Since the norm-referenced grading system produces a student-teacher conflict situation, a climate and grading system conducive to supportive interaction seems desirable, especially in an interpersonal communication course. This can be accomplished through contract grading, in which the instructor defines the contract components and the student…

Among the characteristics of training (such as cross-cultural training) that differentiate it from traditional classroom education are its attention to how adults learn, preference for the experiential approach, emphasis on "learning how to learn," and tailoring to meet individual needs. Seven issues are considered to be most important in current…

Developed as part of a Statement of Educational Principles project for the Newport Beach (California) School District, the method of teaching speech communication that is detailed in this guide has been cited for its clarity, developmental approach, adaptability, and workability. The ten units in the guide cover the following areas: vocal delivery…

This paper outlines a speech communication unit that reflects the assumptions of competency-based education. The emphasis of the unit's content is on using knowledge rather than on how the knowledge is acquired. Students are required to participate in the decision-making processes of the unit to get them actively involved in their own learning and…

Mastery learning is a systematic approach to instruction in which students are required to attain specified levels of competence. This paper provides a rationale for using mastery learning in the introductory public speaking course and clarifies the differences between traditional and mastery learning approaches by contrasting their assumptions…

Intended for college-level instructors, this paper aims to establish behavioral objectives for listening or listening competencies and provide experiential learning to develop and assess those objectives and/or competencies. The paper begins with an overview which notes the lack of material on listening competencies in many college speech…

Using the premises that all communication efforts inside and outside the classroom setting are evaluated in some form and that teachers must use subjective judgment at least some of the time in measuring communication behavior, this report reaffirms the benefits of objective judgment and at the same time makes a case for subjective judgment as a…

The goal of integrating coping skills into the English as a second language (ESL) curriculum is to enable adults to use language in the real world. To accomplish this goal, two kinds of input are needed: (1) comprehensive knowledge about the workings of American English, and (2) accurate information about the language contexts in which adults need…