Syllabus Comm 404 Spring 2007
Welcome to the wonderful world of online instruction! What awaits you? A great course, a fabulous professor, cool new classmates AND you get it all while sitting around in front of a computer while wearing your underwear! Man, is the Modern World the greatest thing since sliced bread or what?
About Me and This Course
My name is Steve Booth-Butterfield and you can reach me at "DrSBB" at HealthyInfluence dot com. Please use this email for all official correspondence. Do not use any other address. Always. Please.
I'll post virtual office hours after we’ve exchanged email about our schedules.
Persuasion is totally cool and I love teaching it. A large part of my professional identity and performance is based on teaching, researching, and doing persuasion, so it is serious business for me. I don't do this for the money or because my mother told me to do it. I do it for the love of the thing itself.
Because I care so much about persuasion and teaching it well, I think I have something good to offer you. If you want to understand how persuasion works, I can teach it to you. I can give you insight into how and why people do what they do and how you can use communication in everyday life to become an effective influence agent. We can create a good teacher-learner relationship and both benefit from the experience.
Please realize this: I want you to succeed. I do not want you to fail or be miserable. While I cannot wave a magic wand and make all the bad stuff go away, I am pulling for you to do well, be happy, and be a good person. I will take all reasonable steps to enable and motivate you.
Part of being helpful is providing a lot of information as early as possible. For example, this Syllabus file is rather long compared to most syllabi you get in class. Lots of times you can just scan the thing in one minute and have a pretty good sense of the course . . . if you are meeting face to face. Online a syllabus that short would leave you with a lot of questions. Take ten or fifteen minutes now and carefully read this long course description. Consult the syllabus throughout the semester.
Comm 404 and the Web
You might find other syllabi from me for persuasion courses and if you’re stone cold crazy for reading syllabi, please pound on those other ones. However, for the Spring 2007 Comm 404 course with Steve Booth-Butterfield as the professor, the only syllabus that counts is this one on www.HealthyInfluence.com.
The site at www.HealthyInfluence.com is the home for this online persuasion course. You’ll find administrative materials (syllabus, assignments, grade book) and learning materials (Steve’s Primer, Discussion Threads, a Blog) here. Additional learning material is found in the textbook by Professor Daniel O’Keefe that you must purchase.
In Professor O’Keefe’s book you will find interesting, useful, and well written chapters on a wide variety of persuasion and influence topics. Additionally, the O’Keefe book contains a boatload of fresh and tasty references to most of the best work on persuasion and influence.
Steve’s Primer of Practical Persuasion overlaps a bit with Dr. O’Keefe’s book and that’s good. It is always useful to read multiple perspectives. You may find information on the Primer and in O’Keefe that sounds contradictory. If you do, keep reading and thinking about it. The Primer also has a fair amount of information that is not in O’Keefe.
Again, everything except the O’Keefe textbook is online at www.HealthyInfluence.com.
Basic Rules
1. Grades for each assignment will posted one week after the deadline. If you submit before the deadline the grade will not be posted any earlier.
2. Only one submission per assignment. If you submit early then realize that you could have done better in someway, you cannot resubmit the paper.
3. Submissions after deadlines will not be accepted. All deadlines have day and time details. Anything after the specific stated deadline will not be accepted. You have the deadlines for all assignments in your hand on the first day of class. There is no reason to miss them.
4. I will address all communication (discussion threads, instructor emails) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm to 2:15pm. These are my official work times for the course. I promise to respond at these times. This also means the oppposite: I do NOT promise to respond at other times. Catch the difference? I will probably be checking in at other times and you may see communication from me at times other than T-Th 1-2:15pm, but that's my option.
If you think these rules are a problem for you, please do not take this course. I know that I can deliver a competent instructional product with these rules. This just may not be the course for you.
Succeeding Online
While the content and work for this online course is about the same as for the classroom version, it’s important for you to realize that there are serious differences in how you have to approach the online course. Obviously, we don’t see each other, don’t meet in a room, and have very little opportunity for face-to-face contact. For many students that regular personal contact plays a major role in being successful in the class.
You’ve got to be in control of yourself and your schedule. You’ve got to be a self-starter and know how to motivate yourself. You’ve got to know deadlines and stay ahead of them. You have to be able to learn effectively on your own. You have to be resourceful at solving small and large problems.
