Running head: PURDUE POE PROPOSAL
Basic Course Division Program of Excellence Proposal
COM 114: Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Purdue University
Course Director
Jane Natt
Associate Course Director
Anna Victoria Ortiz
Assistant Course Directors
Lindsey B. Anderson
Heather N. Fedesco
Theon E. Hill
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I. Description of the Nominated Program of Excellence
The Fundamentals of Speech Communication (COM 114) is the basic course at Purdue
University. It is a foundational class that is an integral part of the degree requirements for all but
two majors offered on the West Lafayette campus. As such, it has become one of the largest
basic courses in the nation, serving over 3,000 students per semester. This equates to almost 300
sections offered per year by over 70 graduate teaching assistants and continuing lecturers.
COM 114 is a versatile class that introduces students to the fundamentals of presentational
speaking. During the semester, students are exposed to basic communication theories related to
speech and persuasion, faced with varied speaking contexts (impromptu, informative, persuasive
and group) and taught about the practical nature of presentational speaking. In addition, we
emphasize the research process and the need to effectively communicate through written
(outlines) and oral means (formal and informal presentations).
The overall purpose of COM 114 within the general education curriculum is to aid students in
the development of their communication skills. In addition, COM 114 highlights the practicality
of the material covered in the course. For example, we discuss how students will be required to
complete research and give presentations in upper level classes as well as for future career
endeavors. Com 114 is a skills-based class, so we require students to actually practice the terms,
techniques and theories they read about in the textbook. Because of this commitment to active
learning and the use of daily speaking activities, we are able to provide students with the chance
to communicate in a variety of contexts, such as interpersonal, group and more traditional public
speaking scenarios, demonstrating our commitment to the development of communication skills
as part of a student’s general education.
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II. Rationale: COM 114 is distinctive from other basic courses because of its intensive and ongoing training program and the course resources that are made available to instructors and
students.
A. Training: Training is critical to the success of COM 114. Since we primarily rely on
graduate students to teach the class, we feel as though it is imperative to train them well
and provide ongoing support. As such, we have developed an intensive, weeklong
orientation to college-level instruction and COM 114, as well as an ongoing, semester
training program.
1. Summer Training Program
The week before the start of the fall semester is dedicated to COM 114 training.
During this week, new instructors are introduced to COM 114. The instructors
put in more than 40 hours in the classroom with the course administrative staff
(COM 114 course directors) and outside of the classroom preparing course
materials (e.g., course policies and developing their Blackboard pages). Topics
covered during the summer training program range from COM 114 specific
information such as an overview of the course, a review of the syllabus and
schedule, and instructions for using the instructors manual to general pedagogical
issues like developing a supportive classroom environment, incorporating active
learning techniques, and tips for administering tests and quizzes.
The weeklong summer training session concludes with live teaching
demonstrations in which each new instructor develops a 10-15 minute
presentation that is delivered to a small group of fellow trainees and a member of
the COM 114 administration team. This demonstration requires each instructor to
prepare for the first day of class by introducing themselves, providing an
overview of the course, establishing its relevance, and introducing an icebreaker
activity. The goal is to give everyone a chance to develop and practice their first
day before they enter the classroom. We have found that this activity relieves
some of the anxiety associated with first time teachers and provides an
opportunity to refine the first day material. In addition, it appears to improves
initial instructor credibility and highlights course significance.
2. Semester Training Program
Since many of the COM 114 instructors are new to the course and college-level
teaching, we require that every instructor complete an ongoing 16-week training
program. Once a week, the new instructors meet in a classroom setting with the
COM 114 course directors for an hour and a half. During this time we cover
upcoming COM 114 assignments and activities, practice grading sample outlines
and speeches for each of the three individual presentations, and cover other
pertinent topics that arise over the course of a semester (e.g., returning grades and
handling student complaints). Besides covering the more formal training
materials, this also serves as a time to check in with each instructor and build a
supportive pedagogical environment.
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As part of the ongoing training program, the COM 114 course directors complete
two rounds of teaching observations. During the first semester, we ask that each
instructor film themselves teaching. The recording is then watched by a member
of the administrative team and debriefed with the instructor. In the spring, we
complete a series of live teaching observations in which a course director attends
a new instructors’ class. Again, the administrative team member provides
feedback to the instructor to aid in pedagogical development. The second round
of feedback is based on the previous comments made during the recorded
observations to see if pedagogical progress has been made by the instructor.
The COM 114 training is so comprehensive that the instructors who complete the
programs meet all of the requirements necessary to receive a university-level
teaching certificate provided by the Center for Instructional Excellence at Purdue
University. This certificate signifies a commitment to pedagogical development.
