Pasadena City College, Spring 2014 Speech 10: Interpersonal Communication #8961 Saturday 12:20–3:30 PM Room C111 SYLLABUS Professor: Email: Division Office: Office Hours: Office/Mail Box: Dr. Caroline LaMonda mclamonda@gmail.com and cxlamonda@pasadena.edu (626) 585-7216 3:30 – 4:00 PM Saturday, and by appointment. CA102 Course Description and Learning Outcomes: This course focuses on the theory and practice of communication in close relationships and small group interactions. The readings, discussions, and exercises are designed to encourage you to analyze your relationships with others, recognize your communicative strengths and weaknesses, and develop a vocabulary for thinking about interpersonal communication issues. You will also experience the advantages and disadvantages of working in small groups, learn practical skills for problem solving and conflict management in small groups, and investigate how groups function so that you can develop the skills necessary to engage in productive group endeavors. Text: Julia T. Wood, Interpersonal Communication, Everyday Encounters. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2009 *Additional materials will be provided. Attendance: The nature of this course necessitates regular attendance and participation. Roll will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting, so please attend promptly. You are permitted six hours of absence without penalty. Each hour of absence subsequent to the first six will lower your participation grade by ten points. Be sure to deactivate and put out of sight all electronic devices during the class meeting. This policy is designed to prevent interruptions, ensure that speakers and classmates are not distracted, and to allow you to receive full participation points for each class period. Evaluation: Midterm Exam Experiential Essay One Experiential Essay Two Final Exam Group Presentation Evaluation Paper Participation Points Possible 70 40 40 50 100 40 60 400 points points points points points points points points 17.5% 10% 10% 12.5% 25% 10% 15% 100% Course Grading Standard 360 320 280 240 239 95% 87% 77% 67% 59% - - 100% = A, - 89% = B+, - 79% = C+, - 69% = D+, and below = 400 359 319 279 000 90% 84% 74% 64% F. - points points points points points 94% 86% 76% 66% = = = = = = = = = 90% 80% 70% 60% 59% - 100% 89% 79% 69% 0% = = = = = A B C D F AB, 80% - 83% = BC, 70% - 73% = CD, 60% - 63% = D- Assignments: Exams The midterm exam will be comprised of fifty multiple choice or true false questions and ten fill-in questions. The final exam will be comprised of thirty multiple choice questions and ten fill-in questions. The final will not be cumulative. Exams will cover all materials, lectures, and readings. Make-up exams will not be given without a legitimate, documented medical excuse. Experiential Essays Papers will not be accepted after the due date, so please plan accordingly. Hard copies of all essays must be handed to the professor at the start of the class period. Be sure to print papers well in advance of the time they are due in order to avoid technical difficulties that prevent you from submitting your paper and receiving credit for it. You will write two experiential essays chosen from the four topics listed below. Each essay should be five to seven double spaced pages. Each essay is worth up to forty points and will be graded in terms of: applications made to personal experience (10) appropriate use of course concepts (10) evidence of critical thinking (15) writing quality (5). Essay One Due 2/22/14 Analyze your own nonverbal behavior. Focus on your use of artifacts, proxemics, paralinguistics, kinesics, haptics, and/or chronemics. What does your nonverbal behavior say about yourself and your relationships with others? Provide specific examples in your discussion. Experiment. Change one of your nonverbal behaviors and describe the change. How did people respond to this change? Why? How did you feel? Why? or Observe someone in conversation either with yourself, with someone else, or both. Then, based on your observations, write an essay that addresses the following questions. a. Without revealing names or identities briefly describe the people involved in the conversation. Where are they? b. What types of listening were most appropriate in this conversation? What types was/were used? c. What effective listening behaviors were demonstrated during the conversation? Provide specific examples. d. What ineffective behaviors were employed? Provide specific examples. e. Over all, how successful was this conversation? Why? Essay Two Due 4/5/14 Select a conflict situation you are experiencing in a current relationship or group context. What particular strategies have you been employing to deal with the conflict? Have they been effective? Ineffective? Both? Why? Change your style of conflict management. Explain and analyze the results of making this change. Be sure to include specific examples in your discussion. or Choose a friendship or romantic relationship that you are currently a part of. What do you think holds this relationship together? What creates difficulties? Be sure to use course concepts to support your views. Interview the person you are writing about. Explain the assignment and let them know that you will not reveal their identity. Describe their views on the issues you have been thinking about. In what ways are their views compatible with your own? How to they differ? What did you learn from talking about the relationship? Include specific examples in your analysis. Group Project You will be given a group presentation assignment on March 29, 2014. You will choose your own group members and topic. Each presentation will focus on a subject that is of interest to the group and also has the potential to provide a useful and engaging learning experience for the audience. Presentations may utilize class participation, dramatic enactments, lectures, demonstrations, or experiments. All will include a question/answer period. Further information concerning the project will be provided on 3/29. You will be assigned a specific time and date to present, and no make-up presentations will be possible. The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to apply what you have learned in class about interpersonal relationships and working in small groups. Group Project Evaluation Paper Due 5/3/14 This paper asks you to critique your group’s functioning and effectiveness. You will evaluate aspects of the group processes you observed and experienced while preparing for and presenting the project. The evaluation paper should be six to eight pages, double spaced, and typed. Further detailed instructions for the evaluation paper will be given at a later date. Your paper will be graded in terms of: application of course concepts related to group processes(15) quality of analysis (15) writing quality (10) Evaluation papers will not be accepted after the start of the class period on 5/10/14. Participation Because this is a communication course you will have many opportunities to actively participate in class discussions, activities, and written assignments. Any homework assignments will also be included in the participation portion or your grade. It will not be possible to make up participation points related to in-class activities. Extra credit will be factored in to the participation portion of the course point total. Tentative Nature of the Syllabus: If necessary, this syllabus and its contents are subject to revision; students are responsible for any changes or modifications distributed in class. Tentative Schedule Date Topic Due 1/18 Interpersonal and Small Group Communication one 1/25 Nonverbal Communication five 2/1 Creation of Self/Perception 2/8 Listening/Language 2/15 Presidents, Holiday 2/22 Small Group Participation 2/29 Decision Making/Review 3/8 Midterm Exam 3/15 Spring Break 3/22 Conflict/Friendship nine, ten 3/29 Romance/Project Assigned eleven 4/5 Public Speaking in Group Situations essay two 4/12 Project Conferences 4/19 Group Project 4/26 Projects Presented 5/3 Projects Presented 5/10 Final Exam two, three, essay #1 six four, essay one outline, bibliography experiential assignment evaluation paper