Fall, 2014

GCOM 123-059: Fundamentals in Human Communication (3 Credit Hours)

Course Number: 76031
MWF 1:25-2:15
Moody Hall 0205

Instructor: Marie Eszenyi
Office: The Annex G014
Office Hours: MW 3:00-5:00 p.m., and by appointment
E-mail: eszenyme@jmu.edu
Web site: Canvas

Invitation to Learn:

Dear Student,

Welcome to your first semester at JMU! You have chosen to attend this
university, and I am so happy that you are starting the next phase of your life as a Duke.
Wherever youre coming from, you are all in your first year and this class together.

You all may not know each other now, but we are a team. As such, the classroom
is our space. It is a space for productive collaboration and respectful sharing of opinions.
It is a space where all voices can contribute regardless of gender, age, class, race,
ethnicity, religion, ability, GPA, etc.

Throughout the semester, I will encourage you to work harder than you may have
worked before. Please know that any feedback I give you is to help you grow as a
student. It is my job to ensure that you meet the learning objectives for this course, pass
the MREST exam, and complete your research participation.

My goal for this course is to provide you with a space to best aid your transition
to college. If, at any point, there is anything I can do to help you succeed as a student or
as a person, please let me know. I will try my best to accommodate your needs.

With that, welcome to this course and GO DUKES!

Marie

Required Textbook (Please buy used or rent from Amazon, etc. Theyre much
cheaper!):

Rothwell, J.D. (2012). In the company of others: An introduction to communication (4
th

ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Graff, G. & Birkenstein, C. (2010). They say, I say. (2
nd
ed.). New York, New York:
W.W. & Norton Company.

Hjortshoj, K. (2009). The transition to college writing. (2
nd
ed.). New York, New York:
Bedford/St. Martin's Press.

Additionally, you are required to use APA (6
th
edition) format for all formal papers &
assignments. If you are not familiar with APA style, you may want to consider
purchasing, renting, or checking out this text:

VandenBos, G.R. (Ed.). (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (6
th
Ed., 2
nd
Printing). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
Association.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain the fundamental processes that significantly influence
communication.
2. Construct messages consistent with the diversity of the communication
purpose, audience, and context.
3. Respond to messages consistent with the diversity of the communication
purpose, audience, and context.
4. Utilize information literacy skills expected of ethical communicators.

Attendance Policy & Classroom Etiquette:

You are an adult now, and you are responsible for your own choices. As such, I will treat
you as an adult, and I will maintain very high expectations for your success.

If you decide to miss class, that is your choice. However, each time you are absent
without providing me with a reasonable (and documented) excuse, your course
engagement grade will decrease. In addition to missing the notes from the day, you may
also miss activities and writing assignments that further contribute to your course
engagement grade.

If you decide to text, browse the Internet, or cause a disruption in class, that is your
choice. However, with each disruption, your course engagement grade will severely
decrease, particularly on speech days. Moreover, I reserve the right to cold-call on
students who are not engaging fully with the class. If you are going to be here, really be
here.
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Given the above, I request that you leave your computers at home unless they are
absolutely essential to your learning success or if they needed for specific assignments (I
will announce when these situations arise). However, I would encourage you to speak to

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FYI-Each class you miss/dont participate in costs over $40 not including books or loan
interest. That number goes up to over $100 if youre out of state.
me or read the dozens of articles that suggest that your ability to retain information
skyrockets when you take notes by hand.

Assignments and grading:

Point values for various assignments break down as follows:

Assignment Your Points Value
Informative Speech 100
Reflection 25
Exam 1 100
Exam 2 150
Persuasive Speech 100
Reflection 25
Exam 3 (Cumulative Final) 200
Service Learning Project 150
Course Engagement 150
*Includes Research Participation
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|
MREST (Required to Pass Course) 0
Total Points: 1000

Note: Your current points total points available = your grade (thus far)

950-1000=A; 900-949=A-; 870-899=B+; 830-869=B; 800-829=B-; 770-799=C+; 730-
769=C; 700-729=C-; 670-699=D+; 630-669=D; 600-629=D-;0-599=F


Exams (45%): You will have two exams (10% and 15%) and a cumulative final exam
(20%) in this course. Your first two exams will be comprised of multiple-choice
questions with additional short argumentative essay questions. These questions will
require a thorough knowledge of core terms & concepts from the text and lecture. Test
questions will also require you to apply these concepts to given situations.

The final exam, which is administered in the Ashby Computer Lab, will be multiple-
choice and will contain media-based questions.

Study guides as well as practice text and media questions will be posted to Canvas.
Please note that these study guides are meant to be guides and contain the main concepts
from the material. Please check course schedule for the chapters/materials that will be on
each exam.

Please refer to the Hjortshoj text for excellent tips on outlining and studying for exams.


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You will notice the research participation points push the total point value to 1025.
This will be explained under the research participation assignment description.
Informative Speech (10%): Your first formal speech is the informative speech. These
speeches will be conducted individually. You will be required to select and adhere to a
specific informative speech structure, which should be formally outlined per the form on
Canvas.

10% of your speech grade is comprised of your formal outline, your abbreviated outlines,
and your individual commitment reports (all of which should be submitted electronically
before the first day of informative speeches).

Additionally, 20% of your speech grade is determined by your participation in all
audience speech evaluations (10%) and an average of others evaluations of your speech
(10%).

The topic selection process will be further outlined as the semester progresses.

Persuasive Speech (10%): For your final formal speech assessment, you will be placed
into groups of 3-4 for a persuasive speech. You will be required to select and adhere to a
specific persuasive speech structure, which should be formally outlined per the form on
Canvas.

10% of your speech grade is comprised of your formal outline, your abbreviated outlines,
and your group commitment reports (all of which should be submitted electronically
before the first day of persuasive speeches).

Additionally, 20% of your grade is determined by your participation in all audience
speech evaluations (10%) and an average of others evaluations of your speech (10%).

The topic selection process will be further outlined as the semester progresses.

Speech Reflections (5%): These two short assignments ask you to watch a video of
yourself/your group presenting your speech. A self-reflection handout will encourage
you to critique your performance and suggest ways that you may improve your public
speaking.

Your writing on these assignments counts! Please refer to the Graff & Birkenstein text for
excellent writing tips.

Service-Learning Project (15%): This part of the course invites you to complete a
service learning project to apply the 8 Key Questions from the Madison Collaborative
into your daily life.

Your service learning work may include taking an alternate weekend/Spring break trip,
leading a philanthropy event (for a club/sorority/fraternity), leading a fundraising drive,
or volunteering at a local organization (such as Mercy House, Boys & Girls Club, etc.).
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In order to complete this assignment, you must present documentation signed by an
official of an organization (or a permitted substitute), documentation of your service time
& activities performed, and a three-page paper that analyzes how your work with the
organization demonstrates the values from the 8 Key Questions of an active citizen.

A handout with the full description of this assignment will be distributed later in the
semester.

Course Engagement (15%): Your course engagement grade is a subjective &
continuously evolving assessment of how well you are engaging with the class, the
instructor, and the material. This grade is a combination of your attendance,
participation, completion of small assignments, performance on pop quizzes, & your
overall work ethic toward this course.

Examples of excellent course engagement:
*Participating meaningfully several times each class
*Facilitating a space for others to participate
*Completion of all assignments on time, with little to no writing mistakes, and
with thoughtful connection to the material.
*Respect for the instructor, the students, & the self
*Excellent communication regarding any mistakes, absences, or other problems
relating to class.

Examples of poor course engagement:
*Lack of meaningful contributions to class discussions
*Missing class without notifying the instructor in advance/providing adequate
documentation
*Turning in multiple assignments late
*Lack of respect for students, the instructor, or the self
*Cheating & dishonesty regarding coursework

Most students will fall somewhere in between these examples.

Remember, this is not an arbitrary gradeI will keep a detailed ledger of each class
session as well as visits to office hours, correspondence, etc.


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Please note that you are not required to spend any money on your service-learning
project (aside from basic transportation costs if needed). However, the Alternate Break
Program (ABP) is an excellent opportunity for learning about social issues (domestic &
abroad) if you should have the funds.
Research Participation (included in your course engagement grade): All GCOM
students at James Madison University must accumulate research credit during the
semester. This requirement will count for 2.5% of the final grade.

This research credit may be obtained by completing the following activities:
1. Participating in communication studies either online surveys, online
experiments, face-to-face experiments, face-to-face interviews, and/or focus
groups.
2. Attending and summarizing a debate or forensics event and answering specific
questions about those events.
3. Attending and summarizing one approved research or colloquium presentation
and answering specific questions related to those colloquia.
4. Reading one or more of five approved journal articles and answering specific
questions with regard to those articles.

