Graduate teaching assistantships began in the late 1800s as a means of attracting individuals to graduate studies. Initially, stipends were awarded to students without the expectation of service; however, after World War II graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) were expected to function as graders and, ultimately, classroom teachers. Over 100 years…

An ethnographic study explored the critical evaluations of audience members who viewed an ethnographic performance adapted, directed, and performed by a doctoral student in the Speech Communication Department on the campus of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The performance was a one-person show consisting of a series of personal…

A benchmark for conceptualizing the relationship between teaching, research, and service was provided 6 years ago by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The foundation maintained that the relationship between teaching, research and service was at present of benefit to no one, least of all the student. Therefore it put forth a…

The difficulties and differences of the Hebrew speech of nine children (ages 7 through 11) with severe hearing impairments were compared with the speech of seven children (ages 4-8) without hearing impairments. Each child was asked to name the objects in 20 colored pictures. From the 20 objects, words were selected which included the five main…

The success of the basic course in speech communication depends largely on a vision that values the course and its place in the undergraduate curriculum; emphasizes the necessity of ongoing training and development of teaching assistants and instructors; and values scholarship that will enhance those efforts as well as improve dedication. Vision…

In the Department of Speech Communication at Humboldt State University, there are two programs (a tutoring program and the Undergraduate Instructional Assistant program) through which undergraduate students help provide instruction to other undergraduate students. Volunteer tutors provide one-on-one assistance to students who need help in their…

The hybrid basic communication course is a popular alternative to a straight public speaking course. The strengths of the hybrid communication course are in the breadth of coverage of communication skills in the course, its comprehensive orientation to teaching multiple communication skills, and its potential to provide students with opportunities…

A study investigated who students think of when they are faced with the issues of relationships during a basic communication course--their friends from high school, their new friends from college, a parent, or a sibling. Subjects, 70 women and 41 men enrolled in a hybrid basic communication course, completed a relationship questionnaire. Results…

This book contains a collection of current research in the development of speech perception and perceptual learning. The collection integrates research involving infants, young children, and adults, and explores systematically how adult perceptual abilities develop from early infant capabilities, focusing particularly on the nature of transitional…

As student diversity grows, it is important to make the basic speech communication course relevant for the students enrolled. Textbooks for the basic speech communication course provide the basic information on the subject; the responsibility for teaching the basic course in speech communication is often assigned to graduate teaching assistants.…

Increasingly, business and education professionals recognize the centrality of oral communication in everyday activities, and such a competency is best developed through repeated instruction and application. However, few colleges or universities have implemented speech communication laboratories, and where they do exist, they are often constrained…

Colleges across the nation have long been investigating the need for an oral communication component in the graduation requirements. Hence the question: should communication departments in colleges and universities advocate "speaking across the curriculum?" If the objective of education is to graduate people who can discover information…

It is difficult to think about masculine and feminine behaviors without simultaneously conjuring the sex-trait and sex-role stereotypes that accompany these behaviors. Despite the fact that much has been written identifying other attributes that ought to be equally valued and encouraged in women's and men's communication…

A study of 178 secondary school teachers in the California was motivated by the passage of the Ryan Act of 1970, which eliminated the high school speech credential and subsumed it under the English umbrella. The result has been that the speech communication subject matter is expected to be integrated into the English courses in the state. The 1987…

The typical textbook for the basic course fails to integrate the broad range of topics it introduces to the new student of communication. One way of addressing this problem would be to use feature films in the course, such as "Wall Street,""True Colors,""Other People's Money,""Milagro Beanfield War," and…