COMM 120: Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
Introduction
Welcome to COMM 120, Introduction to Interpersonal Communication. This course will focus on the communication that occurs in our interpersonal interactions. The course will cover both verbal and non-verbal communication and will include elements of intercultural communication throughout. We will seek to understand interpersonal communication from a variety of perspectives. You will be exposed to various topics and contexts related to interpersonal communication and will study this material through readings, discussions, and activities.
It is my hope that this class will provide insights and information that will help you more effectively analyze your interpersonal skills and relationships, and improve your communication in those relationships.
Course Objectives
COMM 120 is designed to help you develop both your skills in and understanding of interpersonal communication. Through this course you will:
gain a better understanding of basic communication processes and elements
practice and improve your interpersonal communication skills through class activities and discussion
become more aware of your own interpersonal communication behaviors and their effects on your interpersonal relationships.
Required Textbook
See course description for an up-to-date list of materials.
Assignments and Exams
The assignments in this class are broken up into three categories: discussion forum participation
papers exams.
Discussion Forum
chapter, review the lesson notes, and then respond to one or two questions. By midnight on the second day of each lesson, you will answer the discussion question(s) provided in an original post. By 6 pm on the last day of each lesson you will respond to at least one other student’s original post. There are twelve lessons during which you will be expected to make these posts.
Original posts should be approximately one paragraph and should be carefully written and edited. They should reflect reading and comprehension of that week’s reading, and they should answer all parts of the question. Responses should address the content of the original post and should also reflect an understanding and engagement with the course material. Making a connection to another concept, sharing a similar example in a way that extends the original poster’s idea, or offering advice that is based in course content are all acceptable replies. Simply saying that you like or do not like a post or only telling a similar story does not meet the requirement. Do your best, and feel free to ask me if you are unsure if your posts meet the requirements. I will also be active on the discussion forums and will pose questions and offer information to help guide your thinking.
Papers
Over the course of the semester you will create an Interpersonal Communication Journal. Whether or not one’s job is to do interpersonal communication research, we all conduct fieldwork on a daily basis. We create and test informal theories as we attempt to make sense of our lives and our relationships. Over the course of this term you will keep a record of some of the fieldwork you do. Through your reading and our discussions, you will learn about what communication researchers have learned about interpersonal relationships. You will use this information to elevate the informal fieldwork you do daily to a more nuanced, sophisticated level. You will write journal entries that reflect upon the course material and your relationships.
For each section listed below, you will choose two chapters about which you will write an entry. Possible journal prompts can be found in the Fieldwork Project Journal Prompts. Only choose one question from the chapter about which you will write. The due dates are listed on the course schedule.
Section 1: Chapters 1–3 Section 2: Chapters 4–7 Section 3: Chapters 8–12
Each of your journal entries should be one full, typed, single-spaced page, not including the heading on the paper. Shorter entries will not receive full credit. I will not share these entries with others. Remember that your entries should reflect knowledge of and engagement with the course material and are more than mere personal reflections. Please note, if you decide to write about chapters 11 and/or 12, you will need to work ahead since the due date for the final set of entries is before those chapters are covered in the lessons.
Exams
You will take a midterm exam and a final exam in this class. The final will not be cumulative. The exams will test your knowledge of the course material in a variety of formats, potentially including but not limited to: multiple choice, short answer, essay, and true/false. You will take both of these exams online, through this site in the Exams area. The exams will be open-book and open-notes; however, it is important that you study in advance and do not rely primarily on looking up answers. You will have a 48-hour time frame during which you can take the exam. Once you begin the exam, you will have 90 minutes to complete the exam. We will have an exam review on the discussion forum before each exam.
Evaluation and Grading
Grade Assessment
Your grades will be based on how well you demonstrate what you have learned in this class as shown by your completion of assignments and participation. The following is an explanation of grades you can earn in this class:
A Exceeds requirements of the assignment/course. The student critically, creatively, and fully engages the course material in a way that demonstrates that she/he understands and can apply the concepts. Written work is extremely well-composed and concise.
