Davis Foulger

Former Adjunct Professor
Montclair State University

 d

Department of Communication
Studies

SPCH 101: Fundamentals of Speech Communication

Semester Syllabus - Spring, 2005

Monday/Wednesday - 11:30AM-12:45PM and 1:00PM-1:15PM
Dr. Foulger

Class Schedule and Assignments / Lecture Notes

Course Description

This course introduces students to the theoretical and practical requirements of different types of public presentations and helps students develop an understanding and appreciation of the dynamic nature of the communication process. The course focuses on the basic elements of the communication process, listening, communicator and audience characteristics, basic research skills, and message composition and delivery. Students learn about the demands of public presentations in culturally and professionally diverse environments and develop presentation competence and flexibility.

Course Objectives

  1. Public communication competence
    • Identify, understand, and enhance listening skills, message design and delivery skills.
  2. Awareness of the cultural diversity of an audience
    • Learn about audience characteristics that impact the communication process
    • Develop sensitivity to cultural diversity in social and professional skills
  3. Preparation for professional development and success
    • Overcome communication apprehension through practice of oral presentations
    • Learn how to enhance presentations through appropriate audio-visual aids
  4. Critical thinking and citizenship responsibilities
    • Become aware of the ethical responsibilities of public speaking and listening
    • Learn to critically evaluate information and arguments

Text

Lucas, S. E. (2003). The Art of Public Speaking (8th Edition). New York: ?McGraw-Hill.

Other Useful Resources

 

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA Manual) (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Available at the MSU library).

Lecture Notes

My usual practice is to make my lecture notes directly available to the class via the Internet. I will, to the extent that it is possible to do so, display those lecture notes during class. You can print them out later. You may be able to print them out before class, but I don't guarantee that you will. I often change my lecture notes right up to the beginning of class (and sometimes during class). The version posted at the end of class can generally be considered to be reliable.

E-mail Discussion Group

This class will have a class discussion group. You must participate in it. Details will be announced early in the semester.
    • Only class members can join.
    • Many Student Work Assignments should be posted to the group.
    • Groups will use the space to organize materials for the Group Presentation
    • The professor will post important class information (assignment reminders, hints for tests, changes in course outline) from time to time.
    • You can also use this group to exchange of any class related-information or questions.

Grading:

  Weight Description
Written Assignment 10% A highly structured essay.
Informative Speech 15% A speech that informs an audience about a particular topic. Grade will be based on both speech and speech outline.
Persuasive Speech 20% A speech that attempts to change an audiences perspective or sway it to take action. Grade will be based on speech, outline, and the extent both are adaptive to a designated audience.
Group Presentation 25% A coordinated business presentation, developed and presented by a small group. Grade will be based on presentations, handouts, and the integration of the overall presentation.
Final 10%-15% Classic Question and Answer testing, conducted at the end of the semester. Covers all of the material covered in the course, including lectures, classroom discussion, and textbooks. Even the content of your speeches might be used in a test question if it seems relevant.
quizzes Up to 5% If, during any class, I decide that the class seems unprepared, I will administer a quiz.
Index Card Assignments 10% Index card assignments entail doing a small assignment involving thought or observation, but usually with the restriction that the output of the assignment (your answer or observation) must fit on one side of a 3x5 card. There will be at least 10 such assignments, each worth about 1 percent of your overall grade. These will not be graded beyond an assessment of whether or not they satisfy the assignment. Simply turning them in on time nets the points unless it seems obvious that a particular assignment wasn't taken seriously. Index Card Assignments will frequently be used in the course of class discussions.
Questions 5% You are expected to do the assigned readings and should arrive at class, each period, with at least two questions written on one side of a 3x5 card. Class discussions will generally be oriented to those questions. I will call on several students each day to ask a question based on the text and will collect your cards on randomly selected days during the semester.
Total Grade (based on above) 100%  

Communication Studies Departmental Policies

A copy of the Montclair State Departmental Policies will be handed out with this syllabus. This course will observe those policies.

Attendance:

A professional meets their commitments. This class is a professional commitment. You are expected to attend every meeting of the class during the semester. It is the policy of the Speech Department that students are allowed no more than two absences in this course for any reason. A third absence will result in a 5% reduction in your final grade. A fourth absence will result in a 10% reduction. Any student who is absent five times during the semester can expect to fail the course. Arriving late or leaving early counts as 1/3 of an absence.

There are several layers of content associated with this course, including:

    • the texts and other readings.
    • Lectures, which will extend and often diverge from the readings.
    • Class discussions
    • tests
    • papers and other assignments

All of these elements contribute to the overall learning experience of this class, and you will necessary miss out on these layers if you miss class. For most students these absences will have additional secondary effects on test scores and other assignments.

Bottom line: Be here.

Plagiarism and Cheating:

I have caught a number of students attempting to pass off other people's work as their own. Such behavior is unacceptable in any classroom, and I won't accept it in mine. My usual practice will be to zero any assignment on which a student has been found to be cheating and consult with the department chair on what other actions may be appropriate.

Examples of cheating include:

  • Duplicate test answers. I cannot prevent students from studying together or comparing notes on a take home exam (should I give any). Test answers should always be in your own words (e.g. not copied out of a book or off of someone else's test paper).
  • Plagiarized term paper content. I encourage you to look at content from a wide variety of sources, but the content of your term paper should be in your own words.
  • Unreferenced term paper content. Where, in the course of writing a term paper, you present the ideas of others, you must indicate where they came from with a reference. This is true even when you have stated the ideas in your own words or if the ideas or their sources seem obvious.

Bottom line: Write in your own words and reference the ideas you use to the sources you read them in.

Disabling Conditions

Students who have a disabling condition which might interfere with their ability to successfully complete this course are encouraged to speak to me confidentially. I will be happy to cooperate in identifying alternate means of demonstrating such mastery where there is a demonstrable need.

Bottom line: I'm here to help.

Late Assignments:

It is your responsibility to ensure that all assignments are submitted by the due date. No late assignments will be accepted unless arraingements have been made with me in advance. No make up quizzes or exams will be given unless arraingements have been made in advance.

Questions, Problems and Incompletes:

If you have a question I encourage you to ask it in class. There are no stupid questions; only answers that didn't need to be. If you don't know the answer to a question it is likely someone else is curious as well. Please ask. The worst that can happen is that I defer my answer to a meeting after class or during office hours.

If you have a problem in the class I encourage you to contact me as quickly as possible. Several means of contact are listed at the top of my Montclair State College home page (http://davis.foulger.net/montclair), including telephone, e-mail, and instant messenger. I also maintain regular office hours. Note, in particular, that I will not grant an incomplete for the course unless you talk to me about it in advance and I am aware of conditions which would make it impossible for you to complete the course on time.