You might find it helpful to think of yourself as the owner of a small business who has signed a contract to do a job with another business called Comm 404. The contract specifies that you agree to acquire knowledge and skills about persuasion and that you also agree to deliver specific work products (tests, papers, other such assignments) to Comm 404 on deadlines and with standards of quality. Comm 404 agrees to provide you with instructional materials and guidance on using those materials, the specific demands for each assignment, and a statement on standards of quality. At the end of the contract you will be paid off with grades that will vary depending upon your achievement. If you think about your performance this way you realize that it is up to you to execute the contract and produce.
Online learning is definitely not for everyone and it is not a character flaw on anyone’s part if you don’t like it or aren’t great at it. Don’t take dumb risks. Sure, the online course looks easier because you have total control of the schedule so, wow, you can “go to class” sitting around in your underwear at 2am. Except if you’re like me when I’m sitting in my underwear in front of a computer at 2am, you may not be that interested in persuasion and find something else on the Web more congenial to your outfit. Know yourself and what you are good at and what you are less than good at.
Problems to Expect
You Cut It Too Close: Virtually every problem you will experience online will seem much worse when you are trying to complete an activity right on the deadline. Imagine that the assignment is due in thirty minutes and you’re merrily typing away on it. Hey, this one is easy and almost fun, then zap. System Failure! Tick tock goes the clock and then you start to panic. You’re gonna fail. You’re gonna die. You’re gonna have to move back home and live with your little brother again! Right? Now, if you weren’t tight on the deadline, none of this panic would happen. If you were ahead of the deadline you could simply shut down your work for awhile and wait it out. Stay ahead of deadlines.
System Delays and Failures: Networked computer systems can fail without warning. Sometimes bad weather blows up equipment, sometimes equipment gets old and blows up, sometimes network operators are human and make a mistake, sometimes some clever jerk gets a virus in the system. Just expect our computer network to blow up from time to time throughout this course. When it does, keep your cool and act like an adult. Don’t telephone me or the President of WVU or the Dean of the College or the Governor of the State. Don’t get a lawyer. Don’t call your Mom or Dad telling them to come and get you. Troubleshoot the problem. If you’re on a dialup connection, for example, maybe your ISP is having problems. Log off, wait a minute, and log back on. If you’re in a computer lab, look around and see if other people in the room are throwing a fit – maybe the wiring into your lab is on the fritz. Just expect this and solve the problem.
You Lose Your Work: When possible, do your work so that you can save to a file on your local computer. Make a backup copy of the file. The only way you can submit work to me will be through email and email attachments. There will be no uploading of files on the www.HealthyInfluence.com website. Thus, the only way you can lose your work is if you make some mistake on your computer. Computers lull you into thinking you can work fast and light. This is business you’re doing here. This is for a grade. You are paying money for this course. Don’t work fast and light. Be serious. Save files. Keep backups.
I Don’t Respond Fast Enough: Can communication be any easier than email? Just pound out a few keystrokes, hit the send key, and bang off it goes. And if it is that easy for you, isn’t it that easy for me, the professor? So why did I not respond within an hour or a day of your request? Let’s establish time boundaries right now. If we were doing this class the usual way, we would be meeting in a classroom on the WVU campus at Armstrong Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm to 2:15pm. That’s the way I’m going to “teach” this online course as part of my regular work schedule. Every Tuesday and Thursday between 1 and 2:15pm I’ll answer all the email, check discussion boards, and do that teacher thing just like we were together in Armstrong Hall. I will not be checking my email every hour to see if you sent me something, okay? You’ve got a life and so do I. Let’s respect each other on this.
You Don't Think about What You Send: Everyone has written something incredibly stupid, offensive, or misleading on the Internet. It is simply too easy to compose messages, too easy to send them, too easy to forget about who's going to read it. After several embarassing instances in my own life, I've made it a rule to never send something immediately unless the receiver is someone I'd trust with my life. Otherwise, I always let the message (email, blog posting, thread comment, etc.) just sit on the screen for a few minutes before I send it. I still manage to write idiotic things from time to time, but I don't seem to make other people upset like I've done in the past. Just chill out for a minute before you hit "send" and think about it. It's easier to edit than to apologize.
A Word About Character
Character is destiny.
Character shows in four virtues: Fortitude, prudence, temperance, and justice. A person with good character will persist and endure, chose carefully and thoughtfully, control emotion with reason, operate with equity and fairness. By contrast, a person with poor character will quit easily, behave thoughtlessly, allow mood to conquer intelligence, and act selfishly.
Character is destiny in your life and in this course.
Course Orientation
This is an advanced course. It is based upon the following assumptions:
Prior successful work with persuasion and communication concepts;Knowledge of good writing standards and performance; Skill in library research; Knowledge of effective online performance; and Knowledge of effective study skills.
