Consultants in the Classroom: Pilot Study Assessing Multidisciplinary Center Collaboration

Abstract

Communication and collaborative center clients come in various forms. Many centers work with individuals, others with groups, and some with entire classrooms, departments, or colleges. Very few centers partner with other campus consulting services and interact with these large units. While a considerable amount of literature focuses on one-on-one consultations, little to no research deals with this unique partnership and client type or size. This research examines how one communication center partnered with two other campus consulting services and created an embedded consultant relationship with three courses for a semester each. For one course, a control group excluded all consultant participation. For another course, the services embedded themselves into each class meeting. An unexpected third course saw the services provide service-specific workshops during select class meetings. This research included speaking, writing, and research consultants, pre- and post-semester evaluations, and comparisons of empowerment and subject knowledge values between courses. Results indicate the workshop group produces higher empowerment and learning levels than other groups.