The purpose of this essay is to provide clarity and direction for developing and maintaining outcome-driven courses for inclusion in general education curricula. The focus is on the basic course in Communication, but the principles can be applied to nearly any course. The outcome-driven perspective changes many traditional conceptions of the basic…

Provides personal and historical background concerning the development and success of early doctoral programs in communication education at Purdue University and Florida State University. Discusses critical events that shaped the focus and image of communication in the past two decades. Discusses five trends in communication education from a…

This paper aims to show how Canadian hiring policies affect, and actually impede, the creation and maintenance of "speech" communication programs in Canada. The paper notes that when Canadians think "communication" they think media or mass communication--which makes sense since few Canadian universities teach courses in speech…

Universities and colleges are increasingly recognizing the need for programs in oral communication across the curriculum. Many small colleges that do not have faculty in communications do have faculty in theatre who are skilled in oral communication. This article describes a pilot program in oral communication coaching for undergraduate students…

The battle for communication skills has already been won; the task ahead is to get teachers in the trenches to teach them, either in separate units or in their subject areas. Nine references are listed, and a list of resources for implementing instruction in speaking and listening is provided. (Author/DCS)

This paper describes a faculty-designed program evaluation procedure established at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, focusing on the Communication Department. The assessment potential of this process is examined and, following an explication of the process itself and the Program Evaluation Committee (PEC) Report, the five elements…

Offers three models for educating future public-relations practitioners from a communication point of view: a macro-approach that integrates outcomes, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment at the program level; a micro-approach that adds specifics of outcomes, pedagogy, and assessment strategies for each of five core course-content areas; and a…

More effective reading, writing, and communication courseware can be promoted through clearer guidelines in courseware development, stronger incentives for courseware developers, and greater motivation for teachers to seek out and use the courseware. In reading and writing, software guidelines must reflect traditional instructional objectives--or…

The product of a comprehensive project aimed at identifying reading, writing, and communication courseware needs, this report first discusses the benefits of computer assisted instruction and obstacles to its implementation in the communications area. It then describes procedures used to gather information and presents a detailed review of the…