COM 332 Interpersonal Communication Course Credit: 3 Hours I. TC/TGS Catalog Course Description An examination of interpersonal communication theories and the application of those theories to specific interpersonal dyads, such as colleagues, friends, and spouses. Original research in the area of interpersonal communication will be conducted. Three hours. II. Student Learning Outcomes At the completion of this course each student should be able to: A. Observe and analyze one s own and others styles of interpersonal communication. B. Understand and describe foundational principles and theories about interpersonal communication. C. Apply interpersonal communication principles and theories to concrete examples. D. Assess whether particular interpersonal communication choices do or do not fit categories such as wise, healthy, and productive. E. Design and conduct original research about interpersonal communication. F. Identify ethical principles concerning interpersonal communication from biblical passages.
III. Units Title Topic Areas Covered Unit 1 Overview of Interpersonal Communication (IPC) Understand and describe foundational principles and theories about interpersonal communication Unit 2 Foundations of IPC Perception, self- disclosure, trust, coordination Unit 3 Verbal and Nonverbal Messages Concepts and theories related to message construction, analysis of Unit 4 Unit 5 Relationship Development and IPC IPC Challenges and Biblical Themes nonverbal messages, listening Stages of relationship development, theories related to relationship development and maintenance, communication about emotions Communication apprehension, privacy, deception, conflict, termination, biblical messages about IPC Unit 6 IPC Contexts and Power Work, family, friendship, and love relationship contexts for IPC; power; what the successful practice of IPC looks like in a long- term relationship IV. Texts Required: 1. Booth- Butterfield, Melanie. Interpersonal Essentials, Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2002. ISBN 9780205317219 2. Griffin, Em. Making Friends (& Making Them Count), Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1987. ISBN 9780877849964)
V. Grading Each week of this course may include readings and several assignments. Unless otherwise noted, all assignments are due before midnight (Central Time) on the specified due date. Grade Category Grade Weight s Quizzes 12% 1a, 2a, 3a, 5b Project Preparation for Self- Assessment of IPC 1c Motivation 4% 1d Self- Assessment Paper 16% 2c Film Analysis 10% 3b Listening Exercise & Self- Assessment Preparation for Original Research On a Dyad Emotional Communication 6% 5% 3c 4a 4c Scripture 7% 5c Contextual IPC 6b Dyad Interview Paper 16% 6c Class Participation 15% 1b, 2b, 4b, 5a, 6a
VI. Week by Week Unit 1: Overview of Interpersonal Communication Grade Weight Due Date 1a: Quiz: Axioms of IPC Week 1 1b: Discussion: Metaphors of IPC Week 1 1c: Project Preparation fro Self- Assessment of IPC 1d: Motivation 4% Readings/Resources Friday, Week 1 Week 1 Chapters 1, 2, and 3 in Em Griffin s Making Friends and Making Them Count Chapters 1 and 2 in Melanie Booth- Butterfield s Interpersonal Essentials Interpersonal Communication Theories for Unit One About Original Research in Interpersonal Communication
Unit 2: Foundations of Interpersonal Communication 2a: Quiz: Perception, Perceptual Errors, & Trust Grade Weight 2b: Discussion: Self- Disclosure 2c: Self- Assessment Paper 16% Readings/Resources Due Date Week 2 Week 2 Week 2 Chapters 4 and 8 in Em Griffin s Making Friends and Making Them Count Chapters 3, 4, and 11 in Melanie Booth- Butterfield s Interpersonal Essentials Interpersonal Communication Theories for Unit Two About Original Research in Interpersonal Communication (Review from Unit One)