B. COM 114 Resources: The available course resources are another reason that COM 114
is a distinctive version of the basic course. The textbook, instructors manual, teaching
assistant (TA) page, and Communication Lab work in concert to provide the necessary
tools for student and instructor success within the COM 114 classroom.
1. Textbook
COM 114 uses Effective Presentations (Morgan & Natt, 2012) as the course
textbook. This textbook is written specifically for Purdue University students.
The examples and scenarios provided in the book are actual places, events or
people associated with Purdue. As such, this sense of familiarity allows students
to better relate to the material. In addition, Morgan and Natt are developing a
more general version of the textbook that can be used as a basic course resource at
other universities.
This textbook also emphasizes the research process. This is important since the
students who take COM 114 tend to be novices when it comes to researching.
The textbook presents readers with a wealth of information about research; for
example, selecting and incorporating supporting materials like statistics,
examples, and testimonies into their presentations. The textbook also provides
tips on how to evaluate support, especially in terms of online sources.
The textbook is updated every year in order to reflect new information regarding
presentational speaking. One of the newest additions is a chapter about
presenting online and preparing on-demand content. This new direction has also
informed our speaking assignments. COM 114 is continually experimenting with
unique ways to teach public speaking content. With the increased popularity of
online presentations, we have developed a series of technology-based activities.
For example, three of the course directors have assigned a Narrated PowerPoint
presentation. This assignment requires students to build on-demand content while
focusing on research, organization, and slide development.
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2. Instructors Manual and TA Page
Each COM 114 instructor receives an instructors manual and access to the TA
page when they start teaching. The manual provides sample lesson plans for
each day of the semester, creative attention getters to start each day of class, and
detailed directions for in-class activities, as well as ways to debrief the
corresponding activity. The TA Page is used as a location where all of the
instructors can access course materials. These resources include, sample
speeches, outlines, instructor feedback on the assignments (used for training),
grading rubrics, and assignment forms.
3. Communication Lab
The Communication Lab is the newest addition to the COM 114 resources. This
tool provides students with a place to come in and discuss a variety of topics
related to presentational speaking with a seasoned COM 114 instructor. For
instance, students can use the Communication Lab to brainstorm speech topics,
discuss main points, receive research tips and review their outlines. Currently
two doctoral students staff the Communication Lab.
This COM 114 resource is funded by the International School. While we focus
on helping all students, we have developed a specialty in terms of providing a
supportive environment for international students to work on their outlines and
practice their presentations. Out of the 192 students who visited the
Communication Lab during the spring of 2012 and first few weeks of the fall
2012 semester, 119 (62%) were self-identified international students.
C. NCA Mission: COM 114 complements NCA’s mission by advancing and supporting the
instruction and education of the communication discipline (NCA, 2012). This is
accomplished in two ways. First, the course helps to prepare graduate teaching assistants
(GTAs) and continuing lecturers to teach communication-based material, thus supporting
the instruction of communication at the collegiate level. Also, COM 114 allows graduate
students to become involved in other elements of teaching that happen outside the
classroom. For example two graduate students oversee the Communication Lab and four
doctoral students serve on the course administration team. These positions allow graduate
students to learn about course administration, GTA training, and leadership.
Second, COM 114 promotes communication-based education. The course serves as the
foundational course for future scholars to learn about presentational speaking and to
recognize the importance of communication. We provide several resources to support
communication goals, like the campus-specific textbook and the communication lab. In
addition, we provide each instructor with an instructors manual that provides sample
lesson plans with choices of daily activities that correspond to the topic of the day. We
also emphasize the role of presentational speaking in everyday situations such as a town
meeting, business presentation or sales pitch. We recently added a special delivery day to
drive home the fact that presentational speaking is a skill that will be used throughout the
student’s life. The scenarios created during this assignment include speeches of
introduction, an elevator pitch and acceptance speech.
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III. Departments, Programs, and Personnel
There are many people who help make COM 114 an effective and successful course. One
unique aspect of the administrative team is the inclusion of graduate students. The course
director, Jane Natt, has built a team of four doctoral students to help oversee COM 114. As such,
the associate and assistant course directors are receiving valuable experience associated with
course administration, instructor training and peer mentoring.
A. Brian Lamb School of Communication, Purdue University
The Brian Lamb School of Communication houses COM 114. It is responsible for
staffing the course, developing offerings each semester and setting enrollment caps for
each section.
B. COM 114 Course Director: Jane Natt, Assistant Clinical Professor, Brian Lamb School
of Communication, Purdue University
Jane oversees COM 114 and supervises the associate course director, assistant course
directors and the Communication Lab.
