CSD 250: Concepts in Communication Sciences

CSD 250: Concepts in Communication Sciences

Fall 2017

Class Meeting Time/Location: online

Reliable access/connection to the internet will be critical for completing this class. Please use Firefox or Safari when accessing quizzes, tests and other assignments!

Instructor Information

Ginger Hinton, PhD

338 Ferguson Building

Office Hours: 9:00-11:00 Thursdays (Please sign up for an appointment on my door)

1. Course Information

1. Prerequisites: none

1. For Whom Planned: Freshman and sophomore students with an interest in the processes of human communication

1. Catalog description: Concepts essential in understanding human communication; factors affecting life-long development and competency of speech, language and hearing.

2. Student Learning Outcomes:

The Standards listed below reflect some of the knowledge and skills that the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has outlined for those in communication disorders professions.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Describe the normal process of speech, language and hearing in the person in any culture. (ASHA Standard III-C)
2. Identify how human communication, including speech, language and hearing, changes throughout the lifespan. (ASHA Standard III-B)
3. Explain the many varieties of normal communication through observation of children and adults in your family or community in their everyday surroundings. (ASHA Standard III-A)
4. Self-evaluate your own communication strengths and challenges in a communication skills evaluation process. (ASHA Standard III-D)
5. Demonstrate your knowledge of (a) prevention of a communication disorder or (b) a population at risk by creating information to share with the class (ASHA Standard III-D)

3. Required Texts

Justice, L M & Redle, EE. (2013). Communication sciences and disorders: a contemporary perspective, 3rdedition. Allyn & Bacon/Pearson. ISBN-10:0133123715 ISBN-13:9780133123715

Companion Website:

4. General Information:

1. In Canvas, there is a module for each week as well as additional information regarding assignments. At the beginning of each week, you should review the materials in Canvas and read the assigned chapter(s). Then complete the quiz.
2. All assignments are due by Friday at 5:00 pm. If you look at the calendar in the course syllabus (last page), you will notice that each week of class ends on a Friday. Any work assigned for that week will not be accepted after Friday at 5:00 pm. Quizzes and discussion boards will only be available during the week that they are assigned. Please schedule your time so that all assignments are complete before then.

5. Evaluation and Grading:

1. Library Tutorial:This information will help you in this class and many classes to come!

Use this link to access the UNCG tutorials on research: You must complete all 10 tutorials by August 18th at 5:00 p.m. When you have completed the modules, you must upload a screen shot from the final progress page to Canvas.

1. Weekly quizzes: Each quiz will consist of 20 multiple choice questions taken from the textbook. The quizzes will deal primarily with the main points rather than small details. However, you will need to complete the readings and other assignments prior to opening the quiz. Once you have opened the quiz, you will have 30 minutes to complete it. You will have 2 chances to take each quiz and the highest grade will automatically appear in Canvas.

1. Discussion Boards: For weeks 2-8 and 10-14, I will provide a “Question of the Week” related to that week’s topic. You should answer or discuss at least 8 of the questions in the appropriate Discussion Board on Canvas. You shouldn’t just answer the question based on what you think. Your response should promote learning for all class members and must be more than simple comments, such as “autism is a developmental disorder” or “I know somebody with autism”. Each appropriate response will be worth 5 points. Each Discussion Board is only available during the week that it is assigned and will close at 5:00 p.m. on Friday of the week that they cover. That means that you cannot try to complete all 8 at one time. All of your posts must be completed by November 22nd at 5:00 p.m.

The responses may include but are not limited to:

• Related readings or additional information from journal article
• Reference and brief summary of a related professional journal article (see below)
• Links to related professional websites
• Personal or work experiences

Learning how to locate appropriate professional materials will help you in all aspects of the major and profession. To locate appropriate professional journal:

• From the UNCG Current Students web page, click on the Libraries link
• On the Libraries page, click on Databases
• Under Databases, select EBSCO
• On the left side of the EBSCO page, select full-text, scholarly, and the years 2006-2106
• Then, at the top of that page, fill in the search terms for any topic that is of interest to you, such as “stuttering and adults”, traumatic brain injury and football”, “autism and language”, etc.
• Once you have a list, select one that interests you and read it thoroughly
• After reading it, post the complete reference in APA style with a link. You must also include a brief description of the article and why it’s important to the field of communication sciences and disorders.
• For example, I used the search terms “articulation disorders” and “children” and selected the following article:

Chon, HC. Sawyer, J., & Ambrose, N. (2012). Differences of articulation rate and utterance length in fluent and disfluent utterances of preschool children who stutter. Journal of Communication Disorders, 45(6), 455-467.

This article discusses the relationship between fluency and correct production of speech sounds. It provides information that can be used to optimize the assessment and treatment of young children with communication problems.

