Running head: CASE STUDY #1: COURSE SYLLABI IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Case Study #1: Course Syllabi in Higher Education

Lillianna Franco
ELPS 430
Loyola University Chicago

CASE STUDY #1: COURSE SYLLABI IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Case Study #1: Course Syllabi in Higher Education

Part I. Describe
The syllabi chosen to analyze and reflect upon were within the discipline of
communications studies, in particular courses in public speaking that are typically necessary for
the general education curriculum. The first syllabus selected was from the University of
Pennsylvania, which described the course as an introductory class in public speaking (Sanchez,
2002). The instructor, Tara Sanchez, starts out by defining what public speaking means and then
lists the goals, requirements, and expectations. The goals include students learning how to give
speeches, prepare outlines, participate in discussions, and keep up with current events. The only
requirements were for students to participate in class and complete all assignments. Expectations
were geared toward being on time and being prepared. The following portion of the syllabus
delineates the grading rubric for the speeches; they focus on content, organization, and delivery.
Then, Sanchez defines in class activities as lectures that will be given, activities that will apply to
content lectured on, and speeches that they will be giving. Finally, Sanchez shares that there will
be no textbooks, only articles that she will distribute.
The second syllabus is from the Department of Media, Culture, and Communications at
New York University (NYU) Steinhardt. This syllabus did not indicate a specific instructor
because it was simply a sample of what students could expect from a public speaking course.
The course was explained, under a heading called description, as a course that would prepare
students for academic and formal presentations. Furthermore, it specified topics such as
cultural conventions and speech, perceptions of others, verbal and nonverbal messages, and
techniques of oral presentation and persuasion (New York University, 2015). Then, learning
goals were depicted as improving speech preparation, delivery, and confidence through practice.

CASE STUDY #1: COURSE SYLLABI IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Following this, requirements were made that outlined how each speech should be organized and
how they would be graded. The policies of the class were based on attendance, tardiness, being
respectful to their peers, and being honest. A public speaking textbook was required and the
grading scale was presented. Finally, it breaks down how students could earn the grades
specifically.
The course on the Fundamentals of Public Speaking at Texas A & M under the
instruction of Josh Hamilton requires a textbook and access to computer software for the
presentations. Hamilton (2012) describes this course on Public Speaking in terms of it being a
necessity for life and in any occupation. Student learning outcomes were illustrated as
understanding the importance of communication, gaining experience through practice, and
overcoming speech anxiety. The course is delivered in a variety of ways including: guided
lectures, performance, discussion groups, independent research, Socratic style
teaching/discussion, individual readings, and potentially online ecollege collaboration
(Hamilton, 2012). The evaluation policy outlines the assignments, exams, and grading scale.
The assignments include an engaging real world application public speaking engagement, exams
of key definitions and short essay questions, and the variety of speeches students must present
and their criteria.
The fourth course chosen to analyze is named something completely different than the
rest; it is a communications course called Fundamentals of Human Communication from the
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The instructor, Federica Fornaciari, shared the required
text and the course objectives. The objectives are founded on the idea of developing speaking
skills, confidence, proficiency in communication technologies, analyzing and adapting to
audiences of diverse dynamics and beliefs, and becoming prepared in speech organization

CASE STUDY #1: COURSE SYLLABI IN HIGHER EDUCATION

(Fornaciari, 2011). For details on the speech schedule and the speech assignments, the professor
directs the students to their online site. Within this syllabus, the attendance policy and respect
towards other students is also noted as important. The expectations are upheld by a simple list of
do and do not.
The final course syllabus reviewed is from Loyola University Chicago. Ed Frost teaches
the Public Speaking and Critical Thinking course. In the course description, Frost (2014)
described communication as a vital skill and explained that this course was to teach oral
competency and critical thinking through practice, interactions with others, and readings. The
objective of the course was to prepare students to develop public speeches and cognitive thinking
skills. The goals of the course are to develop speeches, learn to research data and facts, control
nervousness, gain confidence, and develop critical listening skills to evaluate. A required text,
attendance, lateness, and respect were covered in the syllabus. Additionally, the assignments
were listed with the amount of points given to each.
Part II. Compare and Contrast
The syllabi had various similarities and differences in terms of the structure, organization,
and content presented. For example, all syllabi tended to include some type of learning or course
goals. The trend was that all professors indicated that their objective/goal was to give students
practice in public speaking in order to increase their skills, confidence, and preparation.
However, there were three that went above and beyond to include goals such as seeing the
significance of public speaking in the real world. For example, Hamilton (2012) shared that
students will become aware of the importance of communication in personal and professional
environments. Concurrently, Fornaciari (2011) depicted the importance of understanding
diverse dynamics in all forms of communication in order to evaluate critical communication

