Speech Communication 373
Principles of Group Discussion

                                       Professor: John Gastil          Classroom: Parrington 212

Course Times: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-11:20, Friday 9:30-10:20

 

                           Office hours: T/Th 11:20-12:20         Office: Raitt 205L

                                                Phone: 543-4655         Email: jgastil@u.washington.edu

Course Website: faculty.washington.edu/jgastil/teaching/373.html

 

Course Summary

This course reviews recent theory and research on small group communication and relates these writings to your own experiences in small groups. Topics covered include group formation, leadership, conflict, problem analysis, groupthink, decision rules, democratic decision making, and facilitation. The course’s primary objective is to teach you to think critically about group behavior. After completing the course, you should be familiar with most current theories in small group communication, and you should better understand the relationship between theorizing about small groups and participating in them.

Assignments and Grading

On the first day, the class will choose one of three possible grading systems (or a variant approved by the professor). Whichever system students choose that first day is the one that will be used for the quarter.

 

 

 

• The exams will include short answer and short essay questions that test your ability to apply knowledge and methods, rather than memorize and regurgitate facts.
• The group project will require you to identify, analyze, and address a problem in the campus community. You and your fellow group members will be graded based on the quality of the materials you produce, the actions you take, and the self-analysis papers you write at the end of the quarter.
• The journal assignment will require students to keep a semi-weekly journal about their experiences in small groups. Seven times during the quarter, you will turn in typed journal entries—short analyses of a group that you participate in outside of class. These entries will be graded for both the depth of ideas and the quality of writing.
• I will also take class participation into consideration when setting final grades. You should attend every one of the scheduled classes unless an emergency prevents you from doing so. Since this course is about small group communication, it is appropriate that you participate in class discussions.

Reading Assignments

Two texts have been assigned for this course:

• Mary Ann Renz and John B. Greg, Effective small group communication in theory and practice (Boston, Allyn & Bacon, 2000).
• John Gastil, Democracy in Small Groups (Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1993).

 

The schedule below shows the days by which each reading assignment should be completed. For example, you should have finished reading the preface of Renz by the first Wednesday of the quarter. The schedule also shows the dates you should bring your completed journal assignments to class; for instance, on the first Friday of the quarter, you should bring your first journal entry (J1) to class. You will turn it in at the end of that class.

Week 1: The Nature & Uses of Small Groups (April 2-5)

Tues                 Orientation                                                         

Thurs                Overview of small groups                                     Renz & Greg, Preface, chap. 1

Fri (J1)             Discuss journal case studies

Week 2: Researching Small Groups (April 9-12)

Tues                 Class group meetings*

Thurs (J2)         Developing and testing hypotheses                       Renz & Greg, chap. 11

Fri                    Discuss group projects: Problem selection

Week 3: Group Formation & Leadership (April 16-19)      

Tues                 Group formation                                                  Renz & Greg, chap. 2

                        Discuss group projects: Problem analysis

Thurs (J3)         Leadership                                                          Renz & Greg, chap. 3

Fri                    Class group meetings*

Week 4: Communication Process & Conflict (April 23-26)

Tues                 Process and skills                                                Renz & Greg, chap. 4

Thurs (J4)         Conflict and groupthink                                        Renz & Greg, chap. 5

Fri                    Class group meetings*

Week 5: Problem Solving (April 30-May 3)

Tues (J5)          Problem-solving process                                      Renz & Greg, chap. 6

Thurs                Functional theory                                                         

Fri                    Midterm review

Week 6: Midterm & Group Project (May 7-10)

Tues                 Midterm exam

Thurs                Class group meetings*                                      

Fri                    Class group meetings*

Week 7: Decision Making Rules & Formats (May 14-17)

Tues                 Decision-making rules and formats                       Renz & Greg, chap. 7

                        Democratic decision rules                                    Gastil, chap. 3

Thurs                When is democracy appropriate?                         Gastil, chap. 1

Fri                    Discuss group projects: implementation

Week 8: Democratic Decision Making (May 21-24)

Tues (J6)          An ideal model of democracy                               Gastil, chaps. 2 & 4

Thurs (J7)         Obstacles to small group democracy                    Gastil, chap. 5

                        Limits on democracy in groups                             Gastil, chap. 6          

Fri                    Discuss group projects: self-analysis paper          

Week 9: Group Management & Facilitation (May 28-May 31)

Tues                 Managing meetings                                              Renz & Greg, chap. 8

                        Facilitation                                                           Renz & Greg, chap. 10

Thurs                Group presentations

Fri                    Group presentations                                            

Week 10: Review (June 4-7)

Tues                 Group presentations                                            

Thurs                Exam review

Fri                    No class

Exam Week: Final exam is on Wednesday, June 12 from 10:30-12:20 in Parrington 212.

 

* Class-assigned groups meet independently on these days. They do not need to meet in Parrington 212.

 

 

Journal Assignments

 

The following journal assignments ask you to write about your journal group. This is a group that you already belong to and will study throughout the quarter.

 

1.      How would you describe your group? How large is it? How often does it meet? What kinds of decisions does it make?

2.      Design a simple hypothesis about communication in small groups. Use your group to illustrate it.

3.      Who are the leaders in your group? Does the group perceive these leaders as effective, and why?

4.      What is the most important conflict that has taken place in your group? What was it about? How did your group handle the conflict?

5.      Think of a problem that your group has addressed. What process did it go through in analyzing and solving that problem? Did it skip or quickly pass over any of the essential stages?

6.      Relate your group to one or more of the aspects of the democratic process. For example, is your group inclusive, is power equally distributed, or does it engage in democratic deliberation?

7.      Have any of the obstacles discussed in Chapters 5 and 6 of Democracy in Small Groups prevented your group from making democratic decisions?