Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Consistency And Change: The (R)Evolution Of The Basic Communication Course, Joesph M. Valenzano, Samuel P. Wallace, Sherwyn P. Morreale

Communication Faculty Publications

The basic communication course, with its roots in classical Greece and Rome, is frequently a required course in general education. The course often serves as our “front porch,” welcoming new students to the Communication discipline. This essay first outlines early traditions in oral communication instruction and their influence on future iterations of the course. In addition, because fundamental changes in higher education in more modern times affected emphases and delivery of the course, we focus on the relationship between general education and the basic course and the significant curricular changes to the course during the latter part of the 20th …

Cowboys, Angels, And Demons: American Exceptionalism And The Frontier Myth In The Cw's 'Supernatural', Joesph M. Valenzano

Communication Faculty Publications

The CW network series Supernatural (2005–) draws its text from the horror and fantasy genres as well as religious mythology. Concurrently, it transmits a core “American” mythos. As its protagonists keep watch along a supernatural frontier and eradicate threats to the American way of life, this program both reinforces and alters aspects of the frontier myth and the myth of American exceptionalism by depicting its main characters as representations of America writ large whose mission has grown from an appointment by God to being equals to God.

In this manner, Supernatural forwards a new American exceptionalism through the notion that …

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Public Address As The Basic Communication Course, William R. Upchurch

Basic Communication Course Annual

Public speaking has been at the heart of our discipline from its conceptual foundations in the ancient world to the founding of the National Council of Academic Teachers of Public Speaking in 1914. According to a longitudinal series of studies surveying the basic course in communication, the vast majority of such courses are either wholly or partially devoted to public speaking skill acquisition (Morreale, Worley, & Hugenberg, 2010). Though the field has fractured into an interdisciplinary mélange over the last century, public speaking has held onto its primacy, at least as the visible face of most departments. In fact, its …

Contents And Abstracts

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Communication Apprehension In Hybrid And Public Speaking Basic Communication Course Textbooks, Emily A. Paskewitz

Basic Communication Course Annual

For students enrolled in the basic communication course, their primary source for information about communication apprehension comes from the course textbook. Previous researchers have content analyzed textbooks for their coverage of communication apprehension in public speaking textbooks, but none have compared hybrid textbooks and public speaking textbooks. Twenty basic communication course textbooks, ten hybrid and ten public speaking, were analyzed for how they address communication apprehension. Results were consistent with previous research regarding communication apprehension in public speaking textbooks, noting few changes over the past 30 years. Implications for the basic communication course, along with suggestions for future research regarding …

Submission Guidelines

Basic Communication Course Annual

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Index Of Titles And Authors, Volumes 1-25

Basic Communication Course Annual

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Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 26

Basic Communication Course Annual

Full issue (276 pages, 9.7 MB)

Get @ Us! Using Social Media To Market Libraries, Assist Patrons And Revitalize Outreach Efforts, Katy Kelly, Gwen Glazer

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

The rise of social media created a whole new world for libraries in terms of public relations, marketing, and outreach-and it has created a new world for library staff members as well. Social media, outreach, and marketing are integral parts of our day-to-day work at university libraries.

Our duties include managing our libraries' social media channel, through platforms that can reach thousands of people in an instant. These platforms provide jumping-off points for opportunities and challenges: keeping up with social media's charge to be instantaneous, fresh, and innovative while maintaining libraries' core values of helping users and facilitating knowledge.

We …

World Theatre, Michelle Hayford

Communication Faculty Publications

When approaching the topic of world theatre, it is necessary to first dispel some popular myths about theatre forms that are outside the traditional Western theatre aesthetic or canon. For the purposes of this chapter, selected examples of world theatre, including theatre of the Western world, are explored. However, there is a focus on the historical trajectory of traditional performance forms of non-Western countries. With the exception of efforts to preserve these traditional forms, it is important to note that “world” theatre is not code for static performance that resists evolution. Nor is world theatre “primitive” or simple. In this …

Mapping Reality: An Introduction To Theatre, Charlie Mitchell, Michelle Hayford

Communication Faculty Publications

This book seeks to give insight into the people and processes that create theatre. Like any other world—be it horse racing, fashion, or politics—understanding its complexities helps you appreciate it on a deeper plane. The intent of this book is not to strip away the feeling of magic that can happen in the presence of theatre but to add an element of wonder for the artistry that makes it work. At the same time, you can better understand how theatre seeks to reveal truths about the human condition; explores issues of ethics, gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and spirituality; and exists …

Suit My Heart: Staging Foster Youth Narratives That Hit Home, Michelle Hayford

Communication Faculty Publications

While devising Suit My Heart, I relied upon my training in the ‘three A’s’ of performance studies conceived by my late mentor Dwight Conquergood as “artistry, analysis and activism” (2002: 152). With these ‘three A’s’ in mind, I set out to facilitate a devising process and create an artistic product that would positively serve all communities involved. The quality of the project would be determined not only by the efficacy of the play that we produced in the end, but by the personal growth of my students and the empowerment of our community partners throughout the process. Discovering the reach …

The Communication Center At U.S. Colleges And Universities: A Descriptive Overview, Luke Lefebvre, Leah Lefebvre

Basic Communication Course Annual

Communication centers were originally designed to augment the basic communication course and assist students in the development of their oral communication skills. According to the National Association of Communication Centers (2012), there are currently over 70 communication centers in the United States. This study offers a descriptive investigation of communication centers at colleges and universities from communication center directors. Our purpose is to provide data about the nature and state of centers so that it may inform others about how to develop, maintain, and compare centers’ trends and tendencies. This investigation discusses the following communication center information: (a) institutional context, …

