11. General Education Learning Outcome: “An LSU graduate will demonstrate effective communication of complex knowledge and ideas through written, oral, visual, and technological media.”
34. Bloom’s Taxonomy Making decisions and supporting views; requires understanding of values. Evaluation Combining information to form a unique product; requires creativity and originality. Synthesis Identifying context, components; determining arrangement, logic, content, style. Analysis Using information to solve problems; transferring abstract or theoretical ideas to practical situations. Identifying connections and relationships and how they apply. Application Restating in your own words; paraphrasing, summarizing, translating. Memorizing verbatim information. Being able to remember, but not necessarily fully understanding the material. Comprehension Knowledge
39. Rhetorical knowledge: the ability to analyze and act on understandings of writer’s role, audiences, purposes, and contexts in creating and comprehending texts
40. Rhetorical Triangle Communicator(s) Role, co-authored? Relationship to audience Knowledge of Subject Genre, Organization, Style, Format, grammatical “correctness” Text Subject & Purpose Audience Roles Knowledge Attitudes, values, feelings Needs Familiar material or need for research Inform, persuade, express entertain Contexts for Communicationsdisciplinary, social, political, economic, academic, situational
46. Communication across the Curriculum 2010 Program of Excellence Conference on College Composition & Communication
Editor's Notes
Welcome to the 7th Annual CxC Faculty Summer Institute! There’s no denying you all represent different disciplines, possess different expertise, and have different personal and professional goals you hope to achieve this week. But the one thing you all have in common is your dedication and commitment to excellence in learning and teaching and for that we applaud you!For the past 7 years, Summer Institute has been a rare and exciting opportunity for faculty from all parts of campus to come together and learn, work, play, focus, and re-fuel. Year after year, faculty leave SI bursting with a new-found energy and enthusiasm for teaching and learning and we hope the same will happen to you.Before we talk more about SI and what you can expect for the next 3 days, we’d like to take some time to introduce you to the LSU CxC program, its pedagogy, and its principles. We realize that for many of you, this is your first experience with CxC. But for those of you who have been introduced to CxC already, I guarantee there will still be something in here that will be new to you so don’t zone out on me yet!
So what is CxC?
Above everything else, CxC is an undergraduate academic enhancement program focused on improving students’ discipline-specific communication skills in all four modes of communication: writing, speaking, visual, and technological.This very component makes LSU unique compared to other universities. Many have WAC or WID programs that focus strictly on writing. Some have even added speaking to their mix. But none of them equally emphasize all modes across the curriculum, nor do they recognize that most often, communication is mutimodal and seldom restricts itself to a singular mode.
From an organizational standpoint, CxC is an academic enhancement unit under the office of LSU Academic Affairs. This was a strategic move by the university when LSU CxC was created in 2004. While the LSU CxC program is loosely modeled after successful WAC and WID programs, it bears just as many unique features as it does similarities and being a campus-wide unit is one of those differences. Most WAC/WID programs are within the English department, sending a clear message that English faculty—and English faculty alone—are responsible for students becoming good writers. CxC was created on the exact opposite principle: writing skills—and all other communication skills—are so critical to students’ success that it is the responsibility of ALL faculty to help students improve their skills. And the differences don’t stop there. CxC is a layered program with 4 major components: C-I courses, CxC Studios, Faculty Support, and the LSU Distinguished Communicators Program.
At the foundation of the CxC program are Communication-Intensive course. LSU recognizes the differences among disciplines and the various communication styles, approaches, and situations that happen in the different disciplines. This is why C-I courses are embedded within the curricula rather than stand-alone courses within English or Comm Studies. C-I courses teach students good communication skills in the context of the discipline they are studying. C-I courses employ active-learning instruction, promote advanced, deeper learning of content, and enhances experiences for students and faculty.LSU faculty currently offer 100+ C-I undergraduate sections each semester.
To support students working on communication-intensive projects, CxC has 4 communication studios. CxC Studio 151 in Coates HallCxC Engineering Studio in Patrick Taylor HallCxC A+D Studio in the Design BuildingCxC M&DA Studio in the Music & Dramatic Arts BuildingEach of our studios are unique, focusing on a specific niche, but they all offer:-out-of-class assistance with C-I projects, rhetorical support and tech support-one-on-one tutoring-dedicated work/practice spaces-feedback-access to comm technologies (in-studio and check-out)-motivating and engaging students in learning-walk-in and appointment-based support-in-class/out-of-class workshops**INRODUCE STAFF HERE
And to support our C-I faculty, we offer a variety of faculty development activities as well as one-on-one consultations. I encourage you to get to know the CxC staff this week as they can be your best friend in enhancing your course. They have the distinct advantage of working with more than 300 faculty across campus and they can share ideas with you, connect you with colleagues, and of course, steer you away from what we’ve learned doesn’t work!The CxC staff is also here to help you with course-specific workshops related to communication skills. So for example, if you wanted your students to up the caliber of their presentation visuals, you could have a CxC staff member come in and do a workshop with your students about powerful presentations visuals.In addition to Summer Institute, CxC hosts monthly Lunch & Learns during the fall and spring semesters on topics that you tell us you want to learn more about. Like SI, these sessions bring together best practices with the first-hand experience of LSU faculty.
