PSYC B2: Interpersonal & Group Process Skills
Professor Lora Larkin
Final Project
(70 points possible/ 30% of semester grade)
Course Goals
By the end of this course, you should be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of issues necessary for preparation to work in interpersonal and group settings, including social perceptions, and verbal and nonverbal behaviors across cultures

Differentiate and appropriately apply interpersonal and group process skills for communication, decision making, and conflict management

Identify and summarize various ethical issues in helping relationships as applied to a diversity of individuals and groups
The goal of this final exercise is to incorporate these course goals into a capstone project, highlighting your understanding and ability to apply various communication tools that are covered in this class.
Before you begin, calendar the following …

By February 27 th , you must have an outline of what you intend to do for your project

By March 20 th , you must have collected all your materials, including participants if needed and references, and provide an update of your progress

By April 22 nd , you must have a rough draft of your project

Final projects are due by April 30 th (MW) or May 1 st (TR) depending on when your class meets
Choose one of these three options for your final project:

Self-critique o Discuss the progress you’ve made in your communication skills throughout the course. How would you have described your communication skills at the beginning of the course? What were your personal goals for the course? What were your plans for improving on those skills (you must be specific here)? How would you judge your communication skills now at the end of the course? What are your plans for continuing your education beyond this class?

TV series/Movie Critique o Choose a 5-10 minute clip from a TV series or film to analyze using the knowledge that you’ve learned in this course. Use terms and concepts that we’ve covered in class to discuss the interaction from an interpersonal communication lens. What went wrong/right within the scene? What could have been done differently? Would the interaction or your judgment of the

interaction have changed if the characters’ gender, age, race, or sexual orientation were different? Explain. How can you apply this information to your own communication skills or plans for improvement?

Role play (video-taped or in-class) o Rather than watch a video clip, you will create your own scene. Discuss what is taking place in the interaction, using terms and concepts you’ve learned from this communications course. How does this relate to your own communication experiences? How can you use this information to continue your education beyond this class?
 Other…you are allowed to be creative 
Instructions:
Once you have chosen an option for your final project, brainstorm ideas for carrying out your project.

If you have selected a self-critique, for example, analyze your current communication skills, set goals for yourself, conduct research on the various communication skills, and develop a plan for reaching your goals, including anticipating obstacles you may encounter this semester and ways to work with those obstacles.

If you have selected a TV series/Movie critique, for example, brainstorm some of your favorite shows or characters. Locate specific interactions within the various scenes available to you and select one with a significant amount of interaction among the characters. What initial observations do you make? Where can you find information to support or discuss your observations.

If you have decided to role play an interaction among participants, for example, think about the areas of your communication skills that you would like to improve on. What would be a typical example of a scene where you could practice those skills? Who would be willing to work with you on your project? Research ideas on the internet as well. What resources and materials are available to you?
Write an outline detailing as much information as possible showing how you intend to complete your project and organize your final paper. Even if you have decided to role play, you will explain the scene within a paper as well. At the end of the semester, you will also share your experience with your classmates in a 2-3 minute presentation (just a simple overview, and no, you aren’t going to be graded on your speech skils!).
Evaluation:
Refer to your assignment rubric and sample paper included in your syllabus for evaluation of your final paper with three exceptions: 1) each category A-E will be graded on a 10 point scale (rather than 2points), 2) category F will be added for APA in-text referencing and bibliography of at least 3 sources, and 3) you must address the content required for each of the options listed above. ( Paper = 60points possible ). In addition, you will present a brief summary of your project (2-3 minutes) to your classmates
( Presentation=10points possible ).