Communication, Media & Theatre Arts

Education

• Ph.D., Wayne State University, 2001
• MA, Eastern Michigan University, 1993
• BAA, Central Michigan University, 1989

Interests and Expertise

Dr. Kindred joined the CMTA department in the Fall of 2006 after teaching for six years at a small college in Poughkeepsie, NY. In addition to teaching primarily the capstone, theory and organizational communication courses, Dr. Kindred is also the communication area's internship director, overseeing approximately 15–20 internship students a year.

Dr. Kindred's research interests are in computer mediated communication, communication education and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She enjoys collaborating with colleagues and students on different kinds of research projects, most of which center on various learning environments. She has presented and published research related to student communication in the online classroom; health information processing via an online virtual world (Second Life); the popular teacher rating site, Ratemyprofessors.com; the use of case studies as a teaching methodology; and the effect of group versus individual grading strategies. Currently she is working on a long-term project investigating teaching and learning related to the Communication Capstone course.

Courses

• CTAC 495L Communication Capstone (undergraduate)
• CTAC 485 Communication Theory (undergraduate)
• CTAC 354/648 Organizational Communication (undergraduate and graduate)

Advising

• Communication

Professional Affiliations

• National Communication Association