And to round off the comprehensive CxC program, we offer an optional academic recognition program for LSU undergraduates—the LSU Distinguished Communicator certification.Through this program, students undergo additional training to advance their communication skills, and create professional portfolios that demonstrate their disciplinary knowledge and communication skills.Students who successfully complete the program are recognized and celebrated at commencement and leave with a permanent notation on their transcript that they are certified as an LSU Distinguished Communicator.Each semester we graduate about 20 students to demonstrate exceptional communication skills and each semester we get calls from just about every industry interested in these students. And sometimes, employers aren’t concerned with the students major at all; they are simply looking for our DComms because they have the highly sought after transferrable soft skills—communication.
Now that you know what CxC is and how it’s organized, why is so important to the educational mission for undergraduates at LSU?
-For one thing, it helps us meets rising accreditation standards set by review agencies such as SACS or ABET.-And CxC meets innovative learning and teaching expectations of grant agencies such as NSF, and the Board of Regents. In collaboration with Service Learning, the College of Science, and the Center for Academic Success, CxC was awarded a Regents Grant for next year which will improve the communication skills and scientific knowledge of our undergraduates while giving area K-12 students experiences with scientific demonstration in chemistry or geology.
The emphasis on multimodal communication is important for lots of reasons. For example, one of the newly crafted General Education Learning Outcomes echoes the mission of CxC.
By why is it important to teach communication across the curriculum? Shouldn’t students be able to communicate before they come to college? Can’t they just get what they need in freshman comp or speech classes. Isn’t it true that Communication is communication is communication.Well, yes.
By why is it important to teach communication across the curriculum? Shouldn’t students be able to communicate before they come to college? Can’t they just get what they need in freshman comp or speech classes. Isn’t it true that Communication is communication is communication.Well, yes.
Force
While discipline-specific communication varies across campus, there are some CxC principles and pedagogies we share.
Go through slide info.This pyramid depicts the different levels of thinking we use when learning. Each level builds on the foundation that precedes it. We need to develop lower levels skills before we can effectively develop higher level skills.
Let me give you an example of Bloom’s at work. You know that the area of a rectangle = length x width.You memorize the formula.
But can I illustrate that formula. Yes, if I have a rectangle that is 4 inches by 3 inches, I can easily find the area by multiplying 4 x 3 which is 12 square inches and I know that answer is right because if draw a 1 inch grid, I do indeed get 12 square inches
Then suppose you are asked to find the area of the combined kitchen, entry, and pantry area above, minus the space for a closet. Can you apply your knowledge and comprehension of area to this problem? Now suppose I tell you that you want to use ceramic tile to cover the area, and that 12” square tile are $175 per box of 48 and 13” square tiles are $2.45 each. You want to do as little cutting of tile as possible, spend as little as possible, and chose an attractive, high quality tile. Your spouse and you differ on which of the tiles you think it more attractive. Write a report explaining which you recommend and why.
Now you’ll need to analyze the information called for, synthesize it so that you can make an evaluation of the better choice.Bloom’s taxonomy is a hierarchy of critical thinking skills: Each level builds on the foundation that precedes it. We need to develop lower levels skills before we can effectively develop higher level skills.Communication assignments also can take students through different kinds of critical thinking. It’s important to recognize at which levels you’ll be asking students to work.
Another basic principle important to CxC pedagogy relates to rhetorical knowledge. And we’ll need a working definition of rhetoric for the week. Rhetorical knowledge:the ability to analyze and act on understandings of writer’s role, audiences, purposes, and contexts in creating and comprehending textsThe rhetorical triangle is a valuable visual.
If you plan to work on a C-I course or develop and assignment this week, I strongly encourage you to read a brief report—Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. And although the focus is on writing, most of the principles apply to any mode of communication.Rhetorical KnowledgeCritical ThinkingWriting Processes --invention, planning, drafting, revising, editing, proofreadingKnowledge of Conventions—usage, mechanics, style, documentationAbility to compose in multiple environments using different technologies.
This report is also the source for our Habits of Mind—ways of approaching learning that are intellectual and practical and applicable across the curriculumCuriosity—the desire to know about the worldOpenness—the willingness to consider new ways of thinking and being in the worldEngagement—a sense of investment, commitment, and involvement in learningCreativity—the ability to use novel approaches for generating, investigating, and representing knowledgePersistence—the ability to sustain interest and attention to short and long-term projectsResponsibility—the willingness to take ownership of ones actions and understand the consequences for self and othersFlexibility—the ability to adapt to new situations, expectations, or demandsMetacognition—the ability to reflect on one’s thinking and on individual, disciplinary, and culture processes used to interpret and structure knowledge.
So now that you know a little bit about the how and why of CxC, you won’t be surprised to learn that it was named the Conferene on College Composition and Communication as the 2010 Program of Excellence, the Heisman trophy for Communication programs. Questions about CxC? Rebecca will now give us some background on the Summer Institute, our participants, and the ground rules.
