Brian Prows

Since switching mid-March 2020 to all online, I've learned that communicating content in the classroom, especially in a public speaking course, is vastly different from online. Breaking up the presentation and content into 15-minute segments is most important since students clearly are tuning out. In the classroom, a PowerPoint presentation lecture/discussion can work well if enough students participate in reflecting on the ideas, relating them to textbook readings, and responding in front of their peers. Online students, like I, are staring at tiny video windows where there's a clear distance among learners. Breakout rooms in Zoom can help correct the… >>>

I teach a blended communication course at a technical school where we have a diversified group of students. Some students work full-time, others part-time and many commute long distances to our college. The academic programs are compressed time-wise allowing students to earn a bachelor's degree in 36 months. Due to the diversity, student time constraints, commuting, and work schedules, I always feel I must earn every minute of attention from each student. Otherwise, students will devote more time to their favorite technical courses without realizing that communication and public speaking are equally important to achieve success in their careers and… >>>

I teach communication courses and find, despite the challenges of helping others learn and get excited, that believing people will succeed--having faith in them--makes it easier to overcome obstacles and disappointments. I always look at the students who inspire me to help them learn as motivators. They help me overcome disenchantment with other students who don't show similar enthusiasm for the courses I teach. 

So, I've committed to these steps:

• Writing down one good thing that happened to me every day in SimpleNote
• Writing down at least one thing I'm grateful for every day. 
• Blocking out 30 minutes of walking every weekday morning
• Planning on visiting one new place every Saturday
• Mediating for 15 minutes before bed every night
• Joining a Toastmaster group

Although this course was very shallow and short, I plan on implementing the following:

1. Give students a printed copy of each class' objectives for notetaking and reflection.

2. Use more pair/think/share exercises to better engage all students especially those that are usually quiet.

3. Set up student pairs before class to help students gain exposure to different students.

4. More quizzes at the beginning of a class to reinforce learning and increase intrinsic motivation. (Not all have to be graded.)

5. Ask students for more feedback about classroom activities and sequences.

6. Continue building on active learning.

7. Think… >>>

This course offers excellent information and recommendations that focus on challenges I faced last semester teaching a Speech Communication course. I intend to adapt my syllabus, Canvas modules, classroom instruction and grading methods to reflect what I learned.

Teaching speech requires a great deal of student presentation performance development. While students' knowledge of communication theory and the history of rhetoric best practices are essential, students improve their verbal and nonverbal skills through practice. Maintaining motivation, while students engage in group discussions, research, outlining and delivery, is especially critical in Speech Communication courses.