SPAM 2000 Notes

Agenda and Materials Used

Friday:
     
  • Registration and Social Hour began our conference from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
  • From 6:30-7:30 we engaged in  "ice breakers" during and after dinner. 
Session I: 
  • Our first program was from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.  Two primary speakers presented materials on Technology in the classroom. We discussed the following topics:

    • Technology "packages" options available to instructors to easily integrate technology into the classroom. 
      • We discussed InterKal and Web CT

    • Electronic Portfolios
        •  
      • Lisa Larson from DaKota County Technical College demonstrated the portfolio project at DCTC.
      • Participants brainstormed how portfolios might serve their students at their various colleges.
      • We discussed the potential benefits and possible difficulties in using electronic portfolios.

    • Publisher's resources readily available to instructors
        •  
      • Lori Halverson-Wente from Rochester Community and Technical College demonstrated several CD-ROM's available to students with the adoption of the text.  A summary of this review is available on the SPAM website. The group discussed how these materials could easily be implemented into the classroom. 
      • Participants discussed the value of the publishers' resources.   The group agreed that while technology packages are useful to both students and teachers, the primary criterion of text adoption should be  "sound content grounded within communication studies research" not the technology package.   Participant
      • Numerous materials from each of the major publishers loaded onto 5 laptop computers were available for participants to test in a "Hands-on Alley." 
      • Participants were able to take free samples of texts, manuals, CD-ROM's and passwords to internet materials.  Participants greatly appreciated obtaining these materials.

    • Creating your own online materials
        •  
      • Lori Halverson-Wente demonstrated her website and numerous on-line activities.  She also demonstrated the SPAM website which includes an Instructor's Resource page.  She discussed the hundreds of links available for Speech Professionals to use along with the importance of sharing resources with one another.
      • The group discussed potential problems instructors might face when creating their own materials, including copyright laws and the issue of intellectual property.

    • Creating a learning community
        •  
      • The final discussion session focused upon how we can create a more cohesive learning community among ourselves on on our campuses to support faculty as we learn how to use technology in our classrooms.  Research indicates that instructors are more likely to try using technology in their classes if their peers help mentor them in learning communities.   Participants were invited to use the SPAM Listserv created by Donavon.
Saturday:

Breakfast:  Breakfast included a follow-up discussion of technology in the classroom. Additional demonstrations of  we can implement technology into our communication courses were made.

Session II:  Assessment 

  • Dr. Susan Hatfield from Winona State University discussed the following topics in great detail:
      •  
    • NCA Criteria
        •  
      • Mission
      • Organization
      • Results

    • Departmental Perspectives on NCA
        •  
      • Mission
      • Activities
      • Goals
      • Results

    • Characteristics of Effective Departmental Assessment Plans
        •  
      • Principled
      • Integrated
      • Ongoing
      • Comprehensive
      • Implemented Gradually
      • Acculturated
      • Practical
      • Self-Renewing

    • Essential Understandings Related to Assessment
        •  
      • Knowing what an Assessment Plan looks like
      • Knowing how assessment works
      • Understanding the levels of assessment
      • Understanding the scope of assessment
      • Differentiating between the assessment and evaluation
      • Differentiating between estimates and not absolutes
      • Considering data, information and knowledge
      • Considering the drivers of assessment
      • Acknowledging the importance of triangulation
      • Acknowledging the relationship between assessment and strategic planning
      • finding more questions than answers
      • Requiring commitment

    • Building an Assessment Plan
        •  
      • Understanding cognitive, behavioral and affective goals.
      • Understanding student learning goals
      • Understanding curriculum goals
      • Instructional quality goals
      • Advising goals
      • Alumni goals

    • Activities in Assessment
        •  
      • Student learning activities should be created with a common understanding among students and faculty, should be related to specific outcomes.
      • Curriculum activities should help develop the curriculum and asses it.
      • Instructional quality activities can be tied to the Seven Principles for Good practice in Undergraduate Education.
      • Advising activities can help create current data bases which can help with ongoing assessment and program development.
      • Alumni activities can help create long-term data and long-term student satisfaction
      • Methods and Measures in Assessment.
        • Methods should be designed to answer the question: "How can we obtain evidence?"
          • You must consider the outcome of assessment methods and  through exams, journals, papers, theses, internships, simulations and role-play, case studies and analyses, surveys, inventories and portfolios.

