Communication to the lay audience is a critical skill in academia. To equip students with this skill, we developed a new workshop and assessment. Postgraduate students attended a 1.5-hour workshop taught by a communication expert to develop communication skills and deliver engaging presentations. They were then asked to develop a 10-minute podcast…

A full-scale oral communication assessment was conducted by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) during the academic year 2013-14. Key components of this assessment included faculty involvement at all stages of assessment and collaboration with assessment coordinators and lead staff personnel. The VCCS Office of Institutional Research and…

Many university science outreach programs involve presentations of research projects to high school students. These presentations often focus more on exciting scientific content and less on fostering direct relationships between high school students and scientists. Such interactions are important for sustaining student interest in science…

Research indicates that the fear of public speaking is an extraordinarily common phobia and that a significant portion of the population experiences some form of anxiety over public speaking. Although there is a great deal of research available on the etiology of public speaking anxiety, there is far less research available on interventional…

In recent years, much attention has been given to the need for more empirical research to evaluate training programs that help prepare graduate students for their current and future teaching responsibilities. The present study investigated the effectiveness of a training workshop for graduate students who had varying levels of experience and…

This report presents baseline and process study findings of an evaluation of the Urban Alliance high school internship program, which provides training, mentoring, and work experience to high school seniors from distressed communities in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Northern Virginia, and Chicago. The report, which focuses on the program's…

Students in Honors Physical Geology at Louisiana State University (LSU) participated in instruction in eighth- to ninth-grade geology and geography classes in East Baton Rouge Parish Schools (EBRPS) to help meet community needs. LSU students created instructional materials and reflected on the service activity to gain a deeper understanding of…

A well-established principle in the literature on learning, which maintains that variability of practice enhances long-term retention, served as the foundation of a summer program intended to ameliorate reading skills in incoming freshmen. During a 4-week period, students received reading instruction in the context of four areas: humanities,…

This study explored the effectiveness of communication training for clergy, working to create an outcomes assessment model for such endeavors. Clergy-participants (N=46) completed an extensive training process designed to increase the transformative quality of their sermon communication. Training outcomes were assessed with a prepost test design,…

A modified form of problem-based learning (PBL) with problems based on real workplace scenarios was trialled in a third year university class on Environmental Geology. Problems were developed in consultation with industry and based on their recent projects. These were then modified to allow for the shorter timeframe available, the less developed…

Research investigating public speaking anxiety treatments is subject to demand effects. This study tests the relative effectiveness of systematic desensitization (SD) and multiple treatment method (MT) containing visualization therapy against no-treatment and credible placebo controls. Data (N = 238) were collected at six points in a public…

Compares traditional and online formats in a public speaking course. Gives a description of the online format and notes factors related to selection format. Considers students' global evaluations of format and students' reports of their speaking apprehension. Concludes with an evaluation of public speaking skills. (SG)

Reports on two do-it-yourself treatment programs for dealing with stage fright. One program followed a systematic desensitization paradigm; the other was a handout listing 16 strategies for understanding stage fright. Higher ratings were given to the handout strategy. A list of the 16 strategies is included. (Author/RC)

The study sought to evaluate a state agricultural leadership program, Leadership Idaho Agriculture (LIA), according to the perceptions of program graduates. Of the 348 graduates from 1993-2001, 246 returned a completed instrument for a total response rate of 70.7%. Participants rated communication skills as the most frequently used skills and…