Report on Two Short Courses at the National
    Communication Association 2003 Annual
         Convention, Miami Beach, Florida
                 

Last month, on behalf of the Communication Across the Curriculum ad hoc campus committee, I attended two professional short courses related to the work we are doing here. The courses were organized by national leaders in the CAC movement, and represent the best thinking and models continuously refined over the past decade or so. The two courses were:

A.) Communication Across the Curriculum: Design, Implementation, Assessment and Research Models

B.) Developing and Directing the Communication Center

During our December 9 meeting, I reported my impressions and shared the materials I had gathered with the committee. This is what I reported then:

Course #1 Communication Across the Curriculum: Design, Implementation, Assessment and Research Models   
      

Models of CAC Programs

The workshop examined five models of CAC: (1) Speaking-Intensive Programs, (2) Combined Speaking and Writing Programs, (3) Discipline-Specific Programs, (4) Faculty Development Programs, and (5) Start-Up Programs.

A description of these 5 models can be found in the appendix under the NC State information.

The committee discussed the possibility of developing a "speech lab" parallel to our current "writing lab." This would require a separate director for each (the Writing Lab already has a director) and involve comparable staffing and possibly certification issues. A physical space, and budget for equipment and staffing have yet to be developed. One possible scenario would be a combined speaking and writing initiative that might be administered under an "umbrella" CAC committee or a separate speaking lab that would fall under the present Center for Student Learning administered by Steve Gibson.

The committee also discussed the Faculty Development model. After our meeting with consultant Art Young (Clemson), this also seems to be a future emphasis for us. This would involve workshops, grants for curriculum development, and research on pedagogical strategies.

If the committee seeks information about a combined writing and speaking program, two of the best models are North Carolina State, and College of William and Mary.

Faculty Development Issues

The second major issue we face is "delivery"- how to encourage and facilitate teachers in all disciplines to promote active learning in the areas of writing, speaking, visual, and electronic communication. Faculty workshops and grant funding for research and revised pedagogy would be a major asset for our efforts.

Course #2 Developing and Directing the Communication Center
       

Speech Lab

The second short course I attended focused on developing a campus "communication lab" or studio. This is important not only for current CAC needs, but for SACS re-accreditation. A speech studio or communication lab, serving the needs of the entire campus (and off campus clients on a fee-for-service basis) is a way to address these priorities. The lab needs a professional (academic-faculty) director and could be administered under a CAC Advisory Board.

One excellent model of developing a new oral communication lab is found at Columbia College, SC. Two of the five short course presenters were from Columbia. I recommend we bring Tamara Burk to campus as a consultant to help us address all the issues involved in developing a speech lab. The other very impressive model (for our purposes) was the Speech Center at the University of Richmond.

The lab would likely serve the interests of Communication Department courses as well, and it is quite possible many of the peer facilitators will be communication majors. But a campus-wide effort to find and certify speech tutors from every school is recommended. Since what counts as good writing and persuasive oral communication is often influenced by disciplinary criteria of best practices, we should make an effort to have area-specific peer facilitators.

Tom Heeney