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The Application of Behavioral Techniques to Business Communication Instruction

Western Michigan University

Bernadine P. Branchaw

Western Michigan University

Thomas J. Welsh

The University of Kansas

A review of the history of writing instruction reveals that current instructors face essen tially the same problems as did their counterparts in previous generations and that their complaints remain essentially the same as well. With the commonly used methodologies for writing instruction, many students fail to learn as much as their in structors expect, and composition classes are typically endured rather than enjoyed by student and instructor alike. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of several common methodologies for the teaching of writing and suggests that the tech niques of behavior analysis offer the best hope for developing instructional methodologies that will provide the best results for both writing students and their teachers. Students participating in a pilot study employing behavioral strategies showed a significant decrease in the frequency of errors between pre- and posttest letter samples. Similar testing across instructional methodologies may indicate consistently effective instructional techniques.

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