Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

A Value Approach: Some Notes Toward The Educational/Competitive Aspects Of Forensics Programs, Jan J. Younger

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

This study attempted to investigate the educational/competitive values in co-curricular forensics programs. The study made two major assumptions (1) that individual events programs should be linked to the curriculum and (2) that the identification and development of educational values would contribute to the improvement of forensic instruction.

It was the purpose of this study to offer an examination of five current studies in higher education suggesting curricular reform. These studies included; (a) Involvement in Learning: Realizing the Potential of American Higher Education (1984), (b) Project on Redefining the Meaning and Purpose of Baccalaureate Degrees (1985), (c) The report entitled "To …

The Ethical Use Of Evidence In Public Address Events, Sheryl A. Friedley

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

As we enter the decade of the '90s and round the corner heading toward the 21st century, American appear to be more concerned than ever about the issue of "ethics." This continued interest in studying moral behavior has lead to the development of more explicit codes of conduct in business, professional, and educational settings. In keeping with this interest, the forensic community has continued to consider the ethical standards that should be established for use of evidence in public address events.

National Individual Events Tournament Qualifying Legs: An Ideas Whose Time Has Passed, Clark D. Olson

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

The national individual events tournament hierarchy has a significant impact on practices at invitational tournaments. Regardless of which national affiliation one holds, participants are constantly being bombarded with questions of "7/12?" or "How many legs?" It is the contention of this essay to examine the role that the national hierarchy has had with regard to the at-large qualification method, examine an alternative, and provide implications for an alternative qualifying method.

Community College Programs: How Have The Afa Nationals Affected This Population?, Mike Wartman

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

The attached position paper was presented at the 75th annual meeting of the Speech Communication Association. It was presented to surface issues relating to differences in perceptions regarding national forensics competition. The panel at which this paper was given attracted a very small number of audience members and reactors. Consequently, the ideas in the paper have not received much attention. For the purpose of the philosophical concerns topic area relating to organizational hierarchies of Individual Events associations, this paper is offered to examine issues relating to various organizational groups within the forensics community. Although it specifically addresses national competition, the …

Telling The Story Of The Informally Trained Coach/Judge, Colan T. Hanson

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

This theoretical article explores the implications of the informally trained coach/judge on the future of forensics. Issues addressed are those involving the relationship between informal training and the financial stability of the forensic program; the perceived professional standards associated with the forensic educator; and the impact on the educational facilitator role played by the coach/judge in the forensic community. The analysis of this paper suggests that the forensic community if placing the forensic professional and the activity itself at risk in the future, if informal training becomes the main means of preparing the next generation of coach/judge participants.

Inter-Judge Agreement: An Analysis Of The 1990 Nfa And Afa-Niet National Individual Events Tournaments, Jon C. Bruschke, K. Jeanine Congalton, Robert H. Gass

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

Given the increasing concern about the judge's role in individual events tournaments, and given the paucity of literature specifically pertaining to inter-judge agreement, we sought to analyze the degree of inter-judge agreement at two national level tournaments which employ multiple judge panels in preliminary rounds. The results of the 1990 National Forensics Association Tournament and the 1990 American Forensic Association - National Individual Events Tournament serve as a basis for the analysis.

A Question Of Oral Questions: Why Aren't Judges Allowed To Query Competitors?, Erik T. Kanter

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

In the following paper, I will: first examine both the potential benefits and disadvantages of allow the option of oral questioning; second, show how questioning can be integrated into the judging of individual events; and, finally, proposed a timetable and an agenda for integration both at the local and national levels.

Mentoring Relationships And Programs: Applications To The Forensics Community, Cynthia R. Carver, Cindy Larson-Casselton

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

Mentoring activities and programs have gained increasing attention and endorsement in a variety of business and academic areas. This paper proceeded with the premise that mentoring may possess untapped potential for the forensic community. Starting with a survey of experienced and novice coaches to assess the existence of and attitudes toward mentoring activities, the paper then moves to conclusions and recommendations for the expanded use of mentoring as a method to advance or promote our forensic coaches and judges.

When We Don't Know How To Get Where We're Going...Perhaps It's Time We Find A Map, Sharon Porter

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

This paper will outline four issues that are indicative of the concerns of the forensic community. The lack of focus and the nonexistence of a clear line of responsibility between the American Forensic Association, the Speech Communication Association-Forensic Division and the Council of Forensic Organizations serve as impediments in accomplishing these and other goals. Since the restructuring of the forensic organizations offer promise for correcting these difficulties, guidelines for the restructuring process will be advanced. Finally, a possible model will be advocated which could bring about a more effective administrative structure for collegiate forensics.

