Heartland Community College
Humanities & Fine Arts
Course Syllabus for Students
Course Prefix and Number: COMM 120
Course Title: Interpersonal Communication
Credit Hours:
Lecture Hours
3
3
Class Meeting Days and Time:
120-03 meets MWF, 10-10:50, ICB 1705
Catalog Description:
Prerequisite: None.
COMM 120: Interpersonal Communication
A study of communication theory and its application to interpersonal relations, including
analysis of self-concepts and perceptions, verbal and nonverbal codes, and cultural
expectations.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Relationships are developed, managed, and maintained through interpersonal
communication. As. H.D. Duncan wrote, “We do not relate then talk, but we relate in
talk.” In other words, all interpersonal communication takes place within the context of a
relationship and actually defines the nature and the quality of the relationship over time.
This means that your relationships- both personal and professional- can only be
successful if you have strong interpersonal skills and a clear understanding of the
variables that contribute to appropriate and effective interpersonal interaction in a wide
variety of situations. This course will explore factors that affect communication in a
variety of relationships, including friendships, romantic, and family relationships.
COURSE GOALS:
Although this is not a “skills” course, its primary goal is to help you improve your
interpersonal communication competence. You do this by increasing your knowledge of
those factors that influence the interpersonal communication process. Several specific
goals for this course include:
1) To familiarize students with current theory and research in the field of
interpersonal communication.
2) To aid students in making connections between the theories of interpersonal
communication and the real experience of their own relationships.
3) To increase students’ self-awareness and the accuracy of their perceptions of
others.
4) To provide tools for increasing students’ potential to communicate effectively
across a variety of contexts: social, professional, and personal.
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5) To increase students’ impression management abilities by developing an
understanding of the “rules” and expectations associated with the various
interpersonal roles they play.
6) To increase students’ awareness of cultural influences on communication,
particularly the influences of gender role expectations and ethnic differences.
7) To increase students’ understanding of their own strengths and limitations as
communicators.
8) To encourage students to become active participants in the process of improving
their own communication practices by analyzing the interactions in which they
participate and those they observe.
Instructor Information:
Name: Brenda Vest
E-mail address: Brenda.Vest@heartland.edu
Office Hours: As part-time Adjunct Faculty do not schedule permanent office
hours, I will make myself available before and after class meetings (upon
request) and by requested appointment times. Please know that I am always
willing to meet with students to discuss any questions and concerns.
MY APPROACH TO TEACHING:
First of all, please keep in mind that I AM HERE TO HELP! My goal as an instructor is to do all
I can to create an environment in which we all can learn from each other safely, productively, and
happily. Every person in this class contributes to that environment, and together we share the
power to determine whether or not we live up to that goal.
Please do not hesitate to ask questions, or ask for help, in or out of class. (Unless there is a
privacy issue at stake, in-class is often best, since your classmates may have the same
questions or concerns that you do, and then you are helping them, too.)
If you have any special needs that it would help for me to be aware of, please do let me
know. I am committed to helping every student attain the best quality of education she or he
can.
Ultimately, I believe that the quality of each student’s education is largely dependent on her
or his own efforts, attitudes, and behaviors. It is important for you to know that I will give
you 110% and do anything I can to help you as long as you show me the same courtesy and
respect.
I do expect you to come to class EVERYDAY (except, of course, those days that you have
proper documentation) and I expect you to pay attention. One of my biggest pet peeves is
when students talk when other students and/or I am talking. I will respect and listen to each
and every one of you…please accord your classmates and I the same consideration. Thank
you in advance.
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Textbook:
Wood, J. T. Interpersonal Communication Everyday Encounters. Belmont, CA: Thomson
Wadsworth, 2007.
METHOD OF EVALUATION (Tests/Exams, Grading System):
ASSIGNMENTS:
All assignments are to be typed and double-spaced (except the abstracts) with one inch
margins. They should also be free of grammatical, typographical, and stylistic errors.
Errors will cost you points, so please be sure to proofread thoroughly.
