Syllabus for COM-330

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course examines the process of interpersonal communication from various perspectives, including dyadic interactions, how we perceive others, listening skills, emotions, language, and nonverbal communications. Interpersonal communication investigates subjects related to daily human interaction such as intimacy, deception, conflict, and conflict resolution.

COURSE TOPICS

Dyadic relationships—defining interpersonal (dyadic) communication and distinguishing it from other forms of communication.
Perception—how perception and especially person perception informs and governs dyadic relationships.
Emotions—roles of emotions, shyness, and assertiveness as key factors in shaping interpersonal communication.
Language—how words and language work to both reflect and change our communication with others.
Nonverbal communication—"the silent language" in interpersonal communication.
Listening—the missing ingredient in many settings and situations that might be improved.
Intimacy—the human desire for intimacy with others and how distance from others can, if we choose, be reduced.
Defensiveness—as the dynamic of unproductive relationships and how it can be reduced and dealt with.
Conflict—as both productive and destructive in relationships; approaches to handling conflict when it occurs.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

CO1 Explain interpersonal communication as it compares to communication in general and in other settings (small group, one to many, etc.).

CO2 Describe ways in which interpersonal communication depends in large measure on human perception and particularly person perception.

CO3 Explain how human emotions arise, impinge on, and affect interpersonal communication, and specify ways in which they can be managed for greater personal effectiveness in interpersonal communication.

CO4 Outline and describe ways in which language can either facilitate or inhibit success in interpersonal communication.

CO5 Demonstrate the significance of nonverbal communication, including such usually less-noticed factors as tone of voice, the use of space, etc.

CO6 Demonstrate how listening is critical to interpersonal success and how listening skill goes beyond hearing to an active strategy in conversation with others.

CO7 Categorize the varieties of human relationships and specify how and why they vary and where the various sorts most often appear.

CO8 Contrast different communication climates (e.g., defensive vs. supportive), and specify how those climates arise, are diagnosed, and can be made more positive.

CO9 Assess the varieties of conflicts that arise in human intercourse, and discriminate which approach to a conflict may be most successful and appropriate, given its essential cause and nature.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to complete your coursework. Some course materials may be free, open source, or available from other providers. You can access free or open-source materials by clicking the links provided below or in the module details documents. To purchase course materials, please visit the University's textbook supplier.

Required Textbook

Ronald B. Adler and Russell F. Proctor II, Looking Out, Looking In, 15th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2016).
ISBN-13: 978-1305076518

COURSE STRUCTURE

Interpersonal Communication is a three-credit online course, consisting of nine modules. Modules include an overview, list of topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below along with their respective course objectives and topics.

Module 1—Interpersonal Communication: A First Look

Course objective covered in this module: CO1

Topics: why people communicate; the basic process and models of communication; principles and misconceptions of communication; definition of interpersonal communication; interpersonal communication competence as a goal.

Module 2—Perception: Perceiving Self and Others

Course objective covered in this module: CO2

Topics: major influences on identity including culture and gender; how "the self" and one's identity affects self-presentation; the self-fulfilling prophecy; changing one's self-concept; public and private selves; identity management and honesty; general perception and perceiving people as a special case; tendencies in perception; and common errors, empathy, and cognitive complexity.

Module 3—Emotions: Handling One's Emotions, Shyness as a Barrier, and Assertiveness

Course objective covered in this module: CO3

Topics: physiological factors in emotions; nonverbal reactions; cognitive interpretations; influences on emotional expression; guidelines for expressing emotions; managing difficult emotions.

Module 4—Language: The Words We Use in Interpersonal Situations

Course objective covered in this module: CO4

Topics: understanding that words are symbolic more than substantive; semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic rules for analyzing language; ways in which language impacts interpersonal communication; gender and culture as influences on language.

Module 5—Nonverbal Communication in Interpersonal Communication: The Silent Language

Course objective covered in this module: CO5

Topics: limits on the control and use of nonverbal behavior; all behavior as communicative; relational effects in nonverbal behavior; detecting deception; ambiguity in nonverbal behavior; basic types of nonverbal expressions.

Module 6—Listening: More Than Meets the Ear

Course objective covered in this module: CO6

Topics: hearing vs. listening; mindless and mindful listening; the listening process and its stages; reasons why people don't listen; types of responses in listening and using them appropriately.

Module 7—Relationships and Intimacy

Course objective covered in this module: CO7

Topics: why we form interpersonal relationships; how relationships develop and disintegrate; repairing damaged relationships; content and relational messages; meta-communication.

