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VOLUME XVIII, NUMBER 9

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS

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PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD);- COLLEGE. OF EDUCATION, THE

 

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN * WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID.W. RIGHARDSON FOUNDATION

Those Who Can...Teach

Introductory public speaking courses are difficult for
most students because speaking in front of a group
produces anxiety and organizing material to be spoken
requires learning a new approach to sharing ideas.
Moreover, students have few models of appropriate
speech behavior; most public-speaking students have
seen only well-coached professionals on television or
after-banquet amateurs who defy all the textbook rules
of good public speaking.

We decided to develop a speech exchange program
in which we develop our own speeches and model the
behavior we desire from our students. We begin
developing our speeches when we make the assign-
ment to our students. We gather research, organize the
material, and rehearse the speech following the same
timeline we have assigned the class. In the week before
the student speeches begin, we visit each other’s
classrooms and present our speeches to the students.
Students have the benefit of seeing two speech instruc-
tors “practicing what they preach.”

This program helps us address the problems that
make a public speaking course so difficult for students:

1) Viewing instructors’ speeches before giving their
own allows students to preview what is expected
(speeches that we perform are delivered at the intro-
ductory course level), thus removing some of the
“anknown.” Some studies indicate that observing a
model of the intended behavior can decrease apprehen-
sion by as much as 50 percent.

2) Listening to these model speeches enables stu-
dents to grasp the importance of the repetitive organi-
zational techniques that speech delivery requires. If
students see that the style works for the teacher—that a
preview of the main positions alerts listeners to the
main points of the speech, or that visual aids can
enhance audience understanding and attention—they
are more likely to adopt that style.

3) Students are able to see that we, as instructors, are
serious enough to try to improve our speaking abilities
by delivering these speeches and receiving student
feedback. They see that we go through the same efforts
as they do in preparing for a speech and are open to
constructive criticism.

Our teacher exchange technique has wide-ranging
classroom applications. Teachers of English composi-
tion, for example, may compose a sample argumenta-
tive essay and share it with colleagues’ students. Social
scientists may guest lecture in another classroom,
adding new perspective and expertise to a particular
subject. Mathematicians may share their techniques for
solving problems with students in other math classes.

Exposure to different individual teaching /speaking
styles helps students see that there is more than one
way to approach a subject, paper, speech, lecture,
algebra problem, etc. This exposure prepares them to
respond more successfully to a diversity of teaching
methods and leadership styles.

Observing their instructors’ works-in-progress
allows students to see all those who teach in a new
light: If the adage, “Those who can, do; those who
can't, teach” rings true for them, seeing their professors
“do” reveals them to be competent professionals who
emphasize the importance of intellectual growth.
Ultimately, we are modeling not only mastery of our
subject matter, but also our commitment to learning as
a lifelong process.

Jimmie D. Bruce, Jr., Associate Professor, Communication

Katrina M. Eicher, Assistant Professor, Communication
and Theatre

For further information, contact the authors at
Elizabethtown Community College, 600 College Street
Road, Elizabethtown, KY 42701.

 

 

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)
Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration
College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712-1293