Teaching and Evaluating Oral Communication

Amanda G. McKendree, Ph.D.

Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning

October 31, 2013

Learning Goals

After successfully completing this workshop you will be able to:

• design oral assignments that align with particular course learning goals.

• differentiate between different types of communication skills, different methods of delivery, and different speaking occasions.

• identify different grading philosophies that are useful for grading oral work.

• begin creating rubrics for evaluating oral work.

The Heart of the Matter recognizes the need to “foster a society that is innovative, competitive, and strong,” arguing that such a society emerges when educators focus on “problem-solving, critical analysis, and communication skills.”

The report …recognizes the value and relevance of communication skills as central to a “liberal education” and as desirable for employers and employees in the expanding global marketplace.

(American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2013)

Common Challenges of Oral Work• Choosing assignments.• Determining degrees of competence, effectiveness, and/or

appropriateness.• Assessing content and delivery.• Assessing verbal and nonverbal communication.• Assessing listening.• Involving students in their own self reflection and self reporting.• Assessing group work.• Demonstrating an awareness of student disabilities and

linguistic identity.• Recognizing your own bias.

Designing Oral Assignments

(Fink, 2003, 2013)

Types of Oral Communication Activities• One-on-one speaking• Small group or team-based oral work• Full-class discussions• In-class debates• Speeches and presentations• Oral examinations

Considerations for Assignment Selection• Student learning goals• Class size• Depth/range of student knowledge• Level of student preparation• Level of student participation• Formality of assignment• Time

Considering Content & Delivery• Content-Depth of understanding, quality of thesis,

independent thought, supporting materials, etc.• Delivery-posture, gesture, eye contact, vocal

expressiveness, etc.

Types of Grading

Norm-Referenced Criterion-Referenced

Compares the performance of individuals against one another.

Compares the performance of individuals against preset criteria.

Spreads out a grade distribution. Grades may be clustered at the high or low ends.

Encourages competition. Encourages collaboration.

Grades affected by outliers. Grades not affected by how others individually perform.

Does not help the student in knowing how to improve.

Table adapted from Florida State University learningforlife.fsu.edu/ctl/explore/onlineresources/docs/chptr13.pdf

Can be used diagnostically to indicate strengths and weaknesses.

Rubrics for Evaluating Oral Work

• List criteria.• Articulate levels of achieving the goals.

– With or without numerical values

• Advantages– Clarifies expectations ahead of time.– MAY reduce evaluation time.– Helps learners be responsible for their work.

Rubric Review (Activity)

• Divide into groups of three.– #1: NCA Competent Speaker Evaluation Form (Yellow)– #2: Rubric for Formal Oral Communication (Gold)– #3: Rubric for Leading Class Discussions (Blue)

• What are the strengths of your assigned rubric?• What changes would you recommend for your

assigned rubric?

Next Steps

• Begin creating your rubric (Green).• Follow up with the Kaneb Center with any

questions.353 DeBartolo HallNotre Dame, IN 46556-5692574.631.9146 or kaneb@nd.edu