COMM 470 - Syllabus
Course Description
Advocacy:
- The act of pleading for, supporting, or recommending; active espousal.
- Public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy.
Advocacy is a form a strategic communication. But of course effective, ethical communication depends upon the quality of content conveyed. Understanding multiple perspectives, finding credible data, working with others whose experiences and beliefs differ from your own, and navigating legislative and social avenues of change are all part of skillful advocacy. The graphic below identifies the elements of advocacy.
This class is project-based. You will be asked to examine significant social issues, learn to gather and organize information quickly, work with local organizations, and observe and apply the elements of advocacy. If you take full advantage of the “real world” experiences and assignments you have this semester you should:
- Greatly refine your communication skills.
- Equip yourself to think much more strategically about social problems, stakeholders, & solutions to those problems.
- Have the opportunity to do professional networking.
You are strongly urged to take full advantage of the opportunities this class presents. They will be as valuable as you choose to make them.
Outcomes
Critical Thinking
- Research and document a social problem in terms of particular people, a given community, and organizational and legislative stakeholders.
- Develop strategic approaches to media-related, social, and legislative channels of influence and change.
Strategic Communication
- Create written, oral, and visual communication tools needed for grassroots advocacy and coalition building.
- Facilitate dialogue and lead conversations between people with a diverse range of experiences, training, and interests.
Civic Engagement
- Recognize and participate in the dynamic set of relationships by way of which social problems are identified and solved.
- Invest time, talent, and energy in meaningful ways to build community and organizational relationships.
Where There is Flexibility
This course has been designed to be as flexible as possible in how you complete the weekly assignments to accommodate some of the idiosyncrasies of online policies and individual student circumstances. This means you will be learning skills of advocacy that can be used in various advocacy environments. You also will be able to choose the non-profit organization where you want to volunteer although this may mean you will each have different experiences. Additionally, the issue books your group creates will have to account for the different organizations represented. If you will take advantage of the options to customize your experience, it can become a meaningful journey of personal discovery. However, it will require some flexibility (and charity) on your part as well as you learn to accommodate the different experiences others are having.
Weekly Flow
The weekly flow of this course follows a fairly regular schedule although activities and experiences will be different every week.
Although the skills and experiences will be different every week, the weeks have a fairly regular flow. Except for the first and last weeks, which have less content and are designed as half weeks, lessons 02 – 13 all contain:
- An Introduction giving context and explaining the value of the skills you will practice.
- A list of the weekly Objectives you should strive to meet.
- Two Short Assignments (skill acquisition).
- A Longer Assignment (using the skills you have just learned).
- A reflection paper (to connect your activities to your own personal moral compass).
- A Weekly Report (to report on effort and experiences where you don’t turn anything in).
You will need to complete all the activities on time every week in order to do well in the course.
Policies
This class places heavy emphasis on professional preparation. Course policies are intended to support that purpose.
- Submission of work
- All assignments must be completed in order for you to pass.
- Deadlines should be consistently met in order for you to pass.
- Quality of work
- When completing assignments in this class you should think of yourself as a professional. Everything you hand in will be assessed in terms of your professionalism.
- The appearance and quality of content, writing/speaking/visuals, awareness of audience, and credibility of source material are all part of professionalism.
- Being present
- Working on the class assignments regularly and being prepared to engage in conversations with others will constitute a significant part of your performance.
- Participation as a team member also falls within this category. Attending team meetings, attending to team emails, and carrying your own weight as a team member will all factor into your performance.
- Attending advocacy events and activities outside of class, such as being diligent about following through with your shadowing hours, will also factor into the reviews of your performance.
- Self-direction
- While this class will follow a regular schedule, it is also dynamic because of the nature of the learning taking place. Take the initiative to be prepared and know where you need to be and what you need to do.
- When directions from your instructor are given, pay very close attention to them. When criteria or parameters are established, make sure your work aligns with them.
- Problem-solving in terms of time management, team collaboration, editing of documents and such, is essential to your success in this course.
- Rather than waiting for a checklist from your teacher, you should view each week as a challenge best met individually and with your team members.
- Thinking creatively,
- educating yourself about relevant issues,
- trusting your instincts, and
- taking action will all play into your successful performance in this course.
- In this way, managing your workload in this course will be very similar to managing your workload in a professional setting.
GRADING
Rather than specifying individual assignments in the syllabus, three over-arching rubrics are provided. Projects evolve, and changes to expected assignments sometimes need to be made. However, these rubrics can serve as a fixed point by which you can assess your performance throughout the semester. You may find some rows are not relevant to particular activities, but every activity will be graded according to the criteria of these three rubrics:
- Working with Others
- Quality of Product
- Personal Professionalism
Please become familiar with their expectations. Review them closely and frequently.
| Working with Others | Ready For Work | Almost Ready | Not Quite There |
| Effectively Communicates with Team Members | |||
| Is Responsive to Group Communication and Responds In a Timely Manner | |||
| Diligence In Making Phone Calls | |||
| Is Responsible to Complete Group Assignments On Time | |||
| The Precision Of Insights Captured In The Conversation | |||
| Is An Asset To The Volunteer Non-profit Organization |
| Quality of Product | Ready for Work | Almost Ready | Not Quite There |
| Quality Of Information Derived From Interviews | |||
| Number Of Phone Calls | |||
| Successful Invitations To Participate In The Community Conversation | |||
| Quality Of Written Work For Scripts, Issue Book Sections, Emails, And Summary Of Insights |
| Personal Professionalism | Ready for Work | Almost Ready | Not Quite There |
| Self-Regulating | |||
| Completes All Assignments In A Timely Manner | |||
| Focuses On Problem Solving | |||
| Communicates Directly, Clearly, And Confidently | |||
| Uses Data When Appropriate To Add Credibility To Questions And Explanations | |||
| Facilitates Conversations In A Manner That Is Inclusive And Encourages Other’s Involvement | |||
| Uses Assignments To Demonstrate Initiative And Engagement | |||
| Engages With Professionals In A Way That Builds Rapport And Engenders Confidence |