Each of these credit opportunities is described in more detail in the SONA system.

MREST (Required): All students enrolled or completing General Education courses at
JMU are required to pass the MREST before Spring Break of their first academic year at
JMU. The MREST is a proctored, secured competency test given only in Ashby Lab
during lab hours. Students who do not pass by the deadline will have a registration hold
placed on their academic record. This registration hold will prevent them from dropping,
adding or swapping courses. More information on the MREST will be provided on
Canvas.

Inclement weather policy: If classes are cancelled by the university, assume that we
will proceed as scheduled on the syllabus: keep up with the reading, and be prepared for
assignments. If necessary, we will make up classes on university-approved days.

Honor Code: Students shall observe complete honesty in all academic matters.
Violations of the JMU Honor Code include, but are not limited to, taking or attempting to
take any of the following actions:
a. Using unauthorized materials or receiving unauthorized assistance during
an examination or in connection with any work done for academic credit.
Unauthorized materials may include, but are not limited to, notes,
textbooks, previous examinations, exhibits, experiments, papers or other
supplementary items.
b. Giving false or misleading information regarding an academic matter.
c. Copying information from another student during an examination.
d. Rendering unauthorized assistance to another student by knowingly
permitting him or her to see or copy all or a portion of an examination or
any work to be submitted for academic credit.
e. Obtaining prior knowledge of examination materials (including by using
copies of previously given examinations obtained from files maintained by
various groups and organizations) in an unauthorized manner.
f. Selling or giving to another student unauthorized copies of any portion of
an examination.
g. Using a commercially prepared paper or research project or submitting for
academic credit any work completed by someone else.
h. Falsifying or attempting to falsify class attendance records for oneself, or
for someone else, or having another falsify attendance records on your
behalf.
i. Falsifying material relating to course registration or grades, either for
oneself or for someone else.
j. Falsifying reasons why a student did not attend a required class or take a
scheduled examination.
k. Taking an examination in the place of another student.
l. Making unauthorized changes in any reported grade or on an official
academic report form.
m. Falsifying scientific or other data submitted for academic credit.
n. Collaborating in an unauthorized manner with one or more other students
on an examination or any work submitted for academic credit.
o. Committing the act of plagiarism - the copying, writing or presenting as
one's own the information, ideas or phrasing of another person without
proper acknowledgment of the true source.
p. Using computing facilities or library resources in an academically
dishonest manner.
q. Falsifying evidence, or intimidating or influencing someone in connection
with an honor violation investigation, hearing or appeal.
More information about the Honor Code can be found at www.jmu.edu/honor/code.shtml

Additional university policies:
a) Add/Drop Policy
Students are responsible for registering for classes and for verifying their class
schedules on MyMadison. The deadline for adding a Fall Semester class without
instructor and academic unit head signatures is <insert day>, 2014. Between <insert
day>, 2014 and <insert day>, 2014, instructor and academic unit head signatures are
required to add a class for Fall Semester 2014. No student will be allowed to register for a
Fall Semester class after <insert day>, 2014. The last day to withdraw from a course and
receive a "W" grade is <insert day>, 2014. No exceptions will be made to these
deadlines.
b) Religious Accommodations Policy
All faculty members are required to give reasonable and appropriate
accommodations to students requesting them on grounds of religious observation. The
faculty member determines what accommodations are appropriate for his/her/their
course. Students should notify me no later than the end of the Add/Drop period the first
week of the semester of potential scheduled absences and determine with me if mutually
acceptable alternative methods exist for completing the missed classroom time, lab or
activity.


c) Disability Accommodations Policy
JMU abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans
with Disabilities Act, which mandate reasonable accommodations be provided for
students with documented disabilities. If you have not already done so, you should
consider registering with the Office of Disability Services, the designated office on
campus to provide services for students with disabilities. The office is located in Wilson
Hall, Room 107, and you may call 540-568-6705 for more information. If you have a
disability and may require some type of instructional and/or examination
accommodations, please contact me early in the semester so that I can provide or
facilitate provision of accommodations you may need.
d) College of Arts and Letters Attendance Policy
At the instructor's discretion, any student registered for a class in the College of
Arts and Letters who does not attend the first two (2) scheduled meetings of the class (or
does not attend the first scheduled meeting of a class that meets once a week) may be
administratively dropped from the class. Students dropped for non-attendance will be
notified via e-mail by the Associate Dean of the College. Students who fail to attend the
first two meetings of a class for which they are registered but who do not receive an e-
mail notification have not been administratively dropped by their instructor. Unless those
students drop the course on their own, they will receive a grade at the end of the
semester. All students are responsible for verifying the accuracy of their schedules and
changes made in their schedule via e-mail and through the web.


