Pamela Cooper

Relationship with instructor and other variables influencing student evaluations of instruction

This study examined some of the factors which influence college students’ evaluations of their instructors. Data were collected from 557 students enrolled in a basic speech communication course. Overall, a students relationship with the instructor was the best predictor of the students evaluation of the instructor. This study lends partial support to the idea that students evaluate male and female instructors differently. The variables examined in this study were better predictors of student evaluation of female than male instructors.

Communication and Teacher Education: Exploring a Communication Course for All Teachers.

In recent years, teacher education programs have increasingly come under fire. One of the major criticisms of the current state of teacher education in the United States is that many pre-service teachers are not receiving training in speech communication. Given that such training is essential to the day-to-day functioning of teachers, we argue that communication educators as well as those in the education discipline must begin to promote communication training for all teachers. A communication course for teachers is of particular relevance in light of the recent decision of several national accreditation agencies to adopt communication standards for teachers. In this essay, we describe goals, objectives, units, activities, and assignments for a comprehensive communication course for all teachers.

Communication standards and competencies for kindergarten through grade 12: The role of the national communication association

The National Communication Association (NCA) joined the education community in addressing the Goals 2000 challenge to improve K‐12 education. In 1996, NCA published the pamphlet Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy Standards for K Through 12 Education. Given the success of the Standards, a discipline‐wide effort was then initiated to articulate developmentally appropriate competency statements for each of NCAs 23 Standards. A team of NCA teachers and researchers has recently developed a draft of the competency statements. These projects are thriving as a function of genuine need in the educational marketplace.

Research in Communication Education: Directional Needs.

Future Research in communication education should concentrate on (1) identifying and applying the communication functions necessary for one to participate successfully in interpersonal contexts, (2) examining communication in different learning environments, and (3) improving teacher competencies

What Do We Know about Research in Teacher Training in Instructional Strategies

In an essay inadvertently omitted from the Scholars Anthology on communication education in Spring/Summer 1985, the authors review our current research on teacher training and lay out a program for future study.