Course: Media Theory and Methods. Objectives: (1) To understand and apply social justice perspectives and pedagogical strategies to the study of content analysis. (2) To recognize and transform how social scientific practices in content analysis contribute to the marginalization of specific gender and sexuality portrayals on television.

This activity provides students with a way of understanding expectancy violations theory (EVT) by examining incidents that occurred during televised award shows. In this activity, in small groups, students will delve into well-known award-show incidents, such as Will Smith's slapping of Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards, to understand the…

Challenges to identity formation often emerge during college experiences as one's world view is confronted by exposure to new social circles, ideas, and cultures. Through the analysis of interpenetrating identities in the popular television show, "The Big Bang Theory," students are able to locate concrete examples of the four frames of…

Working effectively in groups is essential for college graduates (Hart Research Associates, 2013). University and college administrators have responded to this need by increasing the number of group communication courses by 25% (Bertelsen & Goodboy, 2009). However, it is the quality of course instruction that determines how well prepared…

A desired outcome of teaching intercultural communication is cultivating an understanding and awareness of different cultural values while attempting to increase intercultural communication competence within our students. Goals of teaching intercultural communication include assisting students in recognizing, accepting, and appreciating cultural…

The purpose of this exercise is to get students to relay and connect with the impact of ethics on public relations research. Students will begin to realize and analyze how their personal ethics influence their professional ethics choices. This is conceptualized through the completion of the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)…

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…

Asynchronous discussions are a useful instructional resource in the online communication course. In discussion groups students have the opportunity to actively participate and interact with students and the instructor. Asynchronous communication allows for flexibility because "participants can interact with significant amounts of time between…

The increasing popularity of television shows featuring paranormal investigations has led to a renewed enthusiasm in ghost hunting activities, and belief in the paranormal in general. These shows typically feature a group of investigators who, while claiming to utilize proper scientifically correct methodologies, violate many core scientific…

During the past decade, instructors of speech communication have been adapting the introductory speech course to keep up with the television age. Learning units in speech textbooks now teach how to speak well on television, as well as how to interpret speeches in the media. This article argues that the computer age invites adaptation of the…

This activity uses video clips from a popular sitcom, "Friends," to help students grasp the relational, rule-governed, and culture-specific nature of nonverbal communication. It opens students' eyes to nonverbal behaviors that are happening on a daily basis so that they not only master the knowledge but are able to apply it. While other popular…

Objective: To expand an informative speech into a television news package. Type of speech: Informative. Point value: 5% of course grade (Note: The original informative speech is worth 10% of the course grade). Requirements: (a) References: 3; (b) Length: 30 seconds; (c) Visual aid: 3; (d) Outline: Yes; (e) Prerequisite reading: Chapter 14 (Whitman…

Sharing information orally is an important skill that public speaking classes teach well. However, the author's students report that they do not often see informative lectures, demonstrations, presentations, or discussions that follow the structures and formats of an informative speech as it is discussed in their textbooks. As a result, the author…