Education Commons^™

"These Lyrics But It's The Opening Of A Ted Talk" - A Public Speaking Activity Inspired By Tiktok, Abby Ferrell

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This activity encourages students to practice delivery skills in a fun and laid-back way that connects to social media. This activity can be used in-person or online and is intended for public speaking, oral/interpersonal communication, and introductory theatre classes. Based on content creator Madeleine Chalk’s “These lyrics but it’s the opening of a TED Talk” videos, students will deliver song lyrics as if they were giving a TED talk. In doing so, they will practice delivery skills such as eye contact, vocal variety, and body language. After the activity, students will debrief on the mechanics of delivery, audience engagement, and …

Gemstoning: Character Creation Exercise For The Classroom & Production, Abigail Dillard, Lucas Skjaret

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

In the summer of 2023, we participated in an online training course with the Stella Adler Studio of Acting titled Awareness Without Judgement: A Teacher Training Intensive. Over the weeks, we studied with three main teachers at the Studio on Character, Technique, and Script Interpretation with ‘master classes’ led by actors and scholars scattered over the weeks. The course is designed for theatre practitioners who want more in-depth experience and exposure to the more pedagogical side of acting and performance; in other words, for acting teachers who want to use the techniques of Stella Adler within their teaching. Given this …

"Like Grasping At Wisps Of Smoke:" Interactional And Educational Challenges For College Students With Invisible Chronic Physical And Mental Conditions, Jennifer A. Butler, Daniel P. Modaff

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Past research has explored the experiences of college students with chronic conditions from a variety of methodologies; however, student-driven, longer-term qualitative data is needed to explore how students with chronic conditions describe the challenges they face in attempting to manage their conditions and succeed in college. The current study gathered qualitative data in the form of daily journal entries over a 14-day period (pre-pandemic) from 23 college students who self-identified as having a chronic physical or mental condition. The themes were discussed through the lens of communication theory of resilience. We envision the management of student chronic illness as resiliency …

Review Of Storytelling On Screen: An Online Playback Theatre Archive And Guidebook, Lucas Skjaret

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Storytelling on Screen: An Online Playback Theatre Archive and Guidebook, https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/104420

Review Of Openstax College Success, Claudia G. Chiang-Lopez

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of OpenStax College Success, https://openstax.org/details/ books/college-success

Review Of Language And Culture In Context: A Primer On Intercultural Communication, Maria Subert

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Language and Culture in Context: A Primer on Intercultural Communication by Robert Goodwin-Jones, Virginia Commonwealth University, https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/978

Review Of Intercultural Communication For The Community College (Second Edition), Christina-Marie Magalona

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Intercultural Communication for the Community College (Second Edition) by Karen Krumrey, Lane Community College, https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/comm115/

Review Of A Guide To Good Reasoning: Cultivating Intellectual Virtues, Scott Andrews

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of A Guide to Good Reasoning: Cultivating Intellectual Virtues by D.C. Wilson (2020), University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, https://open.lib.umn.edu/goodreasoning/

Review Of Advanced Public Speaking, Karla Jennings

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Advanced Public Speaking by Lynn Meade, University of Arkansas, https://uark.pressbooks.pub/speaking/

Plot Yourself: An Audience Analysis Activity Modified For Online Learning, Dakota Horn, Shannon Sandoval, Cameron Horn

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This activity allows students to become visual depictions during audience analysis. The activity can be used in a face-to-face or online delivery, and also used as a post-assessment. The activity uses an interactive Google Sheet to replicate the act of moving around the classroom and provides an active approach to audience analysis. This active approach creates a bonding experience for students to begin exploring audience members’ knowledge and interest in topics to examine what it means to analyze an audience.

Review Of Writing Like A Pr Pro: Why Writing Is Still Crucial In A Digital And Visual World, Christopher Ortega

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Writing like a PR pro: Why writing is still crucial in a digital and visual world (2017) by Mary Sterenberg found at https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/writelikeapro/

Review Of Theatrical Worlds, Lucas Skjaret

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Theatrical Worlds (2014) found at https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00021870/00001.

