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…

Offers a rationale for creating a basic course in intrapersonal communication and provides a general description of such a course instituted at the University of Denver. (MH)

Advocates using an experimental or "communi-site" approach to teaching basic speech. Suggests that students seek out problems from local communities and use the classroom as a base of operations for their issue-oriented speechmaking assignments, lectures and problem-solving processes. (MH)

Presents a master syllabus describing a communication course designed to (1) maintain a hands-on internship experience for students; (2) provide a method for integrating theoretical principles into "real-world" settings; and (3) offer an avenue for faculty supervisors to receive credit for time spent teaching and administering…

Shares an alternative (and tested) approach to teaching the small group communication course, which includes discussions of race, gender, and class as important communication variables within various social and interpersonal communication. (SR)

Probes the tension between reasons to recognize differences among women and potential dangers inherent in emphasizing women's diversity, focusing on women and their communication. Suggests embracing this tension. Offers concrete instructional principles and practices (for communication courses) to cultivate respect for diversity and appreciation…

Speech communication in general and rhetoric in particular address suggestions for protecting the "space" in which public conversation occurs in a democracy. Although the framers of the Constitution clearly envisioned significant citizen involvement in policy making, citizen access to the process has greatly declined, especially at the…

Using a "self-awareness" approach, this paper discusses a course in family communication designed to force students to examine their families, how they communicate, and the implications of that communication. Based on a text by Kathleen Galvin and Bernard J. Brommel, "Family Communication: Cohesion and Change," the…

A model basic speech communication course is described in this paper, along with guidelines for developing and maintaining a cognitive-basic skills approach to such a course. The course outline describes the university environment where the course is taught; the structure of the department offering the course; the philosophy and course objectives;…

Outlines a basic course designed to develop communication competencies in teachers. Provides a pragmatic approach to the development of instructional communication competencies in areas of interpersonal, small group, information dispensing, and instructional discussion communications. (MH)

Details useful and interesting extra credit exercises that maintain student interest in a media ethics course. (CRH)

This paper describes a pilot course combining the communication capstone with service learning. It first looks at faculty rationale and expectations for the course, then describes how the course was constructed. It then summarizes the students' expectations for the course. The next section gives the perspective of both the instructor and the…