This activity aims to assist students with persuasive tactics for argumentative speeches. The activity involves students creating an argumentative speech to defend a hot-take assertion chosen from a list provided by the instructor. In small groups, students will craft an argument supporting their hot-take assertion and present it to the class.…

Courses: Storytelling, persuasion, gender and communication, argumentation and debate. Objectives: In this essay, I map a unit-specific activity for an undergraduate class in argumentation and debate. I argue for the integration of a trans-affirming pedagogy as a key rhetorical frame in communication studies courses. Such pedagogical commitments…

Courses: This unit activity is suited for upper-level college courses on persuasion, intercultural communication, diversity, leadership, social justice, civil discourse, argumentation, debate, and political communication. Objectives: After completing this unit, learners should be able to: improve their capacity to examine arguments; enhance their…

Many instructors and textbooks encourage the use of debate and critical thinking in the classroom by creating artificial public space in which students then act out engagements. The tools gained from such activities do encourage better thinking and speaking, but they do not adequately prepare students for "real" situations when they must…

Courses: Media and Politics, Political Communication, Political Rhetoric, Media Effects. Objective: By taking part in a classroom activity, students will explore how cognitive frames and media frames play a role in learning from political debates.

Courses: Ethics, Organizational Communication, Political Communication. Objectives: After completing this unit activity, students should be able to (1) apply multiple ethical perspectives to real-world diversity issues in a debate format, and (2) explain the role of informational and social category diversity in current controversies.

A common observation on college campuses today is "students do not look up when walking on campus." It is often thought that such attachment to communication devices demonstrates a lack of connection to the "real world." This perspective exemplifies the need for faculty to connect with the "digital generation" and do…

This article presents an activity that engages students in a fun and collaborative process of learning, with a primary objective of teaching them how to identify and label formal and informal argumentative fallacies. After playing a variation of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?," students ought to be better prepared to craft stronger arguments and…

When students encounter opposing beliefs in college classrooms, they can opt to remain apathetic, change perspectives, or defend their position. The process of integrating theories with personal beliefs is important to students' application of theories to their lives, and an involved instructor guides students in such applications. Communication…

Communication theory is one of the most challenging courses in the communication curriculum. Students and faculty alike must grapple with more abstract material, in some cases drastically different from the more skill-based courses such as speech, small group, or broadcast courses. In particular, communication theory is usually the starting ground…

Objective: To learn about candidates for a political office by presenting and listening to speeches about the candidates and their platforms. Type of speech: Informative. Point value: 100 points, which is 10% of course grade. Requirements: (a) References: Minimum of 3 from recent and varying publications; (b) Length: 5-7 minutes; (c) Visual aid:…