Communication Fundamentals Communications 231 Section 05, Fall 2015 Course Information Course Information Course Number and Section: COM 231.05 Instructor: Cynthia Landrum Course Dates: Monday 1:00 PM – 3:54 PM, 09/14/2015-12/21/2015 Location: Justin Whiting Hall, Room 109 Email: landrumcynthial@jccmi.edu Office Hours: by appointment - Mondays before class Text: Human Communication: The Basic Course. J. A. DeVito. 12th Edition LLA / Bert Walker main office: (517) 796-8582 Center for Student Success: (517) 796-8415 Solution Center: (517) 796-8639 Jackson College Switchboard: (517)787-0800 Course Description Learn the basic principles of communication theory, including listening, nonverbal communication, discussion and public address. Participation in this course will improve your public speaking skills and prepare you for a variety of situations where you can effectively communicate before an audience. Associate Degree Outcomes Jackson College’s Board of Trustees has determined that all of our graduates should develop or enhance a variety of important skills while enrolled in courses. The ADO’s (Associate Degree Outcomes) for this course include: ADO 2: Speak clearly, concisely and intelligibly ADO 9: Work productively with others, recognizing individual contributions to group success Course Outcomes Apply current research in the analysis of communication Evaluate the effectiveness of communication Demonstrate appropriate effective communication in classroom presentations, public performance, and small group activities COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 2 of 11 Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Consistent with the ADA and Section 504, Jackson College is committed to quality of educational opportunity and ensures that no qualified person shall by reason of a disability be denied access to, participation in, or benefits of any program or activity operated by the college. Each qualified person shall receive reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to educational opportunities, programs, and activities. Contact the Center for Student Success for more information. Communicating With the Professor This is a class on communications, so paying attention to your communication with the professor is important. Outside of class, e-mail is the best method to communicate with me, using the JCC e-mail address listed on the first page. As an adjunct instructor, I do not check the JCC e-mail on a daily basis, however, so make sure to communicate in advance of your need, or call if there is an emergency. It is courteous communication to let the professor know if you plan to drop the class or have a planned absence. You are expected to have read this syllabus. It is my agreement with you for the course, and you are responsible for the material contained in this document. Please refer to it first with any questions, as many things are answered herein. Class Behavior It is inappropriate in this course to use obscene language or gestures, tell offensive jokes, or allude to sexual, racial, cultural, or gendered references that may be demeaning or offensive. Please be mindful of how you communicate with others in this class. Anything that distracts from the communication process should be avoided in class. All personal (non-medical) electronic devices need to be turned off when not being used as part of the class. Cell phones or pagers may be kept on vibrate if necessary. Texting or other cell phone use during class is not appropriate. If you must make a call or send a message, please quietly leave the room to do so. More than one ‘warning’ to an individual by the professor will affect the attendance grade. Grade Information Academic Honesty Students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to Jackson College’s policy on academic honesty. Plagiarism and cheating will result in a failing grade for the assignment and may result in a failing grade in the course, and will be reported to the Academic Dean except in very minor instances. COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 3 of 11 Academic Honesty: Is defined as ethical behavior that includes student production of their own work and not representing others' work as their own, by cheating or by helping others to do so. Plagiarism: Is defined as the failure to give credit for the use of material from outside sources. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to: Submitting other's work as your own Using data, quotations, or paraphrases from other sources without adequate documentation Self-plagiarism –is the reuse of significant, identical or nearly identical portions of one’s own work without acknowledging that one is doing so or without citing this original work Cheating: Is defined as obtaining answers/material from an outside source without authorization. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: Plagiarizing in any form Using notes/books without authorization Copying Submitting others' work as your own or submitting your work for others Altering graded work Falsifying data Exhibiting other behaviors generally considered unethical Grades Participation .............................. 30 Impromptus ............................... 40 Quizzes...................................... 50 Johari Window .......................... 10 Midterm Exam ........................ 100 Impromptu Speeches ............... 100 Informative Speech ................ 150 Informative Speech Outline ...... 40 Persuasive Speech ................... 150 Persuasive Speech Outline ........ 40 Group Presentation.................. 150 Group Presentation Materials ... 40 Final Exam .............................. 100 Total ...................................... 1000 A/4.0 .................... 94 % and up A-/3.5 .......................... 90-93% B/3.0 ............................ 84-89% B-/2.5 ........................... 80-83% C/2.0 ............................ 74-79% C-/1.5 ........................... 70-73% D/1.0 ............................ 64-69% D-/0.5 .......................... 60-63% F/0 ................... 59% and below Incomplete Grade The incomplete grade is designed for successful students with extenuating circumstances to allow them to complete the course requirements after the semester or session has ended. Students may receive an “I” if, in the opinion of the instructor, their work is sufficient in quality, but is lacking in quantity, to meet the objectives specified in the course syllabus. The course objectives are to be satisfactorily completed during the next year or within the time agreed to by the COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 4 of 11 instructor and the student. If the student does not complete the course within the designated time period the “I” grade will be replaced by the grade earned as assigned by the instructor. The grade of “I” is not awarded to students who did not attend, or seldom attended, or to those who simply are not pleased with their final grades. Students receiving an “I” submit only the remaining work that had not been completed at the end of the semester. Students do not reregister for the course, nor redo work that had already been graded. Extra Credit There will be two 10-point projects that may be done for extra credit or to replace a missing quiz score. Information on these projects will be given in class. Late Policy Late assignments, including speeches, will receive a 10% deduction for each class period that they are late. Assignments beyond two weeks late will not be accepted unless approved by the professor. HQV Each semester instructors are required to report status of students within a class. A majority of classes are required to report three times during the semester. At Jackson Community College, this is done through a process called “HQV.” “H” stands for Help – this means you could be a student the instructor notices is working hard but may need extra help (tutoring, etc) – is struggling to make it to class consistently – has not turned in assignments, etc. “Q” stands for Quit – the student has not shown up for class consistently with NO CONTACT from the student. The instructor has every inclination that the student has QUIT the class without withdrawing/dropping/notifying someone. If given a Q, the student will be withdrawn from the class, student will need instructor approval to be signed back in. “V” stands for Verify – in this case, the instructor is verifying the student has been attending, is turning in work, and the student is doing well in the course. Please note that this reporting is required of ALL instructors/faculty at the college, therefore, you will see this for your classes within e-services “grading.” If you have questions, please feel free to ask the instructor. Students receiving an “H” will receive a phone call from a College representative. Don’t be anxious to take the call. In many cases, by the time (if not before) staff are given the reports, any concern is discussed by the student/instructor. COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 5 of 11 Course Assignments Attendance and Participation Participation is mandatory, and you must be in attendance to participate. Excessive absences will result in removal from the class. Each class may have participation exercises in it that will count towards your final participation grade. These points cannot be made up, and you must be in attendance to earn them. Excused absences are the only way to make up certain missed exams and grades. Excused absences are medical reasons and crisis reasons only. Medically excused absences must have documentation from a medical professional. Certain other family crises are excusable at the professor’s discretion and may require documentation, as well. Transportation and scheduling problems and vacation are not excused absences. Quizzes and Exams Quizzes are on materials covered in the book and are taken