Review Of Small Group Communication: Forming And Sustaining Teams, Justin Walton

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Small group communication: Forming and sustaining teams (2021) by Jasmine Linabary and Moon Castro found at https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/small-group-communication-forming-sustaining-teams.

Review Of Public Speaking: The Virtual Text, Tim Michaels

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Public speaking: The virtual text (2013), by Lisa Schreiber and Morgan Hartranft found at https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Public_Speaking_(The_Public_Speaking_Project).

Review Of Humans R Social Media, Alicen Rushevics

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Humans r social media by iVoices Media Lab and Diana Daly (2021) from the University of Arizona found at https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/hrsm/.

Review Of Exploring Public Speaking, Sean Te Maulding

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Exploring public speaking (2019) by Barbara Tucker, Kristin Barton, Amy Burger, Jerry Drye, Cathy Hunsicker, Amy Mendes, and Matthew LeHew found at https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/communication-textbooks/1/.

Review Of Communication In The Real World, Kelsey Denton

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Communication in the Real World (2016) by the University of Minnesota found at https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/communication-in-the-real-world-an-introduction-to-communication-studies.

Request Strategies Used By English Language Learners: Student-Professor Email Communication, Padam Chauhan

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Recently, email communication between students and professors in the U.S. higher educational institutions where English is the medium of instruction has become increasingly popular. However, ESL students in these educational institutions encounter numerous challenges to write email to their professors because of their unfamiliarity with email etiquette in English, inadequate English language proficiency, and lack of understanding of socio-cultural norms and values. Also, writing emails to professors requires higher pragmatic competence and critical language awareness of how email correspondence takes place in academic setting. Email requests written by ESL students are often seen as inappropriate or informal by their professors, …

The Evolution Of Antiracist Pedagogical Work: Pushing Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion To Undermine Oppressive Structures In Our Communication Classrooms, Kristen P. Treinen

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

In this paper, I explore the evolution of antiracist pedagogy. This paper helps to answer for communication educators: How did antiracist pedagogy emerge? Why did antiracist pedagogy emerge? Who does antiracist pedagogy serve? Exploring the historical context of multiculturalism, critical pedagogy, critical multiculturalism, antiracist pedagogy, and Whiteness studies provides a broad range of theoretical perspectives on multiculturalism as well as the how and why antiracist pedagogy emerged as a site for study. After reading this essay, educators should understand the need to push DEI to include antiracist work in our research, classrooms, and educational initiatives with our future educators, graduate …

Communication Apprehension In High School Students With Professional Practices, Jemma Wahl, Ben Walker

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Popularized by McCroskey (1970), the term “communication apprehension” is the broad term that refers to an individual’s “fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (McCroskey, 2001, p. 40). Research on high school students has been limited as well as testing on specific programs to decrease communication apprehension in high school students. With this in mind, the authors examined students at a high school program designed to train professional skills were surveyed before and after their training on presentations. Results indicated students associated less anxiety with public speaking after one semester of professional …

An Active Learning Approach To Listening: The Coin Drop Activity, Ronda Leahy, Michael Tollefson

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

There is considerable research examining listening, as it is an important skill. While listening skills are important, very little instructional time is devoted to developing those skills (Hopper, 2007). After completion of this activity, students are able to describe their own listening process and assess listening techniques. This activity works well to introduce the concept of listening and various components within the listening process. Students do not typically think of listening as a skill that they can improve. When we discuss the listening process, we can recall this activity to illustrate the connection between sensing and processing.

Stereotyping: An Open Conversation On The Establishment, Nature, And Impact Of Stereotypes On Society, Christina M. Van Essen

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Stereotypes are generalizations about groups of people that have impacted predominantly marginalized communities. We typically use stereotypes against a generalized other and some stereotypes have become part of our perceptual sets. This activity attempts to re-humanize stereotypes by confronting students with known stereotypes and makes students reflect on the impact of stereotypes on people’s lives.

