Communication Commons^™

Communication Strategies To Motivate Virtual Team Members In The Banking Industry, Kristina Nicole Wade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Frontline managers in the banking industry support geographically dispersed employees and face significant obstacles in communicating effectively to motivate their virtual team members. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore communication strategies frontline managers in the banking industry used to motivate virtual team members. Vroom's expectancy theory was the conceptual framework for the study. Participants consisted of 5 frontline banking managers in Michigan who had successfully implemented communication strategies to motivate virtual team members. Data were collected using face-to-face semistructured interviews, a review of company documents, and a review of company websites. Data were analyzed using thematic …

Technology And Organizational Decision-Making: A Qualitative Case Study Approach, Brad Marcus Mcrae

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technology and communication skills simultaneously increase organizational productivity and decision-making. However, excessive use of technology to make decisions can diminish the added benefits that nonverbal communication can bring. The interpersonal sensitivity effects on perception of service quality model, face-to-face communication versus teleconferencing, the technology acceptance model, and decision-making were the conceptual framework of the study. The research questions examined how excessive use of technology to make decisions can diminish the added benefits that nonverbal communication can bring to organizational leadership decision-making. Employing an exploratory multiple case study design, organizational leaders from the Southern California region, ranging in seniority from team-leader …

And So It Goes: An Introduction To Volume 2 Of The Journal Of Communication Pedagogy, Scott A. Myers

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

As part of the larger instructional communication education umbrella and similar to, yet distinct enough from, its related subdisciplines such as basic course scholarship, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and critical communication pedagogy, the articles published in this volume of JCP demonstrate the three forms through which communication pedagogy can emerge. That is, whether communication pedagogy centers on the systematic study (i.e., Original Research Studies), reflection (i.e., Reflection Essays), or identification of teaching practices (i.e., Best Practices) across communication curricula, the end result is that communication pedagogy acts as a vehicle through which teaching effectiveness can be improved, strengthened, …

Perspectives On Teaching The Family Communication Course, Tiffany R. Wang, Jeffrey T. Child

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This article discusses what undergraduate students enrolled in a family communication course should learn. It is intended to provide readers with a general direction on how to design or teach a family communication course so that students understand a communication-centered approach to family. This article highlightssome of the foundational theories and concepts grounding most family communication courses, content areas typically addressed when considering the family communication course, possible assignments that might be useful in teaching the course, and relevant issues related to teaching family communication. If instructors thoughtfully consider content and assignment decisions in the family communication course, they have …

Organizing The Organizational Communication Course: Content And Pedagogical Recommendations, Sarah E. Riforgiate, Ali L. Gattoni, Erika L. Kirby

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Organizational communication extends beyond communication that takes place in an organizational context to the ways communication is used to organize and facilitate activity. This article is designed to enhance organizational communication pedagogy practices by highlighting foundational concepts and content areas that should be included in undergraduate organizational communication courses. Additionally, four active learning assignments, including case studies, applied organizational communication theory papers, organizational audits, and media assignments, are described to enhance student engagement with class material and to assess student learning. Finally, the article includes common issues to help educators anticipate concerns and plan effective classroom strategies.

Engaging Persuasion: What Should Undergraduate Students Enrolled In A Persuasion Course Learn?, Stephen K. Hunt, Kevin Meyer

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

In our daily activities we are bombarded with persuasive messages. From advertising on mass and social media to interactions with friends, we are constantly exposed to attempts to change or reinforce our attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors. Conversely, we routinely attempt to influence others and gain their compliance through persuasive attempts of our own. Without question, persuasion is a central feature of virtually every aspect of human communication and is found wherever we find people communicating. Fortunately, scholars have developed a great number of empirically tested persuasive techniques, strategies, and theories that can help students become effective producers and consumers …

Try It, You Might Like It: On Teaching Rhetorical Theory And Criticism, Deanna D. Sellnow

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Students rarely question the relevance of most communication courses. For example, most students realize that courses focused on improving public speaking and interpersonal skills will benefit them personally and professionally after graduation. Convincing them that a rhetorical theory and criticism course is equally empowering can be a bit more challenging. This essay explores one approach for teaching rhetorical theory and criticism as uniquely relevant in the educational experience of communication students. By applying various rhetorical perspectives to artifacts that resonate with students’ actual lived experiences, students become empowered advocates for positive change.

