Discusses how the development of communication curricula and content for basic communication courses represents a challenge for the field. 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…

Presents in full a consensus document produced from the 2000 Hope College National Communication Association Faculty Development Institute conference. Agrees that all graduates of an undergraduate degree program in communication should meet conceptual and competency standards in eight different areas: theoretical approaches, sensitivity to diverse…

Argues that communication skills are foundational to students' fundamental academic skills and critical to students' success in college and beyond. Considers the role of a communication curriculum in general education. Demonstrates how a systematic assessment plan was utilized to refine a curriculum and to provide evidence and fortify arguments…

Notes that undergraduate research can provide transformative educational experiences and profoundly impact the teaching of communication. Discusses the benefits of undergraduate research experiences and the challenges of teaching research methods in communication. Presents a structure for incorporating a capstone undergraduate research experience…

Focuses attention on the potential of deliberation for citizenship training in the academy. Offers lessons learned from case studies of courses in communication and political science to demonstrate the degree to which problems faced with deliberation in the wider population manifest themselves in the classroom. Presents examples of how these…

Suggests one way that the author would like to see communication educators build on the solid foundation of important communication education research successes. Concludes that contributions to this journal in the past have been much more systematic and thorough when focusing on the communication dimensions of teaching in general. Suggests that in…

Calls for carefully executed research that explores the impact of instructional practices on learning outcomes. Discusses considerations relevant to selecting the outcome measures (including types of outcomes, longitudinal effects, and "real world" impact). Urges caution in designing such research to ensure its internal validity and external…

Discusses a theoretical framework of situated pedagogy and practice for communication across the curriculum (CXC). Gives principles of a situated communication pedagogy. Examines implications of a situated communication pedagogy for communication in the disciplines (CID) practice. Notes the benefits of a situated communication pedagogy and…

Focuses on exploration and Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) as a model of theory and pedagogy in the persuasion course. Considers problems in the persuasion classrooms. Examines texts used to teach persuasion. Notes the theories and practices in the IAF. (SG)

Discusses paradoxes of online teaching and scholarship: for faculty, more freedom equal less freedom; for teaching, more work is perceived as less work; for learning, more accessibility leads to less human touch; and for administrators, desire for less spending causes more spending. Suggests that educators must find their own unique answers to the…

Makes the case that a more balanced pedagogical perspective for use of computer-mediated-communication (CMC) must be created by the communication discipline in order to assure its centrality as the key academic source and authority on CMC. Concludes that there is a path to a clear pedagogical agenda that can ensure the communication discipline's…

Notes that high school students have an incredible number of issues they must face daily. Contends that it is vital for a high school newspaper to find a balance between coverage of world events and local occurrences so that everything is relevant to high-school readers. Provides examples of eight high school newspapers' coverage of the 2003 war…

Notes that student journalists face a challenge in gaining the respect needed from sources to glean a high quality of information. Contends that in addition to researching the specifics of articles before interviews, part of the preparation needs to be classroom instruction on source cultivation and interpersonal skills. Provides 10 commonsense…

Outlines the attempts of two fictional journalism students to learn the correct way to interview. Emphasizes the importance of doing homework and researching multiple angles. Explains that thinking of questions and taking careful notes are important steps in the process. (PM)

Explains the uses of photo illustrations. Notes that the key to developing a successful photo illustration is collaborative planning. Outlines the following guidelines for photo illustrations: never set up a photograph to mimic reality; create only abstractions with photo illustrations; clearly label photo illustrations; and never play photo…