with closed books and notebooks except when indicated. Quizzes are 10 points each and cannot be made up. For excused absences, a make-up assignment will be assigned. Midterm and Final Exams are on information in the books and also material covered in class. Exams are 100 points each. For excused absences only a make-up exam will be made available. It is your responsibility to contact the professor and arrange for a make-up exam. Johari Window Students are expected to turn in a Johari Window exercise. An online version is available at http://kevan.org/johari. Impromptu Speeches Impromptu speeches will be assigned on different class dates throughout the semester. Generally, missed impromptu speeches may not be made up except for excused absences. Students should expect to do five impromptu speeches over the course of the semester. These may appear on the dates indicated in the course calendar, but are subject to change, and will sometimes be with no advance notice. Informative Speech Informative Speech Requirements: Approved topic – topic must be approved in advance Extemporaneous delivery with note cards 5-7 minutes in length Typed full-sentence outline with evidence with parenthetical documentation Bibliography COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 6 of 11 Informative Speech Assignment Your informative speech should be 5-7 minutes in length. The topic must be approved by the instructor in advance. The speech should be extemporaneous. Notecards are allowed. Presentation aids are allowed (i.e. PowerPoint presentation), but should enhance the speech and not serve merely as reminders. A full-sentence outline must be turned in in advance. Extra care should be taken to ensure that the speech is informative in nature and does not become a persuasive speech. You must turn in: A full-sentence outline of your speech. Your speech should match your outline. A Works Cited (bibliography) page in MLA format. Your speech must include one oral citation, and the work cited must be included in your Works Cited page. Your notecards. Grade: Informative speeches are graded on the following: Topic selection – Original, challenging, imaginative and appropriate to the assignment Time – Within the allotted time (with a 30-second grace period) Audience adaptation and relationship – Building a bond between the audience and the speaker. Related topic to audience. Verbal evidence – Manner in which quality evidence is presented to audience. Required number of sources. Introduction and conclusion – Introduction gained attention and interest, introduced topic clearly. Purpose and significance clearly stated in the introduction. Conclusion reinforced central idea, effective summary of main points. Physical delivery – Eye contact, gestures, and movement. Extemporaneous delivery – Polished and well rehearsed without appearing read aloud within the allotted time. Organization in delivery and body – Use of rhetorical devices, clear purpose, smooth transitions that allows the audience to connect with the speech within the allotted time. Main points clear, fully supported. Peer Evaluation Persuasive Speech Assignment Persuasive Speech Requirements: Approved topic – topic must be approved in advance Extemporaneous delivery with note cards 5-7 minutes in length Typed full-sentence outline with evidence with parenthetical documentation Bibliography Your persuasive speech should be 5-7 minutes in length. The topic must be approved by the instructor. The speech should be extemporaneous. Notecards are allowed. For this speech you COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 7 of 11 should include one presentation aid (i.e. PowerPoint presentation), which should enhance the speech and not serve merely as reminders or to fill the requirement. An outline must be turned in in advance. Extra care should be taken to ensure that the speech is persuasive in nature – it must be arguable such that a reasonable person and a sizeable percentage of the population would take the opposing view. You must turn in: A full-sentence outline of your speech. Your speech should match your outline. A Works Cited (bibliography) page in MLA format. Your speech must include two oral citations, and the work cited must be included in your Works Cited page. The sources cited must be credible sources for your subject. Your notecards. Topics which will not be allowed: abortion, the death penalty, legalizing or medical marijuana, same-sex marriage, the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), anything about smoking, gun control, violence in the media and video games, lowering the alcohol consumption age. Again, your topic must be approved in advance. Grade: Persuasive speeches are graded on the following: Topic selection – Original, challenging, arguable Time – Within the allotted time (with a 30-second grace period) Audience adaptation and relationship – Building a bond between the audience and the speaker. Related topic