At Florida State University in Tallahassee, 30 students a year are enrolled in the public relations major, beginning with the junior year, so that at any one time there are approximately 60 majors, all of whom have at least a B average. The basic course--PUR 3000, Introduction to Public Relations--enrolls over 150 students a semester in two…

A description of the sophomore level speech communication fundamentals course offered at Wauwatosa East High School in Wisconsin is presented in this paper. Following a statement of a philosophy of teaching communication theory, the major portion of the paper contains descriptions of the five units of the course: (1) communication concepts and…

Argues for the inclusion of a unit on visual communication in the basic course in communication. Provide suggestions for content, exercises, assignments, and resources for such a unit. (SR)

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 four modules described in this course syllabus are designed to present general concepts, principles, and skills of human communication to undergraduate students. Since students enrolled in the course can vary considerably in their professional, intellectual/academic, and personal needs, the self-inventory approach is used in the four modules…

Today, with the influx of media production courses across the country, students can intimately experience the differences between acting for the stage and acting for the screen and learn to shape their performances for a two-dimensional image. Such a course in video and film acting was introduced at the University of Arkansas. Students enrolled…

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 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…

To provide special instruction for students who report fear and avoidance of communication, a reticence program was instituted at Pennsylvania State University. Since the school has a general speech requirement that nearly all students have to meet in order to graduate, students are given an opportunity to enroll in this special section if they…

This paper describes the development and design of English 118 at Drake University. The course, geared primarily for college juniors and seniors, devotes proportionate shares of time to the theory, practice, and analysis of written expression, oral interpretation, and nonverbal communication. Six course options enable a wide variety of students to…

This paper presents approaches and perspectives for anyone interested in designing university courses in the field of political communication. These include focusing on a single political figure or a single issue, focusing on a political genre, focusing on the mass media in relationship to political success, focusing on media exploitation, and…

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…

The course content of a laboratory session on patient interviewing taught to medical students taking a course on physical diagnosis is discussed in this paper. The first part of the paper describes the basic course content covered in the lectures: the bio-psycho-social model, the communication process, and the skills necessary for effective…

A course for older learners in practical applications of basic interpersonal communication techniques is proposed in this paper. Following a review of the current status of lifelong learning programs, the discussion shifts to a two-part outline of a course designed to train older students in effectively solving both personal and social problems.…