Communication

ISLO 1 Communication

˿��Ƶ Tech students will communicate effectively orally and in writing.

Definition

Communication is the creation, development, and expression of ideas. The Communication ISLO differentiates between oral and written communication. The two forms of communication operate much the same but differ in the criterion Style & Conventions because of their differing forms of expression. Both forms of communication involve purposeful presentation designed to increase knowledge, to foster understanding, or to promote change in attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors.

Criteria

Purpose & Audience: Identify a specific purpose, such as inform, persuade, or analyze, and utilize or create content appropriate to audience.
Focus & Organization: Focus and organize content on a specific and appropriate organizing element -- a thesis statement, purpose statement, or theme.
Support & Documentation: Support claims with appropriate, relevant, and specific evidence, whether drawn from disciplinary knowledge, careful reasoning, or credible research, using the correct disciplinary approach to academic citation.
Style & Conventions: Deliver content in spoken, written, or visual forms and media with professional and masterful content and form as appropriate to context.
Visual: Employ and interpret high-quality visuals to illustrate, contribute to, or develop content.
Justification: Articulate a clear rationale for communication choices, self-assess the quality of work, and elicit and use feedback to improve work.
- This may be a separate assignment from the written or oral assignment used to assess the other criteria; this justification piece will ask the students to reflect on the deliberate choices they made during the composition process. While this is most often an implicit process, it will be made explicit for the purpose of assessment of at least one piece of written or oral communication.

Foundation

WRI 121 - English Composition (3 credits)
WRI 122 - Argumentative Writing (3 credits)
SPE 111 - Public Speaking (3 credits)

Essential Practice

3 credits from Communication – Essential Practice List

Program-Integrated Practice

1 or 2 courses, defined by program, that integrates communication in the context of the major (courses must be identified for both written and oral communication, but can be the same course).

Essential Practice Courses

Courses at the essential practice level call for a substantial amount of writing and academic research. These courses will address each of the Communication ISLO criteria beyond the foundational level. Essential Practice courses must include both speech and writing (either academic or technical writing).

These courses should be designed to help students advance in the following skills: integrate visuals with text, research and document research, write with style, and analyze and adapt to different audiences. In order to meet the Essential Practice criteria, one course project must be a minimum of ten pages (approx. 3000 words). The course must also address some public speaking skills and require an oral presentation of some type.

Program-Integrated Practice Courses

Oral Communication
Students write and present at least one speech with the following qualities:

Individually written and presented.
Analytical/persuasive focus.
Suggested length: at least 5 minutes.
Research: incorporation of academic-quality sources.
Visuals: incorporation of visual communication.
Course enrollment: suggested course enrollment cap at a manageable level to allow instructor to provide substantive and thorough feedback (20 students).
Course prerequisites must include SPE 111: Public Speaking.

In order to enhance student mastery of speaking skills, class time over the course of the term should be dedicated to some speech instruction. Dedicated class time could include guest lectures from communication faculty, directed activities, discussion of examples of public speaking in the major field, guided peer feedback on student speeches using shared rubrics, and short in-class speeches that are used as a way to better understand class content.

A percentage of the course grade must come from the assessment of the quality of the oral presentation. A significant percentage of the grade for the “formal” speech must be focused on the quality (delivery) of the speech as it enhances the content of the speech.

Written Communication
Students write at least one academic essay or technical document with the following qualities:

Individually written.
Academic/technical/appropriate to major focus.
Suggested length: minimum of 1,250 words (~5 pages, double-spaced).
Research: incorporation of academic (peer-reviewed) sources or industry-standard sources.
Visuals: incorporation of visual communication.
Course enrollment: suggested course enrollment cap at a manageable level to allow instructor to provide substantive and thorough feedback (20 students).
Course prerequisites should include college-level courses with a WRI-prefix, as defined by the major program.

In order to enhance student mastery of writing, class time over the course of the term should be dedicated to some instruction in standards for writing in the major field. Dedicated class time could include guest lectures from communication faculty, directed activities focused on genres in the major field, discussion of examples of research or professional writing in the major field, guided peer feedback on student writing using shared rubrics, and short in-class writings that are then discussed as a way to better understand class content.

A significant percentage of the term grade must be dedicated to writing. The document grade should combine assessment of writing quality along with the quality of the information presented.