If you have any doubts about these skills, especially regarding prior successful work with persuasion and communication concepts, please consider taking Comm 104. Comm 404 is a high level undergraduate course.
Special Accommodation
If you have a special learning need that I can accommodate, please contact me by email as soon as you can.
Book
O'Keefe, D. (2002). Persuasion: Theory and Research, 2 nd edition. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. ISBN-0-7619-2539-2 (paperback).
This book is required. You will fail the course if you do not read this book with understanding.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, most recent edition.
The APA Publication Manual is the style sheet you will use for papers in this course (and many other communication or social science courses). It is not required that your purchase this style manual, but you may find that useful if you are majoring in Communication Studies.
Schedule Disasters
If you experience a serious life problem that strongly interferes with your normal schedule, let me know about it. For example, you or someone in your family may become ill for an extended period of time. Because this is an online course with a flexible schedule you might be tempted to try and complete the course. Maybe you should instead consider dropping this class. Just keep me posted when things get more complicated than usual.
Academic Honesty
I always expect you to be honest with me. If the assignment calls for you to do your own independent work without any assistance from anyone else, then I expect that what you will do. If the assignment calls for you to work with others, I expect that you don’t overclaim or underclaim your effort.
Please consult the Student Handbook for the legal details. As the cliché goes, if you break the rules, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. (Gee, wouldn’t that be fun?)
Be careful with an online course. The psychology of doing this is different than the psychology of being in the classroom. You can’t “cut and paste” another student’s work in the classroom, but it is real easy to do this online. In the classroom everyone can see where your eyes go and can hear if you are talking to someone else, but online that’s pretty hard to detect. In other words, it’s a lot easier to stumble into something wrong, dumb, or unethical online than it is in the classroom. I know that you are an honest, decent, and trustworthy person and that you will play it straight.
Evaluation Components
Written Project
You will write a major paper from the "Healthy Influence" perspective that demonstrates persuasion theory applied to a health problem. You will find a detailed description of the paper later in the syllabus.
First Draft (feedback and grade from Steve)
Group Draft (feedback from a work group)
Final Draft (feedback and grade from Steve)
Tests
You will complete two major tests. Each test will employ an objective-based, essay format. I will give you a study sheet of objectives before each test to focus your study. These tests will be evaluated at an extremely high level of quality. Hey, you’re going to be given explicit instruction on what to learn, a lot of opportunity to learn, and then explicit test objectives for preparation. You WILL be able to perform at an extremely high standard of quality. That means you will write strong answers that speak directly to the objective with no filler with strong technical writing skill. You’ll do great at this.
Your Theory of Persuasion
You will write your own Theory of Persuasion in two versions. During the first week of the new semester before you have read any required readings, you will write a 250 word (one page of double spaced type with a 12 point font) description of what you think works. Then, after you’ve read most of the material for this course, you will take another shot at your Theory of Persuasion (again 250 words). This will be one of the most interesting assignments from this course. It should prove to you that actually did learn something since you’ll have a “before” and “after” statement. It’s like we’re all going to Jenny Craig and having pictures taken.
Participation and Professionalism
You will demonstrate concern for timeliness, preparation, participation, and cooperation. If we were meeting face to face this would be an evaluation component called something like “class participation” or if we were back in grammar school, “citizenship.” My assumption here is that everyone starts off with 100% credit on this component. If you act like a jerk online, offer snide, snarky, or misleading comments in chats, if you hassle other students in the course, if your computer is always eating your homework so that you are always late with assignments or miss participation . . . you get my drift . . . then your Participation and Professionalism score will decrease. Just be a good citizen of good character. Be on time, on point, help others, be patient.
Summary of Evaluation Components
Okay, we’ve got four major types of assignments: two essay tests, two short papers, one long paper in three stages, and citizenship.
Grading System
Major Tests
100 points – Foundations and Standard Model
100 points – Other Cool Theories
Your Theory of Persuasion
50 points – “before” this class
50 points – “after” this class
Healthy Influence Paper
100 points - first draft
200 points - final draft
Participation and Professionalism
100 points
All Together Now
700 total points
644 A (92%)
588 B (84%)
532 C (76%)
476 D (68%)
Work Pattern for You
Assignment Due Dates
First Theory Paper: Thursday January 11 by 1pm
First Exam: Thursday February 15 by 1pm
Paper Proposal: Thursday March 1 by 1pm
Group Draft: Friday March 23 by 5pm
Second Theory Paper: Thursday April 19 by 1pm
Final Paper: Thursday April 26 by 1pm
Second Exam: Tuesday May 1 by 1pm
Orientation
Buy the O’Keefe book and scan it. Go to Steve’s Primer at www.HealthyInfluence.com. Navigate around everything just to see where all the doors and windows are. Don’t do any “serious” work here. Just get the lay of the land.
Assignment Description
Your Theory of Persuasion “Before” Class Paper
Don’t read anything anywhere about persuasion. Especially don’t read anything in O’Keefe or the Primer. Just think about this: What is the best way to use words to influence people to change their behavior? That’s your theory. Express this in 250 words, no more, just one standard typed page. Write nicely. Use the spell and grammar checker. Use diagrams if you are so inclined. No pictures or audio. Nothing fancy. Just words and line drawings. The file you submit should be small (like under 100k).
Complete this assignment by Thursday January 11 by 1pm.
Your Theory of Persuasion “After” Class Paper
Well, now you’ve read what all the smart guys think. But you’re a lot smarter, aren’t you? Prove it by writing your new theory of persuasion. We’ll use the same requirements as with the first paper. Express this in 250 words, no more, just one standard typed page. Write nicely. Use the spell and grammar checker. Use diagrams if you are so inclined. No pictures or audio. Nothing fancy. Just words and line drawings. The file you submit should be small (like under 100k).
Complete this assignment by Thursday March 19 by 1pm.
For Objective Based Essay Exam 1
In the O’Keefe book read Chapters 1, 5, and 7.
In the Primer read Introduction and Standard Model sections, plus the chapters on the Elaboration Likelihood Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior in the Thinking section.
As you do this reading, hit the Discussion Board on the relevant topics. Ask questions. Provide answers. Talk about it.
During the week prior to the due date, I’ll post up a study guide for the test. Study that. Write down answers. Re-read the Primer and O’Keefe. Hit the Discussion Board.
Complete the test by Thursday February 15 by 1pm.
For Objective Based Essay Exam 2
In the O’Keefe book read Chapters 2, 3, 4, 7 (again), 8, 9, and 10.
In the Primer read sections Thinking, Feeling, Doing, VAR, and Outro.
As you do this reading, hit the Discussion Board on the relevant topics. Ask questions. Provide answers. Talk about it.
During the week prior to the due date I’ll post up a study guide for the test. Study that. Write down answers. Re-read the Primer and O’Keefe. Hit the Discussion Board.
Complete the test by Thursday May 1 by 1pm.
The Healthy Influence Paper
Read the Syllabus for a detailed description of the assignment. It has all the technical details for page length, font, headers, references, etc. Remember you’re writing this paper in three stages. The first stage is about half of the paper (your project plan). I’ll grade this. The second and third stages build on the project plan and add the description of how the project actually worked. In the second stage, you will post up a copy of your paper anonymously for everyone in the class to review. No one grades this. It provides feedback before you submit the final version to me for a grade. The third stage is the completed paper (project and outcome) with all that good feedback from your classmates so it’s got to be a great product, right?
You must send me the first draft by Thursday March 1 by 1pm.
You must post up a rough draft of your final paper by Friday March 23 by 5pm.
You must send me the final draft by Thursday April 26 by 1pm.
Participation and Professionalism
At various times during the semester, I’ll make requests of everyone and then see what you do. For example, during the first week, I want you to go to the Discussion Board and post up a real brief biography of yourself. At another point in the semester, I’ll request that everyone post up their study notes for a particular chapter in the O’Keefe book on the Discussion Board. I’ll also get a sense of your participation and professionalism on the various assignments (is your computer always catching fire five minutes before the deadline?) on the Discussion Boards (oh, you’re the clever one who likes to use four letter words to reply to everyone’s questions) and so on. This is an “assignment” that is really just about how you do your job and the attitude you bring. I’ve been teaching since 1978 (can you believe that?) and while I’ve had a couple of problems with students (and some of them of caused the same kind of trouble in the NFL) 99.9% of the people I’ve worked with are great. I expect the same from you.
Written Project Description -
Healthy Influence Project
You don't often get to make a difference in the lives of your friends, family, or community
and earn course credit. This project is an opportunity to make a practical and perhaps life-saving difference and also demonstrate your skill as a student and scholar. This is a cool idea.
The project involves what I call "Healthy Influence." Healthy Influence is the application of persuasion theory and research to a problem in the health context. This assignment is a blend of theory and application. It requires you to demonstrate skill as a practitioner, library researcher, and technical writer. I have very high expectations for this paper. This course is one of the most advanced majors classes we offer, so it is reasonable to assume that you have a high level of motivation and ability. You will demonstrate that motivation and ability here.
