Teaching:
Courses Taught & Curricula Developed
In this section, I document the courses I have taught while at SUNY Fredonia. Each PDF file in the left column contains a course syllabus and schedule. The right column presents course assignment guidelines and rubrics. Click on the blue button to read the assignment guidelines and to view the rubrics. You'll also find support materials (e.g., sample lessons). Then, at the bottom of the webpage, I included descriptions for each course that I taught during this review period.
Courses Taught by Semester
Fall 2021
|
Spring 2022
Spring 2019
|
Syllabi: SUNY Fredonia 2021-2022
Syllabi: SUNY Fredonia 2020-2021
Syllabi: SUNY Fredonia 2019-2020
Syllabi: SUNY Fredonia 2018-2019
Syllabi & Course Assignments: SUNY Fredonia 2017-2018
Syllabi & Course Assignments: SUNY Fredonia 2016-2017
* denotes new course
** denotes major curricula revision |
Course Assignments & Rubrics : SUNY Fredonia 2021-2022 (shared via Google Drive)Course Assignments & Rubrics : SUNY Fredonia 2020-2021 (shared via Google Drive)Course Assignments & Rubrics : SUNY Fredonia 2018-2020 (shared via Google Drive)Sample Lessons (shared via Google Drive)Syllabi & Course Assignments for Intersession Courses (shared via Google Drive) |
Summary of Courses Taught During Review Period
supporting materials for each course are provided above
COMM102: Mass Media and Society
The general purpose of this introductory course is to discuss the performance of various mass media mediums and their impacts on society. Specifically, this course provides students with the opportunity to explore issues in the interaction between mass media, culture, and society. We consider aspects of performance, such as the role of media in its various forms, and how media influences our daily lives. The course is aimed at helping students develop critical perspectives on mass media as they consider the interaction between media institutions, media content, culture, audiences, and society. Given this, over the duration of the course students strengthen their knowledge of mass media, engage in systematic observations, apply course concepts to real-world media content, compare and contrast types of mediated communication, and consider others’ viewpoints.
COMM 302: Rhetoric and Criticism
This course teaches students about the major issues and perspectives in rhetorical criticism, including foundational concepts from the history of rhetorical theory, elements of rhetorical studies, and methods of rhetorical analysis. By surveying traditional and contemporary approaches to studying rhetoric, the readings encourage students to reflect upon the power of language and human symbolic activity and explore how these processes work and why they affect us. First, rhetoric is an art form with its own set of principles and a diverse theoretical landscape. This class introduces students to rhetorical theory and evolving definitions of rhetoric. Skills obtained in this class help students question the communicative acts going on around them, and the course content urges them to ask questions about the nature and functions of communication. Second, the study of rhetorical criticism begins with the understanding that human beings use language and symbols to shape our world. Students learn how to write a piece of rhetorical criticism that does not “criticize” but instead uses tools available to construct and justify reasonable arguments about how rhetoric works. Therefore, this course also introduces students to major issues and perspectives in rhetorical criticism. This class provides an advanced introduction to the study of rhetoric – “advanced” because the readings are difficult and “introduction” because the content is probably new.
COMM 313: Political Communication
A democracy’s success depends upon open and direct communication between its citizens and those who govern them. Therefore, the main goal of the course is to teach students about the role of communication in informing, influencing, and legitimizing decisions in domestic politics. This course examines the interaction of media, politics, and public opinion, thus providing a survey of the field of political communication. As a result, the goal of this course is to teach students to be effective observers and participants in the public sphere. We study political communication in all its forms, genres, and styles in U.S. politics. This course examines the practices that have come to constitute political communication. Emphasis is given to the role of political communication as it is practiced in the media, by elected officials, and during elections.
COMM342: Presidential Campaign Communication*
Smith (2015) suggests, “There can be no presidential campaigns without communication . . . there must be humans performing and interpreting symbols via some medium” (p. 11). Therefore, we investigate the evolution of a presidential candidate’s communication environment, resources, and strategies, and students will apply practitioner and academic literature to understand real time political processes. Although this class is oriented around tracking developments on the campaign trail during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, we also utilize examples from past presidential elections to illustrate a variety of lessons related to launching candidacies, attacking opponents, cultivating ads, and image creation among other topics. In the process, we create descriptive accounts of campaigns and candidates and their media use and seek to infer campaign strategy. Additionally, this course emphasizes the importance of learning through experience and reflection on doing. To meet this expectation, students use the knowledge gained in the course to create and execute their own voter mobilization campaign. After the election, students reflect on their experience and use analytical skills to conceptualize their experience.
COMM 359: Presidential Campaign Communication*
This course combined perspectives from communication, political science, history, and sociology to paint a comprehensive picture of presidential campaigns in the modern era. Smith (2015) suggests, “There can be no presidential campaigns without communication . . . there must be humans performing and interpreting symbols via some medium” (p. 11). Therefore, we investigated the evolution of a presidential candidate’s communication environment, resources, and strategies, and students applied practitioner and academic literature to understand real time political processes. Although this class was oriented around tracking developments on the campaign trail during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we also utilized examples from past presidential elections to illustrate a variety of lessons related to launching candidacies, attacking opponents, cultivating ads, and image creation among other topics. In the process, we created descriptive accounts of campaigns and candidates and their media use and sought to infer campaign strategy. Additionally, this course emphasized the importance of learning through experience and reflection on doing. To meet this expectation, students used knowledge gained in the course to create and execute their own voter mobilization plan. After November 8, students reflected on their experience and used analytical skills to conceptualize their experience.
COMM 365: Communication and Leadership*
Hackman and Johnson (2018) state, “Any setting where you can master your communication skills is preparation for leadership” (p. 413). In a sense, the class is a skills-based training course that helps future leaders master skills related to public speaking, group communication, and leadership styles through modeling and hands-on practice. In an effort to hone their speaking and leadership abilities, students learn how to tailor messages to different audiences, connect authentically with their audience through their unique leadership style, and create compelling oral presentations. This course also encourages student’s personal assessment and growth as leaders; consequently, students frequently evaluate their own and their peers’ leadership communication abilities using self-assessment exercises, peer evaluation forms, and engaging in a variety of active-learning strategies. As a result of gaining respect for theory and research, students understand what behaviors are most effective for leaders, why they work, and when to use them. Moreover, students demonstrate leader self-efficacy while gaining knowledge, skills, and abilities relating to public speaking and leadership.
COMM 379: Persuasion
We take a broad-based approach to the scope of persuasion and thus expand students' understanding of what persuasion is and how it is utilized. The class readings, discussions, and assignments strengthen students' understanding of persuasion theory, the ways in which they can be an advocate, and help students become a more educated consumer of persuasive messages. To achieve this expectation, we discuss how features of the sender (e.g., expertise and trustworthiness), the message (argument strength), and the receiver affect the persuasive message. Furthermore, to enrich students' understanding of persuasion theory, this course examines how citizens (individually and collectively) seek social change in society.
COMM 430: Communication Theory
This course introduces students to major issues and perspectives in communication studies while helping students think about and analyze communication in a systematic way (i.e., in a theoretical way). Theories help us to make sense of the world around us. Regardless of their scope, all theories shape how we make judgments about reality, relationships, circumstances, and decisions in our lives. This course exposes students to theories of communication, both large and small, with the intention of better equipping them to make sense of the communicative aspects of their world. By completing the course, students demonstrate their abilities to recognize conceptual domains of communication theory and understand how the disciplinary areas of communication guide scholarly inquiry. They also participate in class discussions that urge them to outline the essential features of theories of human communication and use that knowledge to analyze communication phenomena from different perspectives. Working in groups, students also identified and explained major communication theories by applying knowledge of communication to events happening in their daily lives. We also have lively conversations in which students compare and contrast communication theories in order to evaluate communication behavior.
COMM 480: Communication Internships
By the end of this course, students should be able to: 1) demonstrate an understanding of communication concepts and skills used in a workplace environment; 2) observe the personal style of supervisors and colleagues and be able to identify methods used to promote good working relationships and/or hinder a productive work environment; 3) identify difficulties encountered during the performance of workplace duties and explain techniques used to resolve the challenges; and 4) pursue career goals and self-discovery while meeting the total number of hours required to obtain academic credit for COMM480.
HONR 228: Women in Leadership & Public Service*
This course was designed to provide students who have an interest in leadership with ideas, information, and insights that pertain to women and leadership. In particular, students discussed how women in the United States strategically use communication to achieve leadership positions and rights, the barriers that women face as they fight to attain these objectives, and the tactics women leaders use to overcome obstacles and influence policy debates. This course was based on the assumption that knowledge about women and leadership will impact how students exercise authority and influence in the future. Using real life examples, we uncovered women’s leadership traits, how they grappled with double binds, and the ways in which women leaders overcame issues of discrimination and prejudice. Students kept in mind that topics pertaining to women and leadership are embedded in America’s past. Given this, we also placed the subject in a historical context by studying women’s leadership strategies within the suffrage and women’s liberation movements. Additionally, students drew connections between the eras in American history by investigating topics relating to the authority and influence that contemporary leaders exert in the political arena. For instance, we examined women’s participation in the Supreme Court, how women have influenced policy debates by obtaining key political positions, and how their work has changed perceptions of women in political leadership positions. While all gender issues relate to all other gender issues, the constraints of time required that we stay focused on women in particular. Also, tackling the topic of women in leadership and public service cuts across many disciplines; therefore, we discussed the experiences of women as leaders by examining research from various fields of study including business, communication, history, political science, and psychology.
* New course offering
The general purpose of this introductory course is to discuss the performance of various mass media mediums and their impacts on society. Specifically, this course provides students with the opportunity to explore issues in the interaction between mass media, culture, and society. We consider aspects of performance, such as the role of media in its various forms, and how media influences our daily lives. The course is aimed at helping students develop critical perspectives on mass media as they consider the interaction between media institutions, media content, culture, audiences, and society. Given this, over the duration of the course students strengthen their knowledge of mass media, engage in systematic observations, apply course concepts to real-world media content, compare and contrast types of mediated communication, and consider others’ viewpoints.
COMM 302: Rhetoric and Criticism
This course teaches students about the major issues and perspectives in rhetorical criticism, including foundational concepts from the history of rhetorical theory, elements of rhetorical studies, and methods of rhetorical analysis. By surveying traditional and contemporary approaches to studying rhetoric, the readings encourage students to reflect upon the power of language and human symbolic activity and explore how these processes work and why they affect us. First, rhetoric is an art form with its own set of principles and a diverse theoretical landscape. This class introduces students to rhetorical theory and evolving definitions of rhetoric. Skills obtained in this class help students question the communicative acts going on around them, and the course content urges them to ask questions about the nature and functions of communication. Second, the study of rhetorical criticism begins with the understanding that human beings use language and symbols to shape our world. Students learn how to write a piece of rhetorical criticism that does not “criticize” but instead uses tools available to construct and justify reasonable arguments about how rhetoric works. Therefore, this course also introduces students to major issues and perspectives in rhetorical criticism. This class provides an advanced introduction to the study of rhetoric – “advanced” because the readings are difficult and “introduction” because the content is probably new.
COMM 313: Political Communication
A democracy’s success depends upon open and direct communication between its citizens and those who govern them. Therefore, the main goal of the course is to teach students about the role of communication in informing, influencing, and legitimizing decisions in domestic politics. This course examines the interaction of media, politics, and public opinion, thus providing a survey of the field of political communication. As a result, the goal of this course is to teach students to be effective observers and participants in the public sphere. We study political communication in all its forms, genres, and styles in U.S. politics. This course examines the practices that have come to constitute political communication. Emphasis is given to the role of political communication as it is practiced in the media, by elected officials, and during elections.
COMM342: Presidential Campaign Communication*
Smith (2015) suggests, “There can be no presidential campaigns without communication . . . there must be humans performing and interpreting symbols via some medium” (p. 11). Therefore, we investigate the evolution of a presidential candidate’s communication environment, resources, and strategies, and students will apply practitioner and academic literature to understand real time political processes. Although this class is oriented around tracking developments on the campaign trail during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, we also utilize examples from past presidential elections to illustrate a variety of lessons related to launching candidacies, attacking opponents, cultivating ads, and image creation among other topics. In the process, we create descriptive accounts of campaigns and candidates and their media use and seek to infer campaign strategy. Additionally, this course emphasizes the importance of learning through experience and reflection on doing. To meet this expectation, students use the knowledge gained in the course to create and execute their own voter mobilization campaign. After the election, students reflect on their experience and use analytical skills to conceptualize their experience.
COMM 359: Presidential Campaign Communication*
This course combined perspectives from communication, political science, history, and sociology to paint a comprehensive picture of presidential campaigns in the modern era. Smith (2015) suggests, “There can be no presidential campaigns without communication . . . there must be humans performing and interpreting symbols via some medium” (p. 11). Therefore, we investigated the evolution of a presidential candidate’s communication environment, resources, and strategies, and students applied practitioner and academic literature to understand real time political processes. Although this class was oriented around tracking developments on the campaign trail during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we also utilized examples from past presidential elections to illustrate a variety of lessons related to launching candidacies, attacking opponents, cultivating ads, and image creation among other topics. In the process, we created descriptive accounts of campaigns and candidates and their media use and sought to infer campaign strategy. Additionally, this course emphasized the importance of learning through experience and reflection on doing. To meet this expectation, students used knowledge gained in the course to create and execute their own voter mobilization plan. After November 8, students reflected on their experience and used analytical skills to conceptualize their experience.
