Speech Communication ~~ Reedley College ~~ Fall 2009

Speech 1H: Honors Public Speaking

Instructor:  Linda Carvalho Cooley 

Office Phone: 638-3641 ext 3126                                Office: Annex 5

E-mail: Linda.Cooley@reedleycollege.edu       Web Page: www.speechideas.net

Check webpage for current office hours

Course Description

Theories and techniques of public speaking; experiences designed to enhance fundamental public speaking skills which include; research, organization, reasoning, listening and audience demographics. Particular emphasis will be on the logical organization, composition and delivery of informative and persuasive speeches. Speech 1 fulfills the General Education Requirement in Oral Communication (G.E. Foundation A1).

As part of the honors program this course will be in conjunction with English 1AH and English 3H following the chosen theme, “the dissemination of information” which will be explored in the debate assignment. This course is a faster paced, and more advanced public speaking course than Speech 1. (note: subject advisory eligibility for English 1A and enrollment in the Honors program)

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This schedule and syllabus are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor – it is the responsibility of the student to check on announcements made during any absence. Also if class is cancelled please refer to the webpage for instructions.

Specific Objectives

 In the process of completing this course, students will:

1. Gain an understanding of the communicative process.
2. Develop skill in informative, persuasive and ceremonial speaking.  
3. Understand the need for clear and concise organization of ideas.  
4. Use supporting materials effectively.
5. Analyze and adapt messages to address audience attitudes, needs and demographics.
6. Understand the role of culture in the production and management of spoken interaction.
7. Develop skill in extemporaneous speaking and enhance vocal skills (projection, diction, inflection and volume).
8. Improve listening skills and analyze other students’ speeches.
9. Utilize practical assignments and exercises that will reinforce the theoretical concepts studied in class.
10. Gain self confidence in communicative situations.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1.      Construct and deliver a speech with communicative competence.

2.     Choose appropriate organizational patterns and research supporting material for their speeches.

3.     Design speeches for various contexts, and occasions.

4.     Apply better listening skills in public speaking situations.

5.     Apply more effective reasoning skills when constructing and evaluating speeches.

6.     Design speeches based upon analysis of audience cultures, needs, beliefs, values, and attitudes.

7.     Critique and evaluate others’ speeches

Student Rights

Students are encouraged to become familiar with the “Campus Policies” section of the Schedule of Courses.  This material includes information regarding cheating and plagiarism, disruptive classroom behavior, and other instructional issues.

Students with disabilities: If you have a verified need for an academic accommodation or materials in alternate media (i.e., Braille, large print, electronic text, etc.) per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, please contact the instructor as soon as possible.   

Classroom Deportment

Students must respect the rights of the other students in the class.  The exploration of controversial ideas is an essential component of this class. Students who are not respectful will be asked to drop the class.  When presentations are in progress students arriving late are to stay outside until the presentation is complete. Interrupting a presentation for any reason other than a severe emergency is inconsiderate and will not be tolerated. Cell phones should be turned off before coming to class. If a student interrupts a speech for any reason other than a severe emergency they will be confronted by the instructor and their speech grade will be lowered one letter grade.

Just a Note Regarding My Teaching Philosophy

If you are absent do not approach me to ask “what did we do when I was gone?” Each student must assume full responsibility for all notes, assignments or announcements made during class.  I cannot and will not re-teach a lesson in my office or in the hallway before or after a class. My power point presentations are for students who come to class – students who are not in class will have to rely on the book or notes from a friend. Just because you miss class when an assignment is given out or when an assignment is due does NOT excuse you or extend the due date.

Assignments

The following numerical guidelines will be used in the assignment of final grades.

 900-1000   =    A    
800-899     =    B
700-799     =    C
600-699     =    D
599- 0        =    F

Late and Missed Assignments

I will NOT accept any emailed or handwritten papers.

I have a very strict policy on late work.

ALL WORK IS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CLASS –

DO NOT COME IN LATE AND ASSUME I WILL ACCEPT YOUR WORK.

Attendance: Roll will be taken at each class session.  Presentations, audience evaluations and participation grades can be drastically affected by absences. Understanding that perfect attendance can only happen in a utopian world each student is allowed 3 unexcused absences. I suggest you use them well. On the 4^th unexcused absence your participation points will be depleted – you cannot earn points when you are not in class to participate in the various activities. On the 5^th unexcused absence audience evaluation points will be depleted. On the 6^th unexcused absence no extra credit can be earned. Arriving late to class and leaving early are unacceptable and will result in a reduction of participation points. Four tardies or early departures are equivalent to one absence. It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of their absences. Excused absences are verifiable, documented and only occur under unavoidable circumstances. Exceptions are only made for school-sponsored functions (e.g. school sports, school mandated field trips). Please note that all excused absences MUST have verifiable documentation by a reputable source. (This does NOT include your parents!)  

All documentation must be submitted to the instructor NO later than one week following the absence. Note that all documentation will be verified by the instructor.

Please note that work schedules, lost keys, car trouble, parking trouble, or vacations are not excused absences. If however you know in advance that you will be absent please inform the instructor so that accommodations can be made for speeches or quizzes prior to your absence. Also understand that notifying the instructor does not excuse the absence.

