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APPLICATION OF THEORY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A KINDERGARTEN THROUGH TWELFTH GRADE INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO COMMUNICATION SKILLS

MELISSA LOUISE CHRISTENSEN BEALL, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

The need for instructional programs in communication skills has been shown to be a complex process which is necessary for all students. Because of the situational nature of the communication process, there is a need for programs which provide instruction in the development and refinement of skills. Concomitantly, means of assessing skills must be developed. The present study discusses the need for such programs, relates the relevant literature, delineates the steps which went into the development of just such a program, then discusses the formative and impact evaluations of the program. While the results of this study do not lead to claims of external validity, they do suggest that the instructional program described here is one which will impact students' growth in the achievement of communication skills. The small sample size for comparisons of pre- and post-assessment scores combined with the restrictions placed upon the study by the School District make evaluation difficult but not impossible. The absence of controls in this study was mandated by the School District. An evaluation of the program's effectiveness was run, however, by comparing the pre- and post-assessment scores of 124 students. Comparisons were run only when there were paired data available. The comparisons were highly significant in seventeen of the nineteen skills with one skill being marginally significant and one skill not significant at the .05 level. Implications for the future, derived from this study, include additional testing to see if the program has generalizability, additional training for teachers in the area of nonverbal communication, testing of the assessment instrument, and tests to determine inter-rater reliability.

Subject Area

Communication

Recommended Citation

BEALL, MELISSA LOUISE CHRISTENSEN, "APPLICATION OF THEORY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A KINDERGARTEN THROUGH TWELFTH GRADE INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO COMMUNICATION SKILLS" (1982). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8306471.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8306471

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