COMM 365: Communication and Leadership*
Hackman and Johnson (2018) state, “Any setting where you can master your communication skills is preparation for leadership” (p. 413). In a sense, the class is a skills-based training course that helps future leaders master skills related to public speaking, group communication, and leadership styles through modeling and hands-on practice. In an effort to hone their speaking and leadership abilities, students learn how to tailor messages to different audiences, connect authentically with their audience through their unique leadership style, and create compelling oral presentations. This course also encourages student’s personal assessment and growth as leaders; consequently, students frequently evaluate their own and their peers’ leadership communication abilities using self-assessment exercises, peer evaluation forms, and engaging in a variety of active-learning strategies. As a result of gaining respect for theory and research, students understand what behaviors are most effective for leaders, why they work, and when to use them. Moreover, students demonstrate leader self-efficacy while gaining knowledge, skills, and abilities relating to public speaking and leadership.
COMM 379: Persuasion
We take a broad-based approach to the scope of persuasion and thus expand students' understanding of what persuasion is and how it is utilized. The class readings, discussions, and assignments strengthen students' understanding of persuasion theory, the ways in which they can be an advocate, and help students become a more educated consumer of persuasive messages. To achieve this expectation, we discuss how features of the sender (e.g., expertise and trustworthiness), the message (argument strength), and the receiver affect the persuasive message. Furthermore, to enrich students' understanding of persuasion theory, this course examines how citizens (individually and collectively) seek social change in society.
COMM 430: Communication Theory
This course introduces students to major issues and perspectives in communication studies while helping students think about and analyze communication in a systematic way (i.e., in a theoretical way). Theories help us to make sense of the world around us. Regardless of their scope, all theories shape how we make judgments about reality, relationships, circumstances, and decisions in our lives. This course exposes students to theories of communication, both large and small, with the intention of better equipping them to make sense of the communicative aspects of their world. By completing the course, students demonstrate their abilities to recognize conceptual domains of communication theory and understand how the disciplinary areas of communication guide scholarly inquiry. They also participate in class discussions that urge them to outline the essential features of theories of human communication and use that knowledge to analyze communication phenomena from different perspectives. Working in groups, students also identified and explained major communication theories by applying knowledge of communication to events happening in their daily lives. We also have lively conversations in which students compare and contrast communication theories in order to evaluate communication behavior.
COMM 480: Communication Internships
By the end of this course, students should be able to: 1) demonstrate an understanding of communication concepts and skills used in a workplace environment; 2) observe the personal style of supervisors and colleagues and be able to identify methods used to promote good working relationships and/or hinder a productive work environment; 3) identify difficulties encountered during the performance of workplace duties and explain techniques used to resolve the challenges; and 4) pursue career goals and self-discovery while meeting the total number of hours required to obtain academic credit for COMM480.
HONR 228: Women in Leadership & Public Service*
This course was designed to provide students who have an interest in leadership with ideas, information, and insights that pertain to women and leadership. In particular, students discussed how women in the United States strategically use communication to achieve leadership positions and rights, the barriers that women face as they fight to attain these objectives, and the tactics women leaders use to overcome obstacles and influence policy debates. This course was based on the assumption that knowledge about women and leadership will impact how students exercise authority and influence in the future. Using real life examples, we uncovered women’s leadership traits, how they grappled with double binds, and the ways in which women leaders overcame issues of discrimination and prejudice. Students kept in mind that topics pertaining to women and leadership are embedded in America’s past. Given this, we also placed the subject in a historical context by studying women’s leadership strategies within the suffrage and women’s liberation movements. Additionally, students drew connections between the eras in American history by investigating topics relating to the authority and influence that contemporary leaders exert in the political arena. For instance, we examined women’s participation in the Supreme Court, how women have influenced policy debates by obtaining key political positions, and how their work has changed perceptions of women in political leadership positions. While all gender issues relate to all other gender issues, the constraints of time required that we stay focused on women in particular. Also, tackling the topic of women in leadership and public service cuts across many disciplines; therefore, we discussed the experiences of women as leaders by examining research from various fields of study including business, communication, history, political science, and psychology.
* New course offering