Cynthia Vieth

Date Approved

3-27-2015

Embargo Period

3-26-2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ed.D. Educational Leadership

Department

Educational Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Kowalsky, Michelle

Subject(s)

Group work in education; Speech anxiety

Disciplines

Higher Education Administration

Abstract

Group work can have an impact on the experiences that students have in college. Specifically, working in groups can help students lower their level of public speaking anxiety. The purpose of this study was to determine how a group public speaking assignment can impact the overall level of public speaking anxiety experienced by business students in a required oral communication course. Two established and widely-used instruments, the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24), were used to establish students' level of communication apprehension. In addition, two supplemental surveys were developed to collect both demographic information as well as students' perceptions about public speaking and group work. Crosstabulations identified significant relationships between certain PRCA-24 subcontext scores and both college semesters completed as well as perceived public speaking anxiety. Further research into the possibility of a causal link between group work and a reduction in communication apprehension is recommended.

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