Teachers play a key role in communicating with parents to support student learning. One of the more challenging aspects of this role for teachers is having a difficult conversation with a parent about their child. Difficult conversations, when needed, are best accomplished face-to-face incorporating effective communication skills to promote a…

An essential skill for school leaders and coaches is learning how to share ideas in a way that does not shut down teachers' voices, ideas, and thinking. The authors refer to this type of conversation as a partnering conversation. This article identifies two categories of conversations, telling and partnering, along with two kinds of partnering…

While improving ability to communicate effectively is a given for developing student leadership potential, there are very few systematic frameworks to guide communication skill improvement. Using a model of emotional and social skills derived from research in interpersonal and emotional/nonverbal communication, tools and strategies for both…

The relationship between working memory and speech has been a topic of intense research interest and investigation for many years. Memory studies have found that the active processing of working memory is required for language comprehension and speech production. Though there are studies that discuss the capacity of working memory, the processing…

Relational maintenance is a universal aspect of human relationships. As such, our family and interpersonal communication texts often include relational maintenance as a key point of discussion. Communication scholars also continue to demonstrate how understanding and incorporating positive relational maintenance behaviors is beneficial to our…

This activity introduces undergraduate students to the idea of metacommunication by means of a performance praxis assignment. Students will engage in a performance that enhances their communication skills and better understand how the frames of mimesis and poiesis are utilized to understand communication form and context. Courses: A single-class…

This tutorial offers speech-language pathologists (SLPs) an opportunity to consider the theoretical constructs of language acquisition theory and the multifactorial determinants that can impinge on the language acquisition process for children with complex communication needs. The system of constraints observed through the lens of optimality…

This conceptual paper deals with ways in which gesture or embodied utterances create deictic expressions (i.e., deixis) that are relevant to second language teaching and learning. While many gesture types have been found to be material carriers of meaning (McNeill, 1992; Vygotsky, 1986), deictics have the ability and function to create new…

Children with complex communication needs often have multiple disabilities including visual impairments that impact their ability to interact with aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. Just as the field benefited from a consideration of visual cognitive neuroscience in construction of visual displays, an exploration of…

In this discussion, we consider how the use of scenario-based assessment (SBA) can provide students with a way of developing the digital communication skills that business communication research has found they will need for the workplace, alongside other aspects of professional competence. This is because SBA can be employed to engage learners in…

This article discusses interdisciplinary approaches to help students overcome communication barriers by integrating performing arts in Business Communication courses. Companies emphasize a workforce with solid soft skills to succeed. International Business employs English; thus, practical communication skills in English provide access to jobs in…

The unique affordances of Action Research, including flexibility, playfulness, accessibility, and a focus on practical problem solving provided crucial strategies for generating knowledge and developing solutions to the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The move to online research settings, in particular, required action researchers to…

In recent years, several role-modelling initiatives have been testing and exploring the use of digital technologies to facilitate young people's encounters with role models in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The aim of this article is twofold. Firstly, through a literature review, the article aims to provide an…

We offer as praxis--at the intersection between theory and practice--an essay examining what we are calling the "micro-geography" of the communication center. Specifically, we challenge communication center practitioners to think about the ways in which everyday practices and "bottom-up" efforts in our centers can work to…

This article discusses the work of Professor Andrew S. Rancer and his contributions to theory-building and application efforts of argumentative and aggressive communication. Germinal training efforts in constructive and destructive communication are presented, empirical efficacy and learning outcomes highlighted, and implications for training…