Teaching intercultural communication differs greatly from teaching many other courses within communications and the larger curriculum. How the audience is impacted differs from most courses, and ignoring that reality short-circuits a professor's ability to maximize the learning experience. With goals of understanding and bridging cultural…

Experiential learning is, in its most simplistic form, a philosophical perspective that links the concrete with the abstract. If experiential learning utilizes the experiences of the learner, television is part of the learner's experience, and to ignore the pervasiveness of mass media in modern society is to ignore part of the lived experience of…

Not only do computers offer rich motivational appeal with students, but they also boost speech communication professors' credibility. Research indicates that the use of multimedia leads to enhanced learning on criteria such as acquisition of content, development of skills, efficiency, learning, and satisfaction with instruction. Multimedia…

African American cognitive Styles have not received much attention in research. An intended ethnographic study will examine the preferred cognitive styles employed by African American students in the classroom. The literature on African American cognition indicates that they are likely to utilize field dependent cognitive styles. The setting will…

M. S. Peck (1987) identifies six characteristics of a "true community": (1) inclusiveness (no "in group" or "out group"); (2) commitment; (3) consensus (differences are acknowledged and processed); (4) contemplation; (5) vulnerability; and (6) "graceful" fighting (conflict should not be avoided, minimized,…

Formats of communication within families are believed to be relevant contexts for children's development. Cultural values, norms, and interpretation patterns are transferred from parents to children within the family's specific communication framework. The purpose of this project was to study the quality of relationships and the communication…

An exercise allows students to take a turn at setting a standard for instructors and, when done in groups, can encourage student socialization and interaction and build skill in constructing and presenting arguments. The exercise is in three parts and consists of: (1) committee power, in which students are asked to serve on one of three committees…

There is no escaping the oral, but many people believe that it is detachable and not central. A dominant, assumed belief conveys the idea that spoken words (like knowledge in writing) are escapable. This belief is held by people who tacitly view speaking as a convenient tool that can be applied as necessary. Scholar-teachers know that it is not…

When an instructor was asked to serve as the second vice president for the Eastern Communication Association, she found ways to incorporate her students into the process of convention planning. To assist her in her duties she developed a special topics course in applied communication that required the students to carry out much of the work for the…

Communications internship requirements at Shorter College in Georgia probably do not differ significantly from those of other colleges, with the exception of one component, the special project. The objectives and procedures of the special project are clearly outlined in the Student Internship Guidelines drawn up by the department. Deciding the…

The spring of 1995 brought the onus of assessment to the Department of Communication Arts at Ohio Northern University (ONU). Often seen as a painful process, departmental assessments can become productive endeavors. Although, as a private institution, ONU is not subject to the dictates for assessment from the State Board of Education, assessment…

A study examined the perils and risks of graduate school for students. The study used information from an interview with Dr. Jean Cunningham, Chief Psychologist at Southern Illinois University, to design a questionnaire to collect self-report data regarding the stressors that influence graduate students' lives. Of 50 surveys distributed to speech…

The degree of incivility varies, but there seems to be general agreement that it is on the rise on college campuses across the country. A number of key elements are involved in the communication aspects of civility: a lack of respect for another human being; name calling and dehumanization; disqualification from dialogue; threats and incitation;…

Noting that speech is not simply basic communication, this digest discusses ways in which teachers can help children develop oral language proficiency. The digest holds that speech involves thinking, knowledge, and skills, and that it requires practice and training. After setting out three criteria for oral language competence--fluency, clarity,…

Taking as its motto "Language Arts includes the integrated communication processes of listening, reading, representing, talking, viewing, and writing," this curriculum framework serves as the foundation for the development of a new assessment system for New Hampshire. The framework will help practitioners monitor the quality of learning…