EXAMS: There will be three exams for the semester, worth 100 points each. While the
format may vary, each exam will assess your understanding of course content as well as
your application and integration abilities. Everything from the applicable chapters, class
discussions, lectures, activities, etc. is testable material. Please note: Even if a concept
from your reading is not discussed in class, it may still appear on an exam.
QUIZZES & ACTIVITIES: You are expected to come to class having completed the
reading and being prepared to participate in discussions and activities. From each chapter,
there MAY be a graded in-class quiz, which cannot be made up (despite circumstances).
The quiz questions should be incredibly obvious to one who has read the material. You
may not make up a quiz if you are late or absent from class.
ARTIFACTS:
You will also compose three artifacts over the duration of the semester. Artifacts are
papers in which you are asked to identify phenomenon outside of the classroom that are
effective examples of course concepts discussed in class or in the text. This challenges
you to apply course concepts to real-life situations. The 1st and 3rd artifacts require you to
take specific examples you see outside of the class that represent certain class concepts
and then write a brief paper explaining HOW and WHY these examples fit certain
concept descriptions. The 2nd artifact will be an ethnography which will require you to sit
in a public space and observe conversations, or people watching, (covertly of course).
The artifact format is attached to the syllabus, and other specifics about these assignments
will be provided later in class
GROUP ABSTRACTS:
Near the end of the semester, you will have a chance to break into groups to provide the
class with research that we have not examined throughout the course of the semester.
Your group will find three journal articles on a specific topic that must be approved by
me, and your group will present these articles to the class in a creative way. You do not
need to be boring with your presentation, but rather search for a creative means to get the
class involved and interested about your topic. To reduce workload, I ask that you include
only an abstract of each article. An example of an abstract with headings is provided at
the end of this syllabus. Each group will have about 10-15 minutes to present your topic
to the class, so be prepared to meet outside of class.
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EVALUATION:
Exam 1 100 pts.
Artifact 1 - 25 pts.
Abstract 25 pts.
presentation)
Participation TBA
Quizzes TBA
Exam 2 100 pts.
Exam 3 100 pts.
Artifact 2 - 25 pts.
Artifact 3 - 25 pts.
Group Abstract 100 pts (30 pts for abstracts and 70 pts for
Final grades will be determined according to the following scale:
A = 92-100 percent
B = 83-91 percent
C = 74-82 percent
D = 65-73 percent
F = below 65 percent
ARTIFACT FORMAT:
The purpose of the artifact assignment is to apply concepts from the text and class
discussions to your daily life. More specifically, the concepts can be applied to
conversations between you and your partner, television shows, magazine ads, films or
anything else that may come to mind. The standard format is as follows:
Paragraph One: An introduction using standard introduction devices.
Paragraph Two: Explain the concept complete with definition and elaboration of the key
terms without discussing the event/ad/etc.
Paragraph Three: Discuss the event/ad/etc in specific detail so that I can be fully aware of
the situation at hand without discussing the concept.
Paragraph Four: Apply the concept to the event/ad/etc to show connections between the
text and your daily life.
Paragraph Five: A conclusion using usual conclusive devices.
Artifacts are to be 2-3 pages in length, double-spaced.
GROUP ABSTRACT FORMAT:
GROUP ABSTRACTS:
Near the end of the semester, you will have a chance to break into groups to provide the
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class with research that we have not examined throughout the course of the semester.
Your group will find three journal articles on a specific topic that must be approved by
me, and your group will present these articles to the class in a creative way. You do not
need to be boring with your presentation, but rather search for a creative means to get the
class involved and interested about your topic. To reduce workload, I ask that you include
only an abstract of each article. An example of an abstract with headings is provided at
the end of this syllabus. Each group will have about 10-15 minutes to present your topic
to the class, so be prepared to meet outside of class.
