Courses: Public Relations, Public Administration, Crisis Communication, and Crisis Management. Objective: Students explore crisis communication in a public setting, where public leaders are supposed to communicate the impact of a crisis to citizens, the media, and other stakeholders.

Courses: Science communication, public speaking, technical communication, professional and/or management communication. Objectives: This activity about scientific and technical communication uses narrative principles to communicate complex information to broader audiences. Upon completion of the activity, students will be able to: (1) Explain the…

This classroom assessment article shares the findings of a practicum-based undergraduate organizational communication course using interactive management research (IMR). IMR is a participatory action research methodology that fosters group design thinking to envision perceived pathways for collectively organizing to address a social issue. The…

Courses: Crisis Communication, Crisis and Issue Management, Writing for Public Relations, Public Relations Capstone. Objective: This unit activity refines traditional simulation activities used in crisis communication education. By partnering with crisis management professionals and developing localized, multi-stage scenarios grounded in the…

Courses: Organizational Communication, Advanced Organizational Communication, Organizing Work, Management/Organizational History. Objectives: This activity will help students to understand major shifts in the organization of work and creatively represent changing work structures and practices. An optional follow-up assignment is included. A…

Challenges to identity formation often emerge during college experiences as one's world view is confronted by exposure to new social circles, ideas, and cultures. Through the analysis of interpenetrating identities in the popular television show, "The Big Bang Theory," students are able to locate concrete examples of the four frames of…

Undergraduate courses on small-group communication often cover group roles, group conflict, and conflict management styles. Although these concepts are valuable to learn, merely memorizing them does not address the practical skills students need to employ conflict management strategies when situated in group conflict. This activity provides a…

Objectives: Students will demonstrate research, decision making, team building, and public speaking skills, while applying issues management and crisis communication concepts in a realistic setting. Courses: Introduction to Public Relations, Public Relations Cases, Crisis Communication.

This article presents an activity that combines this popular website, Postsecret.com, with college students' love for the internet, and course content on privacy boundaries and theory, disclosure, communicative control, and privacy rule development. By taking part in this activity, students practice privacy disclosure and are able to examine their…

Students tend to perceive that direct communication is best. In class discussion, they've overwhelmingly conveyed their feeling that people should say what they mean and be as direct and precise as possible. Initially, they don't tend to recognize that the perception of directness is relative. What some consider clear, others consider rude. What…

E-journaling invites students to reflect upon and synthesize their experiences, readings, discussions, and presentations in a series of electronic entries, usually viewed only by the student and the instructor. E-journaling assignments have become easier to complete and grade in the last few years because they are now supported by learning…

The opportunities in social media management and digital marketing strategy continue to expand as the profession evolves. Social media has become central for communication around the globe, but social marketers struggle with strategy and planning skills. The client-based activity outlined in this study facilitates the development of skills related…

Courses: Communication and Conflict. Objectives: Through the use of a game-based framework, students will build intrinsic motivation to engage with course material and course content, and will engage their critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills in relation to conflict management over the length of the course. A list of…

Courses: Undergraduate courses in environmental communication, with crisis communication or public relations variations. Objectives: After completing this unit activity, students will have a better understanding of how communication contributes to the complexity and interconnections of environmental challenges by exploring crisis communication…

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic brings both challenges and opportunities to crisis communication education. This article reports on student perceptions of an upper-level undergraduate course on risk and crisis communication that was taught in the fall 2020 semester. The course syllabus was redesigned to assist students in better understanding…