Findings suggest that the Personalized System of Instruction in the introductory speech communication course tends to equal or be more effective than the lecture-recitation format in (1) attitudes toward and satisfaction with the course; (2) academic achievement; (3) alleviating communication apprehension; and (4) growth in communication skills.…

Discusses the planning, development, implementation, and course management required to use the Personalized System of Instruction in the basic speech communication course. (PD)

Investigated whether abused and neglected children differ from other children in their nonverbal attachment and communicative behavior. Found that in comparison (1) abused children avoided contact and interaction and (2) abused females exhibited more avoidance than males. (PD)

Results suggest that, without competing motivational forces, students high in communication apprehension (CA) spend less time talking than do students in low CA. (PD)

This study concluded that homophily (the degree to which interacting individuals are similar in certain attributes) did not affect judgment grading or cognitive learning; however, some teacher/student combinations produced better cognitive results than others. (PD)

Results suggest that (1) sexism in the classroom may be a "male disease," affecting perceptions and classroom climate and (2) student coping behaviors such as daydreaming and hiding feelings are used only in the classes of male professors. (PD)

Describes a peer facilitation program in interpersonal communication. Covers practicum site, duties of peer facilitators, staff meetings, compensation, selection, and benefits. (PD)

Describes areas in which aspiring broadcast announcers can be helped, such as correct voice production, precise articulation, proper consonant formation, etc. (PD)

Provides a test that acquaints students with the metrical structure of a poem by selecting a familiar song that will accommodate the words of the poem. (PD)

Presents exercises to teach critical thinking skills based on the divisions of classic rhetoric. (PD)

Describes an exercise called "Building Blocks' that demonstrates the risky shift and polarization effects of small group discussion. (PD)

The author reflects on his professional experience as an academic writer and offers some suggestions on how to write. (PD)

Features documents in "Resources in Education" that describe how the following occupational groups handle conflict: nurses, school superintendents, city managers, board members, teachers, and training directors. (PD)

Reviews the software package, "Interaction Analyses," which makes the observation of communication transactions--commonly described as PROANA5--possible with a microcomputer. (PD)

Reviews aspects of the educational environment that impact on apprehensive students; examines the influence of task structure on student performance; and suggests ways structure can be used effectively to enhance communication competence among students at various need levels, specifically those with high or low communication apprehension. (JD)