Module 8—Improving Communication Climates: Interpersonal Weather

Course objective covered in this module: CO8

Topics: definitions and dimensions of intimacy; masculine and feminine styles of intimacy; intimacy in mediated communication; self-disclosure and risk-taking; alternatives to self-disclosure; causes and remedies of defensiveness.

Module 9—Interpersonal Conflict

Course objective covered in this module: CO9

Topics: the nature and causes of conflict with others; conflict as natural, normal, and neutral; style of response to conflict; complementary, symmetrical, and parallel patterns in conflict; constructive conflict styles; the win-win approach and its alternatives.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums (including two video online discussions), to submit written assignments, to create and submit a podcast activity, to take a proctored online midterm examination, and to complete a final project. See below for more details.

Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Promoting Originality

One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.

Discussion Forums

Interpersonal Communication requires you to participate in a total of nine graded discussion forums (including two video discussions, see below) worth 18 percent of your course grade. There is also an ungraded but required introduction forum in Module 1.

Communication among fellow students and with the mentor is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a posted question (discussion thread) and subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.

Refer to the Course Calendar for due dates.

Video Discussion Forum

You are required to participate in two video discussion forums. In the Video Discussion Forum, you will upload your video response to the discussion question. Then, you will view, listen, and reply via comments to at least two classmates’ videos by the date indicated in the Course Calendar.

Please reference Module 2 and Module 7 of the course website for full details and requirements. Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete eight written assignments. Your answers to assignment questions should be well developed and should show evidence of thought, organization, effective writing, and of course responsiveness to the question. Please make sure you edit and proofread your work before submitting it. Gross errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation distract from what you are writing and compromise the credibility of your work.

Podcast Activity

You are required to create one podcast, using the instructions provided in Module 6. Podcasts are a product of digital media, a reinvention of traditional media. As they proliferate and grow in popularity, it is important to be able to utilize this form of media. You will learn to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the format, and communicate through this form of digital media.

Please reference Module 6 of the course website for full details and requirements. Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

Midterm Examination

Exam Study Guide(s)

For a list of key concepts that may appear on your exam(s), refer to the study guide(s) available in the Examinations section of the course Web site.

You are required to take a proctored online midterm examination. The midterm exam is two hours long and covers all topics and material from modules 1–5 of the course. It consists of essay questions based on the textbook reading.

For the midterm, you are required to use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the "Examinations and Proctors" section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course Web site) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of the semester.

Online exams are administered through the course Web site. Consult the Course Calendar for the official dates of exam weeks.

Statement about Cheating

You are on your honor not to cheat during an exam. Cheating means:

Looking up any answer or part of an answer in an unauthorized textbook or on the Internet, or using any other source to find an answer.
Copying and pasting or, in any way copying responses or parts of responses from any other source into your exams. This includes but is not limited to copying and pasting from other documents or spreadsheets, whether written by yourself or anyone else.
Plagiarizing answers.
Asking anyone else to assist you by whatever means available while you take an exam.
Copying any part of an exam to share with other students.
Telling your mentor that you need another attempt at an exam because your connection to the Internet was interrupted when that is not true.

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in an exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.

Final Project

Interpersonal Communication is designed to help you develop insights into your own interpersonal behavior and communication and that of others. An essential part of this exercise will be your final project in the form of a written paper in which you develop a framework demonstrating your understanding of the major elements affecting interpersonal behavior as examined in the course.

You will complete your work on the final project in two steps: (1) a proposal in which you present the question you are trying to answer, indicate your research methods and approach, and state your informal hypothesis; and (2) a final paper in which you present your research findings and conclusions.

Please see the Final Project area of the course Web site for further details about the project and the Course Calendar for the due dates of each step.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

Online discussions (7) and (2) video discussions—18 percent
Written assignments (8)—28 percent
Podcast activity (1)—2 percent
Midterm Exam (proctored online, modules 1-5)—30 percent
Final Project—22 percent

Step 1: Proposal—2 percent
Step 2: Paper—20 percent

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A	=	93–100	C+	=	78–79
A–	=	90–92	C	=	73–77
B+	=	88–89	C–	=	70–72
B	=	83–87	D	=	60–69
B–	=	80–82	F	=	Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.
Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State University.
Arrange to take your examination(s) by following the instructions in this Syllabus and the Online Student Handbook.
Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.
If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting activities before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the Course Calendar. The Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting activities, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking examinations.
Check Announcements regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC POLICIES

To ensure success in all your academic endeavors and coursework at Thomas Edison State University, familiarize yourself with all administrative and academic policies including those related to academic integrity, course late submissions, course extensions, and grading policies.

For more, see: