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Course Overview

COMM 382

 

COURSE INFORMATION:

 

            Title:  Team Building and Group Communication

            Number: COMM 382

            Term: Spring Semester, 2010

            Meets: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

            Professor: Dr.  Dean Thomlison

            Office:  HH 224B

            Office Phone:  488-1031

            E-Mail: dt4 @ evansville.edu

            Course Information: faculty.Evansville.edu/dt4

Textbook: Communicating in Small Groups by Steven A. Beebe and John   Masterson, 9th edition, 2009.

 

COURSE OVERVIEW:     

             

Communicating in groups is one of the primary activities of our lives.  No matter what career goals we have, there is little doubt that sooner or later we will be involved in group decision making.  Family interaction, business conferences, student groups, work teams, sport teams, discussion groups, committee meetings, and a host of other situations involve the need to know how to most effectively relate in small groups.  This course is arranged to aid you in becoming a more effective leader or member of a group. Personal application of material studied is strongly encouraged.

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 

This course is designed to increase knowledge, awareness, and proficiency in team building and small group communication in organizational, business, and other personal and professional settings through the study and practice of group theory and research. The primary goal of the course is to improve one’s decision making, rational thinking, problem solving, and overall communication effectiveness in small groups.  The course provides theoretical foundations and practical skills for examining and applying communication principles in groups.  Concepts such as networks, group leadership, enhancing teamwork, cohesiveness, groupthink, group deviance, leading and participating in professional meetings, and group problem-solving techniques will be studied and applied.

 

COURSE FORMAT:

 

Readings, lecture-discussions, and structured experiences (exercises and simulations) will be used to demonstrate the concepts of the course.