1. Mid-term exam: This exam will be 100 multiple choice questions taken from the materials covered in weeks 2-8. Although you can use your book, you must study before you begin! You will only have 1 chance to take the exam and must complete it within 90 minutes after you’ve opened it.

1. Final exam: This exam will be 100 multiple choice questions taken from the materials covered in weeks 9-15. Although you can use your book, you must study before you begin! You will only have 1 chance to take the exam and must complete it within 90 minutes after you’ve opened it.

1. Reaction paper: During week 15 (Thanksgiving week), students must complete a 1-2 page reaction paper that discusses their thoughts and feelings about the material that they have covered in the course. The paper must be posted to Canvas by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17th in .doc or .docx format. Specific information about this assignment is located in the Assignments folder in the Course Materials section of Canvas.

Note: We do make mistakes! Students have 48 hours from the time grades are posted in Gradebook to challenge, in writing (email), the grade they have received. In order to challenge a grade, you must provide specific information about why you feel the grade is incorrect (e.g. page number in the textbook). Challenges will not be considered after 48 hours.

Grading Scale: Final grades will be assigned as follows, based on your percentage of total points available. I do not “round up” or give extra credit, so please don’t ask. As grades are entered in CANVAS, you will be able to see your percentage of points so far.

98-100% =A+

94-97% =A

90-93% = A-

88-89% =B+

84-87% =B

80-83% =B-

78-79% =C+

74-77% =C

70-73% = C-

68-69% =D+

64-67% =D

60-63% = D-

Below 60% = F

6. Academic Integrity Policy:

All students are expected to follow criteria for scholarly writing and exam conduct as defined by the university’s published guidelines, which can be found in the Policies for Students. In addition, a copy of the university’s policy on academic integrity and the UNC honor code can be found on the UNCG website:

Important! Each time you press “send” for any assignment in this class, you are agreeing to honor the Academic Integrity Policy. Just because I can’t see you doesn’t mean I can’t figure out if you are cheating. Although this course is delivered online, it is held to the same rigorous standards as a face-to-face class.

7. Learning Differences or Disabilities:

For students with documented physical or learning differences and/or disabilities, appropriate arrangements will be made for completion of all class and assessment experiences. However, documentation of these differences and/or disabilities must be made available to the instructor by the end of the second week of classes. Information regarding disabilities and/or differences will be kept confidential. If you are unsure whether or not you need special accommodations, please contact the UNCG Office of Accessibility Resources & Services, 336-334-5540 or

8. Attendance Policy:

Students are expected to commit the same amount of time to this online course that would be necessary for a face-to-face course with 3 credit hours. I should see that you have logged on to the course once per week AT MINIMUM. Those who want to earn an A will log on three or more times per week. Keep reading for more information.

9. Contacting the Professor or Graduate Assistant:

We are happy to answer your questions about this class, so feel free to contact us by email or during office hours. However, we will only respond to emails during regular work hours, Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. that means that we will not be answering your emails on the weekends or at night.

Here are some tips for contacting me or any other faculty member/graduate assistant:

1. ALWAYS include the course number in your subject line. “Question re CSD 250” is clear and sounds genuine, while “a question” looks like spam.
2. Reply with History. Include the previous emails with your response as long as the subject remains the same, so it will be immediately evident what has been discussed. When the subject changes, start a new email with a new subject-line.
3. This is not text messaging. Use upper case letters where appropriate, and ask politely. “I can’t make any of your office hours. Will it be convenient for me to come by on Tuesday, October 17th, at 8:30am?” is a lot better than “I need to meet u at a different time.”

1. Write from your university email account. That immediately lets your professor see that your email is legitimate and not spam.
2. Choose an appropriate greeting. “Hi/Hello Professor [Blank]” is always appropriate. Substitute “Dear” if you have ended up writing a letter, omit “Hi” and your tone is too brusque.
3. Address the faculty member as Doctor or Profession, unless you have told specifically to address her/him in a different manner.
4. Proof read what you’ve written. Use spell check. If your email does not have spell check, then copy and paste your text into a word document that does have spell check, make the corrections, and then paste the text back into your email.
5. Sign with your full name, course number, and meeting time. For example, Maggie Smith, CSD 250. Signing is an obvious courtesy, and it eliminates the need for stilted self-identification (“I am a student in your such-in-such class”).
6. Don’t ask questions that require lengthy answers. Questions that require lengthy answers are best asked in person during office hours.

10. How to succeed at taking courses online:

Online courses are great because you can complete college credits from UNCG without physically attending the classroom. You can take courses at night, on the weekends, or whenever your schedule allows. You can wear your pajamas to class. You can