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Calendar for Undergraduate Daytime Parkville Campus
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Expectations and Guidelines for Students
I seek to consistently apply these student expectations to benefit all students and their learning. Unless your syllabus says otherwise, I apply these guidelines in all courses I teach.
, Communication Arts, Park University.
Communication is a performance course requiring attendance. In US culture, which is a low context, monochronic culture, time has literal meaning. In other words, when people say a time and date, they mean that time and date. Public relations professionals, for example, complete the job done by the client's deadline or are fired! Because an objective of this course is for you to be a more effective communicator, you will need to meet assignment deadlines. This policy also allows my time management, fairness to all students, and the effective use of the entire class meeting time.
Being late communicates negatively. Obviously in-class participation or collaboration assignments cannot be made up outside of class. Because of the unique performance nature of many communication course, students need to be prepared to present speeches when scheduled. You should expect one or both of these policies to apply:
If you miss a speech, give an additional 5-minute informative speech with outline on one of the following topics: (a) respect for peers, (b) the communication meaning and value of being on time, (c) the importance of ethical public speaking presentations, or (d) the importance of being an engaged and respectful listener.
If you miss a test, you will need to write an additional essay questions on the final exam. The question will not be listed on the exam, so you will have to remember to answer this question yourself. Write a 300 word essay on this topic: What are nonverbal communication behaviors of the successful business professional?
If you miss a paper, portfolio, core assessment, or weekly assignment, you you will need to complete an additional brief (750-1000) research paper. Undergraduates should write the research paper on the topic of (a) communication value of being on time, (b) the importance of ethical communication, or (c) a topic relevant to the course. Use, cite, and reference 3-5 peer-reviewed communication articles from EBSCO Host Communication and Mass Media Complete. Graduate students should write on the Kouze and Posner http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/WileyCDA/ exemplary leadership principles of: (a) Sets a personal example of what he/she expects of others. (b.) Follows through on promises and commitments he/she makes. or (c) Asks "what can we learn?" when things don't go as expected. Use, cite, and reference 3 peer-reviewed communication articles from EBSCO Host Communication and Mass Media Complete.
If you are late on a CA567 assignment, write a brief research paper (750-1000 words) citing and referencing 5 peer-reviewed journal articles from ERIC or Wilson Education Index Database. Write on one or a combination of these topics: The educational value of prompt feedback, the educational value of working on tasks over time, or the educational value of dividing tasks and completing them in sequence.
Turn in assignments on time or in advance to avoid problems with storms, cable failure, car problem, or other potential problems. Do NOT email assignments to me except as backup because I receive too many emails to keep track of student assignments. If there's a problem and you send an assignment to me as an email attachment or upload in eCompanion by the deadline, you will have a couple days with no penalty to resubmit in the required format for a grade on the assignment (hardcopy for onground students and in eCollege for online students).
In all my courses, the core assessment is due 3/4 of the way through the course, which is week 12 in a 16 week course and week 6 in an 8 week course. By requiring this early date well in advance of the last week of the course, I have grading time for me to give careful thought to your work. In addition, I have found that student work quality is better if the major assignment is due prior to the end of the course. Most importantly, this gives time for you to revise your work according to my suggestions so that it meets mastery quality by the end of the course.
Communication professionals meet deadlines. Remember, an otherwise perfect core assessment should receive no more than 80% if submitted late.
ABSOLUTE FINAL DEADLINE. In onground courses, NO revisions or core assessment will be accepted after the last regular class meeting of the course.
In online courses, NO course work, revisions or core assessment will be accepted after Friday of the last week of the course.
Some courses offer extra credit and some courses offer no extra credit. In fairness to all students, I avoid making individual deals with students or giving opportunities for extra credit or special considerations that only apply to one student.
Onground students need to submit their assignments on time, at the beginning of the class meeting, as a hardcopy. If you have a question or problem, please talk to me face-to-face instead via email.
Online students need to submit their assignments on time in the appropriate eCollege dropbox or posting area. I can read Microsoft Office Suite files or rtf, txt, PDF. No other formats are available electronically at this time. USE ONE FILE for a particular assignment by combining needed elements.
AitkenJoanCA680ProjectFall2008Version3.doc
PLEASE CHANGE THE VERSION NUMBER WITH EACH REVISION SUBMISSION.
