COMM 1010: Introduction to Communications Instructor: Jonathan Holiman Contact: Email: jonathanholiman@suu.edu Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm: Tuesday 10:00 am 12:00 pm Classroom: MC 110 Class time: MWF 9:00am 9:50am Course Description: Communication is intertwined with all of human life. No matter what you do, you are communicating something. The purpose of this course is to give an introduction to communication theories. In this class we will learn aspects of communicating interpersonally, in groups, and in organizations. We will also learn the basics of giving a well-organized speech. Materials Needed: Text: The Communication Age + interactive ebook + speech planner ISBN: 9781483304014, Publisher: Sage Learning Outcomes: 1. Students will have opportunities to research, develop and deliver effective informative and persuasive speeches as well as recognize the essential elements of successful speeches and public speakers. Assessment: Accomplished by completing the speech assignments and through instructor feedback on students informative and persuasive speeches. Ties to SUU Essential Learning Outcome: Communication; Critical Thinking 2. Students will have opportunities to develop, organize and express ideas by learning how to locate and identify credible sources for both informative and persuasive speeches. Assessment: Accomplished through conceptualizing and synthesizing information into required speech preparation outlines. Ties to SUU Essential Learning Outcome: Communication; Critical Thinking 3. Students will have opportunities to think about and systematically explore issues in interpersonal relationships in their work and personal lives by applying course knowledge to the lived experiences.
Assessment: Accomplished by completing the interpersonal application paper and course exams. Ties to SUU Essential Learning Outcome: Communication: Inquiry & Analysis 4. Students will have opportunities to critique and evaluate oral communication. Assessment: This objective will be accomplished through peer evaluations and outside speaker critiques. Ties to SUU Essential Learning Outcome: Communication: Critical thinking Graded Assignments: 1. Introductory Presentation: (25 points) This assignment is designed for three purposes (a) to have an initial speaking opportunity; (b) to get to know each other better; and (c) to reduce tension and communication apprehension. Each student will be responsible for preparing a 2-4 minute speech. The presentation should demonstrate thought, planning, and rehearsal. This is not impromptu delivery - you must practice! If a speaking outline is used, it must be turned in at the end of the presentation. If you do need notes, YOU MAY NOT WRITE YOUR SPEECH OUT WORD FOR WORD! Just jot down a few notes but it s definitely possible to do this presentation without notes! More information on the topic and requirements to come. 2. Informative Speech: (100 points) Each Student will be required to research, write and deliver a 4-6 minute informative speech on a topic of your choice that will be pre-approved by the instructor. It is absolutely required that you stay within the given time frame, this means that you will need to practice your speech in order to stay within the time frame. This informative speech should include a well prepared, visual aid and 2 outside sources. Each student will create a main topic outline (APA format) for his or her speech that can be used during the speech and will be submitted to the professor prior to the speech. These sources should be included on your outline that will be handed to the professor. 3. Persuasive speech: (100 points) Each student will be required to research, write and deliver a 4-6 minute persuasive speech on a topic of your choice that will be pre-approved by the instructor. The topic may NOT be the same as the informative. Again, it is absolutely required that you stay within the time frame, this means that you will need to practice your speech in order to be familiar enough to stay within the time frame. Each student will create an outline (APA format) for his or her speech that may be used during the speech. You are required to use a visual aid in this speech along with 3 outside sources during your speech. These sources
should be included on your outline and your outline will be handed to the professor prior to your speech. 4. Presentation Outlines (25 points each) Each presentation will require a complete, full-sentence outline. The informative and persuasive speeches also require a reference page with complete documentation of the sources used in correct APA format. Outline due dates are one week prior to your speech date. If the outline has not been turned in at least one class period before the date the presentation is due, you will not be allowed to give your presentation. No outline, no presentation! 5. Peer-speaker critiques and audience participation: (5 points per critique) In order for people to get the experience of public speaking, they need a public to speak to. Each student will evaluate each in-class speech. These evaluations will be graded. As long as comments are relevant and convey that you were listening to the speeches, you will receive full points. You will lose a significant amount of points for not attending speech days. 6. Speaker critique: (25 points) Sometimes the best way to learn public speaking skills is to watch someone else speak. This assignment requires you to attend a speech outside class and then write up a 1-2 page paper (APA format) describing what you learned about public speaking skills. You may write about both the negative and positive traits and skills you saw displayed during the speech. 7. Exams: Midterm & Final (100 points each) The midterm will cover public speaking, while the final exam will cover interpersonal communication. Both the midterm and final will cover information from the text, as well as your class notes, lecture and any handouts or assigned reading. Essentially, anything, which occurs during class, is considered fair game for exams! Research participant: Each student is expected to participate in a research project conducted by a professor, master s student or upper division student. Extra credit will be given for participation.
Course Policies: Grading Standards: A 93-100% C+ 76-79% A- 90-92% C 74-78% B+ 86-89% C- 70-73% B 83-85% D 65-69% B- 80-82% F 65% or lower Assignments: All assignments are to be double spaced, typed in 12pt Times New Roman font, with one inch margins. Headings should be single spaced and should include student name, date, and title of the assignment. Assignments are to be turned in on Canvas on or before the assigned due date. References should be properly cited in APA formatting. For each day the assignment is late, a 10% grade reduction will be assessed. After the 4 th day, the assignment will be given an F. Attendance and Participation: Regular attendance and participation is expected in this course. If you choose to miss class on the day that an assignment is due, you are responsible for turning it in anyway. If you miss the day you are scheduled to speak you will be unable to make up the speaking part of the assignment, but you may receive credit for the outline provided it is turned in on time. The only exceptions are in the case of legitimate and documented illness, family emergency or school approved function. Vacations, weddings and other such events are not considered emergencies. If you know you are going to be absent for a non-emergency event, you need to contact me in advance. Excused absences for illness or personal emergency must be accompanied by appropriate documentation and a direct conversation with me. I will deal with these situations on a case-by-case basis and I reserve the right to make the final judgment about excused absences. Late work will receive a non-negotiable 10% grade reduction for each class period it is late (weekends count as 2 days) unless your situation falls under the excused category above. All assignments are due by midnight. I will not award incompletes in this course except for a serious medical crisis or other extenuating circumstances that will be judged on a caseby-case basis. I expect you to respond to questions posed during our discussion of the material. We will be doing several in (and out of) class assignments that will help you grasp the material more fully and although they are not awarded a point value, you are expected to complete them anyway. Failure to do so will limit your ability to master the material and perform well in the course. Further, I have found there is a high correlation between regular student attendance and success in this course. Do not skip speech days when you do
not speak because you cannot learn to manage speaking anxiety without an audience present. Thus, your personal efforts impact the success of everyone else in the course. Cell phones, tablets and laptops: We will use your cell phones, tablets and laptops during the course of instruction, but please use your common sense and be courteous. Absolutely no texting! Do not answer your phone. Cell phones, tablets and laptops are great tools and yes, they can be distracting. If cell phones or laptops become problems you will asked to leave them at the door. Learning is your responsibility; if you find that your digital devises are distracting your learning, make the effort to exercise self-control, and turn them off. ADA STUDENT SUPPORT: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, please be familiar with the following statement. Students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Southern Utah University Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or phone (435) 865-8022. SSD determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of these services. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: Each student is expected to complete his/her own work. Any student caught cheating in any way on the exams or submitting another person s work as his/her own (plagiarism) will receive an "F" for the assignment according to SUU policy (for more information you can consult SUU Policy 6.33). If you are unfamiliar with what constitutes plagiarism, please ask me in order to avoid any problems. Students who misrepresent excuses for turning in late work will also receive an "F" on that assignment. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY OFFICIAL SUU POLICY: Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. You are expected to have read and understood the current edition of the student handbook (published by Student Services) regarding student responsibilities and rights, and the intellectual property policy, for information and procedures and about what constitutes acceptable on-campus behavior. SANS (Student Assessment Notification System): Because SUU values your success as much as I do, you need to be aware of the SANS program designed to help students who may be struggling for one reason or another in a particular course. Sometimes it is difficult to come for help when it is needed, but this system is a way for me to connect you with necessary resources and motivate you to make corrections to improve your learning. If you fall behind, get a poor grade on an exam, etc., you may receive a letter with some advice and a connection to outside help. I hope you will come to me first, but the most important point is that you know there is help and then have the courage to take advantage of it. If you have questions about the SANS program please let me know. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STATEMENT: In case of emergency, the University s Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link
on the homepage of the mysuu portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University s emergency management plan can be found at http://www.suu.edu/emergency HEOA COMPLIANCE STATEMENT: The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law. Detailed information can be found at http://www.suu.edu/it/p2pstudent-notice.html. EMAIL: In an age of digital communication you may have grown accustomed to instant responses through calls, texts or tweets. Increasingly students are frustrated because they write to me in the evenings or in the middle of the night and don t get a response until the next morning when I m at work. A course like this only enhances this problem. Please be aware that I check email during regular work hours, but rarely during evenings or on weekends. If it is urgent that you contact me and I cannot be reached in my office, call the Communication Department at 435-586-7861 and my administrative assistant should be able to locate me. Please plan your time wisely and remember that I always return emails as soon as I can. COURSE EVALUATIONS: I appreciate feedback from students about course content and instruction and use this information to help me make improvements to the course based on certain trends and patterns that surface from them. Obviously the more feedback I receive the better, so I hope you will take time at the end of the semester to share your experiences in the course with me. OFFICE HOURS: You can plan to meet with me during office hours as regularly posted. I recognize that these hours won t accommodate all schedules so if they do not work for you please set up an appointment with me. I am always happy to meet with students individually or in smaller groups to help explain assignments or clarify anything from class or from the book. NOTE: Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, and attendance policy, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.