Research shows that a highly stressed brain does not absorb or remember information, causing learning to essentially shut down. Today's students are more stressed and anxious than ever, and classrooms have become tense places. Educators require knowledge and skills to facilitate and teach students stress-management techniques and find creative…

The number of students experiencing anxiety at school is on the rise. With this book, teachers can create emotionally supportive environments and strengthen children's abilities to cope with anxiety. This must-have resource: (1) Provides a framework for understanding anxiety, its causes, and the various ways it can present in young people; (2)…

Public speaking creates discomfort for many students. Instead of seeking to avoid this inevitable discomfort, six speech-variation activities explained in this paper are intentionally designed for, a little bit at a time, embracing momentary discomfort in public speaking. By embracing the inevitable discomfort of public speaking head-on in a fun…

Anxiety rates are skyrocketing among young learners--and their teachers need explicit training on how to understand and support these students. A concise, reader-friendly guide written especially for teachers, this urgently needed book will prepare early educators to recognize anxiety issues in children ages 3-8, identify the associated behaviors,…

Searching for jobs is a stressful process for students. When faced with unknowns of the future, many students avoid proactively planning their job search. This article describes an exercise, rooted in scenario planning, which is a tool widely used during an organization's strategy development process. To help students prepare for the job search…

Elevate your support for children's well-being in schools with our user-friendly resource, offering practical strategies and guidance for busy educators to navigate and nurture mental health. You'll deepen your understanding of the key emotional and social challenges children face today through evidence-based techniques for engaging with children…

Courses: Rhetorical Criticism, Communication Theory, Media Criticism. Objectives: This activity uses a diagram to help students visualize Kenneth Burke's theory of dramatism. Specifically, through an analysis of the film Hell or High Water, students learn to identify each stage of the guilt-purification-redemption cycle and gain insight into its…

Courses: Public speaking. Objectives: This assignment reduces speech anxiety through the affect-reframing power of gratitude, and enables students to consolidate their gains by experiencing social support from a staff mentor.

Tight deadlines, high expectations, friction with peers, family drama: With all these stressors on middle and high school students and few healthy outlets for releasing them, it's no wonder they have trouble concentrating on schoolwork. But what if you could teach students long-standing, field-proven ways to successfully navigate stress? In this…

This collection of 10 My Favorite Assignments (MFA) was first presented at the 2023 Association for Business Communication Annual International Conference held Denver, Colorado, USA. Instructors can see innovative ideas for teaching current social issues, oral communication techniques, and methods to lead students to greater personal and…

This article presents a curated collection of 10 teaching innovations debued at the Association for Business Communication's 87th annual meeting held in Tampa, Florida, USA, and online October 2022. This "My Favorite Assignment" 27th edition introduces readers to classroom-ready ideas to help students gain personal and professional…

This activity extends the rich pedagogical scholarship on impromptu speaking by integrating visual imagery into the impromptu speaking exercise. The goal of this semester-long series of exercises is to provide students with the opportunity to apply effective delivery skills across general purposes of speaking, receive feedback, and thus develop…

Impromptu speaking is a typical exercise in communication-focused courses. This format is often used to practice reducing or assess speaking anxiety, getting to know one another, and delivering project updates and ceremonial remarks. For students to practice their skills in quick thinking and speech preparation, instructors commonly have students…

Students are challenged to write papers and give oral presentations across disciplines. Yet, the audience for students often remains the same: college personnel and classroom peers. Communication classrooms are ideal places to learn about and practice audience adaptation, specifically modifying content for different audiences, contexts, and…

Our students have always needed our support, but recent events have brought to the forefront the challenges K-12 schools face in supporting their mental health. Now is the time to transform schools into safe and healthy places that enable students not only to learn but also thrive. Based on decades of research and proven examples from education…