CASE STUDY #1: COURSE SYLLABI IN HIGHER EDUCATION

messages. Additionally, Forst (2014) stated how students will develop critical listen abilities
for evaluating ideas. Moreover, all syllabi incorporated the importance of attendance,
timeliness, and respect to other students in their requirements and expectations. Furthermore, all
syllabi also included assignment descriptions and criteria, grading rubrics, and an organized
schedule of classes and assignments. NYU, Hamilton, and Forst, all included detailed
descriptions that included lines such as this, This course will give you the opportunity to
develop and strengthen skills in preparing and presenting public oral presentations in a variety of
situations (New York University, 2015). Sanchez and Fornaciari did not incorporate a formal
description, which shows a lack of structure. A theme that almost all professors, other than
Sanchez, followed was to require a textbook. Sanchez (2002) shared that instead of providing a
textbook, articles would be given and lectures were essential to gaining new information.
Another major theme was to include experiential methods to teaching public speaking. For
example, all professors included various speech assignments for students to practice their skills
such as, introduction, demonstration, informative, special occasion, persuasive, and/or
impromptu speeches.
Part III. Integrate
According to Nilson (1998) people learn when they are engaged in experiential methods,
they reflect on their performance, and it is relevant to their lives. Most of the syllabi support this
key concept because they all employed experiential methods such as actively practicing
speeches. This demonstrates that students in these courses should learn how to learn, gain
knowledge, apply knowledge, understand human dimension, grow integration skills, and develop
care (Fink, 2003). However, not all course goals were specifically formulated by using each of
the taxonomy of significant learning forms. For example, Hamilton, Fornaciari, and Forst will

CASE STUDY #1: COURSE SYLLABI IN HIGHER EDUCATION

be closer to helping student develop care and application because they required more than just
experiencing speech giving; they actually engaged students with real world application,
understanding of diverse audiences, and critical thinking. Additionally, in order for students to
improve how to learn and how to apply the knowledge, courses must provide forms of
evaluations. For example, NYU, Fornaciari, and Forst, provided students the opportunity to
reflect on the activities by evaluating themselves, working in groups, and evaluating each other.
Brandsford, Brown, and Cocking (1999) described this as metacognition and said that actively
monitoring learning strategies helps improve the transfer of skills into real-life experiences.
All the syllabi challenge the key concept of relevancy to increase understanding. If
[students] initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to gasp the new concepts and
information they are taught (Brandsford et al., 1999, p. 14). The way the syllabi were
structured does not allow for students to understand their fundamental proficiency of public
speaking nor feel connected to it. This may make it difficult for students to understand new
ideas and learn how to contribute more. It is recommended that these professors improve their
syllabi by including time to validate students backgrounds. Although one professor, Hamilton,
did include a real world application assignment that could validate students understanding,
others should also utilize tools like media and technology to bring about real world problems into
the classroom and prove that students could utilize their communication skills to advocate or
serve the community (Brandsford et al., 1999). The highest educational challenge we face
revolves around developing character, conscience, citizenship, tolerance, civility, and individual
and social responsibility in our students (Fink, 2003, p. 17). By designing more curricula that
reflect the learner, knowledge, and assessment centered environments (Brandsford et al., 1999),
professors can contribute to the augmentation of student engagement in the community.

CASE STUDY #1: COURSE SYLLABI IN HIGHER EDUCATION

References
Brandsford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (1999). How people learn:
Brain, mind, experience, & school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to
developing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Fornaciari, F. (2011). Fundamentals of human communication syllabus: Fall 2011.
Retrieved from
https://fedefo.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/comm100_fall-2011_syllabus_fornaciari.pdf
Frost, E. (2014). Public speaking and critical thinking: Fall 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/soc/syllabifall2014/COMM%20101%20Forst.pdf
Hamilton, J. (2012). Fundamentals of public speaking syllabus: Fall 2012. Retrieved
from
http://www.tamuc.edu/academics/cvsyllabi/syllabi/201280/82767.pdf
New York University. (2015). Public speaking syllabus. Retrieved from
https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/media/users/sr99/ug_syl/E59.1805_Public_Speaki
ng.pdf
Nilson, L. B. (1998). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college
instructors. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing.
Sanchez, T. (2002). Public speaking syllabus: Summer 2002. Retrieved from
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~tsanchez/vubPS02syllabus.htm