This year a number of our faculty members participated in the National Communication Association’s 108th Annual Convention: Honoring PLACE: People, Liberation, Advocacy, Community, and Environment. This year’s convention took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Below we have listed the SoC faculty members and their participation in the convention.
Corey Anton:
Role: Presenter – A Roundtable Discussion of Surfing the Anthropocene: Digital Affect and the Big Tension
Valerie Peterson:
Role: Presenter – A Roundtable Discussion of Surfing the Anthropocene: Digital Affect and the Big Tension
Richard D. Besel:
Role: Chair and Respondent – Mediating Environmental Communication
Carl Brown:
Role: Presenter – Communication Centers Section Business Meeting
Role: Chair – Communication Centers Section Paper Session
Dr. Carl Brown Top-Ranked Panel Award
Anthony Spencer
Role: Presenter – COVID-19 and Government Trust: A Spiral of Silence Analysis in South America
Role: Presenter – Pandemic migration: The role of media to and from Latin America
Photo of Dr. Anthony Spencer (right) and Dr. Paola Albarrán from Telemundo Television (left)
Adrienne Wallace
Role: Presenter – Media Mastery: Redefining Media Literacy in the Digital Age
Role: Presenter – SPARK A ‘Diversity First’ IDEA: An Approach to Equitable PR Campaigns
Role: Presenter – Mitigating Harm: To PLACE PR Ethics at the Center of AI and IoT Strategy
There is a lot of value in being able to see your students’ faces during distance learning. However, as we all know, we can’t force them to be on camera.
This issue led our very own Grand Valley State University Communication Studies professor, Dr. Valerie Peterson, to experiment and arrive at a helpful strategy called ‘mini-classes’ to encourage students to participate and, in many cases, TURN ON THEIR CAMERAS!
We sat down with Dr. Peterson to learn more.
What is the problem?
“You have only one or two students turning on their cameras (Blackboard Collaborate) – or, you have many students with cameras on, but they all act like wallflowers (Zoom),” said Peterson. “Also, on Blackboard Collaborate, there is the ‘only-four-students-visible-at-a-time’ situation, which means students don’t like getting stuck having to keep their cameras on so as not to embarrass the teacher (after they’ve become visible and/or spoken). They also don’t like feeling bad about turning off their camera after the interaction (and leaving the teacher ‘behind’).”
The solution:
1 – Break up your class into groups of four students. Call them ‘mini-classes’ or ‘pods’ – or whatever name fits your style. Let students know that these groups are not meant to work together; they are simply being used to arrange the class.
2 – Assign each mini-class to a different day of class (mini-class one on the first day, say Monday; mini-class two on the second day, say Wednesday, etc.). In a 28 person class, that would be seven groups of four students, or seven consecutive days of class – each with a different mini-class. During the first class where you use this method, mini-class one would be ‘on deck’ to have their cameras on and microphones on or at the ready. Students in mini-classes two – seven are encouraged to participate but could also lurk.
3 – Mini-class gives you four faces you can see to help you gauge how the bulk of students are reacting. It also offers students a day when they should be braced for interaction with you and be ready to share their faces/voices with the class (and perhaps even be especially familiar with the material).
4 – This method helps democratize classes where only one or two students regularly speak and helps lurkers, some who have helpful observations that might otherwise go unsaid, come out of the shadows. It could be used for one ‘cycle’ in a class, or it could be used for multiple cycles or across the entire course, but you’d need to explain it first, so the soonest you could use it would be after the first day of class once students understand the expectations.
5 – I don’t grade this or give this extra credit. I explain it as a compromise – one day of focused participation (for which they can be prepared) in exchange for other days when others will be more ‘on the spot.’ I do try to make sure students have the same number of times they’re asked to appear so that all students are asked to share in the responsibilities of participation equally.
6 – Mini-class can also be used to schedule speeches or other staggered assignments – especially if you allow students to, when needed, adjust their due dates by trading places with someone in a different mini-class (whose work is due at a different time). Another plus is the added interest provided by a rotating group of new classmates about whom students get to know a bit more via their in-class interactions.
We hope this sit down with Dr. Peterson helps other professors and faculty thwart class participation issues. If you have any questions regarding Dr. Peterson’s method, please feel free to reach out to her via email.
