COMM & WS 337U Communication & Gender Spring Term, 2011

Instructor: Gisele Tierney Teaching Assistants: Email to:

Group 1 Heather Herring hherring
 Please contact me through our D2L Mail.
Group 2 Kayla Bryson bkayla
 D2L email: tierneyg
 I check my course email every 2-3 days. Group 3 Eric Schmidt schmie
 If you have D2L access trouble, contact me Group 4 Jason Hull jhull
via my PSU Email: [email protected] or call
Group 5 Kori Boyd kboyd
the Help Desk: 503.725.4357
Group 6 Julie Shaw julie2
 Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10- Group 7 Jessica Kreider jkreider
11:30 in NH 35 (basement of Neuberger
Hall). I am also happy to arrange phone
Group 8 Michael Ryan ryanmb
appointments with you. Please contact me Group 9 Jennifer Fillion jfillion
through our course email to arrange to do
this. Please contact your T.A. through our course mail.
If you have a learning challenge, documented disability and/or are working
with DRC, Disability Resource Center, please let me know if you need specific
Disability
adjustments and assistance. For Test Support, Note-takers or other assistance:
Resource
Go to SMC 435 or Call: 503.725.4150 or TTY 503.725.6504. For Reader
Center
Services: 503.725.4153; For Interpreter Services: 503.725.5202; FAX -
503.725.5438 or Email: [email protected]
Please do not drop the course if you are nervous about the technology!
People who have never taken online courses do very well in this one. It takes a
If you are bit of familiarizing yourself with the site before you are able to relax or become
new to confident about the experience. It helps when people are new to online
online courses to go over a few things with me. We could do this in a phone
courses… appointment, while we both sit in front of our computers, I can direct you to
various things, go over assignments and so on. It has worked quite nicely! Let
me know if you want to do this.
Use of D2L
Course To send a D2L Email:
Email: 1. On the right hand side of the screen, click on the Classlist link.
Please always 2. Then, click on the name of the person you want to contact.
use our course Or:
email rather 1. Go to D2L Mail link at the top of the page.
than my pdx 2. Click on Compose.
email. I check 3. Type the person’s Username into the To line. To email me: tierneyg
into my 4. Then you are able to compose and send a message
classes much Or: Click on Reply in someone’s email.
more often &
am able to To Check your D2L Email: Go to D2L Mail link at the top of the page or the
respond to you Updates link on the Home page.
quicker.
The D2L If you have not done so already, go back to the D2L entry page, where you
Entry page logged in, to click on: System Check prior to initial login.
 D2L is PSU’s new online course system, we just switched from Blackboard. Most of you will be
new to it this term. Please expect some adjustment challenges, but you will find many D2L tools
to be more user-friendly than Bb tools.
Suggestions:
About the new  Click around to learn what the tools do and do not do.
D2L online
 Many D2L pages open in new windows, then some do not close again when you click on the next one, so
system…
you may find yourself having to close them yourself.
 Click on as many Settings buttons as you find on any page. This will show you the options for ease of
reading and for accessing course materials, postings, instructions, etc.
 Click around enough to notice there are several ways to access the same information….at first it may seem
as though all of the information is different because you clicked on different links to get to it.
If you have D2L If you experience a problem such as a page not opening or everything freezes, it is most likely only your own
access system and not the whole D2L system. You are usually able to clear this up by closing out of D2L and logging
problems; back in. Check your browser and pop-up blocker settings too.
are timed-out Plan for a back-up computer in case you have problems with your regular access to the course. It is your
or have other responsibility to make certain you are able to participate in the course work as scheduled. If you are not able
technical to do so this term, please plan to take the course another term.
problems If you have technical problems contact me: [email protected] or the PSU Help Desk: 503.725.4357

Course Where to find Assignment

Grading Criteria: Due Dates Grade % Information & Instructions
In the Discussion Postings & Surveys
1.Virtual Gendertalk Discussion Postings & Surveys Weekly 55%
link
Week 10
In the F2F Discussions with one
2. Four F2F Gendertalk Discussions with a Volunteer June 1 25%
Volunteer link
by midnight
3. Midterm Exam May 1, 2 & 3 10%
In the Course Exams link
4. Final Exam June 7, 8 & 9 10%

Statement of Completion and Course Failure policy: All grading criteria must be fully completed in
order to pass this course. Missing a few postings will not result in course failure, but missing six
postings would. [Missing 6 postings is comparable to missing 2-3 weeks of class.] If you miss 6
postings or one of the other course assignments, you would earn a failing grade of D, F or NP for the
course, regardless of the calculation value of all course work.

