Communication Commons^™

Editor's Page, Paul Turman

Basic Communication Course Annual

Note: The Editor's Page from Volume 20 was repeated in Volume 21 by mistake of the publisher at the time, American Press. It is included here as printed, but it does not pertain to the content in this issue.

Contents And Abstracts

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Uniquely Qualified, Distinctively Competent: Delivering 21st Century Skills In The Basic Course, Stephen K. Hunt, Cheri J. Simonds, Brent K. Simonds

Basic Communication Course Annual

In this manuscript we argue that the communication discipline’s pedagogical content knowledge should be expanded to include educational strategies for advancing students’ critical thinking, information literacy, and political engagement skills. Further, we argue that the discipline should explicitly position itself as uniquely qualified to address these skills. By doing so, those affiliated with the basic communication course can leverage a substantial amount of political capital on their home campuses and go a long way toward delivering the critical skills students need in order to be successful in the 21^st century.

Speech Evaluation Assessment: An Analysis Of Written Speech Feedback On Instructor Evaluation Forms In The Basic Communication Course, Cheri J. Simonds, Kevin R. Meyer, Stephen K. Hunt, Brent K. Simonds

Basic Communication Course Annual

As a critical component of many general education programs, the basic communication course is at the forefront of many assessment efforts. Five years after conducting extensive program assessment using student portfolios, and after implementing revisions to the instructor training program, course directors at Illinois State University conducted another round of portfolio assessment. The present study reveals progress in the specific areas originally targeted for improvement. Additional areas for future revisions to the instructor training program are suggested. Implications for assessment efforts at other institutions are discussed.

Follow-Up To The Nca Basic Communication Course Survey Vii: Using Learning Objectives In The Course, Sherwyn Morreale, David W. Worley, Lawrence W. Hugenberg

Basic Communication Course Annual

Respondents to the seventh national survey of the basic communication course at two and four-year colleges and universities identified administrative and pedagogical problems that challenge effective management and teaching in the course. This new study investigates how learning objectives in the basic course are related to one of the most salient problems identified in the earlier 2006 survey, consistency and reliability across multiple sections of the basic course at any institution. Data are presented from 37 randomly selected respondents, all members of the NCA Basic Course Division, regarding the use of learning objectives in the basic course in general and …

Problem-Based Learning (Pbl) And Student Engagement In The Public Speaking Classroom, Deanna Sellnow, Stephanie Ahlfeldt

Basic Communication Course Annual

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy designed to foster student engagement. This study examined the effectiveness of PBL to actively engage students in a basic public speaking course. An adapted version of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) was administered to students in 47 sections of the public speaking course at a medium-sized midwestern university. Students in the PBL-enhanced sections were significantly more engaged (µ = 33.6) than those in the conventionally taught sections (µ = 32.2). Further analysis examined three variables embedded in the survey: a cooperative learning variable, a cognitive level variable, and a personal skills …

Connected Classroom Climate And Communication In The Basic Course: Associations With Learning, Marshall Prisbell, Karen Kangas Dwyer, Robert E. Carlson, Shereen G. Bingham, Ana M. Cruz

Basic Communication Course Annual

Most research on the association between classroom climate and student learning has emphasized the instructor’s role in creating a positive learning environment. However, the role students play in fostering a classroom climate that promotes learning has received less attention, particularly in the basic course. This study examined the relationship between perceptions of a connected classroom climate and students’ cognitive and affective learning involving 437 freshman and sophomore university students enrolled in the basic public speaking course. Students completed the Connected Classroom Climate Inventory (CCCI) and scales measuring affective and cognitive learning. Results showed significant relationships between student perceptions of connected …

Desire And Passion As Foundations For Teaching And Learning: A Pedagogy Of The Erotic., Sandra L. Pensoneau-Conway

Basic Communication Course Annual

In this narrative essay, I use my experiences as a communication educator to theorize the roles of desire and passion within the classroom. Extra-classroom encounters with several students inspire questions I feel are fundamental to the vocation of an educator in general, and a communication educator specifically. I argue for a shift in pedagogical practice from resisting desire and passion as feelings potentially destructive, to embracing such emotions as affirming, creative, and relationship-building pedagogical influences. I aim to illuminate the tensions and contradictions young and/or beginning communication instructors sometimes face when questions of personal and professional boundaries arise. I offer …

Author Biographies

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Index Of Titles And Authors, Volumes 1-20

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Submission Guidelines

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 21

Basic Communication Course Annual

Full issue (247 pages, 8.4 MB)

The Influence Of Biological Sex, Previous Experience, And Preparation Time On Classroom Public Speaking Grades, Judy C. Pearson, Jeffrey T. Child

Basic Communication Course Annual

How does biological sex affect public speaking grades? Students completed journal entries over the course of the semester. Hierarchical multiple regression incrementally examined competency measures (previous experience and overall preparation time) then biological sex on public speaking grade averages. Competency measures predicted higher speech grade averages, but women still earned higher speech grades even after the effects of competency had been removed. Among the explanations offered are that women may be more competent than men, a combination of competence and compliance explains women’s higher grades, or public speaking classrooms perpetuate a female competency bias.