C. COM 114 Associate Course Director: Anna Victoria Ortiz
Vicky is a doctoral candidate in the Brian Lamb School of Communication. She leads
the graduate students on the administrative team. She is responsible for training and
managing over 70 graduate teaching assistants and continuing lecturers who teach COM
114.
D. COM 114 Assistant Course Directors: Lindsey B. Anderson, Heather N. Fedesco, and
Theon E. Hill
Lindsey, Heather, and Theon are all doctoral candidates in the Brian Lamb School of
Communication. They are primarily responsible for supporting the day-to-day COM 114
operations. They oversee the current COM 114 instructors, plan and facilitate training
sessions and complete other duties as assigned by the course director.
E. Communication Lab: Skye Chernichky and Tillman Russell
Skye and Tillman are both doctoral students in the Brian Lamb School of
Communication. They are responsible for all of the day-to-day functions of the
Communication Lab. This includes promoting the lab, setting appointments, facilitating
student meetings and correspondence with administrators, instructors and students.
F. COM 114 GTAs and Continuing Lecturers
We have over 70 people who teach COM 114 in the fall of 2012. In addition, 36 new
teaching assistants completed the summer training program and are continuing to attend
the semester long training.
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IV. Goals of the Nominated Program
Developing a mission and establishing clear goals are important steps in terms of creating a
successful course. This is because mission statements and goals provide a sort of blueprint that
course administrators and instructors can refer to when making course related plans and
decisions. As such, COM 114 has laid out a clear message concerning the role of COM114 and
corresponding course objectives.
A. COM 114 Mission
COM 114’s mission is to provide students with the opportunity to develop their
communication skills. Specifically, students are able to demonstrate improvement in the
following general areas:
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Audience analysis
Topic analysis
Organizational skills
Persuasive and informative strategies
Verbal and non-verbal delivery skills
Group communication skills
B. Goals and Objectives
The overarching goal of COM 114 is to teach students how to become a competent and
ethical presentational speaker. This includes learning about communication theory as it
relates to speaking situations, understanding the research process and highlighting the
practicality of presentational speaking skills. After completing this course, students are
able to demonstrate ability in the following areas:
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Select an appropriate topic
Prepare a full sentence outline with bibliography
Provide appropriate transitions and summaries
Develop effective introductions and conclusions
Use an appropriate organizational pattern
Use supporting material properly and effectively
Create effective presentational aids
Use presentational aids effectively
Display appropriate verbal and nonverbal behaviors
The mission and corresponding outcomes provided by COM 114 meet the goals set forth by
Purdue University and the Brian Lamb School of Communication.
C. Purdue University
One of the goals set forth in Purdue’s mission is to “prepare its graduates to succeed as
leaders, professionals, informed consumers, responsible citizens, and lifelong learners”
(Purdue website, 2012, n.p.). COM 114 supports this goal by teaching students skills
they will use in the future and emphasizing the practical and applied nature of
presentational speaking.
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D. Brian Lamb School of Communication
The Brian Lamb School of Communication emphasizes “openness” as a key of
communication instruction and scholarship. As such, COM 114 falls in line with this
tenant. Specifically, the course highlights the need for students to engage in ethical
communication practices such as the completion of audience analyses, evaluating
research credibility and clearly presenting factual information to their peers.
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V. Outcomes of the Nominated Program
Assessment is an important component of educational success. As such, COM 114 has
implemented a variety of tools to identify the course outcomes. These include semester course
evaluations that are handled by the CIE, GTA success, Communication Lab records and a recent
quantitative assessment of specific skills related to COM 114.
A. Course Evaluations
Each semester concludes with a formal course evaluation process. The CIE sends each
registered student a secure link that allows them to rank the course and instructor on a five
point scale. This survey assesses a variety of course specific and instructor specific items
(see examples below).
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This course was challenging.
This course has been well organized.
This course has provided a meaningful learning experience.
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My instructor has been well prepared for class each day.
My instructor has provided useful feedback throughout the semester.
My instructor has created an atmosphere that promotes learning.
This method of course evaluation also gives us a very consistent overall rating. Below are
the four most recent average scores COM 114 has received for the following prompt:
“overall I would rate this course as.”
Term
Spring 2012
Fall 2011
Spring 2011
Fall 2010
Overall Course Average
3.88
3.9
3.94
3.85
All of the student responses are reviewed by the course directors at the end of each semester.
Any problems mentioned within the evaluations are identified and handled by a course
director in order to adjust the course as needed or provide additional training opportunities
for instructors.