Unit 3: Verbal and Nonverbal Messages 3a: Quiz: Messages & Listening Grade Weight 3b: Film Analysis 10% Due Date Week 3 Thursday, Week 3 3c: Listening Exercise & Self- Assessment Readings/Resources 6% Week 3 Chapters 5 and 6 in Em Griffin s Making Friends and Making Them Count Chapters 9, 10, and 12 in Melanie Booth- Butterfield s Interpersonal Essentials Interpersonal Communication Theories for Unit Three
Unit 4: Relationship Development & Interpersonal Communication 4a: Preparation for Original Research on a Dyad 4b: Discussion: IPC & Relational Development 4c: Emotional Communication Readings/Resources Grade Weight 5% Due Date Thursday, Week 4 Week 4 Friday, Week 4 Chapter 7 in Em Griffin s Making Friends and Making Them Count Chapters 7, 8, 13, and 14 in Melanie Booth- Butterfield s Interpersonal Essentials Interpersonal Communication Theories for Unit Four About Original Research in Interpersonal Communication (Review from Units One and Two)
Unit 5: Interpersonal Communication & Biblical Themes 5a: Discussion: Communication Apprehension 5b: Quiz: Conflict, Privacy, & Relational Deterioration Grade Weight 5c: Scripture 7% Readings/Resources Due Date Week 5 Week 5 Saturday, Week 5 Chapter 9 in Em Griffin s Making Friends and Making Them Count Chapters 6, 17, and 18 in Melanie Booth- Butterfield s Interpersonal Essentials Interpersonal Communication Theories for Unit Five Selected Scripture verses: Psalm 101:5a, James 4:11, & Proverbs 20:19; James 3:16 & I Corinthians 3:3; Proverbs 14:5 & Proverbs 12:22; Matthew 5:21-22 & James 3:9-10; Matthew 5:27-28 & Job 31:1; I Thessalonians 5:11-22; Ephesians 4:1-6 & Ephesians 4:17-32; Colossians 3:1-17 & Colossians 3:18-25 (You may consult any standard Bible or look the verses up on a website such as www.biblegateway.com.)
Unit 6: Interpersonal Communication Contexts & Power 6a: Discussion: Interpersonal Power Discussion 6b: Contextual IPC Grade Weight 6c: Dyad Interview Paper 16% Readings/Resources Due Date Week 6 Thursday, Week 6 Week 6 Chapter 10 in Em Griffin s Making Friends and Making Them Count Chapters 15 and 16 in Melanie Booth- Butterfield s Interpersonal Essentials Interpersonal Communication Theories for Unit Six About Original Research in Interpersonal Communication (Review from Units One, Two, and Four)
VII. Expectations Timing This course will take place over six weeks. s must be submitted by the assigned due dates within the six- week period. Note that some weeks may require more work than others, and individual experience may vary from week to week. Due dates Unless otherwise noted, all tasks are due before midnight (Central Time) on the specified due date. Participation Attendance Students are expected to participate in the online class regularly. Participation is equivalent to attendance in the face- to- face environment. Attendance within the online class includes the following: Submission of an academic assignment Examination, interactive tutorial, or computer- assisted instruction Study group assigned by school Participation in on- line discussion about academic matters Initiation of contact with instructor to ask question about academic subject Students who do not participate (and therefore attend ) class will be administratively withdrawn after two weeks if they have not self- enrolled and participated in at least one assignment or discussion. The Online Campus sends notifications to your TIU email account for most activities to prompt you. You are expected to check your TIU email account on a daily (or more frequent) basis. You may also forward messages from the TIU account to another personal/professional account. However, you are responsible for acting on the communications that reside within your TIU email account. The TIU email can be accessed at http://mail.tiu.edu.
