This study looks at Purdue University's Integrated First-Year Experience of Design Thinking in Technology, Fundamentals of Speech Communication, and First-Year Composition and its effects on oral communication. We examined whether this three-course integration inspired by writing-across-the-curriculum and communication-across-the-curriculum would…

In an attempt to meet rising student demand and cost-effectively deliver instruction, colleges and universities are offering more online courses. Despite the increasing growth of the online format, there remains a question of the effectiveness of this instructional delivery method. We evaluated the relative effectiveness of a public speaking…

Effective presentation skills never go out of style, however, the channel by which we deliver presentations has been rapidly changing over the past two decades. Technological developments have made it easier to bring audiences together in virtual spaces and as a result, more and more presentations are taking place every day through digital…

Describes an alternative approach to a communication lab or speaking center known as the Speech Center, which serves the entire university community. Notes that the use of the center is based entirely on voluntary participation by faculty and staff. Reviews methods and operating procedures for this alternative program. (SG)

Assuming that different programs for communication apprehensive/avoidant students attract different types of students according to their needs and apprehension types, a study examined the relationship between communication apprehension (CA) and general people orientations, as measured by the Personal Record of Communication Apprehension-24…

Describes a small but successful intercollegiate competitive public speaking program. Success was related to formation of good student-teacher relationships, a productive organizational psycho-environment, and careful teaching of public speaking fundamentals. (Author/RC)

Describes procedures used to develop effective speaking skills for health education majors at the University of Lowell, emphasizing the positive, stepwise approach of the three-year program. Includes a detailed evaluation form that lets students know what is expected in oral presentations and enables professors to be consistent in their…

Faced with pragmatic concerns such as the declining economy, university support, and increasing student enrollment, the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Dayton (Ohio) during the 1978-79 academic year was compelled to consider alternatives to the traditional method of using full-time faculty to instruct the basic public…

A study determined the viability and effectiveness of the Computerized Competent Speaker Evaluation System. A total of 659 comments made by undergraduate students about the paper version of the Competent Speaker Speech Evaluation Form were subjected to two Q sorts. The 635 comments that emerged were incorporated into the evaluation system during…

Secondary education majors participated in a one-week microteaching program in which they were trained to identify and quantify verbal behaviors that inhibit teacher clarity. Teacher clarity indicators were identified as vagueness terms and mazes. Vagueness terms are indicated by approximation or lack of clarity and assurance. Mazes are garbles,…

The Oral Communication Program (OCP) was established at Radford University, Virginia, in 1988 as a comprehensive program of oral communication across the curriculum. The OCP has generated student and faculty involvement using a variety of information outlets such as meetings, retreats, and communication-intensive courses. Faculty from the…

Although student interest is greater than ever, college forensics programs are limited in their expansion by budget considerations that restrict travel. However, with reasonable effort and perseverance new programs can be initiated or existing ones expanded to integrate the educational community and the community at large into a forensics program.…