Communication Commons^™

Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editor's Page, Craig Newburger

Basic Communication Course Annual

Editor reflects on journal's first six years and acknowledges the service and commitment of past editors.

Contents

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Using Interactive Video Instruction To Enhance Public Speaking Instruction, Michael W. Cronin, William R. Kennan

Basic Communication Course Annual

This article discusses the nature of interactive video instruction (IVI) and the potential benefits of IVI applications in supplementing instruction in the basic communication course. It describes the IVI programs in oral communication that are currently available, the equipment required to institute IVI, and details possible applications of IVI for instructors, students, and educational institutions.

Interactive Video Instruction For Teaching Organizational Techniques In Public Speaking, Michael W. Cronin

Basic Communication Course Annual

This article describes two interactive videodisc instructional programs for teaching organizational techniques in public speaking and reports the assessment of these programs. Formative evaluations indicate that students enjoyed the level III interactive video instruction (IVI). One-way analyses of variance indicated that students receiving IVI in "Constructing Speaking Outlines" (study 1) or "Developing Key Ideas" (study 2) achieved significantly higher recall/application test scores than did students in the control group in the respective study. Implications for the use of these IVI programs in supplementing traditional public speaking instruction are discussed.

Writing As A Tool For Teaching Public Speaking: A Campus Application, Karla Kay Jensen, Pat Mcqueeney

Basic Communication Course Annual

All basic communication courses seek to improve students' oral communication skills while also deepening their understanding of the theoretical principles and processes underlying effective communication. Writing, whether in the form of formal assignments or informal in-class activities, can help achieve these goals. This paper offers rationales and approaches for incorporating writing throughout basic courses, and illustrates how formal and informal strategies promote an oral/written relationship in these courses. Included are numerous examples of assignments for basic public speaking courses.

Literacy Enhancement And Writing Across The Curriculum: A Motivational Addendum, L. Brooks Hill, Sandra L. Ragan

Basic Communication Course Annual

This "thought piece" supplements the preceding article with complementary information drawn from a national literacy project underwritten by the Ford Foundation. This project attempted to persuade teachers in all disciplines to become more proficient in the use of written exercises and to encourage an expanded conception of literacy as an essential cornerstone of education. As a part of the writing-across-the curriculum (WAC) efforts, this extensive project helped to organize these efforts by identifying the obstacles to enhanced literacy, specifying innumerable techniques for use in diverse contexts, and motivating faculty to intensify their work on this dimension of any curriculum. This …

Obstacles To Overcome In The Implementation Of A Program To Reduce Communication Apprehension In The Basic Public Speaking Course, Bruce C. Mckinney, Stephen J. Pullum

Basic Communication Course Annual

The problem of communication apprehension (CA) is well documented in the speech communication literature and many schools have implemented programs to help students overcome CA, especially CA associated with public speaking. Often times this is done as part of the basic course. However, there are many obstacles to overcome in the implementation of such programs. This article analyzes six common obstacles associated with implementing a program to reduce CA in a special section of the basic communication course.

An Assessment Of Panel Vs. Individual Instructor Ratings Of Student Speeches, David E. Williams, Robert A. Stewart

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study addressed the possibility of utilizing a panel of instructors to evaluate student speeches. Forty-six public speaking students were videotaped during an informative speech assignment. Instructor panels evaluated each speech using the same criteria as the real instructor. This study found that trait error exists in panel grading as it does in individual instructor evaluation. Panel and individual instructor ratings were generally similar but inferior speeches were graded lower by the panel than the real instructor. This suggests that panels may be less likely to experience leniency error and may give more accurate evaluations of weaker speeches. Considerations are …

Ta Mentoring: Issues And Questions, Pamela L. Gray, Martin G. Murray

Basic Communication Course Annual

The widespread use of graduate teaching assistants (TAs) in higher education has generated a search for techniques to improve the quality of teaching of TAs as well as enhance the entire TA experience. One such technique is mentoring. This paper attempts to accomplish four things: (a) delineate issues to be addressed, (b) share feedback from educators with mentoring experience, (c) present questions to guide decision making, and (d) provide a bibliography of literature on mentoring. The information presented comes from a questionnaire administered to basic course directors, a conference discussion on mentoring and the personal experiences of the authors.

Meeting Certification Requirements For Teacher Certification Through The Basic Course, S. Clay Willmington, Kay E. Neal, Milda M. Steinbrecher

Basic Communication Course Annual

This article explains how one institution of higher education designed their basic course to include communication proficiency for teachers as an integral part of the course. Features of the course include the following standardized assessments: a 60-question multiple-choice exam to assess cognitive proficiency; a one-on-one interpersonal encounter to assess interpersonal proficiency; a speech to inform to assess public speaking proficiency; and the use of the Steinbrecher-Willmington Listening Test to assess listening.