        • Measures should be designed to answer: "How area we going to be able to make sense of it?"
          •  
        • Time should be spent brainstorming different measures. 
        • Measures should be created for student learning, instructional quality, curriculum, advising, and alumni.

    • Collection of data is essential in Assessment
        •  
      • Create a plan for collecting data understanding at some point is needs to be "good enough" and can not be fully scientific.

    • Share the Results of the Data
        •  
      • Through presentations, the internet, newsletters, celebrations poster sessions or "brown bag" sessions.

    • Ethical Considerations must be made including issues of human subjects, intervention, privacy, data use and our overall motivation to do this.

    • Dr. Hatfield concluded by sharing the "Big Mistakes" made in assessment.  She stressed that it is critical to center assessment activities on overall improvement rather than accreditation.  She stressed that if you are only creating a plan for accreditation, it may very well just be a reoccurring activity rather than systematic improvement and ongoing modification for the good of the students, faculty, program and institution.  She suggested that we narrow our focus and not to try to do too much too fast,  create  plans that lead to action not merely more plans, analyze our needs prior to choosing methods, and that we create a system that works best for our institution and co-culture rather than "borrow" another institution's methods.  She also pointed out that schools must not confuse satisfaction with learning.  Dr. Hatfield stressed that schools need faculty and administrators to "champion" this process.
Session III:  Break-out Sessions and Follow-up Reports from Break-out Groups 
  • Small groups were formed into the 4 specific basic courses:   Intercultural Communication, Small Group Communication, Interpersonal Communication and Public Speaking.
  • Groups were asked to develop Assessment Goals, Activities and Measurements for each course. The results of this discussion are as follows:
Course:
Public Speaking
Goal:
  • Students will be able to distinguish between informing and persuading
Activities:
  • Show Videos -- Have the students identify  and evaluate the type of speech it is
  • Write thesis and proposition statements for both types of speeches
  • Write persuasive and informative closing statements.
  • Identify design patterns best suited for both types of speeches..
Measurement:
  • Present informative and persuasive speeches evaluated by as specified criteria.
Course:
Small Group Communication
Goal:
  • Goals should focus upon the Transfer Curriculum.
      •  
    • Goal 1 -- Communication
    • Goal 9 -- Ethics and Civic responsibility

  • Goals can be separated into:
      •  
    • Cognitive Student Learning Goals: 
      • Goal 1 :  Learning Group Development
      • Goal 2:   Learning about Group Agendas
    • Behavioral Student Learning Goals:
        •  
      • Goal 3:   Learning about Group Ethics and Group Responsibilities
      • Goal 4:  Leaning about the Quality Process and Evaluation of Self and Others.

    • Affective Student Learning Goals:
        •  
      • Goal 5:  Apprehension Reduction
      • Goal 6:  Appreciation of Effective Collaborative Efforts.
Activities:
  • Cognitive
      •  
    • Goal 1 Activity:  Portfolio development focusing upon group development
    • Goal 2 Activity:  Develop and use an agenda from a case study.

  • Behavioral
      •  
    • Goal 3 Activity:  Develop and utilize peer evaluation forms.
    • Goal 4 Activity:  Use a "Fishbowl" activity and write a reaction paper based upon this experience.  this could be a paper written about your self, the group or other topic. 

  • Affective
      •  
    • Goal 5 Activity:  Administer a pretest and a post test of the PRCA-24.
    • Goal 6 Activities: 
      • Ask the students to write about how the project would have been different if it was done alone?
      • Ask the group to present a skit to the class depicting and representing your group.
Measurement:
  • Cognitive
      •  
    • Goal 1 Measure:  Portfolio Analysis
    • Goal 2 Measure:  Case Study Analysis

  • Behavioral
      •  
    • Goal 3 Measure:  Inventory (from the evaluation forms)
    • Goal 4 Measure:  Inventory (process comments from your own group and the other groups.

