SPCH 6 - Workplace Communication - Stage 4 - Tanichya Wongprasert
Assessment
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| Assessment Description | The two instructors who have taught Speech 6 worked on updating and revising the course outline. The revised outline will be sent to the entire Speech faculty for review. We reduced the number of learning outcomes and updated the outline in regards our teaching practices since the outline has not been updated since the class was first proposed. After revisions by Speech faculty the new outline will be sent to the Curriculum Committee. |
| Learning Outcomes | A. Changes made in teaching the Group Training Presentation. In regards to the group presentations, one recommendation was to improve attention getting devices and make them more dynamic and startling. Our department chair gave us computer links to Ted Talks that had dynamic attention getters. I showed those You tube videos to my students and we talked about why each of those were considered effective attention getting devices. In addition to that I talked about the idea of stickiness which is explained in the book "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath. The book is about the art of making ideas unforgettable. A far as improving extemporaneous delivery in the group presentations I limited the number of note cards they could use when speaking. I also had a class period where I assigned each group to do a mini presentation on a subject they were familiar with (i.e., how to reduce stress in their lives, how to turn around a failing grade, how to manage your time more effectively). Each group had a different topic and their presentation was required to be interactive with the audience. They had about 20-25 minutes to prepare. If the presentation started off the first couple of minutes without being interactive I stopped them and said that they were not interactive. That they should be talked with us, not at us. It was a lot of fun and by the end they were very clear about what was interactive. I also gave them a hand-out I found on a government web-site that showed the percentages of learning from different types of speech delivery. Lecture without audience interaction was the least effective type of delivery. In regards to teamwork for the group presentations, I gave the groups more in class time to work together. I emphasized the importance of practicing together out loud. I told them that I would be able to tell if they had not practiced together. One aspect of theie grade would be "Are they practiced and working together as a group?" The issue of quality of training packets was addressed by bringing sample packets from prior group presentations to class and discussing which packets were great and which ones needed improvement. B. Changes made in teaching Interviewing skills. In regards to improving the professionalism of attire the instructor printed out several articles about dressing for job interviews, gave one group of students a few minutes of time and had them get up and present the do's and don'ts professional interview attire. It seems to be more effective than just the instructor talking about it. Clarity of answers was addressed by having students do several days of role playing answering interview questions with multiple partners. This had been done before, but what was done differently is that each person gave feedback to their partners regarding their answers. With supporting materials in answers we focused on having examples and stories to support our descriptions of ourselves. One class period focused on creating examples and stories we could use. We then shared our examples and stories with the rest of the class. In regards to posture, the instructor demonstrated good and poor posture sitting in the interview chair. To reduce vocalized pauses we played a game where we each had to get up and tell a story of something that had happened to them over the week-end. Every time they used a verbal filler or verbal tic each of us clicked a clicker that I had handed out to everyone at the beginning of the activity. They would then have to turn around and start their story over again. Lots of laughing ensued and it did bring awareness to the speaker of their over dependence on vocalized pauses. |
| Number of Sections | 1 |
| Number of Instructors | 2 |
| Number of Students | 20 |
Data Analysis
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| Data Summary | SLO L. Demonstrate proficiency in interview skills needed to get a job in today's employment environment. 1. Attire. Sixty six percent fell in the average catogory of dressing professionally. The instructor discuss more on how to dress appropriately to interviews with specific examples of dos and don’ts. The instructor can also show photos or sample interviews and have the students give feedback. 2. Clarity of answer. Sixty six percent did not offer clear answers to some questions. The instructor should spend more time discussing how to answer questions clearly and includes more class activities to practice answering most asked questions. Students need to have more opportunities such as roleplaying and interview exercises to receive feedback on their practice answers. 3. Supporting materials. Sixty six percent got average on supporting materials that they were lacking or lacked variety. The instructor should tell students that they can’t just give a list of adjectives in their answers. Detailed and specific examples need to be included in the answers. The students can also create a list of adjectives that describe themselves and come up with a specific example for each one. 4. Eye contact. Sixty six percent looked at the interviewers occasionally. The instructor should emphasize that the interviewee must include eye contact to every group interviewer. 5. Confidence. Sixty six percent needed to demonstrate confidence. The instructor should discuss importance of confidence in interviews. The instructor should discuss strategies on how to manage speech anxiety. 6. Gestures/Posture. Sixty six percent of students gestured too much or too little and needed to be more upright. The instructor should discuss examples of good gestures and importance of good posture. The instructor might also consider videotaping the interviews to allow opportunity for students to evaluate themselves. 7. Vocal Variation. One hundred percent of students had vocalized pauses in their interviews. The instructor should include more class activities to allow students to practice giving answers with minimal vocalized pauses. 8. Enunciation/Pronunciation. Sixty six percent mumbled a little and/or mispronounced a few words. The instructor should stress the importance of Enunciation and pronuciation in interview settings. 9. Quality. Sixty six percent of students scored average on their overall quality. More class time could be designated to discuss strategies on how to perform well in job interviews. SLO M. Create and present an informative report citing research sources. 1. Attention Getting Device. Fifty percent of the presentations lacked excitement and clarity at getting the audience’s attention. The instructor could offer more class discussions on how to successfully open a presentation with a dynamic and startling attention getter. Class activities on speech opening strategies could also be very useful. 2. Extemporaneous Delivery. One group (50%) presenters depended on their note cards quite heavily and did not effectively engage the audience during the presentation. This could be improved by encouraging students to practice more, limit the number of note cards used in speech, and/or requiring a team rehearsal as a part of the assignment grade. 3. Teamwork. One group presentation (50%) could improve on team cohesiveness. The instructor might encourage more interactions among team members during their individual speech to help foster team cohesiveness. A mandatory in-class team rehearsal might be useful. |
| Analysis Summary | A significant majority of students need to increase their proficiency in interviewing skills as discussed on the assessment summaries. The majority of students achieved the desirable outcome on both content and delivery of the group presentation requirements. They should also improve skills on extemporaneous delivery and working in teams. |
| Next Steps Planned | In Fall 2013 the instructor reviewed the SLO reports and revised the course to address the area that needed improvement. For example, more examples of TedTalks and other professional speakers are discussed in class to set examples on attention getting device, organization, supporting elements, source citations, and overall delivery. More examples and discussions will be used to address the weakness in interviewing skills. |
| Learning Outcomes | ALL. |
Tentative Future Plans
| Term | Fall 2013 |
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| More Details | The committee is revising the course outline for SPCH 6 in Fall 2013. SLO assessments will continue to be implemented every semester the course is offered. |
SLO Details Storage Location
- HARD COPY - In my personal filing system (my office)
- HARD COPY - In a department filing system (department office)
- ELECTRONIC COPY - In my electronic filing system (hard drive or web server)
- ELECTRONIC COPY - On a department web server or shared document system