COM 316 -  Intercultural Communication

Email: tkachuk@cord.edu

Office: Olin 322 

Office Phone : 299-3725    Home Phone: 236-6596

Course Values, Policies, and Procedures

TESTS: Can be made up only if prior approval secured and before any tests are returned to the class (one class period following exam). Make-up PRIOR to exam dates is preferred for anticipated absences.

ATTENDANCE: You may not miss your country report date or any test dates. If you have an unavoidable conflict; see me. If you miss class get notes from someone. You are responsible for all material presented in class. You need not call me if you are going to miss class, just be sure to take care of assignments and secure notes/handouts. Please advise me of any scheduled activities (music tours, athletics, forensics, etc.) in the first two weeks of class so that I can make appropriate adjustments in the schedule if possible.

HOLIDAY DEPARTURES: Students who want to leave early for a break or during finals week must submit a request in writing for CSTA departmental review at least one month prior to the exam/assignment they desire to change. The request must include an explanation of the student's exceptional circumstances. A ride that leaves early or a plane ticket previously purchased is NOT an exceptional circumstance.. A group of CSTA faculty will determine whether or not a variance will be allowed. The instructor of the course concerned will not be a member of the deciding group.

GRADING: Test grades are determined on the basis of the top score achieved on the exam, not on the total points possible. Tests will be some combination of short answer/essay and objective questions. Pop quizzes may be used to establish the good habit of regular and timely reading of assignments! Study guides will be provided.

Each student will be required to be part of a group that will present an oral report in class about one of four areas of the world. The purpose of the report is to provide an opportunity for you to become more aware of the specifics of a variety of cultures in more depth than is usual possible. Since cultures are not easy to study apart from the nations in which they are located, we will study the nations individually and present the reports as a group of people who have chosen countries from that region. Country report grades will be individually assigned as will the grades for the group discussion/presentation. This means that everyone may benefit from group cooperation but no one is penalized if some people do not contribute proportionately.

TESTS: The purpose of tests is to determine both the amount of information learned by the student and the quality of that learning. To accomplish these goals, both recall and analytical questions are used. Analytical question take two forms; the short answer and the essay. Both will be used in the tests in this course. Short answer questions require the student to demonstrate higher order learning of course material. These questions will ask you to integrate ideas, to make comparisons between things, to apply principles to solve problems, or to analyze specific situations like case studies. These are relatively brief answer and examples of them are provided in the study questions. Recall questions will be in the form of true/false and multiple choice. The combination of question types allows the student to demonstrate breadth of knowledge (t/f & mc), depth of understanding (short analytical), and integration of concepts (essay).

There will be one essay question for each of the three exams. These essays reflect the central theme of each of the units of the course. The essays are phrased as propositions about an issue on which you will be asked to support or oppose the statement. These questions are announced on the first day of class and appear on the study sheets in the exact form that they will appear on the tests. The purpose of these questions is to encourage long-range thinking about the issues addressed. The reason this is included in a test rather than being a separate paper is that I want you to articulate your position in a limited format and I want to know your position well enough that you can present it spontaneously on a test. I suggest that you make an outline as preparation but remember that you will not be allowed to have notes to use during the test.

PLAGIARISM AND ORIGINALITY: The penalty for plagiarism will generally be a failing grade on that assignment and the information being turned over to the academic responsibility board for further action. Details about what constitutes plagiarism are found in the Concordia College Handbook, Academic Integrity at Concordia College. All class members are responsible for following the guidelines contained in the handbook even if they are not specifically discussed in class. If you have questions, please contact me or any of your instructors for guidance on academic integrity in all courses. Tests and papers submitted should contain the following statement form the Handbook on Academic Integrity:

"I affirm that I have adhered to the college's expectations for integrity in the completion of this assignment."
 
 

_______________________________________________
Your Name

IN CLASS FORUMS: You are actually studying for tests in every class period, but especially so during the forum sessions we will have in class. These forums will allow you to express your ideas on the essay question and to hear what others have concluded.

Each forum is identified on your syllabus by the title of the issue to be discussed. On that day we will start by forming groups composed of people who have similar ideas about the topic. There will be time for people to share their ideas and explanations. We will then mix the groups so that there will be some people from each of the sides of the issue so you will have a chance to test your ideas and hear what people on the all sides have to say. Finally, we will re-assemble as a whole class and hear a summary from each of the small groups. What you hear in these discussions should help you complete the formulation of your essay answer for the essay question on the test. Each of the essay questions will require that you defend your position and identify what you think was the best position/argument made by the other side and explain why. Remember that the readings assigned for each unit have a bearing on the essay and the forum and should be a part of your thinking and writing!

STUDY QUESTIONS: These are provided to help you get an idea of how I might ask questions about the information covered in class and readings. They are NOT intended to be a complete list of test questions. There might be other questions than those listed and the questions might change form on the test. It is wise to be prepared to answer any of the questions but it is not wise to be able to answer ONLY these. I will be happy to answer your questions about these study helps but not on the night before an exam. If you've waited until then to look at them for the first time then you are mis-using them. You should know the material well enough before then to know where to find those answers because you have encountered them before. These are not a substitute for reading all of the assigned material!

You are responsible for reading assigned material BEFORE the day on which it appears on the daily schedule. I reserve the right to employ pop quizzes to help your motivation in this regard. Pop quiz points will be figured into the score for the next test if they are used. I expect you to have read material in a timely fashion because I often depend on your ability to discuss the readings in the context of the class. If you aren't ready to do that you have a negative impact on your learning and the quality of the planned activity for others. Don't get behind in the reading. It doesn't hurt to bring your book to class as a reference either.

Grade Determination:

There are three tests, which are worth 24% each; one country report worth 16%; and one personal experience paper worth 12%. There is also a country report group assignment that is not graded on its own but may reduce the country report grade if contribution is not appropriate. This will be discussed in class. The final grade is computed by adding the individual assignment grades as appropriately weighted. Test grades are based on the highest score achieved by a student taking the test. The following table defines what percentage scores correspond to what grades.     Back to top

Use this section to keep a running record of your scores and grades:

Hank Tkachuk -COM 316 - Intercultural Communication
Home Phone: 236-6596
Office Phone: 299-3725
Email address: tkachuk@cord.edu
ANY TIME can be scheduled by appointment; just ask!

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