Phil Backlund
Bouillon 228
963-1852
962-9317 (Home)
backphil@cwu.edu
COM 251
Office Hours
10:00-12:00
TWRF
DISCUSSION
ABOUT THE COURSE
This course will be one of the most practical courses you will ever take. Most of the world’s work is done
in groups, and trends in the past few years make this even more apparent. For example, Boeing won’t
even hire anyone who can’t work in collaborative groups. As you know, groups range from terrible to
highly effective and it is the skill of the people involved making the difference. Most people do not know
how to work in groups and people who do usually find themselves quickly assuming a position of
leadership. By gaining an awareness of the theories that explain and predict small group behavior, you
can learn to apply those theories to become a more effective group member and leader.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Background. I have been at Central for twenty-five years. Previous to coming here, I taught in
Alaska, Colorado, New York and recently in Hong Kong. Central has given me many opportunities to
practice my craft as a student of oral communication. I’ve led a lot of groups, both on campus and in my
profession. In addition to teaching, I have served as faculty senate chair, department chair, faculty
legislative representative, Director of Legislative Relations for the university, Chair of the Strategic
Planning Committee, and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. I’ve held four elected
and three appointed offices in regional and national professional associations. I will draw upon these
experiences for examples as the course develops. I also greatly enjoy being a husband, father,
grandfather, and windsurfer.
Teaching philosophy. Three points guide my teaching. First, learning is accomplished best
through informed practice—theory guides effective behavior. Second, everyone can get better and it
begins through the elimination of self-deception. Third, I use “exaggeration for effect” as a primary
teaching tool.
RECOMMENDED
During the course of the quarter, try to be more observant during the groups and meetings you attend.
Observe how other people try to run meetings and how different people participate in groups. Observe
your own behavior in groups. I will be very pleased and impressed if you bring some of these examples
up in class during our discussion. I will give you extra credit points for doing so.
TEXT
Beebe, S. A., & Masterson, J. T. (2006). Communicating in small groups: Principles and Practices. (8th).
Boston: Allyn and Bacon. This book contains a ton of information and it is good stuff. Learn it. Some
course materials will be found on my website www.cwu.edu/~backphil. I will let you know which
ones.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
I.
Personal
A. Increased meta-cognition, decentering, parallel processing, and meta-communication.
B. Greater awareness of your own tendencies in groups,
C. Greater role flexibility and a broader behavioral repertoire.
D. Ability to apply the difference between content and process.
E. Ability to effectively use and manipulate interpersonal variables in groups such as needs, listening,
nonverbal behavior, conflict resolution, disclosure, and emotions.
F. Solidly knowing how to help groups become more effective through establishing goals, roles, and
norms.
II.
Basic Group Communication Dimensions
A. Identify the principle stages of group growth and development.
B. Be able to describe the variables of role, norm, climate, conformity and cohesiveness.
C. Distinguish between task and process variables.
D. Describe the process of a group's death.
COM 251 Syllabus, page 2
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
3/3/2016
Leadership
A. Describe the following approaches to leadership theory; trait, function and contingency.
B. Describe and define three different leadership styles.
C. Describe differences between content and process behavior in leadership.
Decision Making and Problem Solving.
A. Become skilled in the use of the Standard Agenda.
B. Demonstrate an understanding of other common problem solving formats - Dewey's
reflective thinking, brainstorming, and single question.
Group Participation
A. Describe motivation problems in groups with suggested ways to overcome them.
B. Use three techniques for insuring creative thinking in groups.
C. Define social power in groups.
D. Describe common methods for handling conflict in groups.
Evaluating Group Discussion
A. Identify problems and issues in observing and analyzing group communication.
B. Demonstrate skill in the use of at least four group rating systems -- Bales IPA, Flow Chart
Analysis, Leathers' Feedback System, and a Leadership Rating Form.
GENERAL SCHEDULE: This class is really "frontloaded." Most of the content comes out in the first few
weeks. We will be covering some chapters more than once so that we can reflect on your experience
Mar 29, 31
Introduction to course, overview of assignments, introduction to each other. Read Chapter 1
and 2 for Thursday. Background to communication, to theory, and to theories of small
groups. We will preview the Standard Agenda.
Apr 5, 7
We will focus on group formation and development as applied to your groups. Discussion of
Chapters 3 on Tuesday together with techniques to help you understand more about your
behavior in groups. Class project groups will be formed on Tuesday. Personal analysis
paper due Tuesday. No class Thursday.
