This single-class activity provides an opportunity for students to understand qualities of the dark side of interpersonal communication better. To achieve this goal, students review a series of articles from "The New York Times'" "Modern Love" column. Students are introduced to the dark side of interpersonal communication and…

This article offers readers 13 "My Favorite Assignments" that were presented at the Association for Business Communication's 83rd annual conference held in Miami, Florida, in 2018. The teaching innovations offered include assignments that present quick, fun icebreaker exercises; visual communication and diversity; rhetoric; email; and…

This article describes an activity using Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" as a supplemental text in an undergraduate group communication course. This book will help stimulate conversation and promote easy avenues for classroom discussion. In addition to weekly quizzes over each chapter to help facilitate rich classroom discussions, the…

This article describes an activity in which teachers and students use music in the form of a "Mix-tape" to relate communication theory to students' lived experiences. When students identify and use their own familiar popular culture texts to explain concepts and identify relationships, they do so in ways that the course textbook cannot. This…

This paper describes an assignment that gives students the ability to improve written and verbal communication abilities, which they will be using throughout their lives, by enhancing communication skills and competencies in a class setting. It is a two-part assignment that begins with a discussion on how to produce a successful cover letter and…

The objective of the assignment described here is to allow students to reflect upon and articulate how they have been shaped by their "standpoints" in life. Many times, students are not aware of others' views and cultural upbringing (other than surface-level issues). By examining how Standpoint Theory shapes one's perceptions of their privileges…

Presents a case study for use in business communication classes to help students understand and learn both the context and the strategies for communication with business and management. Deals with communications gone wrong between a company and a very important potential client and what might be done salvage the contract. Includes correspondence…

This paper describes an assignment that is used in a hybrid speech course to test students' knowledge as well as work toward more application of the interpersonal, small group, and conflict aspects of the course. Discussion is scheduled after the lectures that cover those aspects, and a one-day lecture on the topic of persuasion and sources…

Presents a case study for use in business communication classes to help students understand and learn both the context and the strategies for communication with business and management. Deals with a situation in which diverse internal groups in a company neither understand nor effectively interact with each other. Includes two assignments. (SR)

This activity is designed as a brief, two-part assignment that students should complete outside of the class period before engaging in class discussion. Because this activity is an overview of the field, it works best if assigned early in the semester. The class periods immediately prior to the assignment should give students a basic orientation…

Essays on second language teaching focuses on how the kinds of tasks performed by the learner relate to language output. "Choosing and Using Communication Tasks for Second Language Instruction" (Teresa Pica, Ruth Kanagy, Joseph Falodun) contains a taxonomy of communication task types, based on the concepts of goal and activity,…