B Meets and, at times, exceeds the requirements of the assignment/course. In general, the student demonstrates a clear understanding of the course concepts. Written work is fairly well-composed but there may be some unclear or awkward moments.
C Meets the basic requirements of the assignment/course. The student demonstrates a minimum understanding of major concepts but may be unclear at times. Written work is acceptable but has errors and awkward moments.
D
Fails to meet some of the basic requirements of the assignment/course. A minimum understanding of course concepts is not evident. Written work is fairly poor.
F Does not meet the basic requirements of the assignments/course. A minimum understanding of the course concepts is not evident. Written work is very poor.
Grading Scale
I will grade your work using the following scale: A 94-100% C 74-76% A- 90-93% C- 70-73% B+ 87-89% D+ 67-69% B 84-86% D 64-66% B- 80-83% D- 60-63% C+ 77-79% F < 60%
Grade Distribution
Assignment Points
Discussion Forum 300 (25 points per week) Fieldwork Project, Section 1 120
Fieldwork Project, Section 2 120 Fieldwork Project, Section 3 120
Midterm Exam 170
Final Exam 170
Total 1,000
Late Work
It is important that you complete your work in a timely manner. All of the deadlines are listed on the Course Schedule. If you cannot complete an assignment (a discussion forum post, a paper, or an exam) by the date indicated, please contact me in advance so that we can make other arrangements.
Turning in a paper late will result in a five-point deduction for every day that it is late. Posting late on the discussion forum is a problem because you cannot be part of the ongoing
conversation if you do not post by the due dates. If you miss the deadline for original posts but post by the end of the lesson period, you will receive partial points. Posts after 6 pm on the last day of a lesson will not receive any points.
Exams must be completed during the time indicated. Contact me as soon as possible if this will be a problem for you.
Academic Policies
By enrolling as a student in this course, you agree to abide by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill policies related to the acceptable use of online resources. Please consult the Acceptable Use Policy on topics such as copyright, net-etiquette, and privacy protection.
As part of this course, you may be asked to participate in online discussions or other online activities that may include personal information about you or other students in the course. Please be respectful of the rights and protection of other participants under the UNC-Chapel Hill Information Security Policies when participating in online classes.
When using online resources offered by organizations not affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill, such as Google or YouTube, please note that the terms and conditions of these companies and not the University’s Terms and Conditions apply. These third parties may offer different degrees of privacy protection and access rights to online content. You should be well aware of this when posting content to sites not managed by UNC-Chapel Hill.
When links to sites outside of the unc.edu domain are inserted in class discussions, please be mindful that clicking on sites not affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill may pose a risk for your computer due to the possible presence of malware on such sites.
Honor Code
states that "It shall be the responsibility of every student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity." An especially serious Honor Code violation is plagiarism. You may wish to take tutorial on plagiarism that was developed by librarians at UNC, Duke, NCSU and NCCU. If you have questions, please consult your instructor. Please note that downloading or printing out the quizzes or exams in Sakai is prohibited; doing so is considered a violation of the Honor Code.
Course Schedule
Lesson Lesson Title Assignments
Introduction Course Introduction
Read: Home Page Lesson 1 Introduction to Interpersonal
Communication
Read: Chapter 1
Lesson 2 Communication and Personal Identity Read: Chapter 2 Lesson 3 Perception and Communication
Read: Chapter 3 Lesson 4 Verbal Communication Read: Chapter 4
Fieldwork Section 1: Jun 10 Lesson 5 Nonverbal Communication Read: Chapter 5
Lesson 6 Mindful Listening Read: Chapter 6 Lesson 7 Emotions and Communication Read: Chapter 7 Review Midterm Exam Review none
Midterm Exam
Lesson 8 Communication Climate Read: Chapter 8
Fieldwork Section 2: Jul 8 Lesson 9 Conflict and Relationships Read: Chapter 9
Lesson 10 Friendship Read: Chapter 10 Lesson 11 Romantic Relationships Read: Chapter 11
Fieldwork Section 3: Jul 22
Lesson 12 Families Read: Chapter 11
Final Exam
Please take the time to fill out a brief, anonymous evaluation. We want to know if this course met your needs and expectations.
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