Apr 12, 14
Interpersonal Communication, relationships, and Groups. We are going to jam three
chapters into this week—Chapters 4, 5, and 6. Phase One of the Standard Agenda should
be completed in your groups this week. Research Brief #1 due Thursday.
Apr 19, 21
Leadership. We will deal with leadership in groups on Tuesday, read Chapter 12. We will
finish work on leadership Thursday, then begin group task analysis by talking about Chapter
8.. Research brief #2 due Thursday.
Apr 26, 28
Read and discuss material from Chapters 8 and 9. Tuesday will be spent on techniques of
evaluating groups and discussion of group analysis assignment. Set up for first graded inclass discussion by spending more time on the Standard Agenda together with
leader/member responsibilities. In-class group time part of Thursday.
May 3, 5
First in-class graded discussion Tuesday and Thursday.
discussions, review of Chapters 3 and 4.
May 10, 12
Research brief #3 due Tuesday. Draft #1 of project also due Tuesday. Group time
after drafts are finished. More on Chapter 6, nonverbal communication in groups, Read
Chapter 7 for Tuesday.
May 17, 19
Climate and Conflict in Groups. Read Chapter 7 for Tuesday. Group analysis report due
Tuesday. Discussion of real groups, application of course material to functioning groups.
Read Chapter 12 for Thursday. Research brief #4 due Thursday.
May 24, 26
The small group in organizations. Review and project time.
May 31,
Jun 2
Flex day on Tuesday, review for final exam. Research brief #5&6 due Tuesday. Final
project due no later than May 31 at the beginning of class.. Final in-class
discussions begin Tuesday. View Completed Class Projects.
Review of in-class
COM 251 Syllabus, page 3
June 8
3/3/2016
Wednesday, 10:00-noon, In-class, essay final exam. Research Brief #7 due.
COURSE POLICES:
1. This is an important one. Groups have the option of "firing" a member who fails to make adequate
commitments to the group or who fails to meet the requirements established by the group. If a student is
dismissed by a majority vote of the group (communicated to me in writing), he or she may attempt to join
some other group in the class. If he or she cannot gain such entry, an "F" in the assignment will result.
2. It helps me a good deal if you thoroughly read the syllabus and assigned reading before asking
questions. This is particularly important in this class, as things are complicated.
3. I like to run classes in an informal manner. I usually do not lecture a great deal, and I prefer to lead
class discussions over the material. However, I am serious about your education. I expect you to be to
class on time, fully prepared to discuss the assigned material, and ready to focus your attention for the two
hours on the course. If I ask you a question in class about text material, I better not hear you say "I didn't
get a chance to read it." Read it, and be ready. Learning is a mutual enterprise, and each of us must do
our parts if it is going to work.
4. A pet peeve of mine is too many side conversations in class. I do try to get discussions going, and
usually succeed. I also like to run a fairly informal class and it is difficult to find a good balance point
between effective informality and loss of control. Help each other out by keeping the side conversations to
a minimum.
5. Assignments are due at the beginning of the class period the day noted. Papers not given turned in on
time on the due date will be reduced 10% of the point value of the assignment, rounded up to the nearest
whole number. An additional 10% will be taken off for each subsequent day. All out-of-class work needs
to be typed.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING SCALE
1. Attendance, participation, and “professionalism.” There are no excused absences. You need to make
your own decisions on your priorities. I will take attendance each day, and if you miss more than 1-2
classes, your attendance/participation grade will go down. Be here, participate effectively, and treat this
class in a professional manner. If you have any questions about what this means, ask me. Here is a
guideline on how absences will affect your A and P grade: 0-1, A; 2-3, B: 4-5, C; 6-7, D; 8+, F. Grade will
vary with quality of participation. Make-up work is available. 50 points.
2) Each student will participate in two purposive discussions before the class. The first discussion will
involve an assigned, impromptu topic and will count 50 points. The second discussion topic will be drawn
from your group's project and process area and will count for 100 points.
3) Written Assignments:
a. Personal analysis of group behavior, Write a 2-3 page typed paper analyzing your experience with
small groups to this point in your life. Do you like working in small groups? Why or why not? How
much experience have you had? What are the best things about groups from your perspective? What
are the worst? What are your usual patterns of behavior in groups? What roles do you normally play?