A Precarious Prediction: Applying Predicted Outcome Value Theory To Classroom First Impressions, Joshua N. Westwick

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

First impressions have a significant impact on our initial and long-term communication interactions. The predicted outcome value theory suggests that the initial impressions we make upon meeting someone new stimulate us to make predictions about potential outcomes and values of continuing or terminating a relationship (Sunnafrank, 1986). This classroom activity provides an opportunity to explore predicted outcome value theory through application and discussion-based learning. Students have praised the activity and demonstrated growth in the learning outcomes.

Flashback To 1985: The State Of Speech And Debate: A National Perspective, Richard G. Fawcett

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Since I left Minnesota to join the staff at the National Federation of State High School Associations as their speech and music coordinator in July 1978, a number of forces have impacted America’s high schools, high school activities programs, and more specifically, high school speech and debate activities. I should like to focus on some of these forces tracing their eventual impact on speech and debate programs.

Public Speaking Tasks Across The University Curriculum, Gina Iberri-Shea

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Oral communication proficiency is often highlighted as an outcome of U.S. university curriculum, yet it is often unclear how it manifests in the classroom. This paper presents a series of surveys investigating oral communication tasks across the university. The focus of the analysis is on public speaking tasks occurring across disciplines. Results demonstrate that there is a wide range of tasks found in university syllabi, that group and individual presentations are the most prominent, and that communication studies incorporates task types unique to the discipline. Descriptions of the task types found within disciplines are provided, along with an analysis of …

Communicative Challenges In The Parent-Teacher Relationship Regarding Students With Special Needs, Jennifer A. Butler, Leslie Rogers, Daniel P. Modaff

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The current study explored the communicative challenges for parents and teachers of children with special needs. This qualitative study elicited interview data from both parents and teachers, and revealed that teachers were frustrated with parents not communicating regarding their special needs children in a way that could help prepare the teachers for the challenges they may face. Caregivers cited a lack of communication with teachers as problematic, as well as their perception of teacher as expert that led them to feel as if the teachers presented information in inaccessible ways. The findings are discussed through the lens of structuration theory.

Communication In Action: Educating Graduate Teaching Assistants In At-Risk Pedagogy, Kristen P. Treinen

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

I begin this paper with a glimpse into the literature concerning at-risk and antiracist theory in order to understand the connections between the two bodies of literature. Next, by combining two bodies of literature, I argue for the implementation of a pedagogy of hope, culturally relevant teaching, and empowerment for students in the classroom. Finally, I outline a course for graduate teaching assistants that explores the utility of a pedagogy of hope, culturally relevant teaching, and empowerment for students in the communication classroom.

Understanding Proxemics Through Restrooms: A "Hands-Off" Approach To Personal Space And Communication, Joshua Westwick

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Numerous methods of teaching nonverbal communication have been well documented in the literature. However, some instructors may struggle to create transformative learning experiences for their students. This teaching activity provides a creative and original way for students to discuss nonverbal communication, specifically proxemics, in a fun, engaging, and memorable learning experience. This exercise asks the learners to reflect upon a previous experience with using a public restroom, critically reflect upon that experience individually, engage in classroom discourse about the experience, and take action by being aware of the space and territoriality choices they make. Students have responded positively to the …

Doubling Down On Student Discussion: A Simple Technique For Increased Involvement, J. Jacob Jenkins

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Objectives

1. Students will actively participate in classroom discussion.

2. Students will learn to not “over share,” allowing opportunities for others to speak.

3. Students will be accountable for the material discussed in class.

The Art Of Making Conversation: Learning The Skills Small Talk, Kelly L. Mckay-Semmler, Shane Semmler

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Although “small talk” is often dismissed as trifling and superficial communication, the ability to converse comfortably with potential relational partners in initial interpersonal encounters is foundational to building closer relationships. In this assignment, students enhance their interpersonal communication competence through the application of six small talk guidelines in two peer-to-peer conversations and in a capstone conversation with the instructor one-on-one. This assignment is appropriate for a variety of communication courses, including the basic course, interpersonal communication, and courses in professional communication, as it develops students’ skills in active listening, self-disclosure, nonverbal immediacy, and anxiety/uncertainty management in interpersonal communication with strangers.