Freshman Seminar in Reasoning and Discourse: Oral Communication: Difficult Conversations

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Demonstrate appropriate and ethical oral communication messages for given contexts and communicators to increase knowledge, foster understanding, and/or promote change.
• Analyze and evaluate messages according to context, audience, intent, and other principles of oral communication, to contribute to the ongoing development of knowledge and relationships.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Introductory Speech (SLO 1)	10%
Small Group Dialogue (SLOs 1 & 2)	20%
Partner Listening Sessions (SLOs 1 & 2)	20%
What I’ve Learned Speech (SLOs 1 & 2)	10%
Written Reflection 1 (SLO 2)	15%
Written Reflection 2 (SLO 2 )	15%
Participation and Quizzes	10%

Grading Scale:

Percentage	Letter Grade
93-100 points	A
90-92 points	A-
87-89 points	B+
83-86 points	B
80-82 points	B-
77-79 points	C+
73-76 points	C
70-72 points	C-
67-69 points	D+
63-66 points	D
60-62 points	D-
0-59 points	F

Attendance/Participation:

This course is participation intensive and therefore requires regular attendance. You may miss three classes (not a quiz or presentation day) without penalty. Beginning with the fourth absence, one point will be subtracted from your final grade for every additional absence (1 point deduction for 4 absences, 2 point deduction for 5 absences, etc.). Save your cuts for emergencies, doctor’s appointments, and illnesses. There are no “excused” absences; an absence is an absence.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

No course materials are required.