This course failure penalty is in place to emphasize that we are replacing classroom time, but not the
benefits gained from weekly work and/or participation to meet our course learning objectives. Please
contact me if you have any questions about this. If you find you cannot complete the course criteria,
are faced with an emergency or a change in your schedule later in the term, please contact me right
away. I would rather you formally withdraw from the course than receive a failing grade.

Please make sure you plan to fully participate in the course this term regardless of your
plans.
If you are away from your typical access to the Internet, plan for alternate access while you are away.
It is completely up to you to decide if this is a good term for you to take this course.
There is no difference in the grading criteria for Pass/No Pass grading. All of the
Pass/No Pass above applies to you too. Please do not make the mistake of calculating the overall
Grading percentages of total assignments, then skipping some based on passing % values.
Each assignment must be fully completed in order to pass this course.
If you have an emergency at the end of the term, you might be eligible to earn an
Incomplete Incomplete Grade. You would need to have completed 75% of the course work at a
Grading Option “C” or better grade. Incomplete Grades will not be given due to late work. Please
contact me about this.

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Course Learning Objectives - Through communicator skill building assignments and studying
communication theories, you will have the opportunity to achieve the following Course Learning
Objectives:
1. Critical Thinking Skills: Use of communication theories and concepts to explore gender as a socio-
communicative variable.
 Women and men use the same language; and communicate more similarly than differently.
 Identify many ways to communicate about gender [Gendertalk Continuum]: in funny stories; jokes or
humorous bashing statements; in personal stories; personal experience-based opinions; personal experience-
based facts; in generalized or stereotypical ways; in factual reports; in righteous informed or un-informed
argument; etc.
 Deconstruct myths, fallout-contradictions, assumptions and notions about communication and about gender.
 Understand the problems created and maintained by under-explored and under-expressed ideas about
gender.
 Reduce over-focus on gender differences as a catch-all explanation for everything gender-related.
 Learn distinctions between sociological and communication observations in order to understand the nature of
Gendertalk.
 When considering gender similarities and differences, you will determine what is and is not significant when it
comes to communicating.
 Understand the concept of a continuum of messages about gender: Types of Gendertalk [Gendertalk
Continuum]

2. Observation Skills: Develop and/or improve your observation skills as a communicator before,
during and after you communicate.
 Recognize similarity blindness (when women and men communicate the same way, but are perceived as
different).
 Be able to make the distinction between the right to state an opinion from the opinion itself; between
opinions about speakers/writers and notions about why they think the way do; and notice if and when we are
caught up in our opinions of other’s opinions of our opinions and so on.
 To discern some personal to public typical ways of communicating about gender, such as on a Jerry Springer
Show, or an All Figured Out Communicatively-Correct position, or the notions that People are stupid. or There
wasn’t a problem until you started talking about it. or No one is sexist anymore, everyone should just relax.
 Learn to observe the distinctions in what is written or said (content of topic) à from how it is written or said
(manner or attitude of speaker/writer) à from how it is regarded (manner or attitude of listener/reader).

3. Communicator Interaction and Articulation Skills:

 Through the use of skill building principles in the posting & F2F assignments, develop and/or improve your
comprehensive and critical communicating skills in order to express your ideas about gender in many
different ways.
 To communicate differently about gender, including: becoming okay with not having it all figured out; being
wrong and fine with it; not being afraid of being tongue-tied or stuck when communicating with someone;
becoming comfortable to be contradictory and conflicted; being right and okay with it; being in or out of the
know; hypocritical; genuine; informed; intrigued; being fine with postponing a conversation until becoming
more informed or articulate about it; becoming calm when someone writes or say something inarticulately or
in an under-informed way; being enthused; etc.
 Resolve some of the problems you may have due to under-explored and/or under-expressed ideas about
gender.
 Be able to slow down during interactions; practice refraining from Gendertalk quick-talk; practice speaking
and writing about gender with engaging, insightful, thought-filled, curious and complex ways.
 Improve or develop Communication Accuracy – be able to describe specific communication elements the facts
of behavior in message exchanges about gender specifically and thoroughly, and do so, separately or
distinctly from the message, intentions of interactants, etc. [Note: Communication Accuracy is not the same
as Communicative-Correctness.]
 Reduce and/or refrain from over-use of perceptions and feelings about behavior as the whole story of that
behavior.
 Use of comprehensive listening during Gendertalk experiences with your Volunteer.