General Directions: After reading your article, provide the information requested in each
section. Do not get creative; just follow this format. Mark each section with the
appropriate subheading. Depending on the complexity of the study, the length of the
abstract will vary from 2 to 3 pages. The abstract should be single spaced within each
section and double-spaced between. The exception to this is the citation—citations are
double-spaced.
Citation:
Use APA style (5 th edition). I have given two examples below.
Neimeyer, R. A., & Mitchell, K. A. (1988). Similarity and attraction: A longitudinal
study. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 5, 131-148.
Snapp, C. R., & Leary, M. R. (2001). Hurt feelings among new acquaintances:
Moderating effects of interpersonal familiarity. Journal of Social and Personal
Relationships, 18, 315-326.
Hypotheses and/or Research Questions:
What predictions were made or what questions were asked? You will find these at the
conclusion of the introduction/rationale.
Sample:
Who served as the sample? Were they college students? Married couples? Was the
sample a set of advertisements or television commercials?
Procedures: Explain what was done in order to collect the data. Did college students
complete a survey? Did the researchers show videotapes and ask high school students for
responses? Were married couples brought into a lab and asked to interact? How were the
variables measured? (e.g., on scales of 1 to 7 or by counting behaviors,
etc.)
Results:
Did the researchers support their hypotheses or not? Be sure that every research question
and/or hypothesis is covered here. (You might want to list them by number to make sure
you include all of them.)
Critique:
What is your general reaction to this study? Do you believe that it was a good study? If
so, what strengths do you see? Do you believe that it was not a particularly good study? If
not, what limitations or weaknesses do you see? Note that you might find both strengths
and weaknesses in the Discussion section, but you should also try to think of some that
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the authors did not consider. Try to identify both strengths and weaknesses and give a
balanced critique.
COURSE POLICIES:
ATTENDANCE: This is a discussion-based class, and clearly, you must be present in
order to participate in discussions. Thus, regular attendance is essential. Being absent will
deprive you of valuable class time, lower your participation points, and prevent you from
fulfilling certain graded in-class activities and quizzes, which cannot be made up. You
are always responsible for all materials distributed in your absence. If you miss class, it
is your responsibility to get notes and handouts from a fellow classmate. Absences are
only excused when proper documentation is provided (such as a doctor’s note). So here’s
the deal: Come to class, and be on time. It’s not that tough.
TARDINESS: Tardiness is distracting not only to your fellow students, but to me as
well. If you come to class late, you will lose participation points for the day. This is not,
however, an excuse to miss class.
PARTICIPATION: You are expected to communicate in this communication class, and
in order to do so, you need to be prepared and well-informed on the topic of discussion.
Participation is a function of attendance, demonstration of having read the material,
asking questions that extend the thinking of the class and the instructor, contributing
relevant examples, and demonstrating respect for the contributions of classmates. Your
individual participation will be based on the following:
Preparation: You are expected to be prepared for each class period. Preparation involves
reading the assigned chapters as well as completing any assignments. It is crucial that you
come to class well prepared because I don’t intend to read the book to you. Class
activities and discussions build on the material, rather than simply regurgitate it.
Involvement: Participation involves much more than merely being present in the
classroom. (This means that showing up, sitting in the back, and zoning out for 50
minutes is not going to get you an A for participation.) Bringing in examples from
outside of class, discussing relevant examples that help to illustrate points in the chapters,
asking questions to further learning for all persons in the class, demonstrating knowledge
of the material through discussion, and making insightful comments are all examples of
behaviors that contribute to positive participation in this course. Active listening is
another form of involvement.
Professional Courtesy: (1) This class begins on time. Therefore, I expect you to make
every attempt to arrive on time. (2) Should you need to miss a class or an appointment,
let me know in advance. I am much more understanding when you are in communication
with me! (3) Professionalism includes respecting others’ opinions, not interrupting in
class, being respectful to those who are speaking, and working together in a spirit of
cooperation. With that in mind, sleeping, reading materials irrelevant to class purposes,
and disrupting the class will not be tolerated. (4) Please turn off your cell phones during
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the class, or I will answer your calls for you.
ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES:
All assignments and exams must be completed/turned in on the date assigned.
As a general rule, I will not accept any late work. Exceptions will rarely be made, if at all,
and only in special cases that I have been notified about and have approved beforehand
and with proper documentation (please ask if you do not know what constitutes proper
documentation). Exams, quizzes, and presentations cannot be made up. If you do not
come to class on an exam day or on your presentation day, you will receive a ZERO for
that assignment unless:
(1) an alternate due date has been previously approved or
(2) documentation has been provided for extreme circumstances.
It is also important that you show up to support your classmates. Being absent when
your classmates are presenting will result in a 30 point deduction on your own
presentation
grade.
I expect you to anticipate the occurrence of everyday problems (such as running out of
paper or ink or losing data and not having a back-up file) and deal with them accordingly.
Running out of ink, or broken printer/flash drive is NOT an acceptable excuse for late
work! There are printers all over campus; I will expect you to use one of these or a
friend/roommate’s printer if yours is out of order.
Incomplete Policy:
I follow the office college policy, as found in the College catalog, as illustrated by the
following excerpt: “An incomplete grade may be given to a student who, by the
withdrawal date, can reasonably be expected to pass the course. Incompletes may be
granted only when justified by extreme circumstances (e.g. serious illness, accident,
death or serious illness in the immediate family).”
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY & PLAGIARISM
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a fundamental principle of collegial life at Heartland Community
College and is essential to the credibility of the College’s educational programs.
Moreover, because grading may be competitive, students who misrepresent their
academic work violate the right of their fellow students. The College, therefore, views
any act of academic dishonesty as a serious offense requiring disciplinary measures,
including course failure, suspensions, and even expulsion from the College. In addition,
an act of academic dishonesty may have unforeseen effects far beyond any officially
imposed penalties.
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Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to cheating, aiding or
suborning cheating or other acts of academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and
misrepresentation of data, falsification of academic records or documents, and
unauthorized access to computerized academic or administrative records or systems.
Definitions of these violations may be found in the college catalog.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presenting of others’ ideas as if they were your own. When you write a
paper, create a project, do a presentation or create anything original, it is assumed that all
the work, except for that which is attributed to another author or creator, is your own.
Plagiarism is considered a serious academic offense and may take the following forms:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Copying word-for-word from another source and not giving that source credit.
Paraphrasing the work of another and not giving that source credit.
Adapting a particularly apt phrase as your own.
Using an image or a copy of an image without crediting its source.
Paraphrasing someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a topic as if it
were your own.
6. Receiving excessive help from a friend or elsewhere, or using another project as if
it were your own.
Note that word-for-word copying is not the only form of plagiarism. The penalties for
plagiarism may be severe, ranging from failure on the particular piece of work, failure
in the course or expulsion from school in extreme cases.
{Adapted from the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York:
MLA, 1995: 26}
Notice of Cancelled Class Sessions:
Cancelled class sessions, for all HCC classes, will be listed under Cancelled Class
Meetings in the A-Z Index and under Academic Information in the Current Students page
on the HCC Web site. Go to http://www.heartland.edu/classCancellations/ to learn what
classes have been cancelled for that day and the upcoming week. Be sure to check the last
column, which might contain a message from the instructor.
SUPPORT SERVICES:
Library – The library, is located in the Student Commons Buildings at the Raab Road
campus, provides Heartland students with a full range of resources including books,
online journal databases, videos, newspapers, periodicals, reserves, and interlibrary loan.
Librarians are available to assist in locating information. For more information, please
call the Library (309) 268-8200 or (309) 268-8292.
Tutoring Services – Heartland Community College offers tutoring in various forms at
not cost to Heartland students at the Tutoring and Testing Center in Normal and at the
Pontiac and Lincoln Centers. Tutors are available at convenient times throughout the
week. Study groups are also available by request. For more information about services
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available at each location, please call the Tutoring and Testing Center in Normal (309)268-8231, the Pontiac Center at (815) 842-6777, or the Lincoln Center at (217)735-1731.