Strategic Recruitment, Keith Denslow

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

This paper suggests that the process of recruitment should be more closely examined. Examples of current methods of recruitment will be reviewed, a framework for a systematic recruitment campaign will be suggested, and practical techniques displayed.

Implications Of The Informal Training Of Coaches And Judges, Robert L. Davenport

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

This paper will support the thesis that more training of forensics coaches and judges, whether formal or informal, needs to take place in order to address many of the concerns of the forensic community in regard to inequities in coach/judge expertise and to philosophical inequities in the criteria for events by which coaches and judges fulfill their supervisory and evaluatory responsibilities in helping students become more effective communicators.

What I Think You Should Do Is..., Joel L. Hefling

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

If we conclude that veteran coaches and judges have had little or no formal training, and novice coaches and judges have had little or no formal training, then a number of implications begin to develop. For the sake of clarity, and to follow forensic conventions, let us examine several of those implications, first from the perspective of coaches, and then from the perspective of judges, and finally from the perspectives of the students. Then we may be able to draw some final conclusions for the forensic community as a whole.

Helping The Inexperienced Director, Alice J. Jaswal

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

This paper is not a research project or an experimental study. It is based on my own experiences, on discussions with I.E. directors who felt they lacked adequate training, and on discussions with "seasoned' directors who have aided new directors and new programs.

What The Rules Mean: Using Defined Judging Guidelines To Augment Informal Training, J.G. Harrington

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

This paper proposes one approach to those problems and suggests how it could improve judging, as well as giving coaches and competitors a useful tool for improving their presentations. What I propose is that tournament directors prepare simple, non-binding judging guidelines for each event at their tournaments. Judging guidelines could do more that give novice judges a set of standards to apply to each event; they could also prepare a way for the forensic community to begin to agree, in a basic way, on what we expect from competitors. In light of the generally ad hoc approach we now take …

Perspectives Of A Forensic Coach's First Year, Nancy Anderson Haga

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

Perspectives of Nancy Haga from Longwood College (VA) on becoming a first year forensic coach.

Conference Participants, Larry Schnoor, Vicki Karns

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

List of conference participants for the 1990 National Development Conference on Individual Events.

Conference Proceedings, Larry Schnoor, Vicki Karns

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

Through-out the weekend, several different groups met to discuss the "state of Individual Events" an offer suggestions for the future. Each group developed a list of resolutions which was presented to the entire body at the end of the Conference. Since this group was not a legislative body, the resolutions were not presented as motions for voting; instead, they were offered as suggestions for the Forensic community. During the final session of the Developmental Conference on Individual Events, the following resolutions were endorsed by the participants in attendance.

Table Of Contents For The 1990 National Developmental Conference On Individual Events, Larry Schnoor, Vicki Karns

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

Table of contents for Conference Proceedings for the Second National Developmental Conference on Individual Events.

Importance And Challenges Of International Service-Learning, Parul Chaube

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Service-learning is an important component of a college education as it helps students demonstrate a positive impact on their community using their classroom knowledge. Through business writing, a Purdue English course, we were able to learn about how to market effectively to a college audience and were able to implement these learnings in our partnership with Code for Nepal. Code for Nepal is an organization that works to improve the digital literacy of women and other minority groups within Nepal. Their most impactful work was creating a document encompassing key information regarding food, water, and shelter after the 2015 earthquake. …

If It's Problem-Cause-Solution This Must Be Persuasive Speaking: Are We Short-Changing The Art Of Persuasion?, Shawnalee A. Whitney

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of two significant challenges that exist in Persuasive Speaking on the competitive circuit today: narrow topics and overly formulaic patterns of organization. I've elected to focus my paper on the event alternately known in intercollegiate forensics as Persuasive Speaking, Persuasion, and/or Oratory. For purposes of this paper, I use these three different labels interchangeably; my use of one label or another does not indicate concerns about or allegiance to a particular forensic organization that may use a given title for the event. For clarity, it is important to note that …

Fisher's Narrative Paradigm Theory: A Model For Differentiating After Dinner Speaking From Informative And Persuasive Speaking, C. Thomas Preston Jr.

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

As Schnoor and Karns (1992) have noted, a great spirit of camaraderie and cooperation existed after the Second Developmental Conference on Individual Events concerning the direction of events (pp. 13-16). One of the questions posed at this conference, the authors note, was how to improve the original speaking events. At this the Third Developmental Conference, we ask the question, "How do we discover effective new directions in the original speaking events?" Today, my paper will assess both tried and innovative new directions in after dinner speaking, with a discussion of the other original speaking events as necessary for background material. …

New Directions For Public Speaking: The Perfect Pendulum Swings, M'Liss S. Hindman

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

The author will present her personal and frank ideas of what she sees as a dangerous trend in public speaking events. A loose analogy of forensics to a swinging pendulum will first be explained. Then the author will explain what she sees as the current state of public speaking events, and finally, an attempt to predict some outcomes for the future of public speaking events and some suggestions for our consideration. The aim of this paper is to make us think: where are we in this quest for excellence in public speaking events? How did we get to where we …

Solving For A Healthier Future: Creating National Standards For Training Future Directors Of Forensics, Thomas A. Workman

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

An important link has been made in current research between coach burnout and improper training of directors of forensics. Although the structure for such training is in place via the graduate programs of universities offering forensics, this arena has been underutilized. A competency-based model of training is presented utilizing both curricular and non-curricular methods. Six competency areas are established, with a call for national standards toward the development of future coaches by those programs with graduate assistantships in forensics.

Teaching And Coaching Individuals: The Use Of Learning Styles In Forensics Coaching, Thomas Bartl

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

When I ask myself how to approach the issue of training coaches in competitive speech and debate, I find myself posing a different question. It seems that before I can ascertain what could or should be done to train coaches effectively or to train effective coaches I need to know what it is these coaches are expected to do. The answer to this question must then determine what kind of training would be appropriate.

Afa-Niet: The Culture Of Qualifying And Its Effets On Forensics, Daniel A. West

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

It is my concern that we have created a culture that is primarily focused on qualifying for a national tournament rather than on the pursuit of excellence in performance. This "culture of qualifying" is just like any other culture: it has norms, rules and rituals. It has expected behaviors and offers rewards to those who meet those expectations and punishments to those who don't. When this "culture of qualifying" replaces or supersedes other missions or goals of forensics competition, the following three problems result.

Judge Agreement And Student Rotation: A Real-Life Study Of The 1990 Dsr-Tka National Forensics Tournament, Vicki L. Karns

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

During the third round of Poetry competition at the 1990 DSR-TKA National Tournament, a student approached the Tab Room and asked why the same people were competing against each other in the first and third rounds. After examining the schematics, it was determined that, indeed, the first and third rounds were identical. At that point in the tournament schedule, it was impossible to reschedule or redo the schematic, so the tournament continued as originally scheduled. Instead of treating this as a crisis, it became an excellent real-life opportunity for research. Thus, this study examines the ranks between Rounds One and …

Equal Opportunity?: The Impact Of Specialized Tournaments On Forensics Pedagogy, Forensics Professionals, And The Forensics Laboratory, Scott Jensen

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

Among the most significant changes in the evolution of forensic activities has been the growth of specialized participation, with students, educators, and programs focusing on debate or individual events. The manifestations of this specialization are seen in the decreasing number of tournaments offering opportunities for students to compete in both categories of competition. While some preservation of broad-based participation is seen with the growing popularity of parliamentary formats, the move away from broad-based participation is clear. This trend is argued to be alarming due to its negative impact on forensics pedagogy, the training of forensics educators, and the forensics laboratory. …

Forensics Education And Tournament Management, Joel Hefling

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

When one thinks about managing a forensics tournament, frequently the components of that process that come to mind are the tasks of scheduling rooms, securing judges, ordering trophies and food, scheduling the rounds and getting through the awards ceremony as quickly and easily as possible. As the time draws nearer for the tournament to begin, there may be some details that escape the director's attention. At this time, the tournament director may become painfully aware of the admonitions presented by Hunsinger, Terry, and Wood (1970) when they point out that the director "... should not try to do everything by …

Presumption In Parliamentary Debate: Examining Whately's Ideas And Their Application To An Emerging And Evolving Debate Style, Tammy Duvanel Unruh

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

Presumption as a part of formal debate is examined in this paper, which discusses Richard Whately's ideas about presumption and burden of proof in argumentation, how these ideas have been applied as paradigms and judging criteria in competitive debate, and how these same ideas fit into the practice of parliamentary debate. General conclusions about broad applications of debate "rules" are drawn, then, from this example, and suggestions are made for future study.

Forensics Fellows: Integrating Faculty Participation Into Intercollegiate Parliamentary Debate Programs, Lewis E. Rutledge

Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events

There are important benefits to integrating non-forensics faculty into assisting with the instruction and training of intercollegiate parliamentary debaters. These benefits may also spill over into individual events in a limited way. Parliamentary debate, if done well, requires that debaters have a broad based education covering many diverse disciplines, especially philosophy, history and political science, and of course a familiarity with current national and international events. Enlisting the aid of non-forensics professors from various departments to provide occasional mini-lectures on diverse topics can help improve this broad-based education. Additionally, there are other unique benefits to encouraging non-forensics faculty members to …