COURSE DESCRIPTION: The purpose of COM 314 is to increase your understanding of and ability to apply small group theory and research to the various group experiences you will encounter throughout life.  The course will focus on task-oriented groups, although other types of groups will also be discussed, and many of the concepts studied in this class can be applied to many group types.  A primary component of this course will involve experiential learning, in which you will apply small group concepts to your own group experiences.

TEXTBOOKS:  Galanes, G. J., Adams, K., & Brilhart, J. K. (2004). Effective group discussion: Theory and practice (11th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Young, K. S., Wood, J. T., Phillips, G. M., & Pederson, D. J. (2001). Group discussion: A practical guide to participation and leadership (3rd ed.).  Long
    Grove, IL: Waveland.

CLASS FORMAT: Class meetings will contain a mix of lecture, discussion, activities, and presentations.  You should come to class prepared to thoughtfully discuss and analyze the assigned readings and concepts presented in the lectures.  Additionally, many of the class meetings are dedicated to working with your group to complete in-class activities and semester assignments.  This experience, while potentially stressful because of the dependence on others, is designed to give you hands-on learning and practice working in a small-group environment.

ATTENDANCE, ACTIVITIES, AND PARTICIPATION: Throughout the course, you will earn a small percentage of points toward your final grade simply for your in-class participation.  The activities, discussions, and presentations are designed to help you get the most out of this class.  Therefore, your attendance and participation in class is important.  In-class activities cannot normally be made up–if you must miss class for a school-sponsored event, it is your responsibility to inform me beforehand, in writing, and to follow-up after you return in order to make-up any missed assignments.  If you are not in class on the day your group is making a class presentation, you will normally forfeit points associated with that part of the assignment.

Your active participation in your small group is essential for the development and productivity of your group.  Your individual assignments are also dependent on your regular attendance and participation at group meetings.  If a group member is absent unnecessarily from group meetings or disrupts group functioning the group may be given the option of firing that person from the group for the current assignment or for the duration of the semester.  This option may only be exercised by the group in consultation with the instructor.

EXAMINATIONS: There will be three exams in this class covering material from the textbooks as well as from lectures and class activities. Each exam is worth 15% of your grade.  An optional, cumulative, exam will be given during Final Exam time–if you decide to take this exam, you can use the score to replace your lowest test grade.  You are responsible for all material in the textbooks, whether or not it is covered in class.  Exams may contain a mix of multiple choice, matching, true-false, and short answer questions.  Exams must be taken during the scheduled time period.  Only an instructor-approved excuse (e.g., school-sponsored events), received prior to the examination period, will be considered a valid reason for missing exams.  If you miss a section exam (i.e., Test #1, #2, or #3) during the semester, you will be required to take the Final Exam to replace the missed one.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS: Written assignments for this semester include two group assignments and one individual assignment.  In groups, you will: (1) research an issue related to cultural diversity and create a training manual that could be used to help others address that issue, and (2) create a set of web pages about the CSTA Department that will be used on its official web site.  Individually, you will be responsible for keeping a journal of observations of your COM 314 group interactions.  Drawing from your journal entries, you will then write a short reflection paper about your experience and what you have learned from working in a group.

More details concerning each of these assignments will be discussed in class.  Except under rare circumstances, no work will be accepted after the time and date it is due without an instructor-approved excuse received before the due date.  Late work is subject to point deductions for every day an assignment is late.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING:  As you might expect, plagiarism and cheating in any form will NOT be tolerated.  Work that is found to be plagiarized may result in a failing grade for that assignment or for the entire class, and will be turned over to the academic responsibility board for further action.  Details about what constitutes plagiarism are found in the Concordia College handbook, "Academic Integrity at Concordia College." You are responsible for following the guidelines contained in the handbook even if they are not specifically discussed in class. If you have any question as to what constitutes plagiarism/cheating, ask me (or any of your instructors).  Tests and papers submitted should contain the following statement from the Handbook on Academic Integrity:

"I [we] affirm that I [we] have adhered to the college's expectations for integrity in the completion of this assignment."

_______________________________________________
Your Name
 

EVALUATION: Your final course grade will be based on:
 

Examination #1	15%	Group Project #1	15%
Examination #2	15	Group Project #2	15
Examination #3	15	Journal Entries and Paper	15
Optional Final Exam	15	Activities and Participation	10
		TOTAL	100%

Standard grading cut-offs will be used for all exams and for the final grade, as follows:
 

	100-93%     A	92-90       A-
89-87       B+	86-83          B	82-80       B-
79-77       C+	76-73          C	72-70       C-
69-67       D+	66-63          D	62-60       D-
	59-              F

*Occasionally it becomes necessary to make changes to the class schedule.  If such occasions occur this semester, the changes will be announced in class.

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This page is maintained by Aileen Buslig, buslig@cord.edu
Updated 9/10/05