Margaret Fitch-Hauser

Chunking, priming and active learning: Toward an innovative and blended approach to teaching communication-related skills

Possessing communication-related skills is vital to student success within and beyond college. The utilization of these skills, or being considered socially competent, has been linked to personal, relational, and occupational success. But how do we teach the necessary social skills to todays students? Building on research from education and cognitive psychology on chunking, priming, and active learning, we propose an innovative, blended teaching method (Concept Keys), the utility of which is in its capability to present complex skill sets in manageable units of information, thus allowing students time to reflect on and incorporate such information into their schema of what it means to be socially competent. A case study is presented to establish the potential for this approach and to propose a call for further research.

The Conceptualization and Measurement of Listening

Abstract Although far more emphasis has been placed on sending messages than upon receiving them, some researchers have focused on listening and on receiving. In this paper, the authors adopt the position that although listening, as a theoretical concept, may in some meaningful sense be real and measurable through a variety of instruments, inadequate attention has been given to the development of a consensus regarding its conceptualization. In support of this position we first review inconsistencies in current definitions of listening and then discuss problems in measurement. On the basis of our review, we conclude that considerable ambiguity exists concerning conceptualization of the listening construct, and that further investigation of measurement issues involved in the theory of the receiving component of listening should be undertaken.

A Comparison of Four Measurement Models for the Watson-Barker Listening Test (WBLT)-Form C

This article compares 4 measurement models for the Watson–Barker Listening Test (WBLT)–Form C and constitutes the first confirmatory test of this listening comprehension measure. Results show that data does not conform to (a) a 5-factor correlated model, (b) a second-order model, or (c) a unidimensional model; and no model was sufficiently better than (d) the independence model. Exploratory analyses provide additional evidence that items are largely unrelated to one another. Given these findings, the use of the WBLT–Form C in assessments of listening comprehension is not recommended. The discussion explores what these findings imply for the conceptualization and measurement of listening and for potential revisions of the WBLT.

Receiver apprehension and listening comprehension: A linear or curvilinear relationship?

This study examined the relationship between listening comprehension and receiver apprehension. Listening comprehension was operationalized via four commonly used listening tests; receiver apprehension was operationalized via the Receiver Apprehension Test. To test for the existence of a linear relationship between the two variables, scores on the Receiver Apprehension Test and the four listening tests were correlated. To test Roberts’ (1985) curvilinearity hypothesis, an analysis of variance and an examination of the means were conducted. The results indicated a significant lienear relationship to exist between listening comprehension (operationalized via the Brown‐Carlsen Listening Test) and receiver apprehension. Roberts’ curvilinearity hypothesis was not supported.

Extending the Conceptualization of Listening Fidelity

An exploration of variables potentially related to Listening Fidelity (LF) was conducted through two separate studies. Study 1 indicated that when the potential fidelity of the stimulus message was varied as a function of the number of words and time length, the message with lowest potential fidelity produced significantly lower LF than either the moderate or high potential LF message versions. The moderate potential fidelity message produced the more normal score distribution although not significantly different LF scores than the high potential message. Differences in LF were not indicated as a function of participant sex, gender, or listening style. Study 2 found that LF and two of the three internal scoring components of LF were significantly correlated with four of five dimensions of the Watson Barker Listening Test. Continued emphasis on developing alternative cognitions and exploring listener confidence, cognitive complexity, and the specific function and relationship of LF with listening outcomes were recommended.