Author Description

The purpose of this Instructor's Resource Manual (IRM) is to help you teach from as well as use the 6th edition of "Communication Making Connections". The IRM was developed to provide instructional resources for the classroom as well as to aid experienced and inexperienced basic course directors administer an introductory communication course. It is presumptuous to believe this manual includes everything anyone needs to teach classes or administer programs. This manual does, however, provide ideas, suggestions, recommendations, teaching outlines, activities, assignments, and other nuts-and-bolts information for designing and developing an introductory communication course. Thus, its purpose is to provide practical resource material for those who use the text. "Communication Making Connections" includes important communication theory, principles, and skills. In our opinion, it is different from other texts because it covers each area more thoroughly, includes more student-oriented examples, provides ample learning aids, helps students make connections between this course and other aspects of their lives, provides an awareness of cultural diversity, ethics, communication competence, and technology and communication. Also, it generally helps students learn more efficiently and effectively and actively reflect on what they are learning. This text is flexible so that it can meet different instructional needs as well as a variety of learning objectives. The overall goal of "Communication Making Connections" is to provide students with a comprehensive, practical, readable, enjoyable, and most important, pedagogically and intellectually sound vehicle to learn about communication and make connections between the study and the process itself. The book was designed for communicators-for people who wish to improve their understanding and skill in communicating with others. It was written specifically for students in an introductory communication course about communication....