This article describes ways for early educators to support communication of young children with complex communication needs (CCN) in classrooms through a simple three-step process. First, identify the child's preferred activities and items. Second, identify vocabulary and prepare the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system. Third,…

Engaging in frequent, meaningful conversation during the early years of schooling is foundational for children's literacy development. Specifically, developing oral language through daily conversations is essential for language comprehension, and eventually, reading comprehension. In this article, we discuss how teachers can use the…

In primary-grade classrooms, young children are expected to participate in rich conversations as they build their speaking and listening skills. One way to support students' success with these types of conversations is to explicitly teach them academic conversation skills. Academic conversations are intentional, focused on school-related topics,…

In an ever-increasingly diverse workforce, cross-cultural communication skills are essential for success regardless of job title or task. We present an engaging and customizable 30-minute activity designed to develop participants' cross-cultural communication skills by increasing awareness and sensitivity to interpersonal differences in…

This article explores how teachers can use the sentence stems "I notice" and "I wonder" to deepen professional conversations with colleagues, both in person and in online spaces.

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder are likely to demonstrate social impairments that contribute to challenging behaviors and academic difficulties. As a result, the task of improving social communication skills is a critical component to any educational program for this population. Scripting provides an evidence-based and versatile option for…

Courses: Undergraduate courses in interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, relational communication, computer-mediated communication (CMC), and intercultural communication, as well as basic communication courses. Objectives: The purpose of this activity is twofold: (1) to demonstrate how nonverbal communication shapes content and…

Courses: Introduction to Communication Studies, Rhetorical/Media Criticism, Political Communication, Language and Social Interaction. Objectives: The aims of this single-class activity are (1) to emphasize the complexities of communication competence; (2) to differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate communication behaviors; and (3) to…

This article describes how to design an entangled literacy model, which blends verbal skills with multimodal features of visual, auditory, and other sensory cues to enable students to experience online classes with authentic and comprehensible material; paying attention to modes of communication in online classes also helps approximate…

In this essay I concentrate on a distinct aspect of teaching courses online postpandemic: concrete steps both to ease workload burden and to increase student learning efficacy. There are ten lessons that can facilitate moving instruction online: 1. Organize the Course in Weekly Modules; 2. Communicate on a Regular Schedule; 3. Post Key Lectures;…

Courses: Any course that examines mediated and/or online communication, including but not limited to--Computer-Mediated Communication, Communication Theory, Interpersonal Communication, Introduction to Communication, and Organizational Communication. Objectives: In this single-class activity, students apply their knowledge of mediated…

Inclusive preschool classrooms have become increasingly common in recent decades, affording opportunities for children with and without disabilities opportunities to interact and develop positive relationships. Children with disabilities may be unintentionally excluded from these interactions due to communication differences. This paper discusses…

According to SHAPE America, the goal of physical education "is to develop physically literate individuals." Whitehead suggests that physically literate is a process that can be enriched with the development of the cognitive and affective learning domains through academic conversations. Although common to other content areas, the…

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Fundamentals of Human Communication, Communication Theory, Public Speaking, and Intercultural Communication. Objectives: After completing this single-class activity, students will be able to (1) describe how meaning is created through symbolic interaction, (2) explain how the self is created through symbolic…

Classroom instruction focused on discussion-based learning opportunities can provide productive and inclusive learning experiences for all students, including students with learning disabilities in mathematics and those without learning disabilities. Mathematical discourse allows students to share their ideas, justify their thinking, critique the…