Rather than relegating Aristotle's "Rhetoric" to history of rhetoric courses, where it is regarded with only an antiquarian interest, it can be used as a practical text for introductory public speaking courses. The advantages would be threefold: (1) its emphasis is essentially on rhetoric as a speaking art rather than an art of…

Computing literacy programs at Iona College are discussed, including developments since 1979. Information is provided on the college's computing facilities, software resources, competencies defined before and after 1980, and program funding. Additionally, a computer literacy program for administrators is considered in detail. The following…

Recent surveys have shown that the basic speech communication course, designed to introduce students to the discipline and to meet their basic proficiency needs, is alive and growing rapidly. While this is generally good news, a more critical examination reveals a variety of issues in need of resolution. A significant amount of course time is…

The process approach to writing instruction views learning to write as a discovery process in which the writer makes connections beyond the text. Central to this process is revision, the refinement and development of the discoveries made. This approach appears to be incompatible with the grammar-based approach traditionally used in…

Based on experiences gained by an educator from Indiana University who taught a speech communication course in Saudi Arabia, this paper details the adaptations the educator had to make in order to teach Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) employees and their spouses in the politically difficult period of 1981-82. Following a brief background…

Focusing on the use of popular magazines in interpersonal communication instruction, this paper argues that such magazines can provide a rich source for application and criticism of interpersonal communication processes in everyday life. The first section of the paper reviews research and criticism dealing with the content of magazine articles…

A DACUM (Developing A Curriculum) approach was used to design an appropriate graduate course using verified competencies of vocational resource teachers of handicapped students. Twelve experts participated in a 2-day workshop resulting in the identification of 53 task competencies and 8 human competencies. A survey instrument was developed from…

To examine the theoretical status of ethics scholarship and to explore the historical and present directions of ethics in human communication research, this paper reviews more than 100 articles drawn from the speech communication literature. Following a brief introduction that sets forth the criteria for article selection, the paper discusses…

If students are first taught writing as experience, then become aware of the intellectual and imaginative operations they use to shape that experience, they will be better able to manage the thinking and writing tasks of the various academic disciplines and of the world of work. This is the purpose of a proposed upper-level writing course that…

To provide special instruction for students who report fear and avoidance of communication, a reticence program was instituted at Pennsylvania State University. Since the school has a general speech requirement that nearly all students have to meet in order to graduate, students are given an opportunity to enroll in this special section if they…

Developed for a course in social psychology, a guided design unit was created to help students explore the phenomena known as communication apprehension, reticence, and shyness. The social psychological theories introduced in the unit are belief theory, attribution theory, and perception theory. These theories are used to explain the phenomena…

The University of Tennessee has integrated computer technology into its business report and letter writing course, an 11-week course required of all business administration undergraduates. Basic principles of management and introduction to computer courses are prerequisites. Early course content emphasizes foundations of report writing, the…

Writing across the curriculum involves helping students to learn how to learn by using appropriate parts of the writing process, to understand that certain standards are important if they are to be considered educated, and to ascertain that writing and learning involve similar procedures and methods. At Sinclair Community College, a writing across…

This study examined the process by which Reform Jewish day schools translate philosophy into curriculum. A Reform day school is defined as a full-time school that encompasses both secular and Jewish studies, extends at least from kindergarten through grade six, and is sponsored by one or more Reform congregations. Seven schools participated.…

The purpose of this presentation is to describe the Classroom Process Scale (CPS) and its usefulness for the assessment of teaching effectiveness. The CPS attempts to ameliorate weaknesses in existing classroom process measures by including a coding of student involvement in learning, objectives being pursued, and methods used to pursue attainment…