Communication practitioners, especially those who facilitate training and development workshops, should focus on generational differences as a subset of their communication training efforts. This article positions the multigenerational workplace and generational differences as a relevant topic for communication trainers and provides cursory…

In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Robert [Bob] Mislevy and Dr. Maria Elena Oliveri introduce and illustrate a sociocognitive perspective on educational measurement, which focuses on a variety of design and implementation considerations for creating fair and valid assessments for learners from diverse populations with diverse sociocultural…

Becoming a professional worker involves a wide range of cognitive, social, and cultural processes that have received extensive attention over the past decades amongst various disciplines. It is also not external to language use and communication. Novices in any occupation have to learn technical terms and are expected to master specific discourse…

In this paper, we discuss the multi-faced role of English writing in the international workplace. Drawing upon previous research, we point out that English, as the main lingua franca, supports a variety of writing practices in the workplace, and so it presents both significant value and challenges for internationally operating individuals and…

Honors graduates have much to learn when transitioning into their first position after college. For instance, workplaces have an entirely different culture and set of expectations from undergraduate honors classrooms. Furthermore, the skills they need to become successful employees or graduate students are different from those required of…

An innovative assignment to capture soft-skills and create opportunities for a health profession program is presented. A full description of this semester-long assignment will be highlighted, including the associated rubric and a student example. Assessment results provide initial insight as to how the HOT Sheet supported opportunity for soft…

English is the medium of instruction in all Science and Engineering undergraduate programmes at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Therefore, students who do not meet minimum proficiency requirements are placed in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses to help them improve. Other generic, domain-specific and workplace communication…

Recent research has identified interpersonal communication skills as critical attributes for new employees and more experienced workers seeking promotion. However, despite the significance of interpersonal communication in the workplace, one's knowledge of these skills and how they may be taught is limited. The two articles comprising this theme…

Recent college graduates are entering a competitive workforce that demands strong communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. However, many recent surveys and reports describe college graduates as deficient in these skills. For two courses at separate institutions, we each framed a course as a job, playing the role of a supervisor or…

In an April, 2012 Wall Street Journal article titled "Wealth or Waste? Rethinking the Value of a Business Major," national reporter Melissa Korn explores an intriguing fact: the business major, the most popular major on college campuses for over 30 years and the discipline believed to be most economically viable by prospective college…

The seven Favorite Assignments featured in this article were originally presented at the 2010 ABC Annual Convention, Chicago, Illinois. The reader can consider a variety of learning objectives from team building to persuasion, application of electronic media to face-to-face communication, and much more. Some Favorite Assignments take a full…

School business officials' days are filled with numbers and reports--audits, balance sheets, check registers, financial statements, journal entries, vouchers, and warrant reports, just to name a few. Those are all important tools that school business officers use to manage the financial resources of the district effectively. However, they are also…

We are presenting a methodological approach that aims to increase students' motivation by asking them to develop tasks based on professional settings. In order to meet this objective a collaborative methodology was designed and applied to two multidisciplinary projects: MARKETOUR and ICT-SUSTOUR. Both projects made students face real workplace…

The American workplace needs a workforce competent in a trade area and proficient in communication skills, group interaction skills, computer skills, and critical thinking skills. Many may argue that it is not possible to teach a technician all these skills in just two years--hence the need for new teaching strategies. Thus, in this article, the…

Describes a student research project in a business communication course in which student researchers practice a wide variety of communication skills (oral communication, research, writing, and professional writing skills) as they manipulate their collected data into a persuasive report. (SR)