Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information

CS0201: FOUNDATIONS OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES; August-November 2024

Academic Year 2024-2025 Semester 1

Course Instructor Asst Prof Andrew Prahl
Course Code CS0201
Course Title Foundations of Communication Studies
Location WKWSCI
Class Time (Lecture) Thursdays 12:30PM-2:30PM
Class Time (Tutorial) T1: Tuesdays 10:30AM-11:30AM
T2: Tuesdays 12:30PM-1:30PM
T3: Thursdays 2:30PM-3:30PM
T4: Thursdays 3:30PM-4:30PM

Course Aims

Foundations of Communication Studies addresses topics that lie at the heart of the human experience.
What makes communication meaningful, how does communication affect our relationships, why is
miscommunication the cause of so many problems? We learn the answers to such questions and use
those answers to improve our lives and improve the world.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Describe the fundamental assumptions and the causal mechanisms underlying important
communication theories.
2. Construct strategic plans for communication initiatives.
3. Analyse communication from the perspective of one or more the theories covered in class.
4. Craft messages utilizing principles from one or more of the theories covered in class.
5. Critique communication from the perspective of both a consumer and an organisation.

Course Content

As an individual crafter and consumer of communication, you will learn the fundamental theories that
underlie the discipline. Resultingly, you will become a more critical consumer, and more effective
crafter, of communication. We will cover communication in a variety of contexts, from intrapersonal to
complex organizational communication scenarios. A large part of this class involves interacting with your
classmates because communication requires a message to be transmitted between two or more people.
Thus, you will need to work effectively with others to succeed in this course. Additionally, persuasion is
as much art as it is science – you will therefore need to flex your creative skills at times in order to earn
top marks.

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Assessment (includes both continuous and summative assessment)

Component ILO Related Programme LO Weighting Team/

Tested or Graduate Attributes Individual
1. Class Attendance 1, 2, 3, Civic-Mindedness & 10% Individual
and Activities 4 Competence
2. Personality Creation 1, 2, 4 Creativity, Civic- 10% Team
Project* Mindedness &
Character
3. Urban 1, 3, 5 Creativity, Civic- 10% Team
Redevelopment Mindedness &
Communication* Character
4. Research Note 1, 2, 3, Communication, 5% Individual
5 Creativity & or Team
Competence
5. Low Stakes Quiz 1, 2, 3 Competence & 5% Individual
Character
6. Mid-term Tests 1, 2, 3 Competence & 30% x 2 = Individual
Character 60%
Total 100%
* These assignments are done with an assigned group and include a peer evaluation. Poor peer evaluations
may result in the individual receiving up to a 50% penalty on the project grade

Description of Assessment Components:

Class Attendance and Activities: Marks will depend on your punctuality, attention, the quality of your
discussion questions, answers, and preparedness. Regular disruption of class, tardiness, and/or the lack
of preparation for class discussion will result in a deduction of points. Additionally, the quality of your
submissions to our many in class workshop assignments will be assessed. Activity opportunities missed
due to absence cannot be made up except for illness, in which case a doctor’s documentation/MC is
required to accompany the assignment.

Personality Creation Project: This exercise serves as an introduction to the creator economy which is
redefining marketing and mass communication. With your group of 4-5 classmates, you will create a
character that exemplifies some of the personality traits we discuss in CS0201. Each personality trait we
learn about is associated with different communication styles. You will create media that exemplifies
this. Requires your team to have a combination of technical competence, theoretical knowledge,
performance courage, creative talent, and teamwork skills.

Urban Redevelopment Communication: Everything communicates. This fact is well-known by

Singapore’s world-class urban designers. Yet, opportunities still exist in Singapore to reimagine spaces
and affect human psychology through purposeful design. In this project, we will visit one place in
Singapore which is ripe for this sort of communication intervention. We will explore the space itself but
also what is nearby, so that we learn not only what is being communicated but also what is missing from
that communication. Requires a field trip into the CBD. Public transit is super easy on the green line from
NTU, but easier (and just barely more expensive) to split a Grab XL with classmates.

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Research Note: The Wee Kim Wee School curriculum is based both on professional skills and cutting-
edge research. This project is an introduction to communication research. You will gather data about
how people are communicating about an issue of your choosing. Then, you will analyse the data using a
method of your choosing; a list of eligible analysis methods will be listed on the assignment sheet. Final
product is a 3-4 page (double-spaced) research note paper.

Mid-term Tests: A solid understanding of theoretical frameworks and communication techniques will
help you immensely in the real-world. Thus, there will be two mid-term tests on the readings as well as
concepts and cases covered in class. Mid-term tests will consist of multiple-choice questions. Study
guides will be posted to NTULearn. The final test is not cumulative however some core concepts will
inevitably reappear. Make-up tests are only given in the normal lecture period one-week after the test.
Make-up tests will include short answer questions in addition to MCQ.

Low Stakes Quiz: A simple in-class quiz to introduce you to the type of questions you will see on the
mid-term tests and help you prepare better for them.

Formative feedback

Feedback is central to this course. You will receive both written and verbal feedback from me about
your assignments. For class activities you will receive in-class feedback both from me and generated by
peers.

Learning and Teaching approach

Approach How does this approach support you in achieving the learning
outcomes?

Project Discovery The course adopts the “Project Discovery” approach, which focuses on
inculcating a culture of proactive individual and collaborative learning.
Lectures will focus on material which is meant to motivate your own
creative thinking about course concepts. Then, you will have the
opportunity to apply concepts to real problems and solve them. The
textbook and readings serve as a “dry” version of lecture – providing and
outline of course concepts, but lacking the “color” that will come from
interaction with your classmates in lecture and group projects. This
learning approach is very adaptable and allows to you largely learn at your
own pace and focus on what you find the most interesting, while still
allowing a guaranteed comprehension of critical fundamentals.

Reading and References

Textbook: CRAFT201 (Curated Resources And Focused Text for CS0201). This is our custom textbook for
CS0201, readings will be distributed in PDF format on the course webpage.

Application Readings: will be posted on the NTUlearn site for the course. These will be things like case

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studies, news stories, or social media threads illustrating course concepts.

Both the book and application readings are being constantly updated with recent examples and the
latest research. Therefore, most materials will typically be two-weeks in advance. If in doubt, always
check the course website to make sure you have the most recent versions.

Course Policies and Student Responsibilities

(1) General

You are expected to complete all assigned pre-class readings and activities, attend all lecture and tutorial
classes punctually and take all scheduled assignments and tests by due dates. You are expected to take
responsibility to follow up with course notes, assignments and course related announcements for
seminar sessions they have missed. You are expected to participate in all lecture and tutorial activities.

(2) Absenteeism

Attendance policy follows the general NTU policy: absence from class without a valid reason will affect
your overall course grade. Valid reasons for absence include falling sick supported by a medical
certificate and participation in NTU’s approved activities supported by an excuse letter from the relevant
bodies.

Please note that the lecture recording tech in the classrooms is notoriously unreliable because all it
takes is one interruption of power or someone hitting a wrong button for the automatic recording
schedule to get reset. Unfortunately, the control room is locked and we can never know if it is working.
Or, something else will happen like the mic batteries are dead so there is no audio. Do not rely on the
hope that the lecture will be recorded.

Like Singaporean criminal law, there are different levels of faking attendance:
- First offense = Class I Offense = 5% penalty to overall final class grade.
- Second offense = Class III Offense = 20% penalty to overall class grade (on top of 5% from first offense).
- Third offense = Class V Offense = Student cannot pass class, referred to Disciplinary committee.

(3) Assignments

All assignments should be typewritten (double spacing, 12-point font size on Times New Roman) and
follow APA formatting rules/include relevant bibliographic references in the APA style. Assignments
must be completed and turned in before the class session on the due dates unless a special due date is
listed on the syllabus or assignment sheet. No makeup work is allowed.

(4) Conduct

Electronic devices such as tablets and cell phones are now part of the everyday corporate environment.
Thus, it is foolish to ban them from class. However, you must demonstrate professional manners. For
example, your phone must be silenced; you must not be viewing media or content that would distract
other students; if you anticipate an urgent call, kindly select a seat near the exit, etc.

This class is not a place for you to engage in social media with friends. You will be asked to leave the

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room if you are found using social media for non-class purposes and you are distracting your classmates.
Please note the layout of the room means that the people behind you can absolutely see everything on
your screen. Any behaviors that create unpleasant atmosphere to your class members (including your
instructor) will not be tolerated, egregious offenses will result in you being asked to leave for the day.