“Not My Issue!!!”: Teaching The Interpersonal Conflict Course, Nancy Brule, Jessica J. Eckstein

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Students who enroll in communication courses to improve their conflict management abilities should be provided with both an understanding of, and skills pertaining to, interpersonal conflict across diverse contexts. In this article, we offer pedagogical guidance for teaching the Interpersonal Conflict course. With an emphasis on building communication skills usable in a variety of real-life situations and settings, this article includes discussion of necessary foundational concepts and applied content areas, sample application assignments, and relevant considerations for those teaching the course.

Argument Pedagogy For Everyday Life, Jeffrey P. Mehltretter Drury, Nicholas S. Paliewicz, Sara A. Mehltretter Drury

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This article assists argumentation and debate instructors in developing courses that provide coverage of foundational concepts while reflecting their own interests. Courses in argumentation and debate also offer instructors an opportunity to teach through applied engagement with contemporary events. We encourage instructors to reflect on the various contexts of argumentation and debate as well as challenging questions concerning the role of technology in the classroom, the conflict between normative and descriptive examples of argumentation, how much to emphasize the role of argumentation and debate in societal change, and the connections between argumentation and deliberation.

Pedagogical Tools In Our Briefcases: Teaching The Business And Professional Communication Course, Suzy Prentiss, Justin Walton

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

As a practical and applied course, Business and Professional Communication is an excellent opportunity to blend theory and practice, prepare students with the knowledge and skills they will need in the “real world,” and continually innovate and experiment to meet the ever-changing communication needs of the workplace. Whether filled with students majoring in communication, business or another discipline, as a General Education or sequenced class, the Business and Professional Communication course is a worthwhile and value-added course that is both challenging and rewarding to teach.

Teaching The Introductory Public Relations Course: Pedagogical Recommendations, Lakesha N. Anderson

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This article explores the foundations and the content areas that ground the introductory public relations course. Examples of two assignments designed to help students think critically, apply knowledge, and improve their writing skills are offered, as well as the identification of several challenges both students and instructors face and a brief discussion of the unique advantages provided by this course.

Reflections On A Pedagogical Shift: A Public Speaking For Social Justice Model, Angela L. Putman

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

While the basic content of the public speaking course has changed little, the method and manner in which these skills are taught can, and should, reflect the dynamic socio-political contexts in which we live and teach. This reflection essay addresses a struggle to keep the public speaking course relevant, innovative, and practical while also incorporating necessary learning outcomes. As a potential solution, I introduce a Public Speaking for Social Justice Model for the introductory course. The model requires that students thoroughly examine a timely social justice issue; situate themselves and their classmates within the issue while featuring marginalized voices and …

Hearing Is Believing: Using Audio Feedback In The Online Interpersonal Communication Course, Krista Hoffmann-Longtin

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

The introduction to interpersonal communication course (IPC) is popular for both communication majors and nonmajors alike, and as such, many departments have designed online versions of the course. Teaching IPC in this format has challenges, given its dual emphasis on theoretical understanding and skill-building. This reflection essay explores the efficacy of providing audio feedback on essays in the online IPC course, as a way to create a positive online presence, manage the grading load, and encourage students to implement the feedback. The rationale for this approach to feedback and implementation strategies are provided, as well as a discussion of outcomes …

“You Have To Cry Before You Teach This Class”: Emotion With Work And Resistance In Teaching Intercultural Communication, Brandi Lawless, Yea-Wen Chen

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

In this study, we explore the ways in which Intercultural Communication instructors uniquely experience emotion with work and how this influences their pedagogical approaches to this course. We collected and analyzed interviews with 21 intercultural communication educators across U.S. colleges and universities. We present findings related to the types of resistance present and/or emerging in the intercultural communication classroom, emotional responses to resistance, and strategies for managing and negotiating emotion with work in the Intercultural Communication classroom. We end with discussing implications for teacher training programs designed for the Intercultural Communication classroom.