Instructional Resource Innovations For The Introductory Communication Course, Craig Newburger

Basic Communication Course Annual

The following four articles represent the proceedings of an SCA Seminar held at the New Orleans convention: "Instructional Resource Innovations for the Introductory Communication Course." These monographs detail four multi-media resource areas that introductory communication course directors can consider: Storytelling — the student-as-medium (Pamela Cooper); Visualization — the student-as-medium (Joe Ayres and Debbie M. Ayres); Self-confrontation — applications involving the use of videotape with public speaking instruction (Craig Newburger, Linda Brannon, and Arlie Daniel); and Computer-Mediated-Communication (Gerald M. Santoro and Gerald M. Phillips).

Stories As Instructional Strategy: Teaching In Another Culture, Pamela Cooper

Basic Communication Course Annual

This article describes the use of story as an instructional strategy in a basic communication course taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The Role Of Performance Visualization In The Basic Public Speaking Course: Current Applications And Future Possibilities, Joe Ayres, Debbie M. Ayres

Basic Communication Course Annual

This essay discusses current applications of visualization as well as future possible applications. At present visualization is used to help people cope with speech anxiety. Of the versions of visualization currently available, performance visualization seems superior because it helps people reduce anxiety and improve their presentation skills. The conditions under which performance visualization ought to be employed are discussed along with potential refinements in the procedure. The second section of the essay suggests that visualization may play a broader role in public speaking courses than it currently does. We point out that public speaking courses are grounded in a western …

Self-Confrontation And Public Speaking Apprehension: To Videotape Or Not To Videotape Student Speakers?, Craig Newburger, Linda Brannon, Arlie Daniel

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study examines the impact of self-confrontation (self-viewing of videotaped speeches) on student public speaking apprehension. Subjects who were confronted with their videotaped speeches (as post-performance feedback) did not experience a reduction in their public speaking apprehension, while subjects who were not so confronted did experience a significant reduction. The experience of presenting several speeches before an audience appears to be the intervening variable that invoked the reduction in public speaking apprehension, while self-confrontation appears to inhibit this reduction.

Author Identification

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Call For Papers And Editorial Philosophy

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Visualization And Imagined Interaction As Cognitive Interventions For Lowering Levels Of Communication Apprehension, Kathleen A. Snyder

Masters Theses

Communication apprehension is something with which many students and people in general are faced when forced into an involuntary communication situation. Various treatments have been tested for coping with it. Imagined interaction and visualization, two cognitive processes associated with intrapersonal communication, were investigated in this study as interventions for lowering communication apprehension levels in introductory public speaking courses. One-hundred and fifty college students enrolled in introductory speech courses at Eastern Illinois University served as subjects and were assigned to one of four groups: a control group, a script visualization group, a performance visualization group, and an imagined interaction group.

The …

The Relationship Between Cognitive Skills Measured By Piagetian Tasks At Age 2 And Linguistic Skills Measured By An Expressive Language Test At Age 4 In Normal And Late Talkers, Rebecca Jayne Laplante

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cognitive skills as measured by Piagetian tasks at approximately 2 years of age and expressive and receptive language scores from tests administered to the same children 2 years later. The questions this study sought to answer were: 1. Is there a significant difference in the performance of normal children and late-talking children on Piagetian cognitive assessment at age 2? 2. Is there a significant relationship between the cognitive scores at age 2 and language scores at age 4 in each of the two diagnostic groups? Sixty-four subjects participated in …

The Voices I Never Hear: Communication Apprehension And Associated Nonverbal Behaviors In The Primary School Child, Linda Dunn

Dissertations and Theses

The confidence to communicate orally with others is the first requisite for verbal interaction. Anxiety which occurs in anticipation of speaking with others or while engaged in speaking hinders interaction, and is referred to as communication apprehension. This study examines levels of communication apprehension among a sample primary school population and the possible relationship between such levels and frequencies of nonverbal behaviors called self-adaptors that may be associated with the anxiety. Greater awareness of communication apprehension in children is justified in light of research that suggests it is negatively related to academic achievement in elementary school students. A four-month field~study …

The Public Persona Of Nelson R. Mandela: A Study Of U.S. Print Media Narratives, Molly Jeane Mcvey

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the contribution made by the U.S. print media to the development of Nelson Mandela's public persona. The period studied is from 1985 to June, 1990. This thesis explores the following questions: 1) How did the public persona of Nelson Mandela evolve in the dominant U.S. print media; 2) How do these stories, in content and form, serve to establish Nelson Mandela as a public hero; 3) What cultural myths structure the news stories of Nelson Mandela that serve as the interpretative framework for public belief and action? Data for analysis were drawn from The New York Times, …

