Keshishian, Flora

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Students as Learners, Teachers, Critics, and More

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Proceedings of the New York State Communication AssociationVolume 2015 Article 52016Students as Learners, Teachers, Critics, and MoreFlora KeshishianSt. John's University, keshishf@stjohns.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://docs.rwu.edu/nyscaproceedingsPart of the Arts and Humanities Commons, and the Communication CommonsThis Great Ideas for Teachers is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion inProceedings of the New York State Communication Association by an authorized editor of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contactmwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationKeshishian, Flora (2016) "Students as Learners, Teachers, Critics, and More," Proceedings of the New York State CommunicationAssociation: Vol. 2015 , Article 5.Available at: http://docs.rwu.edu/nyscaproceedings/vol2015/iss1/5 GIFTS: Students as Learners, Teachers, Critics, and More  Flora Keshishian St. John’s University __________________________________________________________________ The activity is intended for Public Speaking classes, but it can be used in any               (communication) course where students make oral presentations. __________________________________________________________________ Activity Description The main goals and objectives of this activity are to: 1. Create a friendly learning-teaching environment for students.  2. Give students a chance to be learners, as well as teachers, critics and more in the                classroom.  3. Help improve student's public speaking skills through peer observations. 4. Help students to speak in public with greater confidence. Pedagogical Rationale Public Speaking is one of the core courses that I teach at St. John’s University (SJU) in                 Queens, New York. Both the University and Queens County are known for their ethnic              and cultural diversity, which is also reflected in the classrooms. Almost all incoming             freshman students at SJU are required to take Public Speaking during their freshman             year. Since these students just graduated from high school, they are unfamiliar with             “university culture” in general, they hardly know anyone on campus, and they are             overwhelmed with their responsibilities as university students. Further, and like most           people around the world, they have fear of speaking in public, making the required course               not quite appealing to them. The suggested activity titled “Students as Learners,            Teachers, Critics, and More” is designed to help make the classroom a pleasant             environment for students to overcome their stage fright, not only through lectures and             speech assignments, but also through peer observations, reflections, and casual          discussions following each speech assignment.  Procedure In the beginning of the semester, I ask each student to help the class to get to know them                   by both introducing themselves and by placing a nametag on their desk for two weeks.               Throughout the course, students make seven speeches, and the following is what we do              for each speech: 1) About 10 students (half the class) make their speeches while the other half             serve as audience members and judges/critics.  1Keshishian: Students as Learners, Teachers, Critics, and MorePublished by DOCS@RWU, 2016 ● The audience members take notes while listening to each speech. They write            down each speaker’s name followed by a list of comments on their presentation             (i.e., what they found effective regarding the speech content and delivery).  2) At the end of the speech presentations, all students sit in a circle so they can see their                  classmates as they offer feedback.  ● Audience members ask the presenters questions (e.g., clarification, additional         information) regarding their speech content. ● Audience members provide the presenters feedback about their speech delivery          (e.g., “Joshua, I found your hand gestures very effective”; “Sarah, you did not             look nervous at all”). (Note: to save students face, I do not ask for comments on                the perceived shortcomings of the speeches. Instead, I include them in my written             comments to the student.)  ● Each presenter reflects upon their speech and points out what they think worked             or did not work for them, and why (hence an opportunity to learn from their               mistakes).  ● While still sitting in a circle, the entire class is encouraged to continue discussing              any of the speech topics that they found particularly interesting (racism, high cost             of tuition, gender and communication, etc.). Thus students have a chance to            express their ideas, test their perceptions of the world, learn more about a topic,              as well as casually practicing their public speaking skills.  Overall, the activity helps students to learn the significance of different aspects of             communication through practice; it increases their self-confidence by both critiquing their           peers’ speeches and receiving positive comments from them. Further, face-to-face          communication (whether through introducing them, providing feedback, or casually         discussing a topic with the class) serves as a form of socialization that often leads to                emotional closeness among them which can help to overcome stage fright. Such a casual              interaction with classmates can potentially help students in other ways as well (e.g.,             long-term friendship, studying together).  Typical Results Based on students’ feedback and my own observations, the activity helps them to:  ❏ Reduce their nervousness about public speaking if not overcome their stage           fright.  ❏ Socialize with and learn from classmates through face-to-face communication,         which has greatly been diminished in today’s digital society. ❏ Have a friendly and joyful learning environment where they can feel safe to             express themselves. ❏ Gain more confidence to speak publicly, in classroom or other settings. ❏ See themselves not only as students/learners, but also as critics who can help             improve their classmates’ public speaking skills.  2Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association, Vol. 2015 [2016], Art. 5http://docs.rwu.edu/nyscaproceedings/vol2015/iss1/5 How to debrief the activity ● How did you like exchanging feedback with your classmates? ● How did the activity affect your perception of your classmates? ● What do’s and don’ts did you learn from observing and critiquing your            classmates’ speeches? ● How did the face-to-face communication with your classmates affect you and           your relationship with the class? ● How did the activity affect your perception of public speaking? ● How did the activity affect your perception of yourself as a public speaker?   3Keshishian: Students as Learners, Teachers, Critics, and MorePublished by DOCS@RWU, 2016

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Students as Learners, Teachers, Critics, and More

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