Small Group Communication - CST 115 at Wytheville Community College
https://courses.vccs.edu/colleges/wcc/courses/CST115-SmallGroupCommunication
Effective: 2022-05-01
Course Description
Emphasizes the development of presentational ability in a group, decision-making, group maintenance, and leadership and participant skills. Incorporates a preliminary study of group dynamics.
Lecture 3 hours. Total 3 hours per week.
3 credits
The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.
General Course Purpose
CST 115 is designed to examine principles and generate experiences of effective group communication including decision-making; leadership; group behaviors and maintenance; navigating, managing, and resolving conflict; project management; and group/team presentation strategies.
Course Objectives
- Communication
- Demonstrate effective communication skills orally and in writing within a small group setting.
- Evaluate and interpret verbal and nonverbal aspects of group communication
- Critical Thinking
- Evaluate and synthesize information in order to describe how different methods of group decision making, critical thinking, and creative problem solving techniques can affect a group in its decision making
- Investigate, analyze, and integrate evidence and reasoning into group problem solving
- Civic Engagement
- Recognize, describe, and analyze diversity issues affecting group communication (gender, culture, age, sexual orientation, etc.)
- Demonstrate effective problem-solving techniques within a small group setting
- Professional Readiness
- Develop and demonstrate skills in the use of technology in a group communication setting
- Demonstrate effective use of soft skills in a group communication setting
- Introduction to Group Communication
- Compare and contrast group communication to communication in other contexts.
- Describe and demonstrate characteristics of competent communication appropriate for a group member
- Recognize and describe the benefits and drawbacks of group collaboration
- Identify and describe elements of the Transactional Model of Communication
- Listening
- Describe and explain the steps of the listening process
- Identify, describe, and make a plan for minimizing barriers to listening and poor listening habits
- Demonstrate the effective use of various listening response styles appropriate to various communication environments
- Group Development
- Describe and differentiate the stages of group development
- Identify and explain their own individual and group's progress through the stages of group development
- Identify and explain how groups manage norms and issues of identity and power
- Develop and manage appropriately-negotiated norms for group maintenance and performance enhancement
- Meetings
- Organize, moderate, and participate in regular team meetings with a clear purpose and a successful outcome
- Describe, evaluate, and practice key roles in facilitating group discussions and deliberations, including chairperson and note-taker
- Group Diversity
- Describe and evaluate barriers to communication in the context of a diverse group setting
- Describe and analyze group dynamics based on various cultural differences including (but not limited to) personality, generational, racial, socioeconomic, religious, political, etc.
- Problem-Solving and Conflict
- Review, analyze, and report on the communication skills needed for creative problem solving, and managing conflict and tension in the small group setting
- Utilize appropriate problem solving, conflict management, and decision making methods while performing group tasks
- Discuss the symptoms of, brainstorm, and implement strategies to reduce groupthink
- Communication Climates in Groups
- Differentiate between supportive and unsupportive communication behaviors, both verbal and nonverbal, and how they impact a group's climate.
- Perform supportive communication behaviors, both verbal and nonverbal, that contribute to a positive team climate.
- Leadership
- Apply conceptual ideas (e.g. group role theory, leadership theories, and goal and motivational theories) to practical communication situations.
- Presenting in Groups
- Develop, organize, and deliver oral messages supported with ideas and information suitable to the topic, purpose, audience, and occasion.
Major Topics to be Included
- Introduction to Group Communication
- Listening
- Group Development
- Meetings
- Group Diversity
- Problem-Solving & Conflict
- Communication Climates in Groups
- Leadership
- Presenting in Groups