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The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' use of mediated immediacy in a syllabus to determine effects on students' communication apprehension with instructors and student out-of-class communication with instructors. Participants viewed either a basic course syllabus with high levels of mediated immediacy or low levels of mediated immediacy and then completed surveys. The results showed that syllabi high in mediated immediacy made students significantly less apprehensive to communicate with instructors and more likely to engage in out-of-class communication with them. Implications for the use of mediated immediacy in syllabus construction are discussed.

In serving as a training ground for future communication educators, the basic course is uniquely placed to explore issues of communication pedagogy. Communication pedagogy is a domain of study that informs communication teachers of the best practices in teaching communication competencies. As a basic course director in the Department of Communication at Illinois State University, the role of the author is to provide communication teachers with the tools they need to effectively teach the introductory communication course. To be effective in this role, it is important to research methods of teacher training and program assessment. In this article, the author will provide two examples of how her basic course scholarship has informed communication pedagogy in both teacher training and program assessment.

This study examines how different social interdependence structures influence students' perceptions of anticipated affective learning, motivation, classroom communication apprehension, and classroom climate. Participants were randomly assigned one of three conditions (cooperative, competitive, and individualistic) and were asked to complete a short survey. The highest levels of affective learning and motivation were found in the individualistic structure, followed by the cooperative and competitive structures. Regarding classroom communication apprehension, students in the competitive structure were most apprehensive, followed by students in the cooperative and individualistic structures. Finally, both students in the cooperative structure and students in the individualistic structure viewed their classroom climate more favorably than students in the competitive classroom.

The assessment of student learning in general education courses is of critical importance in higher education. This study examines the utility of a writing assignment (application essays) in a basic communication course as an effective assessment tool. The authors conducted a content analysis of student portfolios to determine the extent to which application essays provide evidence of student learning in the basic course. The present study extends the findings from recent assessment efforts (Jones, Simonds, & Hunt, 2005) to explore types of mass media events students address in application essays and assess the revisions made to the assignment based on findings from Jones et al. (2005). Results reveal (a) the various communication events that students write about in application essays, (b) the communication concepts that students address, (c) that students typically, but not always, make appropriate connections when they write application essays, and (d) after revising the assignment based upon data from recent assessment efforts, more students made appropriate connections between the communication event and concept. Implications for classroom pedagogy and course management are discussed. (Contains 5 tables.)

Public-speaking instructors are uniquely positioned to foster a culture of accommodation in their basic course classrooms. A communication course is one that can cause specific types of apprehension, and it is important to recognize that a distinction exists between this and other, broader anxieties that students may be facing. Given this, the authors argue that the introductory course provides a unique space for addressing anxiety-related mental health stigmas; they also illustrate two ways instructors can address these stigmas in their courses. While it is not the job of teachers to psychologically diagnose students, making them aware of resources and accommodations they can utilize may make a difference throughout their college careers and, in some cases, could prevent them from leaving school entirely. Taking this extra step to learn what accommodations are available for students and sharing this information in syllabi is a small step that can have a large effect in promoting student success legally and compassionately through destigmatization of the use of available mental health resources.

The implementation of the Common Core State Standards has brought about a renewed inspiration for exploring the role of communication in K-12 schools as they include a speaking and listening strand. Communication education in K-12 schools had been sparsely researched; however, a handful of scholars have made calls to increase the research and advocacy done in this arena. There is a need to understand the K-12 context as a means to inform practices at the college level. This study breaks down the speaking and listening strand of the standards to create a better understanding of the content addressed and applies them to two contexts: a required high school communication course and a college-level basic communication course. Results suggest that the volume of standards addressed is problematic, especially given a lack of teacher training in this area.

This study investigates the role of speech evaluation training in a) creating speech evaluation fidelity between instructor scores and student self-evaluation scores and b) facilitating the type and quality of written feedback on speeches by both students and instructors. The results suggest that students who undergo speech evaluation training achieve a higher level of evaluation fidelity with their instructors. Second, negative feedback by instructors and students significantly predicted the score provided on the speeches. Finally, students who received speech evaluation training provided significantly more constructive comments on their evaluations than students who did not receive training. These findings reiterate the necessity for speech evaluation training while offering practical implications for revising training methods and preparing individuals for providing effective feedback.

This essay is designed to connect specific communication skills desired by employers in industry to basic course concepts. While communication is often identified as one of the most important skills for graduates seeking employment, this broad view makes it nearly impossible for basic course directors and instructors to design their pedagogy to satisfy students' future needs. This manuscript examines a part of the 2014 Basic Course Conference where industry leaders were invited to present what they felt to be the most important communication skills and knowledge in employees and then engaged in a discussion with the attending basic course directors to clarify which specific communication skills they desired most. This study ties those communication skills and knowledge to concepts common to the basic course identified in the 2014 document produced by the National Communication Association Core Competencies for Introductory Communication Courses Task Force on the role of communication in general education, as well as the most recent Basic Communication Course Survey from 2010.

In the late 1980s, noted communication scholar Cassandra Book laid out a comprehensive rationale and agenda for communication education research specifically focusing on pedagogical content knowledge for Communication courses in K-12 education. It has been 25 years since Book published her call for those in our discipline to pursue research interests in communication pedagogy. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the progress, or lack thereof, that scholars in our discipline have made in this area and to provide suggestions for advancing a communication pedagogy advocacy and research agenda for the 21st century.

