

Basic Communication Course Annual

In an era of proliferating “fake news” stories (Fisher, Cox, & Herman, 2016; Mikkelson, 2016; Rutenberg, 2016; Tavernise, 2016), and a “post-truth” political climate (Higgins, 2016; Oxford Dictionaries, 2016), the need to pair public communication and civil discourse with information literacy instruction is more important than ever. A recent study by researchers at Stanford University revealed an alarming trend among students from middle school to college: while students at various stages of their formative education may have a facility with social media use and Internet navigation, they are easily deceived when asked to determine if the information they have read …

Embracing Social Media In The Basic Communication Course: Recommendations For The Digital Age, Soo-Kwang Oh, Jennifer S. Owlett

Basic Communication Course Annual

For communication scholars, the “bread and butter” (Dance, 2002), or “front porch” (Beebe, 2013), of the discipline is the basic course. The basic course is “that communication course either required or recommended for a significant number of undergraduates; that course which the department has, or would recommend as a requirement for all or most undergraduates” (Morreale, Hanna, Berko, & Gibson, 1999, p. 3). Most departments provide either a public speaking or hybrid course as their basic course (Valenzano, Wallace, & Morreale, 2014). Part of maintaining this “porch” is understanding what adaptations are needed. The basic communication course has undergone several …

Universal Adaptation: The Need To Enhance Accessibility In The Basic Course, Michael G. Strawser, Brandi N. Frisby, Renee Kaufmann

Basic Communication Course Annual

It is well-documented that the basic course is the front porch of the communication discipline (Beebe, 2013). Regularly part of general education, the basic course introduces students who may never experience another communication course to communication-based content. Because of the prominence of the basic course in general education, the scope of participating students is vast in terms of motivation and ability. This varied population may present several challenges for basic course instructors. One oft-forgotten issue, or an afterthought in course design, is the development and implementation of accessible basic course delivery and materials for students with disabilities. We believe it …

Adapting The Basic Communication Course For A Globally And Technologically Mediated 21st-Century Context, Michael G. Strawser, Janet K. Mccormick

Basic Communication Course Annual

The global marketplace is ripe for a reiteration (or a reminder) of the characteristics of an effective international communicator. Thankfully, the basic course, the “front porch” of the communication discipline (Beebe, 2013), may serve as a catalyst for pinpointed transcultural communication skills training. As communication knowledge and skills training increases in domestic and global importance (Morreale, Myers, Backlund, & Simonds, 2016), it is imperative that the basic communication course adapts to meet the demands of an international job market for communication practitioners. As such, this forum piece will address desirable international professional communication behavior and position a revised basic course …

Capitalizing On The Inevitable: Adapting To Mobile Technology In The Basic Communication Course, Brandi N. Frisby

Basic Communication Course Annual

It is undeniable that college classrooms have evolved. Students are reliant on, and connected to, friends, family, and endless amounts of information through convenient, affordable, and mobile technology (Kuznekoff & Tisworth, 2013). Although Wei and Leung (1999) reported students found classrooms to be the least acceptable public place for cell phone use, this has not deterred the classroom from becoming “deeply saturated” by mobile devices (Kuznekoff, Munz, & Titsworth, 2015, p. 344). Instructors report technology challenges their “beliefs about the nature of learning and their role in the classroom” (Fairchild, Meiners, & Violette, 2016, p. 99). Despite student and faculty …

Basic Course Forum: Section Introduction

Basic Communication Course Annual

The Basic Course Forum is designed to invite scholars and basic course practitioners to propose and debate specific key questions of concern related to the basic course. The 2016 topic is “Adaptation.” Submissions address how the basic course has in the past adapted to changing demands or in the future can adapt thusly. In crafting the essays, authors were asked to focus on one demand or constraint that either has, does, or likely will influence the delivery and/or content of the basic course. They were asked to explain the constraint, how it is tied to the basic course, and what …

A Blended Basic Course Examination Of Communication Apprehension And Self-Efficacy: A Comparative Analysis, Michael G. Strawser, Amy. L. Housley Gaffney, Allyson Devito, Sarah E. Kercsmar, Michael Pennell

Basic Communication Course Annual

Students desire rich subject-matter and relevant pedagogy despite rising tuition costs, greater demands for flexibility, and unique learning preferences (Allen & Seaman, 2014; Donnelly, Rizvi, & Summers, 2013; Reed & Sork, 2009; Moore, 2007). As higher education modalities have evolved a careful examination of these newer approaches is necessary. This study is a comparative assessment of communication apprehension and self-efficacy of students in traditional (face-to-face) and blended (face-to-face and online instructional components) basic course modalities. Parallel sections of a basic communication course are assessed and results indicated no significant differences between the two groups with minor exceptions.

