Publisher's Synopsis
Know What I'm Saying: Basics of Speech Communication:
- offers shorter chapters using a scaffold layout to engage learners and encourage reading.
- includes self-assessment discussion prompts called "Show Your Understanding" that challenges students to apply new skills to hypothetical situations.
- includes additional student and instructor assessments that align with Bloom's Taxonomy criteria.
- shifts instructional approach away from blended pedagogy & andragogy to more andragogy and less pedagogy that meets the learning shift for Generation-Z students.
- is presented in twelve short chapters allowing adequate time for active learning, small group and class discussion, research, and speechwriting.
- includes common speech assignments, with supporting outline templates, grading rubrics, peer critique forms, and self-performance reflection forms - every tool required for instructors and students to journey through an introductory speech course with ease.
- has been student and instructor tested, evaluated, polished, and approved.
Feedback from instructors that currently use the text have commented on how user friendly it is, especially for new speech teachers or adjunct faculty. At the end of each semester, students are asked for feedback on the textbook/workbook's ease of use. The over-whelming consensus is a thumbs up. Example student feedback, "I love the book, it is easy to understand. The guidelines help me understand how to format new skills and the example speeches are really helpful."
Know What I'm Saying: Basics of Speech Communication is an interactive textbook/workbook with perforated pages for easy removal. Appendix-A consists of six of the most commonly assigned speech assignments; informative, tribute, demonstration, and persuasion. Each speech type includes instructions, a grading rubric, two peer critique forms, and a self-performance reflection questionnaire all designed to assess student growth.
How do we know whether students are learning? The answer is to isolate and practice each speechwriting skills well before presentations begin. Thus, practice assignments are included in most chapters; such assignments include structuring "oral source citations" and formatting an "APA bibliography." Students who enroll in speech classes are accustomed to using intext citations and MLA format as learned in previous writing courses. Historically, communication courses have used the APA format.
Lastly, Chapter Seven guides learners through four steps to speechwriting, a process that begins by building a frame using the standard preparation outline template (included). The frame includes four sections; a brainstorming section that leads to the development of a declarative central idea statement, followed by the introduction, body, and conclusion. Completing the brainstorming sections helps students avoid writer's block. Next, students are guided through the development of each of the last three sections of the frame by following guidelines using critical and creative thinking. When the guidelines are followed as suggested, each section flows smoothly from thought to thought and is audience centered.