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 Basics About the Testing in our Course: Midterm and Final Exams
Combined worth 20% of Course Grade
 Each exam will be open for a two-day period. Once opened, you will have two-hours in which to take the quiz; however, if you
are registered with the DRC, please let me know so I may extend the exam time.
 If you miss the Midterm, you may take an alternate version which will be much longer and include essay questions.
 If you miss the Final, you will fail the course regardless of the grade values of your other course work.
 Academic Honesty: You need to take the exams alone. The exams designed for you to complete on your own merit.
How to take an Exam:
[1] When you click on the exam (D2L calls it a quiz) you will come to an Instructions page. On this page,
when ready, click on: Start Quiz!
[2] You will come to a new page: Click OK to start your quiz.
[3] Click on: Save All Responses
[4] Then click on Go To Submit Quiz
[5] Quiz Submission Confirmation – at this point you are able to make any changes you want.

[6] Then click on Submit Quiz A box will pop up to indicate the tool is submitting your exam.

[7] When you click on: ß To Submissions – Though you are able to click on this, you will not be able to
access your quiz yet. When the quiz period is over for everyone and I have reviewed the results, you will
have access to your quiz. So for now, when you click on Submissions, you will go to Attempt 1, and when
you click on it, you will go back to the Submissions arrow.

[8] When the quiz is ready to be viewed, I will alert you on our home page: click on the quiz. Click on
Submissions. Click on Attempt 1.

Quiz Scoring: Each Exam is worth 50 points.

Points = Grades 42 – 41 = B Exam Failure

50 - 49 = A+ 40 – 39 = B- 32 – 31 = D+
48 – 47 = A 38 – 37 = C+ 30 – 29 = D
46 – 45 = A- 36 – 35 = C 28 – 27 = D-
44 – 43 = B+ 34 – 33 = C- 26 or less = F

Testing Material and Exam Focus:

Testing Material: The exams are based on course lectures, information on the syllabus, assignments and the course objectives.
 Concepts covered on the Midterm include: the role of perceptions of difference in communication; the communication
process; perception theories; listening; language theories; nonverbal communication; gendered humor as a communication
consideration; and mass communication process.
 Concepts covered on the Final include: Workplace and gender issues, Interpersonal Communication and Gendertalk
concepts will be covered on the Final. You may expect concepts we have used all term and course and assignment objectives.
 Also on Both Exams: Expect questions based on information from the Syllabus and Grading Rubric.
Regarding the use of the Syllabus content in the Midterm: I am pushing the clarity of assignment design and purposes. If we
were in class, I would be able to emphasize these aspects, so in this testing format, I am attempting to do the same thing.
Ultimately this is a good way to emphasize clarity because of the connection to the main course objectives, but in testing form,
it will seem overly simplistic.
Testing Cautions:
Caution One: Gender information tends to stimulate emotion making it a very difficult study. This is particularly
challenging when it comes to testing. Please keep this in mind! The lectures and exams are about communication theories using
gender as the application, and not the other way around. Another way to state this, I am never going to test you on your
opinion or your reaction to the gender information. For example, you may think some people make too much about gender
inequities or you might think it is up to men to make changes about gender because you believe that women do not need to
change attitudes about women or you do not believe in the gender stereotypes. .....and so on. NONE of these positions,
attitudes, beliefs, etc. will be tested. Nor will I test you on what you think is my opinion about gender information. I am going to
test you about how stereotypes function in human interaction, about communication theories and how beliefs & attitudes transfer
into speaking and listening behavior via the sender/receiver dynamic and perception theories. I will test you on the assumptions
and outcomes of gendered information in language uses, implicit and explicit meanings, impact on practices within media,
workplace, relationship, etc. contexts. All gender information will be connected to the communication theories. Therefore, it is
very important when you study and take the exams to check yourself by asking, "Is this my personal opinion about this
gender notion?" Follow this question with, "What is the communication concept addressed here?"

Caution Two: A General caution about communication exams. People in Communication courses have a tendency to think I
am looking for them to be “communicatively correct.” By this, I mean you might think I am looking a right way and wrong way
to communicate. The caution here is to be sure not to answer questions based on how you think people “should be” instead,
focus on the communication concept within a specific test question. If you find yourself answering questions based on how you
think things should be, how people should act, if people were just good, if they would just do this, etc. stop! If you are using
“should” or something similar, you are probably on the wrong track. Keep your focus on the communication concepts. Focus on
the definitions and meaning of the concepts within the study of communication and gender.

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5
 Overview of Both Course Assignments
You will find complete instructions for both assignments in clearly marked links on our Home Page.

1. Virtual Gendertalk Discussions: Postings & Surveys (55% of Course Grade)

Overview Purpose: This is a virtual group discussion experience. This posting assignment is a way to replace the
face-to-face classroom experience of course lectures, exercises, reading preparation, participatory discussions
and communication assessments. You will have new discussion topics each week with follow-up Weekly Surveys.
Weekly Postings – The content, structure and schedule are established to accomplish several course
objectives: promote interaction with the members of your virtual discussion group; learn the course concepts;
practice skill building in Gendertalk; and while doing these, assist others to do the same. This is the most
significant assignment to our study experience, which is why it has the most value for your Course Grade. It is
also the main “seat-time” replacement course activity. Instead of 4 hours in class + homework, this assignment
is designed to serve as a facsimile to the lecture, discussion, and homework experience. You may expect to
spend approx. the same amount of time, sometimes more, on this course as you would in a F2F class. Your
participation is similar, but more formal than that of Internet message boards. This form of virtual
communication does not reproduce the quick ebb and flow of F2F interaction, but it does carry some of the same
interaction characteristics. These are interesting, and you will find them observable enough to assess and
evaluate. Group learning, group member attitudes, positive/negative regard, interest, etc. are not lost in this
fully online study group experience.

Weekly Surveys – These are part of your Discussion Posting Assignment grade. At the end of each
discussion week, you will complete a Survey. These are brief opinion-based surveys designed to have you make
various communication observations about the Gendertalk discussions in your group. They will always be
open for a 3-day period to give everyone a flexible opportunity to take them.
Due each week:
1. One 1st Posting - communicating about gender with structured topic preparation and topic directions
2. One 2nd Posting - communicating about the ideas of the members of your Virtual Group
3. One Survey – opinion-based: assess and evaluate communicating within your Group each week
Weekly Posting & Survey Schedule:
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday  Saturday Sunday Monday
First postings are due at any time Second postings are due at any Your Weekly Surveys are due at any
during these four days. time during these three days. time during these three days.

Scores = Grades for Postings & Surveys

Postings 145 – 130 = A 129 – 114 = B 113 – 98 = C 97 – 82 = D 81 à = F
Surveys 10 Surveys = A 9 Surveys = B 8 Surveys = C 7 Surveys = D 6 or fewer = F

2. Four F2F Gendertalk Discussions with One Volunteer (25% of Course Grade)
 You need to have four face-to-face discussions, 10-14 days apart, with one person from your personal, social or
work life.
 Topics: Go to the main link: F2F Gendertalk Discussions on our Home page.
 The written work for this assignment is due Wednesday, June 1 by midnight.
Overall purpose: observe the connection between your communication approach about gender, the level & quality
of the information you use and the outcomes. We (the people) tend to think we have ‘talked it to death’ about
gender. This perception has more to do with less than satisfying experiences of communicating than with thorough
coverage of the topic. Our talk about a complex topic such as gender is often very quick, inadequate, repeatedly
simplistic and ultimately boring, tiresome or irritating. Therefore, in this Gendertalk assignment, you will prepare for
and conduct four face-to-face discussions with one person in your life with the goal to experience informed and
extended conversations about gender in a manner which produces interesting outcomes. To assist in meeting this
goal, you will develop and/or improve your ability to accurately describe communication behavior.
This part of our study of communication and gender includes:
 Listening and speaking about gender, in an over-time and in-person context.
 Use of content preparation and behavior modification to communicate differently about gender.
 Your practice of comprehensive listening when the subject is gender.
 The investigation of “Who Says What about Gender to Whom, in What Manner, How Often, in What Context and with What
Effect?"
 The articulation of your communication observations which occurred during your Discussions.
 Developing or improving your skills at Performance of Communication Behavior Accuracy.
 The Carry-Over Effect as a communication outcome.