Questionnaire responses from 187 speech instructors representing 96 junior colleges in the western United States were studied to determine approaches to the basic speech course at these institutions. Such a course is required for graduation at 42 per cent of the institutions; it typically receives three semester units of credit, meets 54 hours per…

Noting that speech instruction as a liberal study must include significant subject matter, rigorous intellectual application, high ethical standards, and responsibility, this paper describes the humanities core course at Allegheny College (Pennsylvania) as providing such a climate for speech instruction. The paper first describes the course goals…

Developed for a high school unit on special occasion speeches, this guide is designed to help students learn the eulogy, the tribute, and the after-dinner, introduction, nomination, and acceptance speeches. Performance objectives are listed along with a rationale for the course and its content. A section entitled "Teaching Strategies"…

The two articles in this publication focus on ways of teaching argumentation and debate in the college setting. The first article examines the place of the argumentation and debate course in the speech communication curriculum and suggests cognitive and behavioral objectives and assignments for use in such a course. The second article discusses…

The speech communication department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, provides a rigorous and legally oriented course in freedom of speech. The objectives of the course are to help students gain insight into the historical and philosophical foundations of the First Amendment, the legal/judicial processes concerning the First Amendment, and…

The University of Tennessee (Knoxville) offers as a special section of the public speaking curriculum, a "speech anxiety" program, taught by faculty and graduate students from the speech and theatre and educational psychology departments and staff from the counseling services center. The students spend the first few weeks of the special…

Three innovations combine to make it possible for Arizona State University to move 1,600 students a year through a performance based communication course with no expense but the salary of a single faculty member. Apart from the obvious economic benefits, the mass lecture/small group breakdown format assures that the student will receive an…

This course description presents information on Speech 50, Practical Oral Communication, a course offered at Fullerton College and designed to provide two-year college students with basic communication skills for use in everyday situations. Introductory material provides basic information on the course; the major course goals and long-range…

The place of argumentation within the speech communication curriculum is the focus of this article. The article provides a rationale for an upper-level college course in the deliberation and decision making process currently taught at the University of North Carolina, and relates that rationale to broader concerns of argumentation theory. Various…

The contents of this document include a paper describing a contract approach in the fundamentals of speech course and the syllabus for the course taught for the last six quarters at Florida State University. The course description outlines the objectives, grading procedures, and requirements for successfully fulfilling the performance contract…

One hundred thirty-eight college communication departments responded to a survey to assess the status of intercultural communication instruction. The questionnaire was designed to identify the demographic characteristics of institutions that offer introductory courses in intercultural communication, the type of students taking such courses, class…

Within the structure of a senior and graduate level course, students in the Ohio University school of interpersonal communication collaborate with community groups in the creation of campaigns promoting issue-awareness, political candidates, fund raising events, and citizen action. The course objectives include teaching students to understand the…

Intended for use by college basic speech communication course directors and teachers, the course described in this paper is based on the model of communication competency developed by R. R. Allen and K. L. Brown. The first section of the paper presented a brief discussion of the model, which defines a competent communicator as one who is capable…

Prompted by data from a national survey indicating that communication apprehension (CA) was higher among pharmacy students than among the general population, West Virginia University developed a communication course especially to meet the needs of these students. The course was later modified by Auburn University. A study investigated the…

In response to severe budget restrictions and a shortage of qualified graduate students, a basic speech communications course instituted three innovations: use of undergraduate teaching assistants, contiguous scheduling of lecture and breakdown rooms, and the publication of a textbook supplement with detailed activity guidelines and examples. With…