Basic Communication Course Students’ Perceptions Of The Purpose And Their Role In The Peer Feedback Process, Angela M. Hosek, Stevie Munz, Keith C. Bistodeau, Zamzam Jama, Andrew Frisbie, Sonia Rains Ivancic

Basic Communication Course Annual

Students enrolled in the basic communication course often engage in peer feedback workshops to enhance presentational speaking competence. As such, peer feedback workshops in the basic communication course provide an opportunity for students to provide and receive feedback on speech form, structure, and delivery (Broeckelman-Post & Hosek, 2014). The present study qualitatively examined data from 110 students enrolled in a basic communication course to determine their perceptions of the peer feedback process and what role(s), if any, they believed they had in the peer feedback process. Our thematic analysis revealed that students’ perceive peer feedback as a form of agency, …

The Impact Of Public Speaking And Hybrid Introductory Communication Courses On Student Perceptions Of Homophily And Classroom Climate, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, Brenda L. Macarthur

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study examines whether public speaking and hybrid introductory communication courses contribute to whether students feel connected to one another as a result of taking the course. Results indicate that students develop stronger perceptions of homophily and connected classroom climate over time, and this growth is slightly larger in public speaking courses than in hybrid introductory communication courses. Attendance impacted the levels of perceived homophily and connected classroom climate at the end of the course. However, perceived homophily did not predict academic performance in either course, and perceptions of classroom connectedness only predicted the academic performance of students in the …

Research Articles: Section Introduction

Basic Communication Course Annual

The Basic Communication Course Annual publishes the best scholarship available on topics related to the basic course and is distributed nationally to scholars and educators interested in the basic communication course. Each article is indexed in its entirety in the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), an authoritative database of educational literature and resources. Essential for education researchers of all kinds, it features journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index.

Manuscripts published in the Basic Communication Course Annual are not restricted to any particular methodology or approach. They address issues that are significant …

Editor's Page, Joseph M. Valenzano Iii

Basic Communication Course Annual

The editor, Joseph Valenzano III, provides a summary on the content of Volume 29 and reflects on his term of service as editor of the Basic Communication Course Annual.

Front Cover, Title Page, Contents, Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Exploring Diversity, Citizenship, And Gender Through Jazz: A Narrative Criticism Of I Am Jazz, Mary Beth Jones

Northwest Communication Association Conference Papers & Presentations

In this study, a narrative analysis of a children’s picture book was conducted to uncover how young audiences are taught about diversity and inclusion through books. The setting, characters, narrator, and target audiences of the 2014 book I am Jazz were evaluated to decipher how readers are educated about transgenderism and diversity in greater context. Specific rhetorical qualities in the visual and written elements emphasize the importance of diversity, uniqueness, individuality, and acceptance. This particular book has created a range of support and protest since its publication, and it is an important example of the emotional and political power of …

Developing A Senior Capstone And Portfolio Course, Nanette Johnson-Curiskis, Daniel Cronn-Mills, Warren Sandmann

Daniel Cronn-Mills, Ph.D.

Our purpose in this essay is to explain how the Speech Communication Department at Minnesota State University, Mankato developed a senior capstone and portfolio course. We describe how this course helped the department improve its curriculum and teaching, and helped its students enhance their learning of the discipline.

Editor's Special Section-Larry Schnoor: A Celebration Of His Impact On Intercollegiate Forensics, Richard Paine, Karen R. Morris, Daniel L. Smith, R. Randolph Richardson, Joann M. Edwards, Daniel Cronn-Mills, Larry Schnoor

Daniel Cronn-Mills, Ph.D.

This panel is honoring Professor Larry Schnoor for his lifelong contribu-tions to Intercollegiate Forensics. National Individual Events Tournaments have continued to flourish under his direction. In addition, his constant mentoring has guaranteed the life of this activity. Panelists will describe Professor Schnoor‘s impact on the AFA-NIET, NFA, IOC and both his mentoring of forensic coaches and programs. Professor Schnoor will help to clarify and add to this oral history.

Othering Others: Right-Wing Populism In Uk Media Discourse On “New” Immigration, Grace E. Fielder, Theresa Catalano

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Right wing populism is on the rise. Through the use of othering, right-wing groups delimit their own identities while excluding others. The purpose of this chapter is to shed light on how European mediated public spheres (such as reader responses to media discourse) constitute an important domain of identity articulation and struggle through the discursive construction of the ‘Other’. In this case, the others come from the Central and Eastern European countries that are perceived as newcomers to Western Europe due to the consecutive enlargements of the European Union. Specifically, this chapter provides an in-depth analysis of 236 reader comments …

Ua37/6 Faculty Personal Papers L.Y. Lancaster, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records regarding the nomination of Lennie Lancaster for the Kentucky Medical Association and Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians awards. The series is arranged in chronological order. A short biographical sketch by Dr. Jerry W. Martin, who made the nominations, is included. Dr. Lancaster's diplomas are in the collection, as well as an oral history interview conducted in 1973 which tells, among other things, of his work to establish Western's first campus bookstore in the summer of 1921. The collection also includes the KMA and KAFP awards, as well as several other certificates and awards.