Effective Communication Skills

EDL 656

Syllabus

Course Description

This course provides a base for students to practice communication skills for their area of study. Effective communication encompasses the written as well as the spoken word. Ways in which communication impacts staff, parents, and community members are discussed.

Objectives

Educators will develop a philosophy for communicating with faculty, staff, parents, teachers, and the community by:

Developing goals and strategies for a comprehensive school communication program
Designing materials for use by administrators and teachers to promote effective communication.
Practicing communication pieces

Curriculum Design

This course will emphasize designing a comprehensive school communication program. This is an online forty five hour, three credit graduate level course completed over a fifteen-week period.

Time Requirements

This course is offered over a period of 15 weeks. Modules are completed over the 15-week period pending length of assignments per week.

Skill and Hardware Requirements

Students may use either a Macintosh computer or a PC with Windows 2000 or higher. Students should possess basic word processing skills and have Internet access as well as an active email account. Students also are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use a Web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, etc.

Course Materials

Principal Talk by Cheli Cerra and Ruth Jacoby (2004) is the required textbook for this course. The textbook, course materials, and an extensive Recommended Reading List will be provided for all students. In addition, online readings and Web site reviews (including journal articles and best practices from the body of educational research) will be assigned during the course to enhance learning. These readings will be presented as annotated Web sites within the course content.

Course Outline

Module One: What is communication?

Objective: Students will outline characteristic of effective communication.
Contents:

Describe the components of effective communication.
Illustrate examples depicting the need for principals to have effective communication skills.

Module Two: First Day of School

Objective: Students will anticipate communication related items necessary to begin the first day of a school year.
Contents:

Design materials appropriate to distribute to teachers for the first day of school.

Module Three: Leadership Success

Objective: Students will create a school vision and positive climate.
Contents:

Generate a school vision and demonstrate how the vision will be communicated to teachers, parents, students, and the community.

Module Four: The School Team

Objective: Students will anticipate issues that will occur with faculty and staff and design methods to handle these issues.
Contents:

Critique example dialogues between principals and faculty.
Given an example of inappropriate behavior by a faculty member, devise a plan to correct the behavior.

Module Five: The School Team

Objective: Students will illustrate behavior for hiring, firing, and mentoring teachers.
Contents:

Critique example interviews between a principal and prospective teacher.
Devise a mentoring plan for a struggling teacher.

Module Six: Communicating With Parents

Objective: Students will design materials to demonstrate effective communication with parents.
Contents:

Critique example dialogues between principals and parents.
Develop programs to encourage parental support.

Module Seven: Communicating With Students

Objective: Students will design materials to promote effective communication with students.
Contents:

Design programs and materials to foster communication between the administration, faculty, and teachers.

Module Eight: The Community

Objective: Students will design materials to promote the school in the community.
Contents:

Design a brochure promoting positive programs in the school.
Create a press release for a school event.
Critique example materials promoting a school.

Module Nine: Crisis Planning

Objective: Students will develop a comprehensive emergency plan for the school.
Contents:

Devise a safety plan for various emergency situations.

Module Ten: Communication Resources

Objective: Students will compare and contrast various communication tools for administrators.
Contents:

Locate and evaluate communication resources on the Internet.

Course Requirements:

Students write and submit weekly reflections. 30 points.
Welcome Back To School packet including information on and for new teachers, updates on policies and projects, and examples of effective parent teacher communication. 30 points.
Brochure promoting the school. 20 points.
Materials for an emergency situation plan. 20 points.

Grades

100-93 - A
92-85 - B

Student Academic Integrity

Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined by the Teacher Education University catalog and is subject to academic disciplinary action.

Bibliography

Booher, D. (2003, October). Speaker, Know Thyself: When Speaking, Managers Must Become Aware of How Their Gestures, Stance, and Voice Can Affect Their Message. Security Management, 47, 32+.

Green, T. B., & Knippen, J. T. (1999). Breaking the Barrier to Upward Communication: Strategies and Skills for Employees, Managers, and HR Specialists. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

Greene, J. O. & Burleson, B. R. (Eds.). (2003). Handbook of Communication and Social Interaction Skills. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Hayes, J. (2002). Interpersonal Skills at Work. New York: Routledge.

Kikoski, J. F. (1998). Effective Communication in the Performance Appraisal Interview: Face-to-Face Communication for Public Managers in the Culturally Diverse Workplace. 491.

Lawrence, C. L. (2002). Integrating Writing and Negotiation Skills. Business Communication Quarterly, 65(2), 54+.

Mccarthy, P., & Hatcher, C. (1996). Speaking Persuasively: Making the Most of Your Presentations. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin.

Pearce, C. G., Johnson, I. W., & Barker, R. T. (1995). Enhancing the Student Listening Skills and Environment. Business Communication Quarterly, 58(4), 28+. Retrieved August 3, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.

Reviving the Art of Conversation; Workers Today Face a Barrage of Emails and Texts and Risk Losing the Vital Skill of Face-to-Face Communication. (2004). 74. Retrieved August 3, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.

Segal, J. W., Chipman, S. F., & Glaser, R. (Eds.). (1985). Thinking and Learning Skills: Relating Instruction to Research (Vol. 1). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Speaking Up for the Interpreters. (2005, March 23). Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough, England), p. 5. Retrieved August 3, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.

Stronge, J. H. (1998, October). Leadership Skills in School and Business. School Administrator, 55, 21. Retrieved August 3, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.

Wyatt, W. (2002, April). Be Prepared: Communicating in a Crisis; the Success or Failure of Managing a Crisis Depends upon the Ability to Communicate Effectively-Even within a Legislature. State Legislatures, 28, 31+. Retrieved August 3, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.

Teacher Education University reserves the right to adjust and adapt this syllabus as necessary.