Continuing a tradition dating back to 1968, this tenth study in a longitudinal series of surveys of the basic communication course has two goals: (1) to provide descriptive information about the basic course contemporarily and over time; and (2) to propose a framework for interpreting the impact of the extraordinary national and international…

This exploratory study examines the role virtual reality can play in student speech practice for oral communication courses. The study focuses on situational communication apprehension of the virtual reality practice session in relation to students who practice face-to-face and the final grade of the subsequent speech. Test and control groups…

We assessed the effectiveness of an integrated engineering public-speaking class relative to a traditionally taught public-speaking class. The integrated class was designed to meet the growing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics communication needs and the fundamental Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the…

This study investigated the relationship between public-speaking state anxiety (PSA) and verbal communication performance when delivering a speech. In Study 1, participants delivered an extemporaneous five-minute classroom speech behind a lectern, and in Study 2, to increase cognitive load, participants delivered an extemporaneous five-minute…

Articles published in "Communication Education" ("CE") from 2000 to 2013 yielded four major themes: teacher/instructor to student communication, public speaking, technology, and identity. An analysis of the articles within each major theme revealed a notable absence of research investigating the experiences of students of color…

Although previous research has linked students' expected grades to numerous pedagogical variables, this factor has been all but ignored by instructional communication scholars. In the present study, 315 undergraduates were presented with grading scenarios representing differing combinations of course rigor, teacher immediacy, and student…

Increased public speaking confidence is often cited as a major benefit for undergraduates taking the basic communication course. Several scholars have reported that the state anxiety of novice speakers declines progressively during performance, a phenomenon called within-session habituation. However, the contributions of these short-term…

Describes a speech assignment in which students describe a geometric figure well enough so that listeners can then draw the figure. Exercise is based on philosophy of teaching and learning in W. Timothy Gallwey's "The Inner Game of Tennis." (PD)

Describes a device, the speaker resume, which provides students with biographical information on an orator's education, achievements, historical impact, rhetorical skills, and personal data. Includes a sample resume of Daniel O'Connell, Irish orator. Useful to teachers and students for class discussion and further investigation. (PD)

Describes an upper level course on rhetoric of women and its effects. Covers (1) criteria for selecting prominent women speakers; (2) course content and structure; (3) course materials; (4) classroom procedures; (5) assignments and evaluations; and (6) concerns and caveat. (PD)

Develops a model of the stages of student rhetorical development and relates it to public speaking instruction. Suggests teaching strategies designed to lead students to each successive level of the model. (MS)

Describes a public address curriculum based upon a different way of conceptualizing public address. (Author)

Presents exercises to teach critical thinking skills based on the divisions of classic rhetoric. (PD)

Describes a technique in which students deliver their speeches three times, each time to a different third of the class. Helps beginning speech students develop self-confidence and communication effectiveness more rapidly and thoroughly than is usually achieved in standard classroom speaking formats. (PD)

Asserts that media systems and pedagogy affect each other, that electronic media increasingly dominate the society, and that pedagogy must respond. Outlines a heuristic model for talking and thinking pedagogically about the process of speech in the electronic media environment. (MG)