Teaching Public Speaking Online–Not A Problem But An Opportunity!, Sherwyn Morreale, Janice Thorpe, Susan Ward

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This reflection essay focuses on the problems inherent in the design and development of an online public speaking course, which in part result from presuming the course must mirror its face-to-face counterpart. Based on our own experiences and background in designing an online public speaking course, we recommend that instructors and administrators of this course solve such problems by employing design strategies that effectively adapt the course content and pedagogy to a digital context. The essay begins with a description of an integrated course design model (Fink, 2005) that proved useful to us for accomplishing this task. Then we discuss …

Best Practices For Teaching Discussion As Part Of High School Common Core State Standards, Mitchel Stengel, Leah Nolan, David Donnick, Wesley Skym, Anna M. Wright

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Instructional discussion is a teaching method used in many classrooms across grade levels. In fact, the Common Core State Standards promote the use of instructional discussion in secondary classrooms (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018a). Students, however, are not always taught best practices for engaging in a discussion and may feel unprepared to participate. As a result, discussions may not produce the dynamic learning opportunity they are intended to foster. This essay provides 10 tips for high school teachers to prepare students in the high school classroom to engage in a meaningful classroom discussion effectively in order to ensure students …

The Practice Of Nonviolence: Teaching An Undergraduate Course In Nonviolent Communication, Sharon Lauricella

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This Best Practices article outlines 10 tips relative to teaching a course in Nonviolent Communication (NVC). It outlines suggestions for readings, activities, and projects throughout a semester-long undergraduate course. The article addresses how students can learn both the theory and practice of nonviolence by means of readings and activities that address social problems such as sexism, racism, bias, and violence against oneself and the earth. Specific suggestions are provided for creative ways in which students can be engaged with readings so that they have ownership of their in-class experience. Details regarding an independent long-term project providing freedom of creativity in …

Pedagogy, Gender, And Communication: Learning And Unlearning Gender, Marian L. Houser, Robert J. Sidelinger, Angela Hosek

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Courses in gender communication are designed to enable students to examine the role of gender and gender identity in everyday communication. To aid them to understand gender communication, they should be exposed to at least three foundational areas and supporting content. Sex and gender differences, the social construction of gender, and theoretical gender lenses (biological, psychological, and critical/cultural) are critical foundations that students should grasp to recognize the complexity of gender and gender communication.

Developing A Digital Voice: Embedding Digital Communication Platforms, Networks, And Technologies In The 21st-Century Classroom, James M. Proszek

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Introductory communication courses are an invaluable resource for improving students’ abilities to speak confidently, passionately, and persuasively, while also inspiring them to become more engaged citizens. However, digital media present new opportunities and challenges for designing courses that are relevant to students’ personal and professional interests and goals. Instructors who incorporate digital communication platforms, networks, and technologies into their classrooms can better prepare students to meet the complex demands of the technologically-mediated 21st century. In this essay, I offer 10 best practices for developing students’ digital media literacies within multiple communication contexts.

Best Practices For Facilitating Difficult Dialogues In The Basic Communication Course, Kristina Ruiz-Mesa, Karla M. Hunter

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Effective facilitation of classroom dialogue can stimulate open discussion and debate, challenge students to consider diverse perspectives, and promote critical student reflection and growth. Unfortunately, some instructors may be hesitant to approach controversial topics, for fear of losing face or risking chaos in the classroom. By learning and practicing established facilitation techniques, teachers can develop confidence and competence in harnessing the pedagogical power of difficult dialogue while maintaining classroom cohesion and community. This article provides 10 best practices for facilitating difficult classroom dialogues. These practices equip instructors with resources for building community, maintaining classroom immediacy, and grappling with disagreements without …

Journal Of Communication Pedagogy, Complete Volume, 2019

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Fragile Oceans, Synthetic Flotsam And Microbial Collaboration – Explorations In The Visual Communication Of The Plastic Crisis, Ivan Langesfeld

Pomona Senior Theses

Scientific evidence that the ocean plastic crisis is larger in scale and more sinister than previously thought continues to mount, but the rate of plastic production is only rising. What will it take to decisively turn the tide against plastic? We need scientists, politicians, and industry changemakers to continue producing knowledge and positive change in the industry, but we need to go further still. This thesis explores art as an alternative visual communication strategy with the capacity to encourage curiosity, empathy, and positive engagement with the issue of ocean plastics. The series of work explores bacterial bioluminescence as an artistic …

Ethnography: Andrews University Lady Cardinals Soccer Team And Group Dynamics, Liz Dominguez

Master's Theses

Problem

The Andrews University Lady Cardinals soccer team has a reputation of having back to back unsuccessful seasons. Hypotheses and research questions were formulated, and the answers provide further insight into the difficulties the team experienced during the 2018 soccer season. They are as follows:

Research Hypotheses:

1. Team members with higher skill levels will be more highly valued by the coach and other team members.

2. If the team does not have an adequate preseason, it will not be prepared to play as a team, thus it will have difficulty having a successful season.