Task Analysis
Identify health problem
Choose target(s)
Determine influence strategy and assessment
Explain how persuasion theory supports your plan
Execute the plan
Write report
Drafts
You will submit three different drafts of this paper during the semester. Each draft will accomplish a different goal and should permit you to demonstrate several skills along the way.
Proposal Draft. The proposal outlines the problem and solution. Properly done, the Proposal is roughly the first half of the Final paper. I will read these proposals with a particular emphasis on your writing skill, quality of research, and the practicality of the proposed plan.
Group Draft. You will submit a "final" version of your paper to a group of your peers for their feedback. You will bring an anonymous (no identifying information) copy of your paper and join a feedback group (4-6 people). You will pass around each other's papers and provide written comments about the paper. The purpose of this activity is to get a lot of different perspectives on how clearly you communicate your project. You will take the feedback from this session and make changes, as needed, in the paper.
Final Draft. The end. The one you turn in for my last evaluation.
The Proposal Draft and Final Draft will be graded, Group Draft will not. Please do notassume that I place no value on the Group Draft because it gets no points. In several respects, it might be the most important draft of this paper. It is not graded because I don't want to put that kind of pressure on you. Instead I want you to focus on whether the drafts you read make sense and provide help on improving them.
Outline of Proposal, Group, and Final Draft
Section Headers
The Problem (read and cite at least 5 scientific sources)
What it is generally
What causes the problem
Who's got the problem
What's the effect (mortality and morbidity)
Why Healthy Influence?
Can persuasion change the problem
How do attitudes affect the problem
Who is the Target
Background information
How did they develop the problem
How long have they had the problem
Why Healthy Influence might work with target(s>
What will You Do (read and cite 3 scientific sources)
Specifically outline your tactics
What theory and research supports your strategy
The Results
Did any change occur
How long has the change lasted
How do the outcomes relate to persuasion theory
The Future
What would you do differently the next time
Would this work on a larger scale (more targets)
Writing the Paper
Use the above sections as headers in your paper. They will organize your thoughts, your writing, and my reading. Focus very specifically on these headers and make sure that you develop them fully. Deviations from this structure are permissible, but they should produce a clearly better paper. If you're not sure, don't deviate.
Evaluation of the Healthy Influence Paper
Technical Specifications for Proposal Draft
It must be single authored, with 8-12 pages (typed and double-spaced; between 2000-3000 words) in the body, with the APA style sheet.
Technical Specifications for Final Draft
It must be single authored, with 15-20 pages (typed and double-spaced; between 3750 and 5000 words) in the body, with the APA style sheet.
I will evaluate each draft (Proposal and Final) with the following criteria.
APA Style Sheet: Style sheet correctly applied to manuscript preparation, use of headers and levels, citations and references, paper structure (title page, abstract, body, references, tables, figures, appendices). I will show no mercy here. Buy the Style Sheet, read it, and use it correctly. (0-20) (0-40)
Scholarship: You must provide 5 scientific sources for the Problem section of the proposal. You must provide 3 scientific sources for the Strategy section of the proposal. You must use primary sources (original research reports) not secondary sources (e.g. a text book that describes original research). A "scientific" source is usually a periodic journal that is sponsored by a professional or academic (non-profit) association that employs anonymous, peer-review of articles. These sources usually have the words, "Journal," "Monograph," "Bulletin," "Research," or "Review" in the title. You may also cite non-scientific sources (popular press newspapers, magazines, television, radio, or Internet) but these do not count as "scientific." (0-20) (0-40)
Coverage: The proposal must address all sections specified in the Outline. Use each section
as a Header in your paper. You may also use the subsections (when appropriate to your project) as additional Headers. Visit the Comm 221 Home page and look at prior Healthy Influence papers for guidance here. (0-20) (0-40)
Writing: You must write with competent English skills, demonstrating correct grammar, spelling, etc. I am not a composition professor, but I do know the basic mechanics of good writing and I will apply them here. (0-20) (0-40)
Quality: I will make a somewhat subjective evaluation of the overall quality of the paper and the proposed project. A higher quality is found in a project that is very well researched, planned, and written. In other words, the better you do on the preceding criteria, the better you will do on the overall quality criterion. (0-20) (0-40)
Deadline: A 10% penalty will be applied for each day the paper is late. A paper is considered one day late when it is not turned in during the required class session.