  • Affective
      •  
    • Goal 5 Measure:  Normed test.  Look to see if there is a change from the pretest and post-test scores.
    • Goal 6 Measures
        •  
      • Survey of themes
      • Simulation assessment
Course:
Intercultural Communication
Goal:
  • To expose students to other cultures than those with which they are most familiar.
  • To help the students become more interculturally competent in these areas:
      •  
    • Verbal Communication
    • Nonverbal Communication
    • Awareness
    • Sensitivity 
    • Exposure
Activities:
  • Create a form which helps students to process this information in a longitudinal manner. They will be asked to comment on how the following activities connect to core values of the different cultures.  Students can compare and contrast the values of the different cultures.
  • Known/Unknown Activity
  • Interview someone from another culture
  • Explore the cultures in the classroom
  • Attend at culturally diverse event, participate in a culturally diverse event, interview someone from another culture and then  reflect and share your conclusions.
Measurement:
  • Assess interview notes
  • Reflection paper
  • Mini-group Focus Discussion
Course:
Interpersonal Communication
Goal: Goal #1:  Be able to identify the elements of effective conflict management and resolution Goal #2:  Be able to demonstrate effective conflict management and resolution skills.
Activities: Activities for Goal #1 
  • Watch film clips that present interpersonal conflict and discuss this conflict.
  • Keep a conflict diary
  • Read and discuss case studies that present interpersonal conflict
  • Complete in-class conflict exercises such as "X-Y" or "Prisoner's Dilemma"
  • Through lecture explain conflict
  • Provide students with a required text that explains conflict
 Activities for Goal #2:
     
  • Attempt to exhibit skills in personal life and reflect upon your effectiveness in diary entries.
  • Provide students with activities of a "conflict" nature by assigning roles to the students.  Some students will be assigned "healthy" roles and others less healthy roles.
      •  
    • The type of activity would engender a high level of personal investment.  This might mean offering the students a "competition" for points, etc.
Measurement: Measurement for Goal #1:
     
  • Analysis through Papers and Discussion
      •  
    • Ask, "How do students identify conflicts?" through a "pretest" and "posttest" activity. 
    • Ask, "How do students evaluate healthy and unhealthy behaviors which are demonstrated by the  participants in the conflict."   Measure this prior to teaching and after teaching this concept through some "pretest and post-test" option.
  • Performance on examinations such as vocabulary, application and evaluation.
 Measurement for Goal #2:
     
  • Diary entries would be assessed by looking at how the students initially described the conflict and how the conflict changed based upon the behaviors they tried to exhibit and use.
  • The class activities would include assessing the students' ability to find more constructive conflict management/resolution strategies and outcomes.   After participating in these role-plays are they better able to find productive conflict management techniques? 
 

Session IV:  Service Learning 
  • Julie Plaut from Minnesota Campus Compact presented this session on: "What is Service Learning, why use it and how to integrate it into your classrooms."  She also provided resources for instructors to assist them in integrating service learning into their classrooms.
  • What is service learning?  Ms. Plaut stated that, "Service-learning is a teaching/learning strategy that combines meaningful community or public service with academic improvement, development of civic responsibility and/or personal growth." 

  • Ms. Plaut discussed the purposes of service learning:
      •  
    • Positive community / public interaction and impact
    • Academic Improvement
    • Enhanced understanding of social issues
    • Increased civic participation / citizen development
    • Personal growth / values clarification / career exploration.

  • Ms. Plaut discussed the ways in which we can implement service learning in our classes.  Participants also discussed methods they have found useful.   The discussion included the following points:
      •  
    • Service learning is not an internship
    • Service learning can be a class project (field tips, group efforts)
    • Service learning can take place on campus (cleaning the campus, serving the other students on campus, etc.)
    • Projects can be a one-time activity or an ongoing semester process.
    • It is important to have campus resources and MN Campus Compact is helping to promote this.
    • Grants are available to promote service learning.

  • The group requested that Julie Plaut (or another representative from MN Campus Compact) come back to next year's conference.
Session V:  Video Swap Shop 
  • Participants shared video resources that can be used in the classroom to demonstrate communication concepts.
Session VI:  Evaluation and Future Directions 
  • Participants requested that the next convention continue the discussion of service learning
  • Participants requested that the next convention also focus upon technology in the classroom. Suggestions made included reports on how instructors are using technology in each of the four core courses.