Introduction to
HUMAN COMMUNICATION
Admittance to the Major
COMM 2003 Fall 2009
Professor
Gary Gillespie
425 889 5257
Office Fee 19
Guest lecturer NU Counselor
Teresa Regan
Required Text:
Communication,
a custom designed text using mostly
In the Company of Others: an Introduction to Communication,
third edition,
by J. Dan Rothwell, 2010. See Companion webpage:
http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195336306/student/?view=usa
The student must obtain a copy of the text.
Chapter worksheets and exams require a thorough understanding of
the readings.
Types in College
booklet, by John Ditiberio and Allen Hammer (packet in bookstore).
Discovery Interactive web page
https://discovery.northwestu.edu/login/index.php
Follow the directions in the help box to register. Use your full e-mail
address (firstname.lastname@northwestu.edu)
for username. Use your student ID number as password.
Students should plan on creating a notebook to organize class handouts
and exercises to prepare for exams and for future career planning.
Lecture notes
Some lecture notes will be posted on my web page on the left hand
column. http://eagle.northwestu.edu/faculty/
COURSE OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES
Introducing students to the field of communication studies,
this course focuses on helping
you become a more effective communicator in your personal and
professional life. We
will study principles for relating to people in small and larger groups
and to seek to understand others from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Achieving communication competence is essential for leaders in a variety
of organizations and careers.
As Christians we are called to communicate the gospel – the ultimate
message – to the world. So the study of communication is a practical
quest that improves the quality of our lives, work and ministry.
Three course objectives:
1.
To provide a broad knowledge of the field of communication studies.
Students will gain a working vocabulary of theories and
principles used to explain levels of human communication –
intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, public and mass.
2.
To help students improve practical communication skills. Students will
be able to apply principles for effective communication in relating to
others interpersonally, in small and larger groups and organizations.
3.
To develop an understanding of personal and career goals and means to
achieve them.
Assignments for Achieving Objectives
A.
Class participation.
Much of the class will be devoted to improving our people skills through
numerous small group discussion activities. These activities require
attendance to maximize the experience for everyone. Some learning
activities will be in pairs and may require completing brief assignments
the day before class.
Students begin the semester with 100 percent and maintain this by
completing all participation assignments.
Understanding material in
the text is crucial. To prepare for exams, students will read an
average of about one chapter per week and complete the “Quizzes without
Consequences” on text Companion Web page
http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195336306/student/?view=usa
to insure thorough understanding (but do not turn in your answers to the
“Quizzes without Consequence”). We will have open book quizzes on the
readings as part of class participation.
Open book quizzes (usually three or four brief questions that you
may answer with the text open) will count as class participation. I will
also call on students at random to answer study questions posted about
each chapter. You may use notes.
Supportive and
professional interaction in class, such as showing up on time, not
talking, showing attentiveness and willingness to learn. What individual
students do in class affects the learning environment for others.
Therefore, not attending class, walking in late or showing a lack of
attentiveness will affect your grade. See the Professional Commitment
Statement below.
Teamwork for
Communication Controversy Debate. Students will work with their
debate team partner in constructing arguments for assigned positions on
the final debate. Students will meet at least once with panel outside of
class to plan their debate case and prepare.
B.
Worksheet exercises.
To give evidence that you are working to understand the material,
students turn in several crucial worksheet assignments. Worksheet
assignments will be handed out in class or can be found on the Companion
Web page or course Discovery web page.
·
Hindsight Bias Test on CD
·
Goals and Mission
·
Investigating Instructor’s nonverbal communication
·
Myers-Briggs Communication Strategies
·
Transferable skills (based on Six Good Exercises)
·
Open book quizzes
·
Online worksheets from Companion Web Page including Body Image,
Proverbs and Face Emotions tests.
·
Fallacy sheet one and two
·
Debate draft outline, and final debate delivery
C.
Human Communication Blog and Career Portfolio.
Each student will set up a E Blogger.com
https://www.blogger.com/start
blog page to post career and
other assignments.
·
Answers to Past, Passions, Purpose questions
·
Types in College worksheet
·
Mission statement
·
Six Good Experiences
·
Two minute “Tell me about yourself” speech oultine
·
Final resume
·
Debate case outline and bibliography
Three Cooperative Exams.
You will take the three exams in groups of five or six members. You will
be given study sheets for all exams at least one week in advance. The
procedure for taking the exams is as follows:
A. Cooperative exam 1
-- this exam will cover mostly material
Chapters 1, 2, 3, and chapter 6
pages 162 – 166 on Informational listening only
only)
and all of Types in College.
See study sheet posted on the Discovery and take the Quizzes without
Consequences on the text CD. The format is multiple-choice and
true/false with some short answer. Multiple-choice questions will have
four possible answers, any or all of which may be correct.
All group members will receive a copy of the group exam.
One copy will be chosen as the answer sheet.
All group members will sign their names on the answer sheet.
The group will then proceed to discuss and choose answers to the
questions.
The grade earned on the group exam will be the grade each member
receives unless members score below an 80% on the accountability test
that follows immediately after the group exam has been completed.
The individual accountability test is a much shorter exam on the
same material and uses the same format (but not the same questions) as
the group test. Failure to
earn 80% or higher on the individual test will result in a deduction of
an individual’s test score as follows:
70-79=deduct 7 points from group score
60-69=deduct 14 points
50-59=deduct 19 points
Below 50=deduct 27 points
Consequently, if the group earns 85 on the group exam but a member earns
a 66 on the individual exam, that member’s final score is 72 (85 minus
the 13 point deduction of group score).
Letter Grade Scale:
96 – 100 = A = 4.0
90 – 95 = A- = 3.7
87 – 89 = B+ =
3.5
84 – 86 = B
= 3.0
80 – 83 = B- =
2.7
77 – 79 = C+ =
2.5
73 – 76 = C
= 2.0
69 – 72 = C- =
1.7
65 – 68 = D+ =
1.5
60 – 64 = D
= 1.0
56 – 59 = D- =
0.7
0 – 55 = F
= 0
B.
Cooperative exam 2
-- Rothwell
chapters 4, 5, 6, 12 and 15 lectures to date.
The procedure used for exam 1 will be used for this exam.
C.
Cooperative exam 3 -- Rothwell
6, 11, 13, 15, Interviewing appendix and Debate outline and bibliography
(Turned in on day that you speak)..
The procedure used for exam 1 will be used for this exam.
Communication Controversy Debates
To develop critical thinking, teamwork and public communication skills, student will take part in an end of semester debate. You will be paired with a partner. (If you have someone in your group that you would like to debate with, let me know. Otherwise I will assign you a partner.) Two teams will be the “Government” and support the resolution. The other two teams will be the “Opposition”, against the resolution. The resolution (topic) will be based on one of the textbook’s “Focus on Controversies”.
For example:
·
Competition in American culture is detrimental.
·
The self
esteem movement in education does more harm than good.
·
Discrimination against racial minorities is a serious problem in
America.
·
Feminism
has done more harm than good.
·
Multi-culturalism has gone too far.
·
Racial
minorities should assimilate into one American culture.
·
Women lack
power in America.
·
We should
have more pride than shame concerning America’s treatment of minorities.
·
Television
is detrimental to society.
·
The
congress should pass reparations for slavery.
·
Mass media
demeans American women.
·
It is
better to live in a cooperative than individualistic culture.
·
Politically correct sensitivity to Native Americans has gone too far.
·
Animal
rights should be increased.
·
Courtship
should be significantly reformed.
·
American
culture should be more accepting of fat people.
·
Political
correctness has gone too far.
·
Gated
communities are desirable.
·
Open
mindedness is better than skepticism.
·
Anti-male
stereotypes in American culture should be rejected.
For the final debate, EACH student will turn
in a one and a half to three page outline of his or her debate
constructive speech. Students may submit a draft of the outline to
get help perfecting it. The outline must follow standard outline format.
It will have a brief introduction, body listing main arguments, sub
points, transitions between points, and may include supporting evidence.
Each outline will end with a brief conclusion summarizing the points and
urging acceptance.
The outline will end with a list of two or three rebuttal arguments,
answering possible objections of the other side. The debate speech
outline will have a original
research bibliography of 6 to 10 sources. The outline is
due the class hour that you speak. Each debater will also list two or
three possible rebuttal arguments answering potential objections to
their case.
Student will then use the outline as a general guide for a speech of 4 to 5 minutes as part of a debate. Samples of the outlines and more detailed explanations of the assignment will be given. For debate rules and sample debates see here. http://eagle.northwestu.edu/academic/artsci/faculty/ggillespie/Debate,%20World's%20Debate%20Resource%20Page%202.htm
Debates speeches must be given on the date assigned and cannot be made
up.
