3) Exhibit the ability to research, analyze, and reason from evidence in order to create logically sound arguments and conclusions

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1 SPCH (CRN: 80279) INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC SPEAKING (3sch) Lisa Porterfield-Thompson, M.P.S. Fall 2010 Class Meets UC249 (Wed. 5:30 pm to 8:15 pm) Office: TC Admin building Phone: Office Hours: BY APPOINTMENT REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS/RESOURCES: Zarefsky, David. (2010). Public Speaking: Strategies for Success 6 th Ed. Boston, MA: Pearson. In addition to the text, you will need an access code for myspeechlab. The bookstore at the main campus has these books and access codes in stock. COURSE PHILOSOPHY Rhetoric the art of public speaking was one of the first humanistic disciplines taught systematically in the western history of ideas. Greeks and Romans believed that teaching their citizens to be competent and often eloquent public speakers helped their citizens learn to be effective, responsible members of society. The American academic community agrees. SPCH1315 helps prepare students to be effective communicators so they may also become effective citizens. COURSE DESCRIPTION This three-hour course offered by the Mass Communication program is open to all university students. The course is designed to offer the theory and practice of basic principles of public speaking, with an emphasis on the compositional and presentational aspects of communication in formal speaking situations. It fulfills the Core Curriculum requirement for Speech. STUDENT LEARNER OUTCOMES Upon completion of SPCH1315-Introduction to Public Speaking, students will be able to do the following: 1) Demonstrate a broad understanding of classical communication theories 2) Identify and adapt to different audiences and speaking situations 3) Exhibit the ability to research, analyze, and reason from evidence in order to create logically sound arguments and conclusions 4) Examine and evaluate public messages critically using reasoning skills 5) Create and perform original speeches designed for public performance 6) Demonstrate decreased public speaking apprehension COURSE OUTLINE The course is designed to meet these five (5) objectives: 1) Students will become familiar with the three traditional purposes of public speaking: to teach, to entertain, and to persuade, and to understand how to fulfill each purpose through types of speeches using a humanistic perspective of cultural values and ethics. 2) Cultivate the five speaker qualities used in successful public speaking invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery both in theory and in practice. 3) Enhance critical skills in listening, awareness, and perception regarding public discourse of others.

2 4) Improve proficiency in public speaking skills. 5) Decrease public speaking apprehension. COURSE REQUIREMENTS and POLICIES Information about lectures and assignments are posted on Blackboard. Please check the course pages regularly for information, schedule changes, or updates. Correspondence regarding the course may also be sent to a student s TAMU- T account. Students should check both Blackboard and TAMU-T accounts regularly, as they are responsible for the information sent there. Should a student need to contact Mrs. Thompson at times other than before or after class, or during office hours, THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY IS VIA the Blackboard site system. Cell Phone Policy--While these devices are very useful and necessary in today s busy lives, they are a significant distraction even for an accomplished speaker, but can be particularly distracting for someone with communication apprehension. As a courtesy to the speakers in this class, all cell phones and pagers must be turned off and left in off mode from the time a student enters the classroom until class is dismissed. If a student ignores this policy, he or she will be asked to leave and will be charged with an absence for that day regardless of how long he/she has been in class. Zero Tolerance Policy--Since public speaking can be an uncomfortable task for some people and distracting behaviors by audience members can make this experience even more uncomfortable, distractions will not be tolerated. It is my goal to provide a supportive and encouraging atmosphere in this class. If it becomes apparent that a student is not fully attentive and respectful of his/her instructor or peers, he/she will lose a letter grade on the next speaking assignment. Distracting behaviors include, but are not limited to such things as: sleeping, talking, laughing, rolling eyes, reading, doing homework, putting his/her head down, talking or text messaging, or otherwise expressing disinterest in the instructor s lecture or a peer s speech. Mrs. Thompson reserves the right to dismiss you from class if she witnesses these behaviors. If this happens, regardless of how long you have been in the session, you will be charged with an absence. Harassment--Sexual harassment violates federal civil rights laws and University nondiscrimination policy. Texas A&M University-Texarkana is committed to providing and promoting an atmosphere in which students can engage fully in the learning process. Toward this end, all members of the University community must understand that sexual harassment is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated. The University s policy regarding sexual harassment is clear and explicit. We abide by the policy, located at: Attendance, Tardy, and Speaking Date Policy--This course is performance oriented and designed for collaborative learning. This means that comprehensive presentation of information occurs during every class period. Expectations are that students attend class regularly and be a functioning member of the class. Throughout the term, students will be engaged in active listening activities, as well as speech performances, open discussions, and various types of in-class assessments. Accordingly, a record of attendance is kept beginning with the first meeting day of the term. Your attendance records are maintained in Blackboard. Students are permitted two (2) absences for the term without penalty. I encourage you to use these absences wisely. This is approximately 15% of the class meetings. For EACH additional absence, the student s FINAL GRADE WILL BE REDUCED BY ONE FULL LETTER GRADE. Should you accumulate five (5) absences, you will receive an automatic F for the course regardless of your accumulated point total. Tardies are also recorded. Three (3) tardies equal one (1) absence. Students that do not miss any class sessions earn 10 extra credit points added to their final point total. If a student is absent on a speaking day (theirs or another student's), then the absent student s grade for that speech will be dropped one full letter grade. SPCH1315 Carwile Fall, 2010

