The Level of Communication Competence of Academic Teachers Conditioned by Work Experience – Research Report

Abstract Objective: The main aim of paper is to present results from research concerning creative didactic work understood as consciously taken actions whose aim is to invent/implement and popularize new and valuable teaching strategies, methodical and organizational solutions. The paper presents an area of experiences that stimulate academic teachers to innovative didactic work. Methods: In a qualitative research conducted with the use of a theoretical-methodological approach of Gruber (1989) titled The Evolving Systems Approach to Creative Work (ESA). In it, the author applied a case study and conducted an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to contents deriving from semistructured interviews carried out with 13 academic teachers-innovators that for at least 5 years invented/implemented new strategies/methods/techniques/programes/didactic aids in the process of teaching-learning with students. Results: Such experiences of didactic work as: positive emotions accompanying the process of inventing and implementing creative didactic solutions, good feedback from students, reaching educational goals, and encouragement from: students, co-workers, and significant persons make up the “self-propelling mechanism” for creativity in didactic work. Conclusions: Each stage of didactic work: from idea through implementation of the solution to its popularization is connected with pleasure and satisfaction taken by teachers. It makes them eager to continue their work in the form of various activities that create an internally related “weave of actions.” Thus, teaching in a creative way becomes a “self-propelling mechanism” thanks to which it is also subject to a process of continuous evolution of it.

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Building Emotional Intelligence for Student Success: A Pilot Study

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2019_persp-19-00101 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 1445-1461

Author(s):

Amee P. Shah ◽

Mary Lou Galantino

Keyword(s):

Emotional Intelligence ◽

Emotional Regulation ◽

Communication Apprehension ◽

Communication Competence ◽

Emotional Awareness ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Empowerment Model ◽

Dyad Interaction ◽

Relational Management

Purpose Nationwide, upward trends exist in student issues with anxiety, stress, depression, and lowered classroom performance. As emotional awareness and emotional regulation skills are typically not addressed in professional discipline-specific courses, students experience challenges in their academic performance. This pilot research explored the effect of brief targeted classroom practices within an empowerment-based framework on domains of emotional intelligence. Method Twenty-two students in an undergraduate speech-language pathology class received a 13-week, biweekly, 15-min session of empowerment-based worksheet exercises to develop increased self-esteem, emotional awareness and regulation, and communication. Assessments of self-esteem, emotional intelligence, communication competence, and communication apprehension were conducted using validated scales, namely, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale ( Rosenberg, 1965 ), the Quick Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment ( Mohapel, 2015 ), the Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale ( McCroskey & McCroskey, 2013 ), and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension ( McCroskey, 1982 ), respectively. Midsemester and semester-end student reflections were collected. Results Paired t tests were significant in self-esteem and emotional quotient, including subdomains of emotional awareness, emotional management, social emotional awareness, and relational management. Significance was noted in communication competence in the subdomains of dyad interaction, stranger interaction, and acquaintance. Students' reflection showed significant improvement in empowerment and self-rated improvements in confidence, communication, connections with peers, and trust with instructor. Conclusion Preliminary evidence demonstrates positive outcomes with integration of intentional classroom exercises to build emotional intelligence (including emotional awareness and regulation), self-esteem, and communication. This empowerment model may assist faculty in developing effective pedagogical strategies to build students' self-resiliency.

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