Sherwyn P. Morreale

The Basic Communication Course at U.S. Colleges and Universities in the 21st Century: Study VII

This seventh in a series of investigations of the basic communication course at 2- and 4-year colleges and universities that began in 1968 has as its purpose to gather longitudinal data on the nature of the course. This latest study differs somewhat from past studies. The survey instrument from 1999 was revised to include timely concerns such as assessment, technology, distance education, and race/ethnicity. The study now reports the data based on course orientation; and, this studys survey was conducted electronically. Data are presented from 306 responding schools covering institutional demographics and (1) Orientation to the Basic Course and Enrollment, (2) Course Administration and Organization, (3) Instruction and Pedagogy, (4) Technology and Distance Education, and (5) Assessment and Evaluation.

Why Communication Education is Important: The Centrality of the Discipline in the 21st Century

This study provides a rationale for the claim that communication instruction is critical to students’ future personal and professional success. Thematic analysis of 93 journal and newspaper articles, reports, and surveys provide evidence of the centrality of communication in developing the whole person, improving the educational enterprise, being a responsible social and cultural participant in the world, succeeding in ones career and in business, enhancing organizational processes and organizational life, and, addressing several emerging concerns in the 21st century including health communication, crisis communication, and crime and policing. The results of this study are compared to the themes identified in a similar study published in 2000.

The center for excellence in oral communication: Integrating communication across the curriculum

There is widespread debate in the communication discipline regarding the appropriateness and efficacy of communication across‐the‐curriculum programs. Currently, pedagogical approaches are in different stages of development and testing at a variety of academic institutions. This article describes the approach taken by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to communication across‐the‐curriculum courses and programs.

The Basic Communication Course at Two- and Four-Year U.S. Colleges and Universities: Study VIII—The 40th Anniversary

This eighth in a series of surveys of the basic communication course, begun in 1968, has as its purpose to gather longitudinal and descriptive data on the nature of the course. The latest study differs from past studies in that some of the results are presented comparatively for two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Samples for both populations were randomly selected from the NCA list of 1,295 communication programs resulting in a total of 208 respondents, 165 from four-year schools and 43 from two-year schools. The survey instrument from 2006 was revised and expanded and the study now reports, discusses, and interprets data based on (a) course orientation, interpersonal or hybrid, and demographics; (b) course enrollment and delivery methods; (c) method of course direction; (d) course administration, instruction, and training; (e) assessment and standardization across sections; (f) grading; (g) instructional content and enhancement; and (h) media, technology, and distance education. In addition to discussing results of the present study, observations about the longitudinal results since 1968, and reflections about the basic course in light of broader socioeducational trends and instructional communication research and theory, are provided.

Assessment of Oral Communication: A Major Review of the Historical Development and Trends in the Movement from 1975 to 2009

This comprehensive review of the assessment of oral communication in the communication discipline is both descriptive and empirical in nature. First, some background on the topic of communication assessment is provided. Following the descriptive background, we present an empirical analysis of academic papers, research studies, and books about assessing communication, all of which were presented or published from 1975 to 2009. The results are outlined of content and thematic analyses of a database of 558 citations from that time period, including 434 national convention presentations, 89 journal articles, and 35 other extant books and publications. Three main themes and eight subthemes are identified in the database, and trends evident in the resulting data are considered. The study concludes with a discussion of the trends and overarching themes gleaned from the research efforts, and the authors’ recommendations of best practices for how to conduct oral communication assessment.

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.

Communication Curricula: History, Recommendations, Resources

The development of communication curricula and content for basic communication courses represents a challenge for the field. This is due in part to the complex and diverse nature of communication studies as well as to differences in preferred methods of inquiry, foci, and context of study. This article provides an overview of the historical development of communication curricula as an integral dimension of higher education, recommendations of start points for developing departmental curricula, and resources for planning content for basic courses.

Study IX of the basic communication course at two- and four-year U.S. Colleges and Universities: a re-examination of our discipline's “front porch”

ABSTRACT 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 disciplines “front porch.”

Communication Education and Instructional Communication: Genesis and Evolution as Fields of Inquiry

Communication education is concerned with the communicative aspects of teaching and learning in various situations and contexts. Although the historical roots of this area of inquiry date back to the classical study of rhetoric by the Greeks and Romans, this report focuses on the fields emergence as an important area of modern scholarly study. Contemporary inquiry about communication education pedagogy and instructional communication is explored and clarified. The report then paints a picture of the shifting interests in communication education and instructional communication research and theory in the 20th and early 21st centuries. The contributions of that scholarship to the interdisciplinary, national, and international educational landscapes are described, as well as the fields potential to contribute to future questions in higher education.

Why communication education is important: a third study on the centrality of the discipline’s content and pedagogy

ABSTRACT The results of this study argue that communication, and specifically oral communication education, is critical to students’ future personal and professional success. Similar to two earlier studies, thematic analysis of 679 documents in academic and popular press publications, published from 2008 to 2015, provide support for the centrality of the communication discipline’s content and pedagogy. These results reinforce the importance of communication to enhancing organizational processes and organizational life; promoting health communication; enriching the educational enterprise; understanding crisis, safety, risk, and security; improving interpersonal communication and relationships; influencing diplomacy and government relations; being a responsible participant in the world, socially and culturally; developing as a whole person; and succeeding as an individual in one’s career and in business. The kinds of communication addressed as important in each of these nine general themes are outlined, and the results are compared with those in the first two iterations of the study.