to audience. Tone appropriate to audience. Verbal evidence – Manner in which quality evidence is presented to audience. Required number of sources. Introduction and conclusion – Introduction gained attention and interest, introduced topic clearly. Purpose and significance clearly stated in the introduction. Conclusion reinforced central idea, effective summary of main points. Physical delivery – Eye contact, gestures, and movement. Extemporaneous delivery – Polished and well rehearsed without appearing read aloud within the allotted time. Organization in delivery and body – Use of rhetorical devices, clear purpose, smooth transitions that allows the audience to connect with the speech within the allotted time. Main points clear, fully supported. Argument – Contains acknowledgement of opposing argument and refutes it. Avoids logical fallacies. Uses logos, ethos and pathos in appropriate amounts. Peer Evaluation Group Presentation Midway through the course you will be assigned a group. Group members who fail to contribute will be removed from the group and given the option of taking a zero for the group presentation or applying for membership in another group. Accepting a group member must be a unanimous decision, individually submitted in writing to the instructor. All members of the group are expected to participate in the successful completion of the group presentation and will be evaluated by their group concerning their contribution. A reflection on working with the group COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 8 of 11 and an evaluation of your group members is a required individual component of the group presentation. Objectives: Analyze a group based on a number of traditional group functions as discussed in our text. Apply correct terminology from the assigned reading to observed behaviors. Complete the assigned tasks as a small group demonstrating appropriate behavior as explained in the text. Reflect upon the completion of the task and effectiveness of your group. Requirements: As a group select a film that each member of the group can obtain a copy of to view. The selected film must have several characters who interact together as a group as defined by the text. (Examples: workplace groups, fraternities, friend groups, etc.) The group should have some level of internal conflict or a role in main conflict of the film. Film must be approved - keep in mind films such as Twelve Angry Men and The Breakfast Club which have been used many times to teach small group communication and have resources for doing so, will not be allowed. The film should be easily rentable for all members of your group. After viewing the movie, the group will complete a two to five page summary paper in which you analyze the group identified in the film. The paper should be in 12-point font with one-inch margins and be free from grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. One paper submitted for the entire group - everyone must contribute to the completion of the paper! Using the paper as a guide complete a PowerPoint that can be effectively used to discuss your film in a presentation before the class. All members of the group must contribute to the presentation. Still images and video clips should be included in your presentation to help the audience understand the concepts found in your film. Paper & Presentation Format: Section I - Introduction: The Group Give a brief description of the group you observed to set the stage for the rest of our paper. Identify the type of group. Include relevant background information needed to understand analysis. DO NOT assume that the reader has seen the movie - write with detail. Section II - Group Decision Making Method Label, define, and cite examples of the group's decision-making methods. Correctly apply the terminology from the text. A definition and example are two different things. Section III - Conflict Label, define, and cite examples of conflict and conflict management in the group. Pay attention to both positive and negative examples. Correctly apply terminology from the text. COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 9 of 11 Section IV - Group Member Roles and Group Leader Roles Label, define, and cite at least two examples of the group's roles out of each of the categories; group building and maintenance roles, individual roles, and group task roles. Label, define, and cite examples of the group leadership. Section V - Conclusion Conclude your presentation/paper. What did you learn? What did you enjoy? Would you recommend this film as an example of group dynamics? Did the group handle things well overall? Etc. PowerPoint The PowerPoint will follow the same structure as the paper No slide limit - but each slide must be meaningful and advance understanding of the analysis of the film Minimal retelling of the story. The purpose is small group communication not retelling the story of the film. Focus on small group