D.
Plan ahead to
be ready to take the exams
on the assigned dates so that you can take advantage of help on the
group section. If you miss the exam, you must complete the entire exam
on your own. Students late
for an exam for more than a few minutes also must complete the whole
exam..
Semester Grade Breakdown
Class participation
20%
Career Portfolio Blog
20%
Cooperative Group Exam
1
20%
Cooperative Group Exam 2
20%
Cooperative Group Exam 3
20%
(half text/lectures and half
debate outline and bibliography)
Total
100%
Attendance and Attentiveness:
Unlike a mass lecture course, most class hours will include
assignments designed to build people and teamwork skills -- therefore
attendance is essential. To
get the most out of this course, students will attend all lectures and
small group presentations.
Students who know they will be missing class frequently or are unable to
be present when class begins are encouraged to take this course another
semester.
Coming on time is a nonverbal message that you are fully committed to
the learning process.
A willingness to participate and attentiveness in class is essential to
get the most out of the course and help create a supportive learning
experience for others. Your class participation grade will be reduced
one-half letter grade for every day that you are absent. If you are not
present you can hardly be given credit for participation.
Coming late more than twice is considered an absence. Students missing
more than six days for any reason (two weeks of the course) will have
their final semester grade reduced in addition to reduced class
participation grade. Any
student missing more than eight days should expect an F for the course.
Students who miss no more than once will have their lowest exam
score increased two letter grades.
In order to create a high quality learning environment for everyone,
students are expected to concentrate and be active listeners during
class. To prevent surfing, computer users must sit in the front row and
promise not to surf during lectures.
Professionalism commitment
statement:
“To the best of my abilities, I promise to be in class about two minutes
before 9 AM (8:58 AM) each class. I will not come late or leave early.
If I do need to miss a class, I understand that my class
participation grade (20 percent of total) will be reduced and that if I
miss more than six days I will receive a reduced semester grade. I will
be attentive to lectures and activities and will not work on other
material, surf the internet or check text messages during class.
_______________________________________
Name Date
Academic Honesty
Students who present another person's work as their own have
committed an act of academic dishonesty commonly known as plagiarism.
Examples of plagiarism are copying another student's answers, failing to
properly cite research sources, and using as one's own a paper or speech
written by someone else. It
is dishonest to copy any part of a magazine article, book or Internet
web page without giving credit to the gleaned source.
Knowing that the vast majority of students can be trusted to do their
own work, we realize that anyone can be tempted to do wrong. Copying and
pasting from an Internet source -- as if you wrote the material – is a
serious violation. Some NU
students have been denied a diploma because of repeated pluralism and
cheating. If I catch a student plagiarizing, the paper will receive an F
and I am also required to report the violation to the Provost.
“I promise that I will not cheat on the exams or use any portion of
another person’s writing in my paper or speech without giving the other
person credit.”
_______________________________________
Name Date
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Associate Professor Gary Gillespie is Chair of the Communication
Department. He has 28 years teaching experience in communication and
speech. Since 1980 as an instructor and speech coach, he has critiqued
more than 5,000 student speakers. He has the second longest tenure among
all debate coaches in the five state Northwest region. Gillespie
designed the Communication Studies major for Northwest University, now
the largest major in the College of Arts and Sciences. For publications,
Google his name or see his web page.
http://eagle.northwestu.edu/academic/artsci/faculty/ggillespie/VIT%20Spring%202005.htm
COMM 2003 Human Communication Fall 2009 Tentative Calendar
Tentative Course Calendar Fall 2009
|
DATE |
DAY |
Lectures and Activities |
Readings and Assignments |
|
Aug. 31 |
M |
Course Overview |
Important:
make sure you open Companion website
today at
http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195336306/student/?view=usa |
|
Sept.
2 |
W |
What is Communication? |
* Take Hind Sight Bias Test Ch 1 posted on our Discovery Page,
make a copy and either email it or turn in hard copy before
Wednesday. (Not accepted after). |
|
4 |
F |
Levels of Human Communication Communication models |
Read Rothwell Chapter 1:
Communication Competence |
|
7 |
M |
Labor Day |
* Take the MBPI communication styles test online – see yellow
sheet given first day of class for instructions. |
|
.