NCA 106th Annual Convention: Communication at the Crossroads
Many of our Grand Valley School of Communication faculty will be participating in The National Communication Association (NCA) 106th Annual Convention: Communication at the Crossroads event.
This year’s convention will be an entirely virtual event and free. Synchronous sessions will occur on the same dates as initially scheduled, November 19-22, with some virtual meetings held on the days surrounding these dates.
Below we have listed all of the GVSU faculty members participating in this year’s NCA Annual Convention. If your membership is current through December 1, 2020, you are an NCA Life Member, NCA Retired Member, or you wish to register as a non-member, click here to register.
Patrick Anderson
Grand Valley State University, Visiting Professor in the Department of Philosophy
Scheduled Appearances
Ancient Rhetoric at the Crossroads: Afrocentric Approaches and the Canon
Thu, 11/19: 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Role: Presenter
Author Meets Critics Panel: Zoetropes and the Politics of Humanhood
Thu, 11/19: 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Role: Presenter
On Moderate and Radical Government Whistleblowing: Edward Snowden and Julian Assange as Theorists of Whistleblowing Ethics
Fri, 11/20: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Role: Author
Corey Anton
Grand Valley State University, Professor of Communications
Scheduled Appearances
Soul and Spirituality at the Crossroads: Jesus as Apology
Thu, 11/19: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Role: Author
Robotic Media Environments
Fri, 11/20: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Role: Respondent
Non-Being in Language Structure, Content and Context
Sat, 11/21: 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Role: Author
Non-Being, Possibilities, Morality, and Death Acceptance
Sun, 11/22: 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Role: Author
Richard D. Besel
Grand Valley State University, Professor and Director of School of Communications
Scheduled Appearances
PC10: At the Crossroads: The Future of Master’s Education
Wed, 11/18: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Role: Presenter
Public Health, the Environment, and the Body
Thu, 11/19: 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Role: Chair
Carl J. Brown
Grand Valley State University, Assistant Professor of Communication
Scheduled Appearances
Communication Centers Section Business Meeting
Tue, 11/10: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Role: Co-Presenter
Legislative Assembly I
Wed, 11/18: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Role: Presenter
Making a Difference in an Evolving Center: Best Practices for Engaging and Collaborating with Students
Fri, 11/20: 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Role: Chair
Legislative Assembly II
Sat, 11/21: 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Role: Presenter
Anthony Spencer
Grand Valley State University, Assistant Professor of Communication
Scheduled Appearances
A multi-national validity analysis of the Argumentativeness Measure
Thu, 11/19: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Role: Co-Author
Melba Vélez Ortiz
Grand Valley State University, Assistant Professor of Communication
Scheduled Appearances
Ancient Rhetoric at the Crossroads: Afrocentric Approaches and the Canon
Thu, 11/19: 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Role: Presenter
The Harpist of Maat: Notes on the Communicative Sacredness of Sound
Thu, 11/19: 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Role: Author
SC14: Disability Pedagogy at the Crossroads: Classroom and Online Learning Activities for Teaching About Disability
Fri, 11/20: 2:00 PM – 4:45 PM
Role: Presenter
Learning Activities for Critical Thinking and Reflection on Communication Ethics
Sat, 11/21: 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Role: Chair
Adrienne A. Wallace
Grand Valley State University, Assistant Professor of Advertising and Public Relations
Scheduled Appearances
07. Forging Ahead: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion the Driving Force Behind Communication Education
Thu, 11/19: 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Role: Co-Author
Crossroads in Pedagogy: Applications and Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Communication Classroom
Thu, 11/19: 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Role: Presenter
Peter Zhang
Grand Valley State University, Professor of Communications
The CMA Distinguished 4-year Broadcast Award recognizes excellence in media advising among advisers with more than five years of experience on the job. The award is divided into categories. The 4-Year Broadcast Award means that O’Kelly is a broadcast adviser at a school with 4-year degrees. There are also 2-year categories, as well as categories for print, multimedia, and yearbook.