The Role Of Public Relations In Social Capital And Civic Engagement, Weiwu Zhang, Alan Abitbol

Communication Faculty Publications

Public relations scholars have increasingly argued for the broader role of public relations and strategic communication in society (e.g., Taylor, 2010). That is, how can knowledge of public relations be used to make society better rather than simply making organizations more effective? This study examines how different types of public relations and strategic communication efforts contribute to citizens’ social capital and civic engagement. Specifically, this study uses data from the 2010 Pew Internet and American Life Project ‘Social Side of the Internet’ survey to examine the relationship between various strategic communication efforts by social, civic, professional, and religious organizations and …

Editor's Page, Joseph M. Valenzano Iii

Basic Communication Course Annual

This year the National Communication Association (NCA) celebrates its centennial. NCA began over a dispute between speech teachers and English teachers over the perception of oral communication receiving less instructional attention, and for the last century communication experts have been the primary party responsible for communication instruction of college students. Over the years the basic course has largely been focused on public speaking as the course to deliver this instruction, though we developed, and still teach, interpersonal communication and hybrid courses that also include small group communication. There have been several different venues in which the basic communication course has …

Preparing To Learn: Structuring The Basic Course To Increase Student Preparation And Learning, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, Melissa F. Tindage, Jewlz M. Shaffer, Chantel Solomon, Sarah J. Black, Mylen F. Yamamoto

Basic Communication Course Annual

This manuscript investigates whether frequent quizzing might facilitate greater preparation and learning in the Basic Course and tests variations of frequent quizzing through a series of three separate studies in order to identify best practices for using such quizzes. The first study showed that students who were given frequent quizzes performed better on the final exam than students who were given a midterm. The second study showed that frequent online quizzes can be just as effective as frequent in-class quizzes. In the final study, students were given skeletal notes to fill out as they prepared for class, and the results …

Front Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

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Student Learning Outcomes: Primary Drivers Of Course Design, Samuel P. Wallace

Basic Communication Course Annual

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) should be the core around which every college course is centered. As a result of taking this course: What should students know? What should they be able to do or to demonstrate? What should students value? Perhaps most important, How should students be changed or affected by taking this course? Effective course planning is made possible when these outcomes are focused and specific, and when the outcomes themselves are a high priority of the course. In spite of this maxim, student learning outcomes have not always been the primary driver of the design(s) of the basic …

Civility As A Central Student Learning Outcome In The Basic And Introductory Communication Courses, Rod Troester

Basic Communication Course Annual

The basic argument being advanced is that civility ought to be a fundamental or central concern and guiding principle in our basic and introductory courses. Like the more common standards of effectiveness and appropriateness, civility ought to become one of the key standards by which we judge the quality of communication, and consequently ought to become a central learning outcome and a more significant focus in our teaching and research. Specifically, students should leave our basic interpersonal, public speaking, and business and professional speaking courses with an understanding of and appreciation for how an attitude of civility can positively influence …

Basic Course Central Student Learning Outcomes: Enhancing The Traditional With The Critical, David H. Kahl Jr.

Basic Communication Course Annual

Given that well-developed outcomes are crucial for instructor and student success, it is necessary to delineate the central learning outcomes for the basic course in communication. Therefore, I will first articulate four traditional outcomes that I believe are necessary for students to become effective public speakers. Second, after discussing the benefits of integrating a critical approach in the basic course, I will present a fifth, critical, learning outcome. After doing so, I will discuss how this additional critical learning outcome can enhance the course by expanding upon each of the traditional outcomes.

Social Justice And The Basic Course: A Central Student Learning Outcome, Andrea Patterson, Omar Swartz

Basic Communication Course Annual

The economic, social, political, cultural, and environmental dimensions of globalization impacting our society demand new ways of thinking, acting, and teaching the Basic Communication Course (BCC). By emphasizing the learning outcomes of intellectual and practical skills and acceptance of personal and social responsibility, students will experience a new central learning outcome: what we are calling a social justice sensibility. In this essay we will emphasize the need to integrate the intellectual and practical skills of oral communication and personal and social justice in the BCC. We will discuss how the BCC can help students learn habits of citizenship and the …

Using In-Class Versus Out-Of-Class Peer Workshops To Improve Presentational Speaking, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, Angela M. Hosek

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study sought to determine whether there is a difference in the effect of in-class and out-of-class peer workshops on Cognitive Learning, Affective Learning, speech grades, Public Speaking Anxiety, Connected Classroom Climate, and Perceived Workshop Value. This study used a within-subjects modified switching-replications design and found that there were no significant differences in the effects of the two types of workshops. However, students preferred in-class workshops, and there is slight evidence that there might be benefits for doing an in-class workshop first so that students can build trust and learn to give and receive better feedback before considering out-of-class workshops.

Clicking Instead Of Speaking: The Impact Of Students’ Communication Apprehension On Their Evaluation Of Mediated Participation And Learning In The Basic Course, Katherine J. Denker

Basic Communication Course Annual

As research has well established the benefits to students of an engaged classroom, faculty are called to transform their classrooms into spaces focused on the learner (Petress, 2001). Though the basic course has traditionally been an engaged space, some formats of the basic course are limiting interaction. Researchers have argued that Student Response Systems (SRS) or “clickers” are one of the most promising technologies in transforming the classroom, particularly with the basic course, and offer venues for engagement for students particularly those who are most prone to avoid interaction. Nonetheless, many claims about these types of pedagogical tools have yet …

Author Biographies

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.