Courses: Health Communication, Science Communication, Interpersonal Communication. Objective: This activity prepares students to explain jargon effectively when communicating with individuals who have low health literacy by utilizing clear communication strategies.

Language is not static. It flows like a river in response to the riverbank and the rocks that border and run beneath it. In the same way, glossaries are dynamic expressions of current language usage. Developmental education and learning assistance have changed dramatically in recent years, and so must also the language used to describe and define…

Courses: Public Relations, Public Administration, Crisis Communication, and Crisis Management. Objective: Students explore crisis communication in a public setting, where public leaders are supposed to communicate the impact of a crisis to citizens, the media, and other stakeholders.

The opportunities in social media management and digital marketing strategy continue to expand as the profession evolves. Social media has become central for communication around the globe, but social marketers struggle with strategy and planning skills. The client-based activity outlined in this study facilitates the development of skills related…

Courses: Business Communication, Public Relations, Organizational Communication. Objectives: This activity provides students with an accessible case study to craft an internal communication change plan focused on tactical changes to run-the-business objectives and constitutive goals that foster a renewed sense of organizational culture and…

Courses: Small Group Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Relational Communication, Communication Theory, Introduction to Communication, or any course with a unit on teamwork or a group project. Objective: This activity engages students in an experiential learning activity through the popular online video game Among Us in order to teach…

Courses: Digital Media, Survey of Social Media, Professional Communication Skills, Interviewing, and Mediated Communication. Objectives: The goals of this classroom activity are for students to understand strategic communication for self-promotion on social media platforms, especially Twitter, and to utilize them effectively for job applications.

Courses: This semester-long project is suited for instructors teaching communication courses in health communication, advanced persuasion, applied communication, and media literacy. The pedagogical design features service-learning and integrative-learning (IL) approaches. Objectives: (1) adapt and apply various perspectives learned in the course…

Courses: Crisis Communication, Advanced Public Relations. Objectives: In this multiple class activity, students will (a) apply crisis communication concepts and skills to several phases of an ongoing hypothetical crisis, (b) synthesize course material into a crisis communication manual, and (c) engage in ongoing critical reflection about best…

Communication courses enhance learning through engaging diverse perspectives. However, students' unawareness of diverse perspectives can inhibit communication effectiveness and classroom engagement. Communication teachers encounter challenges and opportunities when these viewpoints impact students' assignment quality, class discussion…

This Best Practices article outlines 10 tips relative to teaching a course in Nonviolent Communication (NVC). It outlines suggestions for readings, activities, and projects throughout a semester-long undergraduate course. The article addresses how students can learn both the theory and practice of nonviolence by means of readings and activities…

Audience analysis is essential for creating successful messages across communication fields. The audience persona is an effective tool for understanding the characteristics and needs of a target audience. Through this unit activity, students experience the process of persona development, build skills in data collection and analysis, and gain…

This practice brief provides practical, research-based strategies educators can use to de-escalate challenging student behavior in the classroom. Despite the development of supportive, safe, and predictable school environments, students may, at times, become agitated, and their behavior may escalate to unsafe levels. With some advance planning,…

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Fundamentals of Human Communication, Communication Theory, Public Speaking, and Intercultural Communication. Objectives: After completing this single-class activity, students will be able to (1) describe how meaning is created through symbolic interaction, (2) explain how the self is created through symbolic…

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Health Communication. Objectives: In this single-class activity, students gain awareness and practice in suspending judgments about "difficult" people in order to understand the reasoning behind certain objectionable behavior.