3 Make-up work/late work Policy--Students are expected to present speeches, complete assignments or exams as scheduled. Any missed speeches, exams, or assignments may be made up only with PRIOR instructor approval. Extra Credit Policy--Extra credit assignments are not routine. If offered, please take advantage of these opportunities. METHODS OF EVALUATION Students will be given a variety of learning assessments throughout the course to determine how well they are achieving the learning outcomes for the course. Students earn points for specific assignments and final course grades will be determined based on the total number of points accumulated. There are 1,000 total points available. The following chart explicates point values for all assignments in the course. All assignment grades will be available in the Blackboard gradebook. Mrs. Thompson reserves the right to add or delete assignments as necessary throughout the semester. Should a student have a question regarding a grade for an assignment in this course, he/she must wait 24 hours before discussing it with Mrs. Thompson. Grade disputes must be in writing and should include reasoning for the dispute. It is optimal if these discussions take place during Mrs. Thompson s regularly scheduled office hours or at a scheduled appointment. ASSIGNMENT POINT TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF FINAL GRADE Ice-breaker Speech 50 5% Introduction/Conclusion % Speech Demonstration Speech % Informative Speech % Informative Speech Outline % Persuasive Speech % Persuasive Speech Outline % Self-critique Informative % Speech Public discourse critique % Mid-term Examination % Final Examination % Participation % FINAL POINT TOTAL GRADING SCALE POINT RANGE GRADE EQUIVALENT LETTER GRADE 900 to to 100 A 800 to to 89 B 700 to to 79 C 600 to to 69 D 0 to to 59 F TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE and TERMINAL TOPIC LIST A schedule for the course can be found on Blackboard. The course schedule at this point is a tentative one, and Mrs. Thompson reserves the right to make changes if necessary. Students should familiarize themselves with the Terminal Topic List posted on Blackboard. Any subject on the list is not available as a topic for any speech. Some of the topics are too large in scope for a 7-minute speech. Some topics have simply been overdone by previous students. If a student is having a difficult time selecting a topic, he/she should consult Mrs. Thompson for assistance. If a student selects a topic on this list without previously discussing it with Mrs. Thompson, his/her grade for that speech will be lowered accordingly. In addition, the final two (2) speeches of the semester (Informative and Persuasive) require topic approval. CLASS ASSIGNMENTS AND CRITIQUE FORMS

4 Descriptions of all assignments and grading forms are available on Blackboard. These grading forms give a detailed explanation of the criterion for grading speeches. You are free to print these off at your own cost. Please be aware that each assignment has different parameters and expectations. Students are expected to be familiar with assignment requirements. CULTURAL DIVERSITY The Mass Communication Program and the College of Education and Liberal Arts are committed to providing an atmosphere of learning that is representative of a variety of perspectives. In this class, students will have the opportunity to express and experience cultural diversity as they pertain to the classroom environment. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Academic honesty is expected of students enrolled in this course. Cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration, falsification of research data, plagiarism, and undocumented use of materials from any source constitute academic dishonesty and may be grounds for a grade of F in the course and/or disciplinary actions. For additional information, see the university catalog. DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS Texas A&M University - Texarkana, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, may request reasonable accommodations through the Texas A&M University-Texarkana Disability Services Offices by calling Thereafter, any student requesting such accommodation should meet with Mrs. Thompson to discuss any accommodations or special needs. This should be done at the beginning of the semester because retroactive accommodations will not be given. A&M-TEXARKANA ADDRESS Upon application to Texas A&M University-Texarkana, an individual will be assigned an A&M-Texarkana account. This account will be used to deliver official university correspondence. Each individual is responsible for information sent and received via the university account and is expected to check the official A&M-Texarkana account on a frequent and consistent basis. Faculty and students are required to utilize the university account when communicating about coursework. SIGN BELOW and RETURN THIS PAGE TO Mrs. Thompson This page is due before or during the 2 nd class meeting (September 7, 2010)

5 By signing below, I am indicating that I have read the entire syllabus for Mrs. Thompson s SPCH1315 Introduction to Public Speaking course. Further, I understand ALL policies and procedures for this course and agree to abide by them as outlined in the copy of the syllabus provided to me. I understand that the course calendar and all assignment descriptions are distributed via Blackboard and possibly during class time, and that I am responsible for completing all work as scheduled. I understand that poor attendance will result in letter grade deductions as outlined in the course syllabus, and that late work or late speeches will not be graded without prior instructor approval. I also agree to abide by Texas A&M University-Texarkana s Student Code of Conduct while enrolled as a student in this course. Signature Date Printed Name Campus Wide ID#

Required Materials: The Elements of Design, Third Edition; Poppy Evans & Mark A. Thomas; ISBN GB+ flash/jump drive

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