Syllabus
Discussion and Small Group Communication

Discussion and Small Group Communication

SPCH-2333

Credit Summer 2021
06/01/2021 - 08/08/2021

Course Information

Section 001
Distance Learning
ONL DIL
Kelly Stockstad

Office Hours

  • T
    1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
    By Appointment Only
  • Sa
    1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
    Virtual Office Hours

FULL SYLLABUS AVAILABLE ONLINE

Click this link to view the full syllabus for this section of SPCH 2333. 

Course policies and procedures are included in the full syllabus. This posting on Lighthouse is not intended to represent the full content of the course. 

virtual meetings

Our class meets virtually, using Zoom. You will sign up for specific meeting days and times that work best with your schedule. You will choose from:

Meeting Day & Time

Team Formation Meeting

Team Decision-Making Meeting

Project Planning Meeting

Wednesday, 7:00-8:00 PM

June 16

July 7

July 21

Saturday, 2:30-3:30 PM

June 19

July 10

July 24

 

Penalties for Missing a Virtual Meeting

We complete significant portions of the grade this course during virtual meetings. Missing a virtual meeting will have serious repercussions to your grade.

Meeting

Penalty for Missing, Regardless of the Reason for Missing

Team Formation Meeting

If you contact me, you may move to another meeting group, if there is a later meeting that has space available. You will attend all meetings for this course with that team.

If you miss the last meeting for this assignment, you will receive a zero on this project. You cannot earn higher than a B in the course if you miss this meeting.

Team Decision-Making Meeting

If you contact me, you may move to another meeting group, if there is a later meeting that has space available.

If you miss the last meeting for this assignment, you are no longer eligible to complete Overcoming Group Challenges project, the project planning meeting or the peer assessments for the project. You WILL FAIL THIS COURSE if you miss this meeting. 

Project Planning Meeting

You will receive a zero on the meeting grade.

 

 

REQUIRED COURSE ORIENTATION

ALL Course Orientation assignments MUST be completed before you will be able to access ANY graded work for this course. You should complete all orientation tasks listed on the orientation assignment by the end of the first week in this course to avoid falling behind on course work.

If you have yet to work on any orientation tasks by the attendance reporting date, I will have to report you as “never attended.” If you fail to complete ALL orientation tasks, you will be unable to complete this course, and you will receive a failing grade.

 

Course Requirements

This course uses a standard percentage grading for the course grades:

A = 89.5-100%

B = 79.5-89.4%

C = 69.5-79.4%

D = 59.5-69.4%

F = 59.4% or lower


Grade Breakdown

Every student who takes SPCH 2333: Discussion and Small Group Communication at Austin Community College must complete the following assignments, at a minimum: two (2) graded group projects, one (1) meeting project, one (1) graded demonstration of group communication skills, and two (2) exams. In this course, you will complete the following assignments for grades.

Course Assignments with Brief Descriptions

Assignment Name/ Weight

Assignment Description

Assignment Components

Chapter Quizzes

10% of your course grade (1% per quiz)

Highest grade of all attempts recorded

2 lowest scores automatically dropped from Blackboard calculations

You will demonstrate knowledge of individual textbook chapters by completing chapter quizzes in Blackboard. Quizzes are mastery learning: each quiz may be repeated as many times as you would like to earn your target score.

Unit 1 – 4 Chapter Quizzes

1. Ch. 1 Quiz, 2. Ch. 2 Quiz,

3. Ch. 6 Quiz, 4. Ch. 3 Quiz

Unit 2 – 4 Chapter Quizzes

5. Ch. 7 Quiz, 6. Ch. 8 Quiz,

7. Ch. 9 Quiz, 8. Ch. 5 Quiz

Unit 3 – 4 Chapter Quizzes

9. Ch. 11 Quiz, 10. Ch. 6 Quiz,

11. Ch. 10 Quiz, 12. Ch. 12 Quiz

Becoming an Ideal Team Member Reflections

15% of your course grade (5% per reflection)

For the first reflection, you will apply concepts about the course theme of Being an Ideal Team Player to your personal experience by writing a reflection of at least 500 words. This posting will be private. For the next two reflections, you will find a source that class members could use to assess or improve a specific aspect of being an ideal team player. You will provide the source documentation, an executive summary of the source, and a recommendation for who would benefit from this source.

 

1. Coming Together Reflection

2. Working Together Reflection

3. Achieving Together Reflection

Team Formation Meeting

10% of your course grade

You will meet with your team to establish working relationships.

1. Prepare “What I Bring to the Team” Self-Introduction

2. Attend virtual meeting

 

Team Decision-Making Meeting

20% of your course grade

 

Based on your experiences working in groups, you will propose project that addresses a challenge to working in groups. During your team decision-making meeting, you will demonstrate specific decision-making and team communication skills. During this meeting, you and your team will determine the project that your team will complete in the Overcoming Group Challenges Project.

 

1. Create elevator pitch to propose project

2. Attend virtual meeting

3. Submit Team Charter

Project Planning Meeting

15% of your course grade

You and your team will plan and conduct a meeting to prepare for submitting your Overcoming Group Challenges Project. Your team members will revisit the team charter, making revisions to the charter and project scope as needed.

 

 

 

1. Submit meeting agenda

2. Attend and record virtual meeting with team

3. Submit recorded team meeting

Overcoming Group Challenges project

15% of your course grade

 

You will plan and present a project that instructs an audience how to overcome one challenge of working in groups or teams. Your team is responsible for this project from start to finish, so you will determine what form the project will take and how it will be submitted. I must be able to share your end product with future classes.

1. Submit final project

2. Complete self and peer assessment

 

Three (3) Exams

15% of your course grade (5% per exam)

You will demonstrate knowledge of textbook material by completing a 50-question multiple choice and true/false exam. You will complete one exam per unit of study.

1. Exam 1: Coming Together

2. Exam 2: Working Together

3. Exam 3: Achieving Together

 

Readings

In Mixed Company, 10th edition by J. Dan Rothwell (ISBN: 9780190919900)

Included as part of First Day Access Fee

Course Subjects

Week

Tasks to Complete

1

☐  Read course syllabus

☐ Complete the Course Orientation Assignments:

☐ Read “The Ideal Team Player” by Patrick Leoncini

☐ Complete Ideal Team Player Self-Assessment

2

☐ Sign up for Virtual Meetings

☐ Read Ch. 1 –Communication Competence in Groups

☐ Take Ch. 01 Quiz

3

☐ Read Team Formation Meeting Assignment

☐ Read Ch. 2 – Groups as Systems

☐ Take Ch. 02 Quiz

4

Virtual meeting week: Attend the scheduled virtual meeting you selected to complete the Team Formation Meeting Assignment

☐ Read Ch. 3 – Group Development

☐ Take Ch. 03 Quiz

Post Becoming an Ideal Team Player Reflection for Unit 1: Coming Together

5

☐ Read Ch. 4 – Group Climate

☐ Take Ch. 04 Quiz 

6

Complete Exam 1: Coming Together

☐ Read Ch. 7 – Developing Effective Teams

☐ Take Ch. 07 Quiz

7

☐ Read Team Decision-Making Assignment

☐ Read Ch. 8 – Defective Decision Making

☐ Take Ch. 08 Quiz

8

☐ Read Overcoming Group Challenges Project Assignment

☐ Read Ch. 9 – Effective Decision Making

☐ Take Ch. 09 Quiz 

9

☐ Read Project Planning Meeting Assignment

☐ Read Ch. 5 – Roles in Groups

☐ Take Ch. 05 Quiz

Post Becoming an Ideal Team Player Reflection for Unit 2: Working Together

10

Virtual meeting week: Attend the scheduled virtual meeting you selected to complete the Team Decision-Making Assignment

Submit Team Charter assignment – one designated team member submits this assignment on behalf of the team

Complete Exam 2: Working Together

11

☐ Read Ch. 11 – Managing Conflict

☐ Take Ch. 11 Quiz

12

Submit meeting agenda for Project Planning Meeting – one designated team member submits the agenda on behalf of the team

☐ Read Ch. 6 – Group Leadership

☐ Take Ch. 06 Quiz

13

INDEPENDENT VIRTUAL MEETING WEEK: Attend the virtual meeting your team scheduled to complete the Project Planning Meeting Assignment

☐ Read Ch. 10 – Power in Groups

☐ Take Ch. 10 Quiz

Submit meeting recording for Project Planning Meeting – one designated team member submits the recording link on behalf of the team

14

☐ Read Ch. 12 – Virtual Teams

☐ Take Ch. 12 Quiz

15

Submit completed Overcoming Group Challenges Project Meeting – one designated team member submits the project on behalf of the team 

Complete Exam 3: Achieving Together

16

Post Becoming an Ideal Team Player Reflection for Unit 3: Achieving Together

Submit completed team grades for Overcoming Group Challenges Project

Complete Self and Peer Assessment for Overcoming Group Challenges Project

NOTE: This table provides a generic 16-week overview of the course subjects. For specific deadlines, please see the full course syllabus. 

Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives

Course Objectives:
What will you learn after completing this course?

General Education Outcomes:

 

When you complete this course successfully, you should be able to:

  1. Describe multiple theories about group formation, interaction, and communication. 
  2. Use problem-solving approaches and discussion strategies to work effectively with a group. 
  3. Recognize and competently perform various task and social roles when working with a group. 
  4. Collaborate with group members to create and maintain a supportive, culturally sensitive climate for group discussion. 
  5. Identify and use effective conflict management techniques to deal with difficult group members and complex situations.
  6. Explain how effective leadership behaviors are used when working with a group. 
  7. Identify your personal strengths and plan strategies to improve your effectiveness as a group member. 
  8. Illustrate the skills involved in meeting planning, facilitation, and participation.

When you complete this course successfully, you should demonstrate competence in:

  • Civic and Cultural Awareness: Analyzing and critiquing competing perspectives in a democratic society; comparing, contrasting, and interpreting differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices.
  • Critical Thinking: Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and applying information.
  • Personal Responsibility: Identifying and applying ethical principles and practices; demonstrating effective learning, creative thinking, and personal responsibility.
  • Interpersonal Skills: Interacting collaboratively to achieve common goals.
  • Written, Oral, and Visual Communication: Communicating effectively, adapting to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.