Ann Q. Staton-Spicer

Assessing communication literacy

This article describes the work of the SCA Task Force on Minimal Speaking and Listening Competencies for High School Graduates. The importance of competence in speaking and listening is justified. Information on the procedures used by the Task Force to review research and select and apply criteria to make competency recommendations is provided. The report concludes with guidelines for minimal speaking and listening competencies for high school graduates and with implications of the basic skills recommended for curriculum development and research.

Research in communication and instruction: Categorization and synthesis

This essay categorizes and synthesizes 186 empirical studies in the area of communication and instruction published from 1974 to 1982. The studies are classified into six categories: Teacher Characteristics, Student Characteristics, Teaching Strategies, Speech Criticism and Student Evaluation, Speech Communication Content, and Speech Communication Programs. One‐hundred and four of the studies were communication education‐related and 82 were instruction communication studies. Concluding comments are made regarding the status of the area of study.

Classroom Seating Preference as a Function of Student Personality

This study examined the relationship between classroom seating preference and student personality characteristics. Previous research has revealed front and center seating positions are characterized by high student-teacher interaction. In this study it was suggested that one explanation for the high interaction is that students with similar personality characteristics prefer to sit in the central seats. The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire was administered to 285 undergraduates in two treatment conditions: preference seating and random seating. Analyses of variance and t tests were performed on the data. The research hyotheses were partially supported in that several personality factors were significantly different for those who chose action seats and those who did not.

Communication in the socialization of preservice teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of communication in preservice teacher socialization. Using case studies of 12 student interns in a secondary education program, 21 topics of talk, with target persons, were identified and categorized according to the communication concern phases of self, task, and impact. The topics of talk were further refined according to function. Results indicated that most of the talk was related to self and task dimensions, and that talk with others in the school setting was primarily integrative, informative, and regulative. Talk with family and friends served cathartic and acknowledging functions. The internship period of preservice training was characterized primarily as a period of occupational socialization, but with some organizational socialization occurring as well.

A framework for instructional communication theory: The relationship between Teacher Communication Concerns and Classroom Behavior

This study provided a framework for the development of instructional communication theory, the relationship between a teachers concerns about communication and his/her classroom behavior. Our case study of a college/university instructor served as a preliminary test and verification of the framework. We identified three distinct types of teacher concerns about communication—self, task, impact—and established a relationship between the various types of concerns and patterns of behavior in the classroom. We found that the instructors communication concerns changed in a manner consistent with previous concerns research, thus strengthening the usefulness of the communication concern construct. In addition, we found that changes in behavior also occurred in direct relation to the changes in communication concerns.

Improving the Teaching Effectiveness of Graduate Teaching Assistants.

In recent years a growing concern about the improvement of the teaching effectiveness of graduate teaching assistants has emerged on many campuses. The purpose of this paper is to describe a response to this need—a program of instructional development for teaching assistants presently being implemented in the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Washington. The description includes program objectives and implementation procedures.

Communication Concerns of College Undergraduates in Basic Speech Communication Courses.

This study was an investigation of the communication concerns of undergraduate students in two basic speech communication courses, public speaking and interpersonal communication. It was discovered that such students do have concerns which fit the framework of concern for self, task, and impact. While only limited support was found for a developmental sequence in these concerns over one academic quarter, there were significant differences among the common categories, and particularly between students in basic interpersonal and public speaking courses.

Instructional communication in the elementary gifted classroom

This study is an examination of the instructional communication behavior and perspectives of two elementary school teachers in the gifted classroom. Communication patterns were described and analyzed, and the results of the two cases were compared. Implications for researchers and practitioners emerged from this study.