Small Group Communication

Catalog description

Communication variables in small groups. Experimental research and innovations in communication in vocational, therapeutic, and educational groups. CAS 554 CAS 554 Small Group Communication (3 per semester/maximum of 6) Group communication is a specialized area of study that has ties to the related areas of interpersonal and organizational communication. These ties reflect the fact that groups typically are part of some larger organizational structure and that it is the interaction among the members of groups that drive their performance. The major objectives of the course, which is presently offered once every two academic years, are to provide students with (1) an in-depth examination of what social scientific research has revealed about the functions communication among the members of groups in various interpersonal and organizational contexts and (2) the opportunity to engage in an even deeper examination of a specific issue relating to a specific function of communication in one of the types of groups included, that is, decision-making and problem-solving groups, familial groups, educational groups, work groups, and support groups, by means of an original research project. The first three weeks of the course acquaint students with the general domain of group communication as a specialized area of study, as well as the dominant theoretical and methodological approaches in evidence. In the fourth and fifth weeks, students come to understand how communication in groups functions generally to socialize the members and thereby shape their respective cultures, as well as influence the ways in which they characteristically fulfill the purposes for which they have been created. During the remaining ten weeks of the course, the accent is on particular types of group contexts and the unique ways in which communication is manifested in each. Finally, each student identifies and executes an original research project, the results of which he or she shares with other members of the class in the form of a scholarly paper which, if warranted, he or she subsequently modifies for presentation at a professional conference and possibly publication. Determination of overall mastery of the course content derives from a student's performance on a comprehensive final examination held during the regularly scheduled final examination period. The grade for the research project and the final examination combined provide basis for the recorded grade for the course. The course requires no special facilities other than a classroom. Students should consult with the instructor prior to enrolling to ascertain that the course topic is not the same as in prior enrollments.