Securing the Future of Communication Education: Advancing an Advocacy and Research Agenda for the 21st Century

Forum: The Common Core

“…The application of technology and new media informed by communication research also hold promise in using communication expertise to educate the citizens of tomorrow. But to achieve these goals, as Hunt et al (2014) have noted, graduate programs-especially doctoral programs-are needed to provide leadership and research in supporting K-12 instruction. Our colleagues in English offer doctoral programs in Rhetoric and Composition that provide intellectual space for research and instruction about methods of teaching English.…”

“…What may be needed is a disciplinary values shift. Along with implementation of the clear and concrete suggestions offered by Hunt et al (2014), Weintraub (2014), or NCA task forces, individuals, departments, and professional associations should make enhancing K-12 communication instruction a core value. Higher education departments of communication are encouraged to examine their curriculum to see whether it ensures that K-12 students master communication knowledge and skills.…”

Barriers to implementing communication education in the PK-12 schools

“…Arguably, there are a variety of ways researchers can tackle this issue, which should warrant further discussion; however, there is one glaring concern that plagues our discipline. There is a major disconnect between university research and K-12 practice in the communication discipline, and there has been for many years (Book, 1989;Hunt, Wright, & Simonds, 2014). Mehta (2013) argued that one of the worst decisions in education was separating teaching from research.…”

“…Communication education scholars have long argued that more research is needed to secure a place for communication in K-12 schools (Book, 1989;Morreale & Pearson, 2008). Hunt et al (2014) argued that instructional communication scholars and basic course directors need to develop a line of research to address pedagogical issues in K-12 schools. If there is a concern that there are unqualified or underqualified teachers in K-12 schools, communication scholars need to provide research that initiates a conversation regarding best practices for communication pedagogy that can advance the argument that individuals must be qualified to teach the subject.…”

Raising the Standard: An Assessment of Peer Collaboration as an Enhancer of Speech Evaluation Fidelity

“…In reference to the basic communication course, previous research included in journals such as the Basic Communication Course Annual and Communication Education helps to develop pedagogical content knowledge "by evaluating the intersection of knowledge of the content of communication with pedagogical strategies that most effectively help students become better communicators" (Hunt et al, 2005, p. 25). For example, Hunt et al (2014) identify speech evaluation assessment as an innovative pedagogical strategy that can help to promote the development of students' core communication competencies. The aim of this research is to rethink and advance this specific pedagogical strategy by incorporating the concept of peer learning into the pedagogical content knowledge surrounding the basic communication course.…”