University of Maryland, College Park
Department of Communication
Instructor: Dr. Andrew D. Wolvin
Office: Skinner 2111
Office Hours:
Phone: 301-405-6521
Fax: 301-314-9471
Email: awolvin@umd.edu
Section 5131
Time: W 6:30
– 9:30 pm
Course Objective
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. Articulate the process and the role of listening in oral communication.
2. Listen more effectively at various levels of process.
Nature of the Course
Research indicates that the majority of our communication time is spent listening; yet very little educational training is devoted to developing effective listening skills and attitudes. The aim of this course is to equip you to understand your own listening behavior and to build your own program for improvement in listening skills.
Text
Wolvin, Andrew D. and Coakley, Carolyn Gwynn. Listening. (Fifth Edition) Dubuque, Iowa:
William C. Brown Publisher, 1996.
Cource Policies
Attendance: Because of the seminar and the laboratory format of this course, and because improvement in listening abilities requires your physical presence, attendance in this course is necessary.
Standards: The instructional standards in this course are high, appropriate to a 400level course. Quality, consistent class participation and individual work are expected.
Final grades will be based on completed projects as described in this syllabus.

Classroom Procedures: You are expected to exemplify active, participative listening behaviors throughout each class period.
Tentative Schedule
(Projects are listed on the date due)
UNIT I: INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction to the Course. The Role of Listening Watson-Barker Listening Pre-Test
2. The Process of Communication. (Read text, ch. 2, and prepare to discuss: What is
Communication? What is the role of listening in effective communication?)
Listening Needs and Objectives. (Read text, ch. 1. Prepare a list of your personal listening needs and objectives for discussion in class.)
UNIT II: THE LISTENING PROCESS
3. The Listening Process: Models; Motivation; Reception. (Read text, ch. 3 and
Wolvin, Models of the Listening Process.)
4. The Listening Process: Attention; Perception: Verbal Interpretation (Read text, ch. 3 continued.)
5. The Listening Process: Nonverbal Interpretation; Cognitive Interpretation. (Text, ch.
3 continued.)
6. The Listening Process: Response; Listening Variables. (Text, ch. 3 continued; ch.
4)
7. Listening Models. (Prepare YOUR model of the listening process. The model should reflect the components of the process and the major variables which affect the process. It should be a creative, original, sophisticated model which illustrates your thorough understanding of the process. The model may be a large poster board, visual representation, a working operational model, a "game" or simulation, or any other creative form. Prepare to "show and tell" your model to the rest of the class and to turn in a written explanation with the model. The model will be evaluated according to five points: (1) Does the model illustrate the complex nature of the listening process? (2) Does the model account for the major components involved in listening? (3) Does the model account for variables which affect the listening process? (4) Does the model differ from other models? (5) Is the model presented clearly? The model is your midterm project, designed to pull together the theoretical understanding of the process of listening which has been developed through the text and through class discussions and activities.)

UNIT III: LISTENING LEVELS
8. Levels of Listening. Discriminative Listening. (Read text, ch. 5)
9. Comprehensive Listening. (Read text, ch. 6.)
10. Therapeutic Listening. (Read text, ch. 7.)
11. Critical Listening. (Read text, ch. 8. Bring to class examples of motivational appeals--pp. 347-351--to which you have been assigned to share with the class.)
12. Appreciative Listening. (Read text, ch. 9. Bring to class an audio tape of some material you listen to appreciatively and prepare to share it with the class. Listening
Journal: Keep a journal of various listening experiences that you have during Unit III.
The entire should include at least one entry for each type of listening, including: date; type of listening; brief description of the experience; how you responded as a listener; and what you learned about your listening from the experience. See text, pp. 98-100, for examples of listening journal entries. In addition, keep a log —a list of listening experiences by time of day--for one entire day. And provide a list of all of the. Instruments and your scores with a written interpretation of what this profile tells you about you as a listener. Also, check literature in your professional field to see if you can locate any articles about listening in the field. Include copies of these articles in your journal.
UNIT IV: LISTENING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
13. Listening Roles and Responsibilities (Read text, ch. 10. Interview a professional listener--a counselor, therapist, interviewer, customer relations representative, attorney, minister, etc.--in an informational interview. Set up the interview and prepare a series of questions that you'd like answered about how this professional does listen. Focus your questions on listening techniques, roles, problems, importance, and what the individual feels is the role of listening in his/her field. Ask what techniques this person has found to be helpful in functioning as a listener.
After you have completed the interview, write up a report of the interview which: (1) identifies the interview; (2) briefly describes the interview, including a list of the questions you asked; (3) summarizes thoroughly the interviewee's observations on listening from this individual and from the listening experience. You do not have to submit a verbatim transcript of this interview. Evaluation of your report will be based upon the effectiveness of your questions and upon the care and thoroughness by which you write up the report.)
14. Conclusion. Watson-Barker Listening Post-Test. (Final Essay: Write a concluding essay which details (a) an extensive, sophisticated list of criteria--standards of excellence--for effective listening; your evaluation of your own listening strengths and weaknesses according to the criteria; and (c) your plans for future listening development. Evaluation of this essay will be based upon (1) the comprehensiveness of the criteria you set forth; (2) the thoroughness with which you

evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses; and (3) the plan for continued development of your listening skills that you describe.)