Course Schedule

Please have chapters read and assignments completed before class begins on the dates
they appear on the syllabus. Note that I reserve to change the schedule at any time with
the goal of helping you meet the learning objectives of this course.

Week # Dates Readings/Activities
1 M: Aug. 25 Introduction & How to be Successful in this Course
W: Aug. 27 Chapter 1
F: Aug. 29 Chapter 1

2 M: Sept. 1 Chapter 2
W: Sept. 3 Chapter 2 Perception Activity
F: Sept. 5 Chapter 3: Gender

3 M: Sept. 8 Chapter 3: Culture
W: Sept. 10 Chapter 12, Chapter 13, & Outlining
F: Sept. 12 Chapter 14 (First speech discussion, show and tell
speech)

4 M: Sept. 15 Chapter 4
W: Sept. 17 Chapter 5. Turn in first group meeting report (with
ideas)
F: Sept. 19 Guest Speaker: Communication Center

5 M: Sept. 22 Chapter 6
W: Sept. 24 Turn in outline.
F: Sept. 26 Speech Workshops-Outlining worksheets.

6 M: Sept. 29 Review (jeopardy)
W: Oct. 1 Exam 1 (Chapters 1-6)
F: Oct 3 Exam Debrief & Speech Workshops (practicing,
show them the recording technology)

7 M: Oct. 6 Chapter 12/13/14 (review); pop quiz (for extra
credit on speech)
W: Oct. 8 Informative Speeches
F: Oct. 10 Informative Speeches

8 M: Oct. 13 Chapter 15
W: Oct. 15 Review (group review project for course
engagement)
F: Oct. 17 Speech Reflection 1 due & Exam 2 (12-15)

9 M: Oct. 20 Exam Debrief & Chapter 7
W: Oct. 22 Chapter 7 (Guest Speaker: Public Debate)
F: Oct. 24 Apples to Apples Activity; Speech Workshops


10 M: Oct. 27 Chapter 8
W: Oct. 29 Chapter 8
F: Oct. 31 Happy Halloween! Wear your costumes!
Speech Workshops (Outlining, and persuasive
models)

11 M: Nov. 3 Chapter 9
W: Nov. 5 Quiz (cumulative)
F: Nov. 7 Substitute. Speech Workshops

12 M: Nov. 10 Persuasive Speeches
W: Nov. 12 Persuasive Speeches
F: Nov. 14 Chapter 10

13 M: Nov. 17 Chapter 11, Persuasive Reflection Due
W: Nov. 19 Recorded Lecture. Chapter 11, Activity
F: Nov. 21 Video Assignment. After Dinner Speech (Course
Engagement)

Happy Thanksgiving!

14 M: Dec. 1 Final Reflection Paper Due
W: Dec. 3 Final Exam Review
F: Dec. 5 Final Exam Review


***Your cumulative final exam will be held on Saturday, December 6, 2014 at 8:00
a.m. No make-up exam will be offered unless you have a GHIST exam during the
same time period.


Student Agreement

I, _________________________, have read and understand the policies outlined in the
syllabus for this GCOM course.

I acknowledge that I am responsible for my successes and failures in this class. ______

I agree that I will read all required Rothwell reading the day it is due. I will also read the
two other required texts before the first test. _______

Although there may be extra credit opportunities offered, I understand that my grade is
my grade. I acknowledge that my grade will not change at the end of the semester no
matter how close I am to the next grade higher. ______

I agree to adhere to the classroom expectations and course requirements as communicated
in the course syllabus. _______

I agree to encourage other students to succeed according to the expectations and course
requirements communicated in the course syllabus. _______

If I have any issues or problems that interfere with my ability to succeed in this course, I
agree to let the instructor know immediately and keep the instructor informed so that she
can work with me through the course. _______


Print Name:

Signature:

Date: