Objective: To integrate speaking practice with rhetorical theory. Type of speech: Persuasive. Point value: 100 points (i.e., 30 points based on peer evaluations, 30 points based on individual performance, 40 points based on the group presentation), which is 25% of course grade. Requirements: (a) References: 7-10; (b) Length: 20-30 minutes; (c)…

Persuasive speeches are a common assignment in numerous public speaking and hybrid communication classes. One theme of persuasion is that the persuasive message should be tailored to the intended receiver. Not only do effective rhetors adapt to the circumstances in which they find themselves, but persuasive efforts are much more likely to be…

Earlier research [Discourse Process. 23 (2/3) (2002) 135] on argumentation suggests that adults use advanced discourse strategies more consistently, more frequently, and more flexibly than do adolescents. The present study examines the development of argumentation skills during adolescence. Forty-eight seventh and eighth graders were assigned to…

Persuasion is an interactive process through which a given message alters individuals' perspectives by changing the knowledge, beliefs, or interests that underlie those perspectives. Although persuasion is seen as central to effective teaching and learning, there is still much to understand about the characteristics of learners, texts, and tasks…

Using the arguments over college admissions as a point of departure, this article analyzes the idea of merit in education. Situating the concept of merit historically and philosophically, it advances the argument that merit should be considered not as an individual construct but as an institutional one. The debates over merit focus on which…

Experiences of verbal sexual coercion are common and have potential for negative consequences, yet are not well understood. This study used qualitative and descriptive statistics to examine verbal sexual coercion experiences among a community sample of 114 women and explored the role of sexual precedence in these experiences. Analyses revealed…

Media literacy education helps individuals become discriminating consumers of health information. Informed consumers are less likely to purchase useless health products if informed of misleading and deceptive advertising methods. The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of health-related TV infomercials. An instrument…

The newspaper is a source of up-to-date and compelling information that teachers can use to teach current events. In this article, the author discusses why it makes sense for social studies educators to use newspapers in their classrooms. He also presents information about the Newspaper in Education (NIC) program and explains how interested…

How should the relationship between immediate interaction and verbal convention be understood? The present article argues that dialogism transcends the distinction between interactionist and constructionist social theories of written communication, as presented by Nystrand and colleagues. The theoretical argument is illustrated by a study of one…

PowerPoint is an inevitable technology of contemporary business presentations, a tool that is now available to virtually every office worker in the United States, but denounced by academics and by CEOs as intellectual reductionism. Requiring students to create and use electronically generated "visual aids" seems to result in a…

The college campus is the natural place for open, lively debate on the important issues of the day. Robust public discourse is elemental to what higher education is all about. But what is the role of college presidents in that debate? Is it limited to merely ensuring an environment in which diverse points of view are welcomed and expressed? In…

What do people think about school library media centers and the library media program? While it seems like a query to which it would be hard to find the answer, it is important that library media specialists take time to investigate and research this question about the program because it is one of the most important factors to the library media…

In this article, the author demonstrated how recent histories relied primarily on previous accounts and one textbook to characterize George Pierce Baker's work. This narrow assessment of "The Principles of Argumentation" limits one's understanding of his contribution to argumentation theory and pedagogy. Similarly, one has seen the need for care…

In this interview, Andy Hargreaves posits that teachers need a high level of creativity and flexibility to be effective in their work, and they must understand their larger social mission. Yet standardization is working against those very qualities. Real professional learning communities, more than just teams of teachers solving problems, can help…

This article reports the findings of a research project concerned with children engaging in scientific argumentation. Discussion activities were designed to enable groups of children to use evidence when making decisions. The findings show a variation in the success with which children construct scientific arguments; some groups debate most of the…