9 |
W |
Symbolic Interactionism of Kenneth Burke |
*Take the Online "Ethics" Questionnaire for chapter one
and be prepared to discuss your results |
|
11 |
F |
Active Listening |
Read Rothwell Chapter 6 Listening to Others
pages 162 – 166 on Informational listening only before class. |
|
14 |
M |
Chain of Being |
* Read articles on goals can career planning handed out in class
and posted on the Discovery page
|
|
16 |
W |
Communication controversy debate assignment |
|
|
18 |
F |
Understanding your communication style |
Read Types in College booklet |
|
21 |
M |
More on your communication style |
|
|
23 |
W |
Improving your
communication |
* Turn in answers to Types in College worksheet questions posted
on Discovery based on this booklet. |
|
25 |
F |
Perception and the self |
Read Rothwell Chapter 2 Perception of Self and Others.
|
|
28 |
M |
Perception and the self |
*Answer your assigned question on chapter 2 when called on in
class – see Discovery. |
|
30 |
W |
Culture and Communication |
|
|
Oct.
2 |
F |
More on Culture |
Chapter 3:
Culture and Gender
* Answer your question on chapter 3 when called on in class. See
Discovery. |
|
5 |
M |
Co-op Exam 1
(Chapters 1, 2, 3, and chapter 6
pages 162 – 166 on Informational listening only and
all of Types in College.) |
|
|
7 |
W |
Development of communication technology and the age of Computer
Integrated Communication |
|
|
9 |
F |
More on communication technology |
|
|
12 |
M |
Reading Day |
|
|
14 |
W |
How personal narratives communicate your skills and strengths to
others. |
NU Director of Counseling Teresa Regan |
|
16 |
F |
Applying Communication Principles for Planning College major,
Future Career or Major Life Decisions. |
|
|
19 |
M |
Active listening to personal narratives. |
*
Six Good Experiences assignment
due today. |
|
21 |
W |
More on transferable skills and Applying the Best Experiences
exercise |
* Transferable skills worksheet due |
|
23 |
F |
Non-verbal Communication |
Chapter 5: Non Verbal Communication
|
|
26 |
M |
More on Nonverbal Communication |
* Answer your question on chapter 5 when called on in class. See
Discovery. |
|
28 |
W |
Language and Meaning
|
Chapter 4:
Language |
|
30 |
F |
Language and Meaning |
|
|
Nov. 2 |
M |
Language and Meaning |
* Discuss chapters four and five |
|
4 |
W |
Functions of symbols |
* Discuss chapters four and five |
|
6 |
F |
* Second co-op exam:
chapters 4, 5, 6, 12 and 15 lectures to date |
|
|
9 |
M |
Active Listening |
|
|
11 |
W |
Veterans Day |
|
|
13 |
F |
Resume writing |
|
|
16 |
M |
Evaluating draft Resumes |
*Turn in draft resume. |
|
18 |
W |
Effective communication for job Interviews.
|
Read and study Rothwell’s Interviewing Appendix |
|
20 |
F |
More on interviewing |
Chapter 13:
Presenting Speeches |
|
23 |
M |
Practice interviews |
|
|
25 |
W |
Sample Debate |
|
|
27 |
F |
Thanksgiving break |
|
|
30 |
M |
Nature of Debate |
Chapter 6:
Listening (complete chapter) |
|
Dec.
2 |
W |
Communication in Teams |
Chapter 11:
Effective Groups |
|
4 |
F |
Argument brainstorming and debate case preparation |
|
|
6 |
M |
Persuasion and more fallacies |
Chapter 15:
Persuasive Speaking |
|
9 |
W |
* 3 Co-op Exam
(Rothwell 6, 11, 13, 15, Interviewing appendix and Debate
outline and bibliography (turned in on day that you speak). Some
material from first two exams |
See study sheet on Discovery |
|
11 |
F |
More on how to debate |
See Debate Resource Page |
|
14 |
M |
Debate group one |
*Debate speech outlines and bibliography due for students who
speak today. Class participation credit for audience members. |
|
15 |
|
Debate group two |
*Debate speech outlines and bibliography due for students who
speak today. Class participation credit for audience members. |
|
16 |
W |
Debate group three |
*Debate speech outlines and bibliography due for students who
speak today. Class participation credit for audience members. |