Tara Franks

Tara Franks | Associate Professor

My name is Dr. Tara Franks and I am a college professor, student advocate, and author dedicated to innovative critical pedagogy and the study of humor in our everyday lives. Sierra College is my home where I teach classes in communication studies including Public Speaking, Media and Society, Group Communication, Communication Foundations, and Theory, Methods and Practice. I am also a full-time mom, amateur stand-up comedian, and avid karaoke singer!

Additional courses I have taught include: Gender Communication, Intercultural Communication, Intercultural Communication for the Business Professional, Advanced Critical Research Methods, Interpersonal Communication, Training and Development, Introduction to Human Communication, Business Communication, Media Studies, and Public Relations.

Courses taught: Public Speaking, Small Group Communication, Media and Society, Communication Foundations, Gender Communication, Qualitative Methods, Theory and Practice

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Lesson Plans Contributed

Media Observer

8 Sep, 2017

For this assignment, students will spend time as a critical media observer - namely, their own uses of media in a 72 hour period. In order to complete the assignment, students MUST record each time they use/engage with media for a complete 72 hour (3 day) period in a LOG, recording their exposure to, uses of, and interaction with mediated communication (e.g., cell phone, social media, TV, radio, etc.) During this time, students are also required to make detailed autoethnographic “field” notes of their experience and how they were personally (socially, culturally) effected by the media- what…

Stop Talking to Power Points

8 Sep, 2017

In this activity, students will work on maintaining eye contact with their audience while giving an impromptu speech. The goal is to stop (or reduce) students' tendency to look at their visual aid during speech presentations.