Testing Services – The tutoring and Testing Center provides a secure testing
environment for students who are enrolled in online, hybrid, and other distance learning
courses; have a documented disability; or need to take a make-up exam. Testing
accommodations for students having documented disabilities must be arranged by the
student through the Office of Disability Services, and Testing Services will only
administer make-up exams at the request of the instructor. Contact Testing Services at
(309) 268-8231 for more information.
Open Computing Lab – the Open Computing Lab provides free computing for HCC
students at convenient times throughout the week. The computer lab is staffed by trained
Lab Assistants and offers the use of approximately 70 computers, a scanner, a laser
printer, and an electric typewriter.
Disability Services – “If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic
accommodations, please contact Anita Moore, Director of Disability Support Services at
268-8249 or anita.moore@heartland.edu”.
Syllabi disclaimer:
Changes to this syllabus will be made as the need arises. You will be informed at the
earliest convenience if a change is being made. Any change will be at the discretion of
the instructor.
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COURSE CALENDER
SPRING 2008
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Jan 14
Jan 16
Jan 18
Jan 21
Jan 23
Jan 25
Jan 28
Jan 30
Feb 1
Feb 4
Feb 6
Feb 8
Feb 11
Feb 13
Feb 15
Feb 18
Feb 20
Feb 22
Feb 25
Feb 27
Feb 29
Mar 3
Mar 5
9
10
11
12
Mar 7
Mar 10
Mar 12
Mar 14
Mar 17
Mar 19
Mar 21
Mar 24
Mar 26
Mar 28
Mar 31
Apr 2
Apr 4
Course Content and Activities
Introduction to Course
Diversity and Communication
*Let’s Get Personal
NO CLASS
*First Ideas about Communication
Definitions and Key Concepts
A model of interpersonal communication
*Modeling the Classroom
*Picking Personal Models
Self-concept
*Others in Me
Communication from the Generalized Other
Race in America
*Multiracial Panel
Improving self through communication
The perception process
Interpersonal attributions
*How I See You
*Remaking the Social World
Exam #1
The nature of language
*Then and Now
*Euphemisms
*Image Making
Developing verbal clarity
*Is Our Language Sexist and Racist?
The nonverbal code
*Communicating Without Words
Cultural influences nonverbal communication
NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK
First ½ Chapter 1
Complete Chapter 1
First third Chapter 2
Second third Chapter 2
Complete Chapter 2
First ½ Chapter 3
Complete Chapter 3
First ½ Chapter 4
Complete Chapter 4
First ½ Chapter 5
Complete Chapter 5
The listening process
First ½ Chapter 6
Obstacles to effective listening
Complete Chapter 6
*Learning to Listen
Adapting listening to diverse situations/goals
Communication and Emotions
First ½ Chapter 7
*Becoming Aware of Social Influences on Emotions Complete Ch. 7
Communication Climate
First ½ Chapter 8
*Climates in the Workplace
Confirming and Disconfirming Climates
Complete Chapter 8
*Creating Supportive Climates
Exam #2
10
13
Apr 7
Apr 9
Apr 11
Apr 14
Apr 16
Apr 18
Conflict: Definition, values, & styles
Conference (tentative)
Conference (tentative)
*Rewriting Conflict Scripts
Friendships
Styles and patterns in friendships
*Moving through Friendship
15
Apr 21
Romantic relationships: Definitions and values
Apr 23
*How We Met – Relationship Stories
Apr 25
Challenges in Romantic relationships
16
Apr 28
*Dual-career couples panel
Apr 30
Group Abstract – work day
May 2
Group Abstract – work day
17
May 5
Group Presentations
May 7
Group Presentations
Finals May 9 - 15 WEDNESDAY, MAY 14th – 10:00 – 11:50
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Begin Chapter 9
Complete Chapter 9
Begin Chapter 10
Complete Chapter 10
Begin Chapter 11
Complete Chapter 11
Final Exam