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…

Courses: Introduction to Corporate Communication, Introduction to Organizational Communication, Topics in Organizational Communication. Objectives: This activity aims to give students an opportunity and space to critique and examine organizational activities and business practices, and how this may impact students' future employment or consumer…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping classroom experiences. In this activity, students in a graduate-level project management class engaged in real-time conversations with AI- powered chatbots as though they were actual people. Students were required to perform a stakeholder analysis on the key stakeholders involved in their…

Institutions are increasingly supplementing their traditional class formats with hybrid approaches that mix in-person, remote synchronous, and remote asynchronous delivery methods. Even when the student population expects and appreciates more flexibility in scheduling, students still struggle with technology-enhanced instruction when course design…

Courses: Public Speaking, Survey of Communication Studies, Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication. Objectives: This activity focuses on helping students (1) become aware of their implicit biases, (2) understand the relationship between implicit biases and the quality of arguments (i.e. unfounded ad hominem arguments), and (3)…

This activity offers students a way to engage in cover letter writing, familiarizing themselves with the style and content of these documents in a creative, fictional scenario. Students will both prepare letters and evaluate them, with options to vary the gamification of the activity included. During the debrief, students assess their experience…

ePUZSOLVED is designed to help students understand the general communication models and experience the advantages and disadvantages of each. It will highlight how various modes of communication, when used appropriately, may lead people to solve problems, as exemplified by the online puzzle. Courses: Introduction of Communication Models, Review of…

"Zoom class" has become a prevailing norm for online synchronous learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Zoom classes are often associated with fatigue and lack of student engagement. Theories of computer-mediated communication suggest that text-based, low-bandwidth, online communication may yield more positive communication…

Young adults and teenagers spend a significant amount of time each day using social media, but very few of them have thought about the ethical implications of what they post or view on these platforms. This activity provides students with the opportunity to (1) log and evaluate the amount of time and types of posts they are creating on social…

Communication is used to engage and involve students in addressing food deserts and developing sustainable solutions. This application-based activity allows students to explain the reality of food deserts, map the food deserts in an area of interest, develop an intervention, and present their communication intervention to a nonprofit interlocutor.…

Young adults hold many stereotypes about aging and older adults that formal education cannot always address. Interaction and community engagement projects with older adults can challenge and dispel stereotypes young adults hold about older adults. This semesterlong project is designed for undergraduate students in interpersonal and relational…

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…

This article explores the value of generative AI (genAI) tools for much-needed support for instructors in higher education in the realm of course design. Two authors detail their experiences partnering with two distinct tools, ChatGPT and Bard (now known as Gemini), for communication course development, emphasizing iterative collaboration with…

Courses: This class activity is suited for the basic course on public speaking (to discuss issues related to identity, privilege, and audience analysis), interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and communication pedagogy. Objectives: By completing this 30- to 45-minute activity, students should be able to: (1) define privilege;…