SPEECHES: 54%

Practice Informative Speech: “A Self Introduction: Past, Present, and Future”: 4%

      Extemporaneous Presentation (2 to 3 minutes), live in class, using submitted store-bought, key-word notecards: 4%

Informative Speech: “A Favorite Place/Event”: 15%

      Topic Proposal + Introduction, submitted in Blackboard:  2%

      Full-Sentence Outline with Cited Words In Context + Changes Page, submitted in Blackboard:  4%

      Extemporaneous Presentation (4-6 minutes), live in class, with in-class submission of store-bought, key-word note cards + completed evaluation form submitted in Blackboard:  5%

      Peer Evaluation, submitted in Blackboard: 4%

Persuasive Speech: “A Moment of Epiphany and Everyday Life”: 15%

      Topic Proposal + Introduction, submitted in Blackboard: 3%

      Full-Sentence Outline with Cited Words in Context + Changes Page, submitted in Blackboard: 5%

      Extemporaneous Presentation (5-7 minutes), live in class, with in-class submission of store-bought, key-word note cards + completed evaluation form submitted in Blackboard: 7%

Team Pro/Con Persuasive Speech + Presentation Aids: “A Modern American Controversy”: 12%

      Team Pro/Con Outline, submitted in class:  6%

      Extemporaneous Presentation + Visual Aids + Q&A, live in class, with in-class submission of store-bought, key-word note cards, and PowerPoint slides + completed evaluation forms submitted in Blackboard:  6%

Ceremonial Speech: “A Eulogy to a Future Self”:  8%

      Manuscript presentation live in class, with Word, full-sentence manuscript and in-class submission of store-bought, key-word note cards + completed evaluation form submitted in Blackboard: 8%

DISCUSSION BOARD (4): 10%

For each Discussion Board prompt, one post and responses to two other posts: 2.5% each

PARTICIPATION: 6%

Daily class participation and volunteering for practice exercises live in class

EXAMS (Best 3 out of 4): 30%

Exam 1, in Blackboard; Chapters 1, 3, 4, 6 & 19: 10%

Exam 2, in Blackboard; Chapters 2 (plagiarism), 5, 7, 8, 9 & 15: 10%

Exam 3, in Blackboard; Chapters 16 & 17: 10%

Exam 4, in Blackboard; Chapters 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14: 10%

Lucas, Stephen E. The Art of Public Speaking (13th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, 2020.

Outcomes

1. Demonstrate skills in researching, planning, organizing, rehearsing, and delivering a variety of speeches individually and/or in groups.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the foundation models of communication leading to effective and ethical communication based on audience and context. 
3. Illustrate and appropriately employ verbal and nonverbal various modes of delivery in oral communication (e.g. manuscript, extemporaneous, impromptu, memorized).
4. Recognize and use principles of critical thinking, problem solving, and technical proficiency in gathering information for the development of oral presentations and argument. 
5. Employ appropriate research and provide speeches with appropriate documentation.
6. Practice effective use of computer-based technology in communicating and acquiring information.
7. Recognize the roles that public speaking plays in civic awareness.
8. Identify how culture, ethnicity and gender influence communication. 
9. Utilize listening skills for analysis and evaluation of a speaker’s message. 
10. Participate in teamwork situations to foster interpersonal and collaboration skills. 
11. Practice strategies for reducing stress while presenting to an audience.

Participation & Discussion

• Keep up with readings for discussion, exercises, and exams
• Save individual and team questions for in-person and email office hours
• Do say what you mean and mean what you say
• Be ready for each class session

Reading and Discussion:

The success of this course depends upon your willingness to contribute to class discussion, to take assignments seriously and submit them on time, and to commit yourself to careful and thoughtful reading of assigned materials.  Since we will engage in discussions or exercises related to the assigned readings, the class requires that you come prepared and willing to share your thoughts, questions, and impressions.

To help you keep up with the readings, you will receive a course packet with each chapter in brief outline format, the details of which you may fill in on your own, in class for material covered or outside class for material not covered.  You are expected to keep current in the reading of the online textbook, even if assigned material is not directly covered in class. 

Humility and Civility: Speak Up!:

The proper functioning of any society depends upon a certain level of respect for self and others.  In the microcosm of society in the classroom, this respect is largely a middle ground between expressing yourself and listening and responding to others, providing honest, critical, well-tempered comments and expecting as much from your instructor and classmates.

A quick and easy guideline for class participation is to say what you mean (be clear about your point of view) and mean what you say (back up your point of view with clear, well-formed arguments), which address issues without attacking individuals, and so advancing productive discussion.  So that may use our in-class time wisely, please do not ask questions that have been answered already (sometimes several times over) or that are beneath the dignity of a college classroom.  Let’s keep on track.

