Academic Catalog

COMM 3: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION STUDIES

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2025
Units: 5
Hours: 5 lecture per week (60 total per quarter)
Advisory: Demonstrated proficiency in English by placement via multiple measures OR through an equivalent placement process OR completion of ESLL 125 & ESLL 249; not open to students with credit in SPCH 3.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Area 1B: Oral Communication & Critical Thinking
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • A successful student will be able to critically examine verbal and nonverbal communication.
  • A successful student will be able to analyze forms of communication in various contexts.

Description

Exploration of the nature and history of human communication in multiple forms and contexts. Critical examination of speech and communication theories, methods, and processes. Overview of research methods for the evaluation of human communication phenomena. Discussion of ethical perspectives and intercultural aspects of communication. Application of communication theory through critically evaluated exercises and oral presentations.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Understand theoretical foundations of knowledge creation, including canons of rhetoric and Aristotelian proofs (ethos, pathos, logos).
  2. Critically examine and use supporting materials from primary and secondary sources for credibility in speeches.
  3. Effectively advance written and oral arguments in supporting of guiding thesis, applying audience analysis, and occasion in diverse contexts.
  4. Adhere to ethical communication practices, emphasizing truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason.
  5. Demonstrate rhetorical sensitivity to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and accessibility.
  6. Practice and refine concepts through faculty-supervised speeches delivered to live audiences, using effective delivery techniques.
  7. Utilize effective verbal and non-verbal skills in speech presentations while successfully managing and mitigating communication anxiety.
  8. Engage in critical listening to offer constructive feedback to peers.
  9. Understand and apply interpersonal communication competence skills toward productive interactions and relational maintenance.
  10. Demonstrate an understanding of group dynamics and group communication.

Course Content

  1. Introduction to communication studies
    1. Historical background and forms
    2. The process of communication
    3. The perception process
    4. Principles of communication
    5. Competence in communication
    6. Aristotelian proofs
  2. Speech preparation
    1. Choosing and refining a topic
    2. Gathering supporting materials
    3. Practicing ethical communication
    4. Being rhetorically attuned to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and accessibility
    5. Creating an outline
  3. Informative and persuasive speaking
    1. Informative presentations
    2. Persuasive presentations
    3. Reasoning and fallacies in persuasion
    4. Strategies and arguments for persuasion
    5. Public speaking across different contexts
  4. Delivering a speech
    1. Handling apprehension in public speaking
    2. Effective delivery methods
    3. Vocal expression
    4. Physical presentation
  5. Verbal communication
    1. Language and meaning
    2. Roles of language
    3. Effective word usage
    4. Language in the context of society and culture
  6. Nonverbal communication
    1. Principles and roles of nonverbal communication
    2. Categories of nonverbal communication
    3. Competence in nonverbal communication
    4. Contextual aspects of nonverbal communication
  7. Listening and critical feedback
    1. Comprehending the how and why of listening
    2. Obstacles to successful listening
    3. Enhancing listening proficiency
    4. Critical listening and constructive feedback
  8. Interpersonal communication
    1. Fundamentals of interpersonal communication
    2. Interpersonal communication conflict resolution
    3. Interpersonal communication and emotional dynamics
    4. Interpersonal communication and self-disclosure
  9. Small group communication
    1. Comprehending small group dynamics
    2. Development of small groups
    3. Dynamics within small groups
    4. Roles of group members
    5. Group decision-making and problem-solving

Lab Content

Not applicable.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. When taught on campus: computer with internet access, projector, screen, document camera, video camera, television, DVD player and recorder; for online work, student access to a computer with email and internet capability.
2. When taught via Foothill Global Access: on-going access to computer with email software and capabilities; email address; JavaScript-enabled internet browsing software.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Faculty-evaluated speeches delivered to a live audience (one to many)
Peer critique of speech presentations
Writing assignments and exercises
Examinations on course material

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture
Faculty-evaluated speeches delivered to a live audience (one to many)
Cooperative learning exercises
Discussion
Electronic discussions/chat
Demonstration
Internship/preceptorship
Community service
Field trips

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Fujishin, Randy. The Art of Communication: Improving Your Fundamental Communication Skills. 2022.

Adler, Ronald B., Athena du Pré, and George Rodman. Essential Communication, 2nd ed.. 2018.

Although some of these texts are older than the suggested "5 years or newer" standard, they remain seminal texts in this area of study.

Communication in the Real World: An Introduction to Communication Studies. Available as OER: https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Introduction_to_Communication/Communication_in_the_Real_World_-_An_Introduction_to_Communication_Studies)

Paynton, Scott, and Laura Hahn. Introduction to Communication. Available as OER: https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Introduction_to_Communication/Introduction_to_Communication_(Paynton_and_Hahn)

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Assigned textbook and supplemental reading.
  2. Writing assignments include speech outlines and peer critiques.
  3. Quizzes and tests based on assigned reading.
  4. Short-answer written responses to questions about course material.

Discipline(s)

Communication Studies