You are not allowed to record any part of class lecture and students’ presentations unless you get
consent from the whole class. Again, use good judgment. Pictures of slides are OK but cannot include
identifiable people – this is pretty common-sense stuff for protecting your (and your classmates’)
privacy.

Disclaimer: Your instructor reserves the right to modify the course schedule to spend extra time of
subjects that the class as a whole is especially interested in or enjoying. All modifications will be
announced in class and on NTUlearn.

Academic Integrity
Good academic work depends on honesty and ethical behaviour. The quality of your work as a student
relies on adhering to the principles of academic integrity and to the NTU Honour Code, a set of values
shared by the whole university community. Truth, Trust and Justice are at the core of NTU’s shared
values.

As a student, it is important that you recognize your responsibilities in understanding and applying the
principles of academic integrity in all the work you do at NTU. Not knowing what is involved in
maintaining academic integrity does not excuse academic dishonesty. You need to actively equip
yourself with strategies to avoid all forms of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, academic fraud,
collusion and cheating. If you are uncertain of the definitions of any of these terms, you should go to
the academic integrity website for more information. Consult your instructor(s) if you need any
clarification about the requirements of academic integrity in the course.

AI Use:
Each assignment has its own AI use policy. As a general rule, it will never be acceptable for an
assignment to be 100% generated by AI. However, some assignments may require the use of AI to some
extent, so consult each assignment sheet.

There are tools built-in to NTULearn that check every assignment submission over 250 words for AI. If
estimated AI content is 100%:
- First offense = Class I Offense = 5% penalty to overall final class grade.
- Second offense = Class II Offense = 10% penalty to overall class grade (on top of 5% from first offense).

Each AI detector is different so just check your content on any of the widely available AI detectors online
(like GPTZeo, etc). As long as you are below 60% you should be fine.

Course Instructors

Teaching Assistants Email Contact For:

Mahar Nimala [email protected] Absence Excuses (MCs, etc.); Group
Member Lists; Assignment
Formatting/Submission Enquiries

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 Shruti Malviya [email protected] Course content help, projects
Yang Tingting [email protected] Course content help, exam prep
Instructor
Asst Prof Andrew Prahl [email protected] All other enquires
Always assume a 48-hour turnaround time on emails

Projected Course Schedule on Next Page

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Session Topic Readings*/ Assignments Due
Week 1: August 13, 15
Lecture Introduction -
Tutorials Online: Week 1-2 Intro Activity -
Week 2: August 20, 22
Lecture Models of Communication Application Readings A & B
Tutorials Model Creation -
Week 3: August 27, 29
Lecture Perception and Impression CRAFT201 Chapter 1 & 2
Formation Application Reading C
Tutorials Online: Self-Disclosure Online -
Week 4: September 3, 5
Lecture Hidden Communication + Low Stakes CRAFT201 Chapter 3
Quiz Application Reading C
Tutorials Quiz Review None
Week 5: September 10, 12
Lecture Gender & Age CRAFT201 Chapter 4
Personality Creation Project Due*
Tutorials Online: Human-Machine Comm Application Reading D
Week 6: September 17, 19
Lecture Culture CRAFT201 Chapter 5
Tutorials Organisational Culture Building Application Reading E
Week 7: September 24, 26
Lecture Test 1 -
Tutorials Teamwork -
Week 8: October 8, 10
Lecture Group Formation & Assignment Meet assigned group OTOT & complete team worksheet
Drafting
Tutorials Field Trip: Urban Communication Raffles Place MRT Exit J (One Marina Boulevard (NTUC
Centre)). Bring umbrella, water, walking shoes, charged
phone, headphones/earbuds; prep for 3km walk
Week 9: October 15, 17
Lecture Decision-Making & Biases CRAFT201 Chapter 6
Application Readings F & G
Tutorials Online: Heuristics; Nudges & Neuro -
Week 10: October 22, 24
Lecture Persuasion & Advertising CRAFT201 Chapter 7 & 8
Urban Redevelopment Communication Project Due*
Tutorials Brand Manifestos Application Reading H
Week 11: October 29, 31
Lecture Deepavali – Public Holiday – No Class -
Tutorials Online: Superpersuasive Machines Application Readings I & J
Week 12: November 5, 7
Lecture Journalism & Framing CRAFT201 Chapter 9 & 10
Tutorials Review Session -
Week 13: November 12, 14
Lecture Test 2 Research Note Due*
Tutorials Group Work Meet assigned group OTOT & complete team worksheet

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