What personal knowledge/skills do you want to develop through the quarter? Use text material from
Chapters 1 and 2 and you write this paper. 50 points
b. Group analysis report. Go to a group discussion (City Council, BOD, County Commissioners, etc.)
and observe the group. Evaluate the observed group using two critique forms. Write a report following
guidelines given elsewhere. 100 points.
c. Each person will submit a research brief following the Standard Agenda. Guidelines are provided
in this syllabus. 25 point each for the first five, 15 points for the last one. Total possible, 140 points.
Due Dates: See Schedule.
4. The main Group Project - see attached. 150 points.
5. In-class final. 100 points
COM 251 Syllabus, page 4
3/3/2016
6. Extra credit. Let's say you aren't getting the grade you want. If that's the case I have at least two ways
you can earn extra credit points.
a. Examples. I appreciate it when students are able to apply the class information to their own
lives. You can earn 2 extra credit points for each personal example you share with the class that
incorporates an aspect of group communication. If you have an example, feel free to raise your
hand anytime during the class period. You can earn up to 20 points in this area.
b. Article summaries. You may earn up to 5 extra points for each article summary you turn in.
These summaries need to include a) complete citation of article in APA form, b) a one page
summary of the article, and c) at least one half page that describes your reaction to the article.
These articles should relate to some aspect of group communication. You can use either popular
literature articles or academic ones. Ask me about examples. You can do as many of these as you
like.
I expect high quality work from you in this course. To get an “A,” your work truly needs to be of superior
quality. I want you to worry about grades, but I want you to be more concerned with actually learning
something.
GRADING SCALE
Total Points 740. 90% and above will get an A; 80%-89% will get a B; 70%-79% will get a
C; 60%-69% will get a D; and below 60% will get you an F. Ten points on either side of the break point will
get a minus or a plus.
THE GROUP PROJECT
This is the primary project for this class. The three components of this project (the research briefs,
the product itself, and the final discussion) constitute 390 points, better than half of the grade for the
course. That's a lot, so work hard on this one. The project has a number of purposes. First, it has been
said that we learn best when we try to teach other people. This is an opportunity to do that. Second, single
in-class projects usually do not give sufficient time to treat an issue other than superficially nor do they
give group members sufficient time to grapple with the interpersonal dimensions of group work. This
project will allow you to explore an issue in depth and to become a working group. Third, if they are good
enough, I will use the products of this project in subsequent classes. Fourth, I think you will enjoy this.
Here's what it is about:
I.
The Product: I will divide the class into groups of 5 members each. Each group will be
responsible for the production of an 8-10 minute videotape segment that TEACHES something about
group communication. The target audience is beginning communication students. A finished product is
required or no credit will be given.
II.
III.
The Topic: Topics are open to negotiation, but potential topics include:
A. Demonstrate the differences between "task" and "process" group behaviors.
B. Demonstrate and contrast two leadership types.
C. Demonstrate the use of one or two group analysis techniques using groups found on television
shows such as “Survivor.”
D. Show how group communication techniques can be applied to other in-class groups.
E. Demonstrate conflict resolution tactics in student groups.
Tentative Schedule
April 5 - Form groups.
April 12 - Pick topic - divide up responsibilities.
April 28 - First draft of project presented to class.
May 31 - Production completed and viewing of final product.
IV.
Grading Criteria: Clarity of educational point, organizational flow, coverage/depth of content,
style/entertainment, and equality of participation.
COM 251 Syllabus, page 5
3/3/2016
GROUP ANALYSIS REPORT
When you do your Group Analysis Report, please include the following sections.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
The Occasion: Give the name of the organization, date, place, number in group, size of audience
(if any), and the general purpose of the meeting.
This section introduces the analysis you intend to do. Briefly describe why you chose this group,
What do you think about their effectiveness? What is interesting about them as a group? What
do you want to find out about the group? What you think you might find?
Section III has two parts. First, select and describe two communication variables you intend to
examine in this analysis. Define each and explain why you selected these two. Second, describe
the analytical instruments you will use in gathering information about the variables (one instrument
per variable). Describe why you selected these two instruments. Use one post-meeting and one
"during meeting" instrument.
Results. Include here the data and the instruments you used. Develop a chart that displays your
data.
Inferences and Conclusions. What do the results mean? What did you find out about this group?
What does the data tell you about this group's efficiency and/or effectiveness?
Recommendations. What recommendations would you make to this group? How could they
improve their effectiveness? Please use course variables in your discussion of recommendations.
Grading Criteria: Organizational clarity, accuracy in descriptions, effective data presentation,
appropriateness of conclusions, and neatness (this includes spelling and grammatical correctness).