3. Players who have positive …

“More Than Just A Box”: The Co-Creation Of Social Identity Within Hispanic-Caucasian Multiethnic Family Systems, Anna-Carrie H. Beck

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Approximately 15% of all new marriages in the United States in 2010 were between spouses that shared different racial or ethnic backgrounds from one another. Socha and Diggs (1999) began to examine race as both an outcome of family communication as well as a factor that influences children's communication development in families because of the social pressure multiethnic families endure to fit a nuclear family model. This study utilized dyadic interviews of eleven multiethnic parent couples (N = 22 individuals; 11 dyads) in order to gain a deeper understanding of Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems. Communication in families plays a foundational …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Health Influencer Videos On Youtube In The Ostomy Community, Sarah Irenke Sophia Bell

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

The expansion of YouTube into the mainstream media and its place as the second most-used website in the world makes it a prime place for health information seeking. However, content can be created and uploaded by anyone and thus, the threat of misinformation on YouTube is high. Medical researchers have established that videos created by health professionals on YouTube promote accurate information whereas videos by non-professionals promote generally inaccurate or misleading information. Yet, videos created by non-professionals have more views and higher relevance rankings on YouTube. To begin to understand this phenomenon, a descriptive study is used to lay a …

Navigating The Michelle P. Waiver: A Narrative Examination Of The Impact Of Parent Caregiver-Related Uncertainty And Decision Making For Children With Disabilities, Whittney H. Darnell

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

The Michelle P. Waiver (MPW) is the primary means of health insurance for more than 10,000 people in the state of Kentucky. The waiver is especially popular among families with young children with disabilities because it is robust in its benefit offerings and also one of the few Medicaid resources that does not include parental income as a qualifying factor in eligibility. Through the waiver, children receive a medical card as well as additional coverage for medical expenses that fall beyond the scope of traditional health insurance. For these young children to gain access to the comprehensive offerings of the …

Making Social Media More Social: A Literature Review Of Academic Libraries’ Engagement And Connections Through Social Media Platforms, Elia Trucks

University Libraries: Faculty Scholarship

This chapter explores how academic libraries have used social media for broadcasting information, responsive communication, and engagement. Many libraries focus on the marketing aspect of social media, since it is a successful method of promoting events, services, and resources. However, exclusively using social media as a marketing tool ignores the best part of social media: the connections it fosters between people. The online community is just an extension of the in-person community that the academic library serves. This chapter examines the state of the literature on libraries’ use of social media through the lens of increasing engagement and connections with …

Multifaceted Contents And Techniques For Designing Health Communication Courses, Maria Brann, Laura Russell

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Health communication courses explore health phenomena from various angles. Whether focusing on interpersonal and organizational relationships or addressing community and national campaigns, instructors may choose from various contents to design these courses. This essay highlights critical questions, contents, and activities useful for instructors seeking information for designing health communication courses. Moreover, the authors reflect on sensitive issues unique to these courses that instructors should take into consideration when teaching.

A Pedagogical Guide To Teaching An Interpersonal Communication Course, Jordan Atkinson, David Mcmahan

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This forum article focuses on the instruction of an interpersonal communication course. Interpersonal communication courses are widely included in undergraduate communication curriculum and can be fundamental to student development. The authors provide foundational material and various content areas generally included in such a course. The authors also provide various applied assignments and issues to consider when teaching an interpersonal communication course.

Communication Concepts In Action: Best Practices In Case Study Pedagogy In The Organizational Communication Course, Andrea L. Meluch, Patricia E. Gettings

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Analyzing case studies is a useful way to assist students in drawing connections between organizational communication concepts and real-world experiences. As faculty members who teach organizational communication, we regularly use case study pedagogy. Case study pedagogy provides a rich narrative through which complex organizational communication concepts can be identified, analyzed, and reflected upon. This article provides 10 best practices for utilizing and assessing case study pedagogy in the organizational communication course. These practices include: to make clear connections between case studies and course materials, scaffold learning, choose a mix of cases, cultivate a sense of community in the classroom, enable …