Testing the effects of a competency‐based interpersonal communication course

A report of the task force on career competencies in oral communication skills for community college students seeking immediate entry into the work force

“…Steele has commented on the American College Testing program's efforts to build a standardized test to assess speaking and writing competency; Scarfe and Silver have described a communication competency based program developed in conjunction with the College of Business at the University of Oklahoma, and Tkachuk has detailed an ongoing program at Minnesota's Concordia College. 10 More recently, Kelly, Chase and Weimann's examination of interpersonal competence, 11 and Berryman-Fink and Pederson's discussion of a skills based, interpersonal communication course at the University of Cincinnati 12 give evidence that the issue is not only alive but that there are continuing efforts to arrive at more precise techniques for measurement and analysis. An example of the on-going efforts to address the issue was furnished by SCA's 1980 East Coast Summer Conference on careers in communication.…”

Do Popular Collegiate Textbooks in Interpersonal Communication Reflect a Common Theory Base? A Telling Content Analysis

“…Berryman-Fink and Pederson (1981) noted that definitions of IPC competence varied and that instructors who teach IPC competencies must identify specific skills for focus. Berryman-Fink and Pederson (1981) argued that four skills were appropriate for the operationalization of interpersonal competence: empathy, descriptiveness, self-disclosure, as well as owning thoughts and feelings. These authors claimed that students who participated in a skills-based IPC course significantly improved their effectiveness in these areas.…”

“…The competency-based approach presumes a difference between knowing and doing; its advocates argue that simply knowing about communication will not necessarily influence communication behavior (Glaser, 1983). Berryman-Fink and Pederson (1981) noted that definitions of IPC competence varied and that instructors who teach IPC competencies must identify specific skills for focus. Berryman-Fink and Pederson (1981) argued that four skills were appropriate for the operationalization of interpersonal competence: empathy, descriptiveness, self-disclosure, as well as owning thoughts and feelings.…”

“…Indeed, research on IPC pedagogy has covered a myriad of topics. For purposes of this review, the present authors grouped these topics into three areas: instructional practices (e.g., Berryman & Weaver, 1978;Cronen, Pearce, & Harris, 1979;Fiordo, 1987;Glaser, & Glaser, 1977;Hill, 1981;McDowell, 1977;Pearce, 1977;Stewart, 1972;Wiseman & Barker, 1966), interpersonal skills or competencies (e.g., Berryman-Fink & Pederson, 1981;Bochner and Yerby, 1977;Glaser, 1983;Rowan, 1984;Wackman & Miller, 1975), and analyses of IPC textbooks (e.g., DeVito, 1986;Dorris, 1981;Gonzalez, 1991;Hall, 1984;Posner, 1993;Schneider, 1992;VerLinden, 1985;Wood & Inman, 1993). The major area of interpersonal pedagogy here labeled instructional practices includes topic selection (Berryman & Weaver, 1978;Cronen, Pearce and Harris, 1979;McDowell, 1977;Pearce, 1977;Rowan, 1984;Stewart, 1972) and methods of accommodating larger classes (Webb & Lane, 1986;Wiseman & Barker, 1966).…”

A comparison between PSI‐based and lecture‐recitation formats of instruction in the introductory speech communication course

“…Few departments of speech communication, with the notable exception of the University of Nebraska, seem to have adopted or experimented with PSI in spite of its widespread use in other disciplines. (For information concerning some of the applications of PSI in communication courses, see Berryman-Fink & Pederson, 1981;Fuss-Reineck & Seiler, 1982;Hanisko, Beall, Prentice & Seiler, 1982;Hanna & Gibson, 1983;Heun, Heun & Ratcliff, 1976;Scott & Young, 1976;and Staton-Spicer & Bassett, 1980.) Seiler (1983), in his discussion of the basic course at the University of Nebraska, has elaborated on some of the primary advantages of using a PSI-based approach to instruction in a basic course in public speaking.…”