O’Kelly was nominated by Bob Stoll, who up until this past August, was the director of student life and chair of the GVSU Media Advisory Board. Stoll also appointed O’Kelly, adviser of WCKS Radio, in 2010.
Once nominated, letters of support are needed from students. O’Kelly received letters from GVSU graduates Alaina Taylor and Rachel Syrba, previous WCKS Radio managers.
“They shared their letters with me after they sent them, and they were touching,” O’Kelly said. “Phil Tower, who is the operations manager of WOOD-AM in Grand Rapids, and who has served as an industry liaison to the GVSU Media Board, also wrote a strong letter of support.”
Upon finding out he was nominated, he was asked for his advising philosophy in a document. O’Kelly submitted that and then waited to find out if he had won the award.
The award has meant a lot to O’Kelly. He indicated in his statement that the only reason he went back to school and finished his degree was to become a college radio adviser.
“I figured no one would hire a dropout, so that was my motivation to get back to school and finish,” O’Kelly said. “College radio made my career, and it is very important to me. This award serves as a nice reminder that what I am doing is hopefully making a difference in a student’s life. I’d like to think that they’ll leave GVSU and look fondly on their time in radio just as much as I do mine.”
The broadcast category award has only been awarded 16 times in the last 30 years, and no one from GVSU has ever won it.
In standard years, there would be a ceremony at the Fall National Media Convention. This year’s CMA convention was a virtual event, and the ceremony was a presentation done by video due to COVID-19.
“I’ve worked in radio for 33 years now, with time spent at some legendary radio stations,” O’Kelly said. “The station that I am most proud to be a part of, though, is our student station. I have learned so much from the students who have worked here over the last ten years, and hope that they’ve picked up a few things as well. I’m glad I went back to school.”
The research he did with his partner examined what “performance” means to CCOs (Chief Communication Officers) and the key variables that drive it and those that inhibit it. They took those variables and developed a model of communication team performance, which we tested in our current research. They developed a survey which they gave to CCOs, and they, in turn, had their direct reports, and every member of their communication took the survey. The results showed that their model variables were what professional communicators consider in terms of their performance. They were also able to show in the aggregate what variables rated highest and lowest.
“Through the statistical analysis, we also found some meaningful differences in how CCOs rate their performance compared with other members of their team,” Dr. Penning said.
His blog post follows up on what he and his partner researched and also discusses how corporate communications teams can measure whether they are performing well or not. Dr. Penning was able to sit down and discuss his blog post and research with the GVSU School of Communication.
Did you discover anything from your findings that was unexpected?
I was surprised by how consistently the differences were in that CCOs rated their organizations higher than their direct reports. Their teams at large gave themselves the lowest ratings across all variables. This likely has to do with CCOs seeing things from a management perspective and the organization’s impact overall. In contrast, team members focused on communication department resources and their specific roles and tasks.
How will this research help your students with their future careers?
I stress this when I teach undergraduates in PR Cases and Management and graduate students in Communication Management—a good PR or communications pro can’t be satisfied just to do creative tactics or even manage the PR or communication department well. The primary perspective for performance is how the communication function contributes to the entire company’s success, nonprofit, or other organization.
Why should students be interested in reading your research?
Because they can see what professors do when not teaching! They see a faculty member engaged with issues that are of considerable interest in the profession and among people at the highest level of it.
What are some key takeaways for GVSU students while reading your research?
That even in an entry-level job they will be more successful, listened to, promoted if they approach their work in terms of solving a problem or enabling the success of the whole organization for which they work. If they can speak in terms of not just a single tactic or campaign but ongoing performance, they will be appreciated much more by bosses and clients.
When it comes to measuring a corporate communications team’s performance, what is the reasoning behind why you do it the way you do?
Its validity is based on an empirical understanding of what the performance variables are, and testing our model, and finding that the factors we developed were confirmed in research as the key ones to include.
Dr. Penning believes that research is not just something encountered in a classroom or book or journal.
“Professionals of high caliber are excited to engage with research findings. Also, measurement, evaluation, performance, or whatever you want to call it has become increasingly vital in communications jobs in recent years,” Dr. Penning said. “If they can measure and demonstrate quality and success, they will prosper.”
If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Penning’s research, make sure to check out his blog, Penning Ink.
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