This study proposed a novel approach to classroom debates, in which chatbots that are able to engage in argumentative dialogues are adopted to facilitate students' debate preparation. The approach comprised three stages: first, students interacted with a chatbot named Argumate to help them generate ideas; second, students discussed the ideas with…

Procedures and practices that are ableist in the educational system have been long overlooked. Speakers having differing abilities than neurotypical or able-bodied individuals is often not something that is considered in basic course assessment tools. This is important to address because although there are institutional policies and procedures in…

Providing a record of the deliberations of the Second National Conference of Forensics is the function of this book, which is organized around the deliberations and results of each of the following nine work groups: (1) rationale for forensics, (2) ethics of forensics, (3) promotion and tenure standards, (4) strengthening educational goals, (5)…

One course in persuasion reviews six theories of attitude change--five based on Otto Lerbinger's designs for persuasive communication (cognitive design, stimulus response design, motivational design, personality design, and social design), and a sixth (perceptual design) developed by the instructors. Instruction in each includes a variety of…

To determine the status of recent experimental, empirical, and rhetorical studies in teaching persuasion, a questionnaire was sent to 300 speech teachers in colleges and universities. Results were based on data obtained from 60 percent of the respondents. It was found that persuasion is taught in most colleges and universities, a wide range of…

Twenty years ago the average number of individual events offered at an intercollegiate forensics tournament was two. That average has increased steadily over the years until today it is close to 10 events per individual events tournament. However, some of the so-called "new" or "experimental" events are duplicative, causing the…

Traditional concepts of speech ethics are based on either "national value" or "formula value" theories. The national value theory asserts that the ethical standards by which a speaker and a speech are evaluated must reflect established societal mores. The formula value theory delineates a set of rules for the student to follow in the process of…

To determine the extent of the involvement of undergraduates in speech tournament management, a survey was sent to 230 Directors of Forensics at schools with a Pi Kappa Delta affiliation. Most of the 102 respondents indicated that they use undergraduates when running a speech tournament but that concerns about utilizing undergraduates do exist.…

Student interest in individual events in intercollegiate forensics competition is on the rise in the United States. Not only does the individual events tournament format reward depth of analysis, it also rewards students' abilities to transfer their critical insights into appropriate physical and vocal cues. The individual events tournament…

The 16 articles in this journal issue identify and assess change and constants in intercollegiate forensics during the decade of the 1970s. The articles give varying perspectives on the significance of the decade and the topics range from concern for tenure for the debate coach to the formats of argumentation theory within the debates themselves.…

The 14 articles in this journal issue focus on the role of forensics in the eighties. Among the topics discussed in the articles are the following: (1) the survival of forensics, (2) intercollegiate debate, (3) accountability, and (4) intercollegiate forensics. In addition, several articles provide predictions and projections for the future of…

Competitive speech activities at western states colleges are reported. (CH)

Analyzes pedagogical, historical-critical, philosophical, and political-public approaches. (RN)