Day 2 Reflections, Building Teams, and Lesson Plan Outlines

First Day of (Real) Class

Today, I employed the following activities:

• The fun drawing activity for the communication models (Jessica's activity)
  This went very well! I think I over-explained the directions--I think students understood what I was asking them to do well before I finished setting it up. (A holdover from teaching ninth graders the last two years, no doubt!)
• The Semantic Stomp (Jade's activity, also in the Instructor Manual)
  Quick and simple. It took two seconds and made a pretty profound point. Students seemed genuinely apprehensive about stomping on the word that represents their most loved person (their mom, grandma, etc.). Great follow-up discussion on how the flow of the activity led them to think of the things they saw as meaningful and valuable.I recommend everyone tries this--it takes only five minutes.
• The "Abstract Language" questionnaire (Melissa's activity)
  Also quick and simple. Again, students took away the important points about the ambiguity of certain language and applied what they learned both to their own performances and their own
• Discussion of the "Dialect Map" (my activity)
  The discussion surrounding dialects and native ways of speaking was fascinating. For example: One group of four North Easterners from different states (and even just different parts of Maryland) all said the word "Water" differently. In a future class, I might brainstorm in advance a list of a few words that people in various regions tend to pronounce differently, and then have the group discussions center on those words (to make sure every group arrives at this takeaway of dialect differences.) Afterward, we briefly discussed whether there are "rules" or "proper boundaries" to language that everyone has to follow. 
• Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis activity (my activity)
  I wouldn't call this a dud--I think it just requires more time and discussion than I provided it. I gave students a list of phrases that depict our cultural comparison of "time to money." I then had them brainstorm a list of ways time might be perceived differently in a culture that discusses time in terms of other metaphors--cooking, conversation, etc. Some interesting notes:
  - Students had trouble escaping our dominant metaphor as a culture. For instance, they tried to apply a cooking metaphor -- "This will take a 'pinch' of time"-- but still were considering time as something that could be spent, wasted, or "taken." I thought this was fascinating--how we cannot escape this framework for thinking about time! Students found that concept challenging, but were definitely thoughtful about it.
  - One student quite intelligently explained that a culture that sees time as a conversation might think about how they interact with their time throughout the day, instead of taking or losing time. She exemplified the goal of the activity: exemplifying how one culture might read "time" completely differently than another based on their dominant metaphor!

Building Teams for the Group Project

An important skill for beginning instructors is to anticipate problems that will arise later--and start addressing them early, weaving the important stuff into class day-by-day. One problem that instructors have consistently noted is building strong collaboration and group communication among the participants in the Group Communication Assignment. In the background of my lessons, I'm going to start confronting that problem in advance.

First, it helps to have a rough timeline in mind of what the rollout of a project will look like:

Thursday 9/6: Students declare their groups; receive preliminary details on assignment
Tuesday 9/11: Students declare their topics; given rubrics and deadlines for presentation

Knowing this is what's on the horizon, there's an important first step that needs to happen soon: Team-building and cohesion for the participants in the group project. And even though we're not covering Group Communication for another few weeks, it is imperative that students start to form a bond with their groups now. To do this, I am going to design an assignment that meets the goals of the Intrapersonal Communication unit while at the same time building a stronger group bond: The Story of Self.

This activity is something that Teach For America employed this year--and which I saw really help boost group dynamics quickly. Basically, it is the formation of a narrative of identity: a brief (3-5 minute) story of who you are and why you believe what you believe. These narratives are coupled with a set of expectations and norms of understanding whereby students respect one another.

The best way to exemplify this, of course, is to demonstrate it for your students. I will provide students a loose set of expectations for this at the end of the 9/6 class. Then, on 9/11, I will present my own "Story of Self" to them (recounting formative personal experiences directly and honestly, and explaining how they led to my personal convictions--as well as my way of communicating with others). I will then have them share their stories in small groups--particularly, the groups they will use for their later projects. This way, they will deeply engage with and understand crucial core beliefs of their classmates before they embark on a major assignment with them. Simultaneously, this will meet the goals of the Self & Perception unit by helping students get in touch with how their own perceptions are shaped.

I'll post more details on how I'm setting this up as we get nearer the interpersonal communication day. But the point I want to make here is: I am anticipating challenges before they arise, and designing activities that kill two birds with one stone.

