Press Room

(Washington, DC)—More than 3,000 Communication researchers, teachers, and students are expected at the National Communication Association (NCA) 107th Annual Convention to explore the theme of “Renewal and Transformation.” Communication scholars will convene in Seattle, Washington, to engage in deep discussions about communication’s role in such issues as racial justice, feminism, relationships, and politics. The convention will include hundreds of sessions about COVID-19, with more than a dozen focusing specifically on teaching and learning during the pandemic. Highlights include: 

November 18: 

• “As We Lean Towards Renewal and Transformation in Teaching and Learning: Challenges and Opportunities” – This panel will reflect on how our teaching has been tested by the intersecting effects of a global health pandemic, economic disparities, and racial injustices.
• “Diasporic Renewal and Transformation: Theorizing Pedagogical Practices from the Margins While Facing the Global Pandemic Challenges” – This session will explore the experience of minority and diasporic faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

November 19:

• “Reflecting, Renewing, and Transforming Through Teaching Post COVID-19” – This panel will explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced future teaching and the way students learn, as well as how universities and colleges operate. 
• “Transformations in Teaching and Learning: Reflections from the Field a Year after Pandemic” – This roundtable session will focus on how instructors’ obligations changed as teaching shifted from in-person to online. 
• “Empathy as a Remedy: Graduate Students’ Reflections on Teaching for the First Time During a Pandemic” – This presentation will reflect on graduate students’ experiences as first-time teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• “Research in Instructional Communication: Teaching in the Pandemic and First-Generation Student Representation” – This panel will feature student research in instructional communication. 
• “Mixing Informal with the ‘New Normal’: Crossover Learning as a Post-COVID Learning Strategy” – This panel will discuss the importance of crossover learning in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• “Triage Teaching in the Basic Communication Course: Renewing Teacher Self-Efficacy During COVID-19” – This presentation will explore “triage teaching,” or the reactive strategies that instructors used as they shifted rapidly to online teaching during 2020. 

November 20: 

• “Recalibrating and Renewing Communication Education Post-COVID: Next Steps for Administrators, Faculty, Students, and Professional Associations” – In this session, administrators, faculty, and professional association leaders will share their perspectives on the challenges facing higher education in a post-COVID world.
• “Renewal and Transformation in Nonprofit Communication: Envisioning Research and Teaching in the Post-COVID Era” – This panel will focus specifically on teaching related to non-profit organizational communication.
• “Navigating the New Normal: Teaching in the Time of Covid” – This presentation will analyze survey data gathered from students at a Hispanic-serving institution during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To attend:

WHAT: National Communication Association’s 107th Annual Convention 
WHEN: November 18-21, 2021
WHERE: Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, Washington

To obtain press passes: Media personnel must register at the registration desk and present current press or media credentials. Register in advance with Grace Hébert to have your press pass ready. 

All attendees must go through on-site COVID-19 vaccine verification prior to receiving their badge and other materials and prior to attending any convention session. 

For full program information, visit www.natcom.org/convention or contact Grace Hébert at 202-534-1104 or ghebert@natcom.org.