Discussion Forum Expectations In order to receive the most benefit from your class, it is important that you have a strong, engaging, and interactive presence within your class through the Discussion Forum. The Discussion Forum environment will be a place of robust academic interchange among you, your classmates, your instructor, as well as outside resources that are relevant to the weekly subject matter. An important part of this conversation is wrestling with the issues. This will be a time where you begin to crystallize what you believe about a subject and why, as well as why you disagree with an opposing perspective. This naturally means that it is not enough to simply agree or disagree with a particular argument. Rather, it is your responsibility to provide compelling evidence and support for why you have reached your conclusions. Higher- critical thinking is at the heart of a quality liberal arts education, the value of which will benefit you long after graduation. The Discussion Forum is not meant to be a dry, sterile environment. Be creative! Did you see a video clip that would enhance the level of discussion engagement? Add it to the forum! Did you read an interesting article on Facebook or Twitter that would get others thinking, or re- thinking the subject? By all means, share it on the forum. Playing devil s advocate is also in- bounds. Addressing a classmate from an opposing viewpoint (not necessarily your own) to promote heightened interaction on a subject can further higher- level thought and a more robust discussion thread. As the Discussion Forum is an academic assignment, be sure that you write in formal academic English, using full sentences and correct grammar and punctuation. We recommend that you draft your comments using word processing software and then paste them into the forum after you complete spelling and grammar checks. Tips for participation Information sharing is extremely valuable in any learning experience. Your fellow students are excellent resources for stories, information, and different perspectives on your project work. At the same time, they can benefit from your ideas and insights. For these reasons, you need to participate and post questions
as often as possible. If you do not participate, you and your classmates will miss out on worthwhile opportunities to enhance learning. Interaction in a virtual environment such as the discussion involves many of the skills used in face- to- face communication. Below are some tips for effective asynchronous discussion. Keep postings short and to the point. Include pieces of the original message in any response. Be respectful of others' ideas and comments. Consider what is useful in the opinion shared and how it is similar to and different from your own point of view. Post responses in a timely manner. Keep your faculty member and other students informed about any events that could affect your progress. Choose words carefully and consider how the reader might interpret them. Sometimes text may seem more harsh or critical than the spoken word. Assessment Criteria At the end of the course, your scores for assignments and other work will be totaled and translated into a final letter grade for the course as a whole (A, B+, B, C+, C or F). For tasks assessed only as complete or incomplete, "complete" tasks will be assigned the maximum points allocated to the task, and "incomplete" tasks will be assigned zero points. Based on your percentage of total points, you will be assigned a final letter grade as follows.
Percentage Grade 92-100 90-91 88-89 82-87 80-81 78-79 72-77 70-71 68-69 62-67 60-61 0-59 A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F Assessment criteria may differ for each unit. Be certain you understand the specific criteria on which each individual assignment will be assessed and confirm your understanding with your faculty member.
Code of Conduct Our students are members of an academic community founded upon biblical principles of integrity and respect for others. It is critical that students and faculty trust one another to act with professionalism and integrity. Faculty members expect students to adhere to the following Code of Conduct: Unless the assignment description explicitly states otherwise, all work you submit will be your own. You are encouraged to share ideas and questions about your work as you do it, but the work itself should not be shared. If you would like to work with others- whether other students in this course or anybody else- It is best to check first with your faculty member. In assignments and discussions, you will state your own ideas in your own words, clearly citing any borrowed words or ideas. (Exceptions would be course content or assignment instructions that ask you to apply templates, data, or information.) For a quiz or exam, you will work independently, without sharing answers with others. For a group project, you will share work with other members of your team, but not outside of your team. You will not share finished or draft work (individual or group project) with others unless you are explicitly directed to do so by course materials or your faculty member. For example, providing such work may create a situation where another individual would violate the Code of Conduct. Academic Dishonesty (i.e., plagiarism and cheating) is not acceptable at Trinity International University. Cases of academic dishonesty are to be reported by both faculty members and students. Violations are subject to punitive action. Plagiarism is the appropriation of all or part of someone else s work (such as, but not limited to, writing, coding, programs, and images) and submitting it as one s own without proper citation. Common sources of plagiarized work include published books and articles, another student s work, free Internet websites, and websites offering academic papers for sale. Cheating is defined as using false pretenses, tricks, devices, or deception to obtain credit on an examination or assessed work in a course.
To prevent and detect cases of plagiarism and cheating assignments turned in for any and all courses at this institution may be scanned with Turnitin plagiarism prevention software. Sanctions for plagiarism or cheating can range from failure on an individual assignment or the entire course to expulsion from the institution. Each student enrolled in a course agrees that, by asking such course, he or she consents to the submission of all required work for textual similarity review by Turnitin to detect plagiarism. Each student also agrees that all work submitted to this service may be included as source documents to that service s database, solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such work. Whenever you have any doubts or questions about appropriate work processes or academic integrity standards, check with the faculty member teaching your course to clarify his or her expectations. For updates to the Code of Conduct and related disciplinary actions, refer to the Student Handbook. 2014/11/25