communication and backfill the story when needed. Correctly label each section. Using the header or title to group slides will help the audience follow the point you are trying to make. Correct grammar and spelling. Use images and video clips. Look for images from the film to use. *Correctly cite the images - give credit to the original source. Grade Your group will be graded individually, and you will be asked to evaluate each of your group’s performance. See syllabus information on small groups for information about how a group member who is not performing may be removed and possibly readmitted. Extra Credit Students may replace low quiz grades or do extra credit by submitting 2-page typed reflection essays for 20 points each. Students should pick the chapter for the essay based on the class or quiz to be made up. Extra credit may be used a maximum of three times, and may not be used to improve impromptus, speech grades, or group projects. Essays must be turned in no later than three weeks after the chapter is discussed in class. Students may pick from the following subjects, or the role of culture and gender or the role of ethics in the subject of the chapter: Chapter 2: Ethnocentrism Chapter 3: The Pygmalion Effect or the Just World Hypothesis Chapter 4: Lying Chapter 5: Theories of Gender Differences Chapter 6: Space Violations or Culture and Time Chapter 7: Apologizing Chapter 8: Repairing Relationships or Online Relationship Theories Chapter 9: Culture, Gender, and Families COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 10 of 11 Chapter 10: Group Power Chapter 11: Styles of Leadership or The Leader’s Ethical Responsibilities Chapter 12: Advertising Chapter 13: Myths About Conflict or Finding Win-Win Solutions Schedule The class schedule is tentative and subject to revision at the professor’s discretion. It is your responsibility to ask if there is a revised schedule if you miss class. Important Dates Last Date to Drop for Refund: 9/18/15 Last Date to Drop for a Grade of W: 12/9/15 HQV 1: 9/16/15 – If you have missed class on the first two days you will be dropped unless you have communicated with the professor your desire to stay in the class by e-mail. It is your responsibility to make sure the professor has received your communication. HQV 2: 10/4/15 – If you miss class on both weeks prior or have a substantial number of absences, you are at risk to be dropped on 9/23 unless you have communicated with the professor your desire to stay in the class by e-mail. It is your responsibility to make sure the professor has received your communication. HQV3: 11/6/15 – If you have missed substantial class time leading up to the third HQV date or haven’t made arrangements for your informative speech, you are at risk for being dropped on 10/28 unless you have communicated with the professor your desire to stay in the class by email. It is your responsibility to make sure the professor has received your communication. Class Schedule Date Mon. 9/14 Mon. 9/21 Mon. 9/28 Mon. 10/5 Mon. 10/12 Topics Covered Syllabus & Introductions Preliminaries to Human Communication Culture and Communication The Informative Speech The Self and Perception Supporting and Organizing Your Speech Catch-Up Day Listening in Human Communication Style & Delivery in Public Speaking Assignments Due Impromptu Introduction Speech Review: Chapter 1 Read: Chapter 2 & 17 Quiz #1: Chapters 1& 2 Impromptus #2 Read: Chapter 3 & 15 Impromptus #2 Read: Chapter 4 & 16 Quiz #2: Chapters 3 & 4 Johari Windows Due Due: Topic Approval for Informative Speech COM 231.05, Fall 2015 Page 11 of 11 Date Mon. 10/19 Mon. 10/26 Mon. 11/2 Mon. 11/9 Mon. 11/16 Mon. 11/23 Mon. 11/30 Mon. 12/7 Mon. 12/14 Mon. 12/21 Topics Covered Assignments Due Impromptus #3 Verbal Messages & Nonverbal Messages Read: Chapter 5 & 6 Work on Informative Speech Due: Outline for Informative Speech Impromptus #3 Informative Speeches Quiz #3: Chapters 5 & 6 Interpersonal Communication: Read: Chapter 7 Conversation Informative Speeches Informative Speeches Informative Speeches Midterm Midterm (Chapters 1-6) The Persuasive Speech Read: Chapter 18 Impromptus #4 Due: Topic Approval for Persuasive Speech Interpersonal Relationship Stages and Read: Chapter 8 & 14 Theories Work on Persuasive Speech Public Speaking Topics, Audiences, and Due: Persuasive Speech Outline Research Impromptus #4 Work on Persuasive Speech Quiz #4: Chapters 7 & 8 Friends, Families & Lovers Read: Chapter 9 Work on Persuasive Speech Persuasive Speeches Impromptus #5 Small Group Communication Read: Chapter 10 Persuasive Speeches Persuasive Speeches Quiz #5: Chapters 9 & 10 Members and Leaders Read: Chapter 11 Persuasive Speeches Work on Group Presentations Human Communication in the Workplace: Read: Chapter 12 & Chapter 13 Organizational Communication Impromptus #5 Interpersonal, Group, and Workplace Quiz #6: Chapters 11 & 12 Conflict Group Presentations Final Exam Final Exam (Chapters 7-13) Class Awards