For example, if an instructor received comments from students that they come to class
unprepared or seem unorganized, then one of the course directors would call the instructor in
to the administrative office to talk about the student feedback. These discussions are framed
in a positive manner and past interactions have resulted in several mentoring relationships in
which the instructor and course director would schedule reoccurring meetings to resolve
teaching concerns. In continuing with the example above, the mentoring meetings may focus
on preparing classroom activities and sharing organization tips.
B. GTA Success
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COM 114 values graduate student pedagogical development. As such, we developed our
training program to reflect this commitment. Our summer and ongoing training programs
fulfill the requirements for our instructors to receive the Graduate Teaching Certificate
from the CIE. This award signifies our prioritization of graduate teaching assistant
development and again, complements NCA’s mission to support the instruction and
education of the communication discipline.
C. Communication Lab
As previously mentioned, the Communication Lab is our newest course resource. It was
piloted during the spring of 2012. In the initial semester, the lab helped over 120 students
and in just the first couple of weeks of the fall 2012 semester, 70 students visited the lab.
In order to keep adequate records, the graduate students who oversee the lab complete a
visit report for each student and the students is given access to a survey that assesses the
quality/effectiveness of the Communication Lab visit. In the future, we hope to develop a
more formal assessment project that would measure the student outcomes related to
Communication Lab visits.
D. Quantitative Assessment
COM 114 was assessed using quantitative measures by two faculty members and two
graduate research assistants (Vicky and Lindsey) in 2011. The research team collected
student report data and recorded presentations twice during the course of the fall
semester. Time one occurred at the beginning of the semester and time two occurred
toward the end. Three variables were analyzed as part of the COM 114 assessment: the
Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) results for each student, selfreported information literacy self-efficacy scores, as well as behavioral/speaking
outcomes.
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PRCA
James McCroskey (1970) developed the PRCA in order to assess a person’s level
of communication apprehension. The 24 item scale analyzes a person’s anxiety in
four communication-based contexts: small group interactions, meetings,
interpersonal or dyadic communication, and public speaking. When combined,
these determine the overall communication apprehension score.
The COM 114 assessment found that student anxiety decreased in all four
contexts as well as the overall communication apprehension score. Specifically,
the declines associated with meetings, public speaking and total scores all
produced statistically significant results. These findings make sense given COM
114’s focus on traditional forms of presentational speaking. In addition, COM
114 contains a group unit in which the students are responsible for scheduling and
facilitating meetings. As such, the overall results suggested that COM 114
decreases communication-based apprehension for its students.
2. Information Literacy
The heading of information literacy is composed of seven dimensions and an
overall score. These dimensions include the following items: (1) defining the
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need for information, (2) initiating the search strategy, (3) locating and accessing
resources, (4) assessing and comprehending information, (5) interpreting,
synthesizing and using information, (6) communicating information from
searches, (7) evaluating the product and process, and the (8) total literacy
efficacy score.
The assessment reported an increase in each of the dimensions comprising
information literacy. Five of these areas demonstrated a statistically significant
change over the course of the semester. These results included (1) assessing and
comprehending information, (2) interpreting, synthesizing and using information,
(3) communicating information from searches, (4) evaluating the product and
process, and the (5) total literacy efficacy score. These findings supported the
course goal of teaching students how to properly research supporting material and
communicate the information.
3. Behavioral/Speaking Outcomes
Behavioral/speaking outcomes were analyzed using the following components:
the ability to construct a thesis, keeping messages organized, providing clear
conclusions, using effective transitions, improved eye contact, and physical
delivery.
The researchers reported improvement in all of the behavioral/speaking outcomes.
Statistically significant results were found in terms of the students’ ability to keep
messages organized, in their ability to construct an effective conclusion, and in
their eye contact. Again, these results support the overarching mission of COM
114 as well as specific objectives of the course.
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VI. Endorsements
This section contains two letters of endorsement from the individuals listed below.
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Howard E. Sypher, Ph.D. – Professor of Communication and Head of the Brian Lamb
School of Communication
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Stacey Connaughton, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Communication and Director of
Graduate Studies
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References
McCroskey, J. C. (1970). Measures of communication-bound anxiety. Speech Monographs, 37,
4, 269-277. doi: 10.1080/03637757009375677
Morgan, M & Natt, J. (2012). Effective presentations (2nd ed). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
National Communication Association. (2012). NCA strategic plan. Retrieved from:
https://www.natcom.org/strategicplan/
Purdue University. (2012). Purdue University mission. Retrieved from:
http://www.purdue.edu/sats/success_guide/all_about_purdue/university_mission.html