A Study Of The Narrative Skills In 6-Year-Olds With Normal, Impaired, And Late Developing Language, Karen Elaine Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Proficiency in various higher level language skills is necessary to integrate and organize units of meaning beyond the sentence level. Examining narratives has become a useful tool for assessing these language abilities. Narrative skills are considered by many researchers to be a strong link between oral language and literacy, and related to academic performance (Westby, 1991; Roth & Spekman, 1991). The present study was part of the Portland Language Development Project, a longitudinal study of early language delay. The purpose of this study was to assess higher level language abilities by examining the stories of 6-year-olds with normal, impaired, and …

Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Upward Compliance-Gaining Strategies: U.S.A. And Japan, Miyoko Fuse

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated cultural differences, U.S.A. and Japan, in the selection of compliance-gaining strategies by lower status people as differentiated from a group leader in a short-term, task-oriented relationship. The subjects for this study consisted of 114 (59 male and 55 female) U.S. college students and 165 (65 male and 100 female) Japanese college students. All subjects lived in Oregon.

After the subjects read the hypothetical scenario which involved changing a task for a classroom project, a 21 item questionnaire was administered. The questions were taken from Kipnis, Schmidt, and Wilkinson's (1980) study, and a six-point scale was used. The …

Communications Connection - Vol.1, No. 3 - Fall 1993, Nova University

Communications Connection

No abstract provided.

Comparative Scores Of Hearing-Impaired And Normally Hearing Children Given The Carolina Picture Vocabulary Test, Barbara Ann Mccomb

Dissertations and Theses

It is important that educators use adequate assessment procedures when placing hearing-impaired children in mainstreamed settings. Receptive vocabulary tests are part of the standardized test battery and can provide educators with valuable information. Although there has been a receptive vocabulary test recently developed for use with hearing-impaired children (CPVT), the most commonly used test with this population is the PPVT-R, which is standardized on normally hearing children. In order to further explore the difference between the receptive vocabulary of hearing-impaired and normally hearing children, a test standardized on hearing-impaired should be used.

The purpose of the present study was to …

Expressive Communication And Socialization Skills Of Five-Year Olds With Slow Expressive Language Development, Nicole Anne Midford

Dissertations and Theses

Beginning at birth, a child's receptive and expressive language skills are developing in stages. Likewise, the child's socialization skills are progressing in stages. However, it does not seem that communication and socialization are developing independently of each other. Rather, it seems that their development is interrelated. Children learn to speak in a social context, and social situations are necessary for the development of a variety of language structures. On the same note, in order for those language structures to develop normally, it is necessary for the child to participate in different social situations.

Social interactionists have theorized for some time …

Correlations Between The School Situations Questionnaire-Revised And Speech And Language Disorders, Geraldine Teresa Comerford

Dissertations and Theses

Many children with emotional and/or behavioral disorders also present with speech and language disorders. Children with attention deficits, in particular, have shown a much higher incidence of speech and language disorders than does the general population.

Traditionally, school speech-language pathologists have been responsible for conducting mass screenings to determine which children should be further evaluated for speech and language disorders. An increasing number of school districts are relying on teacher referrals to determine which children require speech-language evaluations. It was hypothesized that if teachers were able to identify children with attention deficits, these children may be appropriate for referral to …

The Assimilation And Integration Processes: A Study Of The Commitment Patterns During Students' Entry Into College, Suzanne M. Pastori

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the heuristic value of applying the organizational model of Jablin, Putnam, Roberts, and Porter (1987), who studied newcoming employees assimilating into an organization, to the study of newcoming students integrating into an educational institution.

Three hundred and fifty-five college students were surveyed. I used an adapted version of Mowday, Porter, and Steer's (1982) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire.

Two hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis One states: The higher the level of expressed commitment the more likely it is that the student will express the intention to remain. Hypothesis Two states: Within Terms One, Two, and Three, the higher the level …

Cultural Bias In The Assessment Of Phonological Processes In Conjunction With The App-R, Sharon Elise Soliday

Dissertations and Theses

Normal phonological development is characterized by phonological processes in preschool children. These processes are sound error patterns, in relation to the adult target, that are expected within the speech of normally developing children. As children grow older, they "outgrow" these developmental errors.

Within the black English dialect, speakers may use a combination of these processes and not be considered phonologically impaired within their linguistic community.

The purpose of this study was to assess and compare phonological process usage in the speech of lower socioeconomic black and white preschoolers.

The APP-R in conjunction with the CAPP was administered to two groups …