You cannot make up in-class participation assignments or grades because they are just that--in class participation where you learn collaboratively. Typically, you earn points for doing the in-class activities.
Students who are late or absent more than two weeks should expect a final grade one full grade lower than what would be earned if activity participating in each class session.
Be sure to cite the sources of ALL INFORMATION, whether quoted or paraphrased. Cite AND reference in all forms of communication (oral speech presentations and written assignments). For a speech, you can say "According to the CDC. . ." or put an APA citation on your PowerPoint slide. The written format for this course is APA citations for all paraphrased or directly quoted sources. Plagiarism is the use of sources without citation. This is a citation (Shedletsky & Aitken, 2004, p. 343) and this is a reference listing: Shedletsky, L. J., & Aitken, J. E. (2004). Human communication on the Internet. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Longman.
Unfortunately, when public speaking students have brought animals to our classroom, it worked out badly. Stress on the animals caused unexpected behaviors and certain students who are afraid of animals were upset. I love animals as much as anyone, but If you want to talk about an animal during a speech presentation, the appropriate approach is to bring pictures.
Competent communicators are careful about the messages of their appearance and vocal qualities as nonverbal communication. Remember, you must be heard to be understood. Speak loudly and clearly so that you can be heard by everyone, including an audience member who has a hearing loss. Convey a passion or enthusiasm for your topic and message via your voice.
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TEACHING PHILOSOPHY During a series of evaluations of my teaching, the three words my students most frequently used to describe my courses were “interesting, fun, and challenging.” I am enthusiastic about the fascinating content of the field of communication. I enjoy guiding students to attach meaning in their educational process. I set high standards and challenge students to think about and approach communication in new ways. I believe in the importance of all communication contexts, including writing and speaking. In my classroom, I expect the following.
FIND EXCELLENCE First, I believe in demonstrating quality in learning. This means that I encourage all students to revise their work to achieve the highest expectations (90% mastery level) through mastery learning. Turn in your core assessment 3/4 of the way through the course so you can receive my feedback and have time to revise for higher quality.
USE FEEDBACK FOR CHANGE Second, I tend to be pragmatic and results oriented. If you have questions about why we have learning objectives or outcomes and what they are supposed to accomplish, please ask.
USE RESEARCH-BASED INFORMATION Finally, I expect students to focus on scholarly, research-based information as our best chance of finding truth. The American Psychological Association Publication Manual (APA) is the style manual for this course.
Further, I seek to use research-based scholarship, such as the principles of good practice advocated by Chickering and Gamson (1987):
OFFICE HOURS I am typically available to
onground students before and after class. I post my office hours
on my office door. Online students are welcome to call me at home
weekends.
Contact: Dr. J. E. Aitken,
Professor,
Communication Arts
Typically, I put assignment weights and grade in eCollege or eCompanion so you can receive feedback along the way. Click the blue link for additional feedback.
Feedback. I require a week to read assignments, and usually post grades within one week of the due date. I usually put written feedback on the hardcopy for onground students and the grades online for all students. No papers or core assessments accepted from onground students during final exams.
POINT VALUES There are 100 points possible in the course. 100% = 100 points. A typical way of approaching grading is to use percentages.90-100 = A 80-89.99 = B 70-79.99 = C 60-69.99 = D Below 60 = F
R=Revised (Points equaling 70%). Please revise your assignment by incorporating suggestions from my feedback. There will be no penalty for revising work, which can be used to raise your grade. The objective is to correct errors and improve your work to exemplary quality.
Remember to ask me if the course syllabus is unclear. I
typically put update on the course webpage.
The purpose of mastery learning is to enable students to achieve mastery level competence exceeding expectations in the course (a 90% level preferred). Different students come from different places and need different kinds of background information, work, and time to reach mastery level.
I believe that all students can and should reach a high level of competence in knowledge, skills, and values. Therefore, in courses I teach, any written or speech assignment grade below 90%--except for class participation assignments and learning activities--may be revised and resubmitted IF the original assignment was submitted by the original due date.
CLASS PARTICIPATION GRADE. Doesn't apply to mastery learning, makeup, or revisions.
TESTS. Mastery learning may not be available for a quiz or test grades.
REVISION DUE DATE. Please submit your revision within one week of the assignment's return to you in order to receive additional credit. The last class meeting or the Friday of the last week of classes is the absolute final deadline to submit assignment revisions.
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