Constructing a Lesson Plan Outline

I've talked to some people who have been trying to prepare lesson plans as elaborate as I've been writing here. I want to stress that what I'm doing here is meant to replicate the thinking that goes into a strong lesson plan, not the writing. That is: I've been ridiculously thorough for your benefit. While scripting out questions, etc. is important, it's not sustainable (or necessary) to write out paragraphs for yourself in class. Here's an example of what a lesson plan I create for my own personal use might look like:


8:00 Opening of Class:
-- Two truths and a lie
Discussion: To what extent do you recognize others' non-verbal behaviors? (Example: Flirting) --> Relate to lie detection video assignment

8:05 - Introduce Informational Interview Assignment
-- Rubric available on Blackboard
-- Expectations for online
-- Expectations for outline
-- Includes...
-- Expectations for journal entry
-- Addresses...
-- Due Dates:
9/13 Outline
9/20 Reflection
-- Exemplars available on ELMS site

- Introducing Group Presentation Assignment
-- Share contact information
-- Decide on a topic by Tuesday
-- Rubric available on Blackboard

8:10 - Nonverbal Listening Styles Exercise
Select THREE listeners:
-- 1) Nodding positively almost continuously
-- 2) Immobile, sitting up like a board, little eye contact, indifferencce
-- 3) Slow turning of the head from side-to-side
Outside the classroom:
-- Practicing a story about something they did over the summer or labor day

Discussion:
-- Who had more control in the conversation: The speaker or the listener?
-- To what extent did this reveal the transactional model?
-- What are some requirements of effective listening?

8:30 - Text Message Exercise
-- Share the last *three* text messages you've sent with someone next to you.
-- Who did you talk to?
-- What were you trying to communicate?
-- Was the message understood or misunderstood?

Second round of questions:
-- How would the message have been received in person?
-- What "medium" of communication would have been best?

8:50 - Test warning: Aesthetics, etc. a great opportunity for a matching section

- Aesthetics
-- Images of Baghdad murals: Before and After
-- Discuss how the space affects Iraqis differently in light of these changes

9:00 - Future-Orientation vs. Past-Orientation
-- How do you interact differently when I give you 5 minutes to complete--
-- Versus when I give you 1 minute?
-- Deadlines versus long-term: How is your writing in one circumstance versus another?
-- Most job interviews last thirty minutes: Is that okay?
-- VIEW VIDEO (first 2.5 minutes)
-- Does your family/local culture move faster or slower?
-- New York versus New Orleans
-- What does it communicate when you arrive late?

9:10 - On that note, The Future:
-- Read Chapters 4 and 5
-- Begin working on your interview outline
-- Prepare (don't write, just think out what you'll say) a "Story of Self"

More Details on Exercises Above

Several assignments above can be found on the ELMS Discussion Board or the Instructor's Manual (the text message one, courtesy the other Michael; the Nonverbal Listening Styles activity courtesy the Instructor's Manual). I will address my self-created assignments below:

Two Truths and a Lie
Following a discussion of the Paul Ekman video I assigned for homework, a few students (2 or 3) will come to the front of the room and share two truths and a lie. The classic icebreaker will take on new meaning in the context of non-verbal communication and lie detection; concepts from the chapter regarding kinesics will be related to this exercise.

Baghdad Walls & Aesthetics

Via Time.com

Students will be shown two PowerPoint slides: the first will feature images of the walls the U.S. Military built in Baghdad to contain areas of insurgency. The second will include images of the same walls, after Iraqis beautified the walls with murals and images. The ensuing PowerPoint slide will provide students the following information and questions:


The murals reflected traditional stories, symbols, and natural environments of the Iraqi people.
Discuss….
How do concrete walls communicate?
How might Iraqis surrounded by these grey slabs have felt after they first appeared?
How would the “feeling” of the space occupied by Iraqis change as a result of the murals?

Students will discuss with groups/partners, then will share thoughts full-group. The purpose is to reinforce the principles of aesthetics as communication highlighted in the chapter, and to expand students' understanding of "communication" to something much more general (space and visual).

If you want to employ this, you can find a great variety of these images (before and after the murals) on Google Image Search. Just search for "Baghdad Walls" and you'll find everything you need.

Future-Orientation vs. Past-Orientation
Head to this RSA Video regarding Future versus Past Orientations. During class, I will play the first 2-3 minutes of the video (the part where Dr. Zimbardo discusses Sicily and its lack of language for the future will be my cutoff point). This will transition into a discussion regarding the way different cultures construct time: Big cities versus small towns; individual family orientations; etc.. The students will discuss in pairs, then we will share full group. Like the aesthetics exercise, this is meant to expand students' view of what constitutes communication.

I'll relate this to their own class: How do you feel when you have an entire semester to work on something, versus one minute? How does your communication change when you only have a minute to share a thought--versus ten? How might this effect your assignments?

In Conclusion...

Anyway, I hope everyone's off to a great start! Let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or conundrums you'd like me to address here on the blog.