DEVELOPMENT OF A TEACHING MODULE ON WRITTEN AND VERBAL COMMUNICATION-SKILLS

To provide statistical proof of their effectiveness, Language for Learning (LFL) writing strategies used in Writing Across the Curriculum programs were incorporated into a regular Verbal communication class. Students taking the communication course in the quarter prior to incorporating LFL served as the central group. Both groups took pretests and posttests evaluating written and verbal communication skills. The major statistical analyses involved comparing the mean of the differences between the control subjects' pretest and posttest scores with that of the experimental subjects' pretest and posttest scares. Results showed that the typical writing apprehension expressed by pharmacy students was significantly decreased for the experimental group. The experimental group showed significant improvement in four dimensions-writing, verbal skills, ability to formulate ideas, and identifying the appropriate target audience. The control group showed improvement in only one-verbal skills. Resultant materials have been made available to U.S. and Canadian schools of pharmacy in the book Writing Across the Curriculum for Colleges of Pharmacy: A Source Book.