Humility and Civility: Power Up & Down!:

Although respect cannot, of course, be regulated, the proper setting for it can be.  In light of the idea of mutual consideration, please check the readiness of your computer, microphone, webcam, and Internet connection, and make sure to reduce distractions by shutting down all other devices and applications, before each class session.

Attendance & Tardiness

• Come to class on time each day, if possible, and stay for the whole class.
• Your attendance is determined from your entering and leaving the room:
  • 0-5 minutes:  on time;
  • >5-15 minutes:  half-absence;
  • >15minutes:  full absence
• Keep up with number of absences, denoted in your schedule with a checkmark:
  • 0 absences: +3 pts. EXTRA CREDIT to final grade!
  • 1 absence: 1.5 pts. EXTRA CREDIT to final grade
  • 2 absences: 0 pts. added to final grade
  • 3 absences: 6 pts subtracted from final grade
  • 4 absences: WITHDRAWN from class (or “F” if after withdrawal date, June 24)

Attendance:

Attendance is crucial.  To participate in discussion fully and to do the assignments properly and professionally, you need to come to class every day and stay for the whole class period.  Class time should take first priority:  missing class because of other classes, jobs, or non-college-sponsored activities is not acceptable.  Warming your seat does not, of course, guarantee that you will warm your mind to new ways of thinking, but discussion in class is impossible unless you attend.

Therefore, beginning the frist day of class, if you have perfect attendance (that is, zero absences), you will receive 3 points extra credit!  If you have one to three absences, you will receive 1.5 points extra credit!

Please note that attendance will be determined only by the number of times you log in to Blackboard Collaborate and stay logged in.  For your convenience, a check symbol (√) is noted by each attendance day on the schedule; feel free to place your own check mark there each day as a way to keep up with your own attendance.  You may also check the “Absences” column in Blackboard, which will occasionally be updated with your total, as noted by “update” in the “Roll” section of the schedule.

During the drop period (up to June 24, the last date to withdraw), you will be dropped from the class once you reach four absences; after the drop date, you will opt for an “F” if you reach four absences.

Life happens.  If you feel that issues—whether your own or someone else’s—such as illness, job schedules, or relationship problems, among other life events, keep you from keeping up with attendance and assignments, you might consider dropping the class or withdrawing from the college.  If you are uncertain about what to do about issues that extend beyond the purview of this class, please see your academic advisor, or I can refer you to the appropriate counseling center.

Tardiness:

Punctuality is vital, too.  Arriving late to class or leaving early is not only rude to your instructor and to the other students in class, but also may cause you to miss some important information.  To be counted as “present,” you must be logged in to class within the first five minutes of class.  If you log in to the session after the first five minutes of class and up to 15 minutes late, you have opted to have half an absence (again, after 15 minutes, you have opted to be counted absent).  If you decide to leave early before the rest of us do, you will be counted as absent.

For Questions:

• If you have a general question not related to your missing class, etc.:
  • Ask at beginning of class
• If you have a question related specifically to you, such as from missing class:
  • First, check Syllabus with Schedule updated and posted in Blackboard or Blackboard Announcements, also sent as email;
  • Second, check “General Questions” forum in Discussion Board, or ask a question there for a quicker response from a classmate;
  • Third, contact a classmate (and they might contact you, too, should they miss class);
  • Fourth, if answer ≤ 3 minutes, send appropriate email, with polite procedure noted (impolite queries will not be answered).  Back-and-forth email conversations are unacceptable; instead, come to office hours or learning-lab hours.  Please note that emails are answered ONLY during Office Hours and some Learning Lab Hours (that’s 9 hours a week!);
  • Fifth, if answer > 3 minutes, come to office hours, via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, or online Learning Lab (see folder link in Blackboard, in Upswing)

When to Come to Office Hours & Learning Lab:

If you are unclear on some points about chapters or assignments in class, or if you missed class altogether, please follow this procedure for the most efficient route for answers:

First, check the syllabus and schedule in Blackboard, especially as the schedule is occasionally updated.  Also, check Blackboard Announcements, which are also sent as emails, for updates and reminders.  If you still cannot find the answer to your question, check the “General Questions” forum of the Blackboard Discussion Board, where another student may have already asked the same question and another student or two may have answered it; if it’s not there, ask a question yourself for responses.  If no one replies, your professor will occasionally check the forum to provide an answer for everyone as well.  Alternatively, you might for the quickest response email a classmate (who might likewise email you when they miss class, etc.).

If the answer to your question will probably take up to three minutes to answer, email me and I will try to answer your concern during Office Hours or Learning-Lab Hours; if it is likely to take more than three minutes to answer, come see me during office hours for a brief meeting in Blackboard Collaborate, or in the online Learning Lab (see folder link in Blackboard) for a longer meeting, where I can more fully answer any questions, go over a quiz or exam, etc.  Please don’t use email for extended question-and-answer discussions; after a response, if you still have a question, please come to Office Hours or Learning-Lab Hours.

To use the Learning Lab, you will request an appointment, and you will receive an email in response with a day and time to meet through a given link in Brainfuse (note link on first page of syllabus and in Blackboard).

Please note that I will hold three Blackboard Collaborate office hours each week, along with 17 hours in-person and online Learning Lab hours (see first page of this syllabus for hours).  The college environment does not include individual review sessions in response to the question, “What did we do?”

When to Email:

If you do not get a response to an email message, please make sure that the information you seek is not already included in the syllabus, schedule, or assignments; in Blackboard announcements; or in the Discussion Board.

How to Email:

If you do opt to send an email message, please take this opportunity to practice more effective communication.  That is, to ensure a response from your professor, who is likely not to notice vaguely placed or stated messages (e.g., subject line when you click reply to a mass email announcement:  “Re: Exam 2” and vague, less-than-polite message:  “Send me that assignment we were talking about.”), please follow these guidelines:

1.   Create a new gmail message to kclark@austincc.edu instead of responding to a mass message sent to the class;

2.   Label your message with a clear, succinct subject line (e.g., “SPCH 1315, 9:50-11:50 am, Question about Source”);

3.   Start with a clear, polite salutation (e.g., “Dear Dr. Clark,”);

4.   Follow with a clear, succinct statement of purpose, followed by a question (e.g., “I am writing to ask whether the source noted below is an appropriate and credible source for the upcoming Informative Speech Assignment.  Could you please take a look?  Thank you for your time.”), followed by clear information; and

5.   Close with your name noted clearly and politely (e.g., “Sincerely, Sarah Smith”).

Please note that I am unlikely to respond to your email if you do not follow this simple, polite procedure in creating a new email (not a response to one already sent out).

Also, remember that email is not intended for back-and-forth correspondence.  If you do not feel you have an adequate response, please come to Office Hours or Learning-Lab Hours instead.

This is just another part of being a competent communicator, for our class, for other classes, and in life itself!

Class Cancellation:

In the event the college or campus “closes” due to unforeseen circumstances (for example, the ACC server has shut down, or there is severe weather or continuing pandemic circumstances) or your professor has a last-minute emergency, you should check for Blackboard announcements and follow directions about completing any assignments or other activities.

For your convenience, a check symbol (√) is noted by each attendance day on the schedule; feel free to place your own check mark there each day as a way to keep up with your own attendance.  You may also check the “Absences” column in Blackboard, which will occasionally be updated with your total, as noted by “update” in the “Roll” section of the schedule.

Withdrawal Policy

During the drop period, you will be dropped from the class once you reach four absences; after the drop date, June 24, you will opt for an “F” as your final course grade if you reach four absences.

Life happens.  If you feel that issues—whether your own or someone else’s—such as illness, job schedules, or relationship problems, among other life events, keep you from keeping up with attendance and assignments, you might consider dropping the class or withdrawing from the college.  It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw from the course by the official withdrawal date of November 18 if personal circumstances prevent attendance.

If you are uncertain about what to do about issues that extend beyond the purview of this class, please see your academic advisor, or I can refer you to the appropriate counseling center.

Students are responsible for understanding the impact that withdrawal from a course may have on their financial aid, veterans’ benefits, and international student status.  Per state law, students enrolling for the first time in Fall 2007 or later at any public Texas college or university may not withdraw (receive a “W”) from more than six courses during their undergraduate college education. Some exemptions for good cause could allow a student to withdraw from a course without having it count toward this limit. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor when making decisions about course selection, course loads, and course withdrawals.” Access the ACC Withdrawals webpage for more information.

Incomplete Policy Statement

Course Evaluations

All course evaluations will be completed online.  Students may access the course evaluation when released by the college in the “Tools” section of their Bb course. Please provide feedback on positive experiences in the classroom and any constructive feedback that would improve the experience for future students.

Student Technology Support

Austin Community College provides free, secure drive-up WiFi to students and employees in the parking lots of all campus locations. WiFi can be accessed seven days a week, 7 am to 11 pm. Additional details are available at https://www.austincc.edu/sts.

Students who do not have the necessary technology to complete their ACC courses can request to borrow devices from Student Technology Services. Available devices include iPads, webcams, headsets, calculators, etc. Students must be registered for a credit course, Adult Education, or Continuing Education course to be eligible. For more information, including how to request a device, visit http://www.austincc.edu/sts.

Student Technology Services offers phone, live-chat, and email-based technical support for students and can provide support on topics such as password resets, accessing or using Blackboard, access to technology, etc. To view hours of operation and ways to request support, visit http://www.austincc.edu/sts.