The film "Stagecoach," a 1939 Western epic, was used in a 200-level small-group communication course as an instructional resource to illustrate the emergence of group norms and roles, the treatment of deviance and conflict, and the influence of external threats, interdependent goals, and shared history on the development of cohesiveness…

Research in how the Rorschach Inkblot Test has been utilized in the assessment of object relations is reviewed. The review includes a critical examination of six areas: (1) constructs and concepts of object-relations theory represented in the research; (2) relevant Rorschach history and history; (3) characteristics of Rorschach-based,…

A variety of desperate questions come from frustrated teaching assistants who want to teach well but have fallen into the widening gap between postmodern theory and daily practice. Too often, TA training consists of an overwhelming load of postmodern theory insufficiently counterbalanced by practical methods. Does postmodernism preclude teaching…

Courses in communication theory in the 1990s may emphasize the social sciences, critical theory, or both, depending on the orientation of the professor. The modern field of communication in the United States arose after World War I in response to increasing technology and the progressive, pragmatic philosophy that has dominated American life.…

The behaviorist world view, influential in many social-science disciplines, is challenged by theories of action. With steady developments in nonbehaviorist thinking and related social-action conceptions, the study of school organizational structure can be transformed into a field centered about the dynamics of individuals' practical actions. This…

Recent theories associated with physical reality have increasingly been adapted as social-science paradigms. Chaos Theory and Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) are two advances that are applicable to the educational administration field. According to Edward Lorenz's Chaos Theory, profound changes in outcome can arise from small variations of input.…

The 11 papers in this collection address research and theory in higher education. The papers are: (1) "Teaching, Learning, and Thinking about Teaching and Learning" (W.J. McKeachie); (2) "Costs and Productivity in Higher Education: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications" (Darrell R. Lewis and Halil Dunbar); (3) "Institutional Adaptation:…

This paper considers the status and potential of researcher-practitioner collaboration toward higher literacy through a restructured curriculum based on the whole language philosophy. Specifically, it examines the status, contribution, and potential of the dialogue in a whole language topical session on the School Renewal Network, an electronic…

Much progress has been made in recent decades in improving the quality and quantity of speech competition. The forensic community has endorsed a justification of forensics that emphasizes its educational value. Some critics complain that current competition structure creates detachment from educational opportunities and leads to pandering to…

An examination of Robert Zoellner's "Talk-Write Pedagogy" (a dialog, written in 1969, about a student's inability to write what he meant) in the context of current composition theory and research demonstrates the cogency of his ideas for today. Zoellner contends that the "think-write" pedagogy has failed students because it…

Updating an earlier issue of the "International and Intercultural Communication Annual" (Volume VII, 1983), this collection of 13 essays represents the major approaches to the study of intercultural communication, as well as of communication in general. Papers in the collection are: "On Theorizing Intercultural Communication"…

This book proposes that action research can give higher education professional development a theoretical framework by integrating educational research and teaching in higher education. The book offers an alternative paradigm in higher education research and development and explains the differences between the traditional and alternative paradigms…

This paper reviews and summarizes research studies in writing and related language areas that help educators to understand how writing is socially based. The purpose of the paper is to cast classroom practice in the variously dim and gleaming lights of research and theory, linking practice, research, and theory by looking with a close-up lens at…

Connecting the separate worlds of literary theorists and literature teachers in higher education, this collection of essays by 20 college teachers shares their ideas about using theorists' concepts to turn undergraduates from passive receivers of information into active thinkers about meaning in literature. Following an introduction by James M.…

This book contains 44 articles on the topic "10 Best Ideas for Reading Teachers." Each of the articles, however, is different, because each of the authors sees the assigned title from a different perspective and from a different background. Some of the articles in the book concentrate on seminal ideas, and others give actual teaching…