The Basic Course and the Future of the Workplace

The preparation of students to function as effective communicators in the workplace is an important goal of the basic communication course. To meet this goal, students must be equipped with speaking and listening competencies in order to do their work. The basic hybrid course with units in intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and public communication offers a viable framework for workplace communication

Careers in Communication: An Update

The article presents an update on career in speech communication. Research supports that communication skills are critically important for entry-level jobs and for career success. Graduates were asked to identify their first job and their present job in an effort to determine how people are able to use a Speech Communication degree to advance in their careers. The positions reported by our graduates are found throughout the workplace: educational institutions; businesses; trade associations; law firms; public relations firms; health organizations; media; religious institutions; government; entertainment; and financial institutions. Respondents were asked to identify what communication issues are the most pressing in the field today. Other respondents stressed the importance of the internship experience and how much they wished they had more real world exposure to work in the field before they entered the job market

The Listening Journal: An Instructional Strategy for a Listening Awareness Program

The need for training in listening is a problem which has baffled educators for years. Studies demonstrate the tremendous amount of time that we spend in listening within our communication time. Paul T. Rankin\u27s classic study gave us some working percentages, percentages which have held up in other, more recent, research projects. Through his analysis, Rankin discovered that we spend 75% of our time in oral communication. Of that time, approximately 45% is spent in listening and 30% of our time in speaking

Listening Treatment in the Basic Communication Course Text

Numerous studies have indicated that listening is instrumental for academic and professional success, and most students receive listening instruction only in the basic communication course. This study analyzed the treatment of listening in the 17 most widely used basic communication course textbooks. The majority of the textbooks did devote at least one chapter to listening; however, the treatment was generally light, atheoretical, and lacked substantive listening scholarship

Evaluation of a Basic Communication Course

This study addressed the effects of a basic communication course on students\u27 perceptions of their communication skills. Students enrolled in a basic course were asked via a pre- and post- course questionnaire to assess changes in their perceptions of their communication skills. An analysis of the questionnaire results revealed that the basic course did have a positive effect on students\u27 perceptions of their communication skills, particularly in presentation and interviewing skills, and on their comfort in communicating. The results also illustrate that the effects on communication skills were stronger in those areas (especially public speaking) where students perceived the greatest need to improve. While there are limitations to this self-report data analysis, the study does provide some evidence that a basic communication course can have a positive effect on students\u27 communication skills

Incorporating Learning Analytics into Basic Course Administration: How to Embrace the Opportunity to Identify Inconsistencies and Inform Responses

Consistency is imperative to the success of a multi-section basic course. However, establishing consistent practices is a difficult task, especially when coupled with maintaining instructor autonomy. Learning analytics tools, designed to improve learning and teaching by collecting and analyzing pertinent information through interactive databases, can be used by basic course administrators to improve consistency. Using a reflective case study methodology we share our experience incorporating a learning analytics platform into our basic course. In doing so, we highlight the role this technology can play in terms of identifying areas of inconsistency as well as informing ways to improve overall course delivery. Three major areas of inconsistency were uncovered: (1) the use of online grade books; (2) utilization of course-wide rubrics; (3) and instances of grade inflation. Stemming from these findings is a set of very practical implications regarding the coupling of learning analytics and basic course administration. These include clarifying the two-step process of identifying inconsistencies and informing solutions as well as introducing the concept of collaborative consistency, the term we use to describe the co-construction of course materials (e.g., rubrics, schedules) and activities (e.g., norming). The case ultimately provides the opportunity for basic course directors to embrace the role of learning analytics technology

Communicating: a social and career focus/ Berka

xvii, 414 hal.: ill.; 23 cm