Front Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editor's Page, Paul Turman

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Contents And Abstracts

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Pedagogy Of Relevance: A Critical Communication Pedagogy Agenda For The 'Basic' Course, Deanna L. Fassett, John T. Warren

Basic Communication Course Annual

In this article, we envision how a critical communication pedagogy approach might lend narrative coherence, intellectual rigor, and a focused agenda to the introductory course. Such a paradigm shift is not only consistent with the trajectory of work in our discipline, but it will likely result in ourselves and others assigning more value and respect to our work with the introductory course. Specifically, we advocate four changes with respect to the introductory course: Challenge “teacher-proof” textbooks and curricula, engage diversity, embrace pedagogy as teaching and research, and recover and reinvigorate communication education research.

Assessing Classroom Management Training For Basic Course Instructors, Kevin R. Meyer, Stephen K. Hunt, Mark E. Comadena, Cheri J. Simonds, Brent K. Simonds, John R. Baldwin

Basic Communication Course Annual

Extant research demonstrates that graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) experience student misbehaviors in the classroom and that basic course administrators should be proactive in preparing GTAs for classroom management issues (Meyer et al., 2007). Following the recommendation for the development of classroom management training (CMT) by Meyer et al. (2007), the present study sought to assess the implementation of CMT. Specifically, a group of GTAs completed the same survey instrument twice following the completion of CMT, once early in the semester and again at the end of the semester.

Results of the present study indicate that GTA reports of student misbehavior …

Traditional Pedagogical Tools: Examining Peer Feedback In The Basic Communication Course, Julie Semlak

Basic Communication Course Annual

Peer feedback is used in many basic communication courses, yet little is known about the pedagogical value of the written peer feedback provided for speakers, or the process of providing peer feedback. Using social learning theory as a theoretical foundation, this study explores the use of peer feedback in the basic communication course.

Findings indicate the content of peer feedback is less useful than instructor feedback for preparing future speeches. However, this study also reveals the process of providing peer feedback provides a model for vicarious learning, allowing basic course students to critically analyze a speech presented by a peer. …

Redesigning Public Speaking: A Case Study In The Use Of Instructional Design To Create The Interchange Model, Marlene M. Preston, J. Matt Giglio, Kristin N. English

Basic Communication Course Annual

This case study describes the redesign of Public Speaking at a Research I institution. An instructional analysis revealed strengths of and concerns about the existing model--large lecture with small lab sections. Criteria for a new model emerged from that analysis, all of which hinged on an overarching goal: The course should incorporate learning theory and disciplinary theory and should result in student learning, student skill development, and enhanced satisfaction among stakeholders. The Interchange Model, which included some online delivery, was developed to meet identified needs and was fleshed out with course materials and semester plans. The model was piloted and …

Grade Distributions In The Basic Public Speaking Course: Exploring The Differences And Pedagogical Implications Of Faculty Rank, Holly J. Payne, Sally O. Hastings

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study examines differences in grade distributions in the introductory public speaking course at two American universities based on instructor rank. A sample of 442 sections with 11,381 students over a 2-year period was collected and analyzed using analysis of variance and chi-square analysis. We found significant differences in grade distributions, with instructors assigning lower grades overall than graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and adjunct faculty. Instructors assigned significantly more D’s and F’s than tenure/track faculty, adjuncts, and GTAs. Chi-square analysis also revealed instructors and tenure/track faculty assign fewer A’s, but tenure/track faculty assign more B’s than the other faculty groups. …

Race And Resistance In The Communication Classroom, Paul Fotsch

Basic Communication Course Annual

Teaching diversity is no longer segregated to ethnic studies departments or to intercultural communication courses. Consequently, many students have become resistant to the idea of spending time--"yet again"--on the issue of race. Communication scholars have described a kind of resistance found frequently in the basic communication classroom and likewise proposed various responses to this resistance. Through a review of the literature and drawing on my ten years of experience teaching diversity in the university, this essay assesses these responses. One source of white student discomfort comes from the increasing visibility of whiteness, so two strategies used to address this discomfort …

Author Biographies

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Index Of Titles And Authors, Volumes 1-19

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Submission Guidelines

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Seeking Social Support Among Female Graduate Teaching Assistants, Lisa M. Theisen, Robert A. Davilla

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study investigated how female graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) develop social support and the influence that these relationships have on their academic, teaching, and social lives. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven female GTAs in a Communication Studies master’s degree program at a large southern university. Results revealed that participants formed closer, more personal relationships with other graduate students, specifically other GTAs, and that these relationships influenced their academic lives, including teaching. Participants formed meaningful but more formal relationships with faculty. Relationships with faculty had little influence on their teaching but influenced their graduate coursework and post-graduate plans.