Faculty perceptions regarding the integration of communication-intensive activities into the College of Agriculture curriculum

Abstract

Integrating communication into the curriculum at all levels of education is an issue that continues to confront institutions nationwide, because the professional and vocational workplaces demand that college graduates are able to read, write, speak, and listen effectively when they graduate (Maimon, 1994; Russell, 1994). Therefore, students are expected to learn to these communication skills and strategies at the same time they are earning their technical degrees. Academia agrees: numerous disciplines argue that effective communication abilities-speaking, writing, reading, and listening-are key to graduates' productivity and success in their jobs (Donellan & Ross, 1990). However, academia often tries to teach these skills primarily in a traditional manner, as part of first-year composition courses. While these composition courses may be effective for reviewing basic grammar and mechanics and for learning about arguments in personal essays, they do not provide adequate instruction about ways to communicate effectively in the professional workplace. Workplace communication requires special words and phrases, distinct patterns of organizing and presenting information, and particular forms of writing other than typical academic term papers and essay questions, for example. Therefore, academia's responsibility is twofold: first, to teach technical information essential to each discipline, and, second, to teach the conventional forms of communication expected by each discipline. Unfortunately, while earning their degree, many students do not have opportunities for exposure to-let alone mastery of-the communication conventions required by their discipline. Students' lack of exposure to and mastery of disciplinary communication conventions has resulted in 2 the adoption of educational programs and pedagogies specifically designed to address this