Research suggests that teachers who personalize their teaching through the use of humor, stories, enthusiasm, and self-disclosure are perceived by their students to be effective in explaining course content. This experimental study examined the effects of computer-mediated teacher self-disclosure on perceptions of teacher credibility. Participants who accessed the "Facebook" website of a teacher high in self-disclosure reported higher levels of teacher credibility than participants who viewed a low self-disclosure "Facebook" website. Implications for classroom pedagogy, technology use, and areas for future research are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 1 note.)

This experimental study examined the effects of teacher self-disclosure via Facebook on anticipated college student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate. Participants who accessed the Facebook website of a teacher high in self-disclosure anticipated higher levels of motivation and affective learning and a more positive classroom climate. In their responses to open-ended items, participants emphasized possible negative associations between teacher use of Facebook and teacher credibility. Participants offered recommendations for teachers regarding the use of Facebook and other weblog services. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study examined the impact of teachers' use of fear appeals and efficacy statements on student affective learning, motivation, likelihood of taking a course with the instructor, and likelihood of visiting with the instructor for help. The results suggest that fear and efficacy interact to more positively influence students' perceptions of these variables compared to the use of fear alone. Pedagogical implications as well as suggestions for future research are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

The assessment of student learning in general education courses is of critical importance in higher education. This study examined the utility of a particular writing assignment, application essays, as a course assessment tool in a basic communication course. Application essays are one page compositions asking students to describe a communication event and to use a single concept from class to analyze that experience. A content analysis of 369 application essays contained in 140 student portfolios coded (a) categories of communication events, (b) categories of course content, and (c) the quality of the linkages between them in the student writings. In general, students focused on mass media events, and utilized concepts developed early in the class. Seventy percent of the conceptual connections were appropriate. Results were used to subsequently modify the application essay assignment to encourage more diverse topical coverage.

Examines the influence of instructor sexual orientation on perceptions of teacher credibility. Aims to determine if college students perceive gay teachers as less credible than straight teachers. Finds that students of a gay teacher perceive that they learn considerably less than students of a straight teacher. Includes an in-depth qualitative analysis of participants' responses. (SG)

Upon the passage of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act by the U.S. Department of Education in 1994, basic communication skills became a primary concern for educators at various levels [...]

This study examined the influence of instructor sexual orientation on perceptions of teacher credibility. The purpose was to determine if college students perceive gay teachers as less credible than straight teachers. In addition, we sought to explore the role of teacher credibility in terms of perceived student learning. In order to examine these variables, a male confederate presented a lecture on cultural influences to 154 undergraduate students enrolled in eight separate introductory communication classes. In each class, the confederate was careful to keep his delivery and immediacy cues (e.g., vocal expressiveness, movement, and eye contact) natural and consistent. The confederate's sexual orientation, however, was systematically manipulated. Findings indicate that students perceive a gay teacher as significantly less credible than a straight teacher. This study also found that students of a gay teacher perceive that they learn considerably less than students of a straight teacher. To help explain the complex reasons behind students' biased evaluations, the authors have included ah in-depth qualitative analysis of participants' responses. Keywords: Teacher credibility; teacher sexual orientation; student learning.

At his retirement dinner, a professor once said that he wished he could gather all of his students from the first ten years of teaching into one large auditorium. He [...]

This study gathered longitudinal and descriptive data on the nature of the basic communication course, continuing a tradition dating back to 1968. Now in its ninth iteration, convenience sampling and hard copy distribution of the survey instrument resulted in a total of 188 respondents (21 from two-year schools, 167 from four-year schools). This study reports and discusses data in the following categories: (a) general description of the course; (b) course administration; (c) assessment, standardization, and assignments and grading; (d) course content and pedagogy; and (e) media, technology, and online teaching. General reflections are provided about the results in light of changing landscapes in the U.S. educational system and recent research and other activities of communication scholars related to the basic communication course. Recommendations are offered for future scholarship about the communication discipline's “front porch.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have noted that assessment is essential to not only guide the development of individual students but also to monitor and continuously improve the quality of general education programs and remain accountable to administrators and external agencies (Gardiner, 1994). Given that the introductory communication course is a key element of most general education programs across the nation, it serves as an ideal platform to implement and assess student communication skills. This study explores student comments on two versions of informative and persuasive speech self- evaluations--an open-ended self-evaluation and a form that mirrors an instructor evaluation form. Results failed to reveal a strong association between the number of student comments and scores on a self-evaluation that mirrors the instructor evaluation form. However, analyses revealed a significant difference between the overall scores that students provided on self-evaluations and scores that instructors provided on their identical evaluation form. Findings indicated that students provided critical comments, but did not provide scores that were reflective of the criteria for evaluation. The findings suggest that instructors must better train their students to be more reflective of the criteria during the self-evaluation process. Implications for general education, classroom pedagogy, and course management are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addresses how theory and research have informed the author's philosophy of teaching. Discussion on instructional communication theory; Components of critical scholarship; View of the author on students and teachers.

The article presents a communication course for sophomores which addresses theory and practice in developing communication competencies in an academic setting. The course activities include preparation and presentation of various instructional strategies for different audiences. The course offers teachers the opportunity to improve their communication competencies in an academic setting, develop their awareness of the dynamics of classroom interaction and improve their ability to communicate clearly. Instructional discussion and student-led activity should be given as well as examinations.