Speeches: This class fulfills the ORAL component for the general education requirements – I take this very seriously. NO ONE will pass my class if you miss a speech, it is mathematically impossible!! Missing a speech means a zero on the speech, outline, reference page, participation points, audience points and extra credit. I do not allow anyone to give their speech on a day other than their assigned date. Do not ask for an extension. If you are unable to present on your assigned date you will be given a 0 on that speech and will fail my class. The only way to pass my class is to make up the missed speech on “Last Ditch Day” - See “Last Ditch” section for details on make ups. Students who are late on their assigned speaking day will NOT be allowed to speak. After a student gives their speech they are required to stay until class is dismissed. If you give your speech then leave class early you will be given a zero on that speech and will have to re-do the speech on Last Ditch Day – note if you already have a Last Ditch Day speech you will fail the course.

Outlines: Outlines must be submitted to me one class day prior to the first assigned speech date for all students. No one will be allowed to give their speech without giving the instructor their outline on time. Without an outline (submitted on time) you will not receive a time slot to present your speech and you will receive a 0 on your outline, speech, and reflection grade. I will not accept emailed papers and do not come to class with your disk complaining you were “UNABLE” to print the file. Plan ahead and be responsible for your work. Remember this is college not high school - all submitted papers MUST be typed.

Reference Pages: I only require reference pages on two speeches, the informative and the persuasive speech. They must be typed and in APA style format. If you do not submit a reference page you will NOT give a speech. These speeches are to be properly researched with the use of appropriate sources. 

Reflection Papers: All reflection papers must be turned in one class day after the final speech in each round of speeches and will NOT be accepted late. Reflection papers must be TWO pages and typed! I will not accept emailed papers and do not come to class with your disk complaining you were “UNABLE” to print the file. Plan ahead and be responsible for your work. Remember this is college not high school - all submitted papers MUST be typed.

Participation Points: This class is interactive, participation is vital to the classroom environment. Each student is expected to attend class each day and be prepared to discuss ideas, and participate in class activities. Please come to class prepared to engage the material.  Absences, late arrivals and leaving early, in addition to a lack of participation in class discussions and activities will adversely affect participation points. Participation points are strictly given on days with no speeches or quizzes. Please note that your participation points can be completely exhausted on the basis of attendance or missed assignments.    

Debates: Debate dates will be pre-assigned. I do not allow anyone to give their debates on a day other than their assigned date. Do not ask for an extension. If you are unable to present on your assigned date you will be given a 0 on that presentation. Since these debates will be group efforts they can NOT be made up. Debates will include SPAR and Cooperative formats. Each student will participate in 2 spar debates. SPAR stands for SPontaneous ARgumentation.  These debates are short impromptu debates. Each student will also participate in one Cooperative Debate. The cooperative debate will be a group assignment where a dyad will formally debate another dyad on a controversial local, national or world issue. (Debate propositions will reflect the Honors theme) These debates will follow modified Parliamentary Debate format and will be researched in advance. More information regarding the grade distribution and formats will be given in class at a later time.   

Additional Point Assignments:  In addition to the assignments I will be offering limited extra credit assignments. They will be briefly announced in class and posted on the classroom web page. It is the student’s responsibility to look them up and turn them in by the deadline posted on the webpage.  Extra credit assignments submitted by students who have missed speeches will not be accepted. Extra credit points can only be earned by students who have attempted all assignments and students who have less than 6 unexcused absences.   

Finals

Finals are held in the same classroom but not necessarily at the same time. Please note schedule below so that you are aware of the time and date of your final. Please note – I will not allow anyone who is 20 minutes late to take the final unless there is a verifiable excused reason for the tardy. Please be aware and be on time. 

Last Ditch Effort Day

In an effort to be fair I will have an assigned make up day. If you have missed ONE speech this will be the ONLY day you can make that speech up.

The BAD NEWS: all make up speeches will suffer a 2 letter grade reduction from the original points possible. I will only listen to late speeches on this day. 

Make Up Speeches

NO ONE CAN PASS THIS CLASS IF THEY MISS A SPEECH ~ PERIOD!!

If you miss a speech you will be allowed to make up that ONE speech on the Last Ditch Effort Day but you will be at the mercy of time constraints and some basic rules.

How it works: at the start of class everyone who has a make up speech will put their names on a card and I will draw names – if we run out of time, you ran out of luck! I will hold very strict time limits on speeches but cannot guarantee that everyone will get a turn. Those students making up speeches due to verifiable excused absences will be given priority and full credit for their speeches on this day.

The GOOD NEWS: if you have given all of your speeches and do not have any to make up, consider this a free day – take the time to study for the final or sleep in, go to the beach (Reedley Beach??) or whatever you want, after all you have earned it.

Honors Class ONLY: if there are two or fewer students who need the Last Ditch Day they will be asked to go to another class time and Last Ditch Day will be eliminated to allow more time for debates.
 

Calendar for Fall 2009

Final exam will cover chapters 3, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 and re-exam of chapter 13 along with all lecture notes (hint: especially those regarding debates)