01/08/2012

2012 Conference - Eight Short Courses Offered

Central States Communication Association
“Connecting in Cleveland”
March 28 – 31, 2012 

Short Courses
(Please CLICK HERE for a printable copy of the
2012 Short Course Offerings.)

 Our 2012 convention in Cleveland, OH will feature eight outstanding short courses. Each short course will last one panel session (i.e., 75 minutes), and course enrollment will be limited to 20 participants who must enroll at the time of conference pre-registration (participants will be charged a nominal fee of $10 for each short course).  

Short Course #1 – Panel 1403:  Thursday, March 29 (12:30 – 1:45 pm) 

Social Media in the Classroom: The Bootcamp 

This short course will showcase the creation and implementation of social media platforms in course design. Facilitators will briefly introduce various platforms, account design, rationales, and philosophies behind each. Attendees will learn how to navigate applications such as Twitter, Facebook groups, Skype, and Wordpress, and incorporate these platforms into an inspired, interactive pedagogy. Short course presenters and attendees will participate in a hands-on workshop format to better grasp the benefits of social media in course design. 

Facilitators:

Ben Eveloff, Lewis University
Renee Robinson, Saint Xavier University
Danielle Stern, Christopher Newport University
Adam W. Tyma, University of Nebraska, Omaha
Michael Willits, Old Dominion University 

Short Course #2 – Panel 1603:  Thursday, March 29 (3:30 – 4:45 pm) 

Cross-Cultural Communication Three Ways:
Approaches and Tactics for Teaching the Intercultural Communication Course 

The facilitators of this short course have all taught the cross-cultural communication course for many years at multiple universities, yet all three have different approaches and have served different student constituencies: Neil Patten teaches the course at both the undergraduate and graduate levels as a survey class focusing on both International and American sub-cultural issues; Elizabeth Wilson has formatted the course to focus on three particular cultures for more in-depth examination; and Donna Smith has developed the course as an interactive on-line class.  Syllabi, paper assignments, activities and bibliographies, lists of suggested films and television programs will be distributed along with additional materials to all participants. The course will also feature a question and answer and networking session to allow participants to share ideas as well. The primary goal of this course is to empower participants with a variety of choices in approach that will hopefully assist their students in achieving inter-cultural competence. 

Facilitators:

Neil A. Patten, Ferris State University
Elizabeth Wilson, Ferris State University
Donna A. Smith, Ferris State University

Short Course #3 – Panel 2103:  Friday, March 30 (8:00 – 9:15 am) 

 Communication Internships:
                          The Good, the Bad and the Not So Pretty                      

You’ve heard that internships can be good for students? Internships occur in the “real world” and along with the good, there are sometimes some bad, and even downright ugly things about internships. Utilizing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, this short course will emphasize what can be done to help students transform internships into more positive experiences. Topics covered include developing internship objectives, approaches to planning and implementing internship assignments, and considerations about interventions. This course is designed for those who currently direct internships, and also those who may be considering developing an internship program. 

Facilitator:

Randy K. Dillon, Missouri State University 

Short Course #4 – Panel 2303:  Friday, March 30 (11:00 am – 12:15 pm) 

Teaching Autoethnography as a Method for Communication Research 

The goal of this short course is to discuss ways of teaching autoethnography as a method for communication research. Topics will include defining autoethnography, doing and writing autoethnography, making connections between autoethnography and communication research, determining criteria for assessing autoethnographic texts, and teaching autoethnography in communication research methods courses. Participants will also describe their views of and experiences with autoethnography.

Facilitator:

Tony E. Adams, Northeastern Illinois University 

Short Course #5 – Panel 2503:  Friday, March 30 (4:00 – 5:15 pm) 

Engaging the Student as Citizen:
Teaching the Political Communication Course in a Presidential Campaign Season 

A presidential election season provides an ideal teaching laboratory to engage students as active citizens in the civic process. During this period, many instructors may teach a course in political campaign communication, or include activities surrounding the ongoing presidential campaign as part of other communication courses. Led by “seasoned” political communication faculty, this short course will examine different approaches to developing a political campaign communication course. Participants will be provided with a number of campaign instructional resources, course syllabi and assignments, and activities for engaging their students – and citizens – in the “real world” of a presidential campaign. 

Facilitators:

Craig A. Smith, North Carolina State University
Trevor Parry-Giles, University of Maryland
Mitchell S. McKinney, University of Missouri-Columbia 

Short Course #6 – 3203:  Saturday, March 31 (9:30 – 10:45 am) 

Really Teaching the On-line Communication Course:
Facilitating Interaction, Enhancing Social Presence, and Presenting Course Content 

This short course is designed for instructors interested in exploring strategies for enhancing teacher social presence and immediacy in the online classroom and facilitating interaction and engagement among learners. What strategies can we use to really “be there” for our students in the on-line environment? Immediacy behaviors, the role of the instructor, and applications for delivering course content will be covered. The course will focus on pedagogical aspects and also instructional resources. Participants will learn about strategies for on-line instruction that can be applied to a variety of communication courses, about strategies for enhancing instructor social presence and immediacy in the on-line environment, about strategies for engaging students in the course content and enhancing student-instructor interaction, and participants will also learn about instructional resources for presenting course content. Because of the interactive nature of the short course, the presenters will cover course content while also inviting discussion that draws on the experiences of the participants. 

Facilitators:

Elizabeth Tolman, South Dakota State University
Jennifer Willis-Rivera, University of Wisconsin-River Falls 

Short Course #7 – Panel 3403:  Saturday, March 31 (12:30 – 1:45 pm) 

Securing Grant Funding for Communication Research and Programs 

Across all areas of higher education, faculty members are faced with increased pressures to secure external funding to support their research and public programs. This short course will be led by individuals whose communication research and projects have been funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of State. The course will cover the basics of grantseeking, including identifying research and project funding, proposal writing, developing the project budget, administering the grant project and agency reporting. 

Facilitators:  

Mary C. Banwart, University of Kansas
John C. Tedesco, Virginia Tech

 Short Course #8 – Panel 3603:  Saturday, March 31 (3:30 – 4:45 pm) 

Dual-career Academic Couples: Concerns, Opportunities, and Priorities 

This short course brings together department chairs, faculty, and graduate students to explore issues raised by dual-career academic couples, university recruitment and retention policies, university initiatives and best practices, and case studies that address this increasingly important issue in higher education. Short course participants will be active learners as they examine case studies of various campus work-family initiatives, engage in role-play, and draft a dual-career partner policy. The target audience includes, first, department chairs and university administrators who are most influential in developing university recruitment and retention policies, and, second, faculty and graduate students, whose lives are most closely affected by dual-career issues. 

Facilitators:

Lara Lengel, Professor, Dept of Communication, Bowling Green State University
Scott C. Martin, Professor & Chair, Dept of History, Bowling Green State University
Terry L. Rentner, Director, School of Media and Communication, Bowling Green State University