Communication – Featured Week Feb 19-23

February 15, 2018

Key questions for in-person and virtual discussions:

• What should students be able to know and do regardless of major?
• What are our trouble areas with regard to communication in general education? How do we account for the wide differences in students’ skills upon entering Clemson?
• What is the foundation that we value for all Clemson undergraduates to develop in relation to communication? How do we know they are successful?
• How do we want to build on this foundation on later courses in the major or in other general education structures? WID (writing in the disciplines)? WAC (writing across the curriculum)?
• What would it mean to have digital literacy or multi-media communication as part of general education? What are the benefits to the students?

Some resources and models to consider:

1. The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AACU) embarked on a large project in the last decade to make transparent the aims and promise of undergraduate education. The creation of the VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) rubrics provides Universities with a tool to think about undergraduate learning in a variety of fields – https://www.aacu.org/value-rubrics. They have created rubrics specifically for Oral Communication and Written Communication. Looking at the row headings helps us to think about what we want students to be able to know and do in these areas:
   • Organization, Language, Delivery, Supporting Material, Central Message (Oral)
   • Context of and Purpose, Content Development, Genre and Disciplinary Conventions, Sources and Evidence, Control of Syntax and Mechanics (Written)
   • Rubric link is here: AACU_Written_Oral
2. The National Communication Association has an excellent page all about the basic communication course and general education (https://www.natcom.org/academic-professional-resources/teaching-and-learning/basic-course-general-education). It includes information on how these courses fit into general education, sample learning outcomes, and assessment examples (including the AACU VALUE rubrics above).
3. The Council of Writing Program Administrators has adopted (and regularly updates) a statement on first-year college composition (http://wpacouncil.org/positions/outcomes.html). It primarily focuses on rhetorical knowledge, critical thinking, processes, and knowledge of conventions.
4. There are a number of resources on digital literacy. To get us started:
   1. Phillip Ventimiglia and George Pullman from Educause Review have an article explaining the idea of digital literacy (https://er.educause.edu/articles/2016/3/from-written-to-digital-the-new-literacy).
   2. The New Media Consortium (NMC) has a strategic brief explaining the field and providing ideas and exemplars (NMC_0817).

Please come to an in-person discussion and/or provide your responses and feedback and thoughts in the comments feature at the bottom of this page.

Resources and models on digital literacy, part 2

Our in-person discussions generated good discussion, especially around the idea of integrating communication domains. Some additional resources:

• Our colleague Travers Scott  provided a number of links about digital literacy. Contact Trogden@Clemson.edu for copies.
• Our colleagues Andrew Pyle, Ed Rock, and Megan Sheffield created a course-specific library guide that deals with many digtial literacy concepts.
• The University of Kentucky has integrated written, oral, and visual communication as part of their general education: http://www.uky.edu/registrar/sites/www.uky.edu.registrar/files/ukcore_4.pdf. Look especially at pages 1 and 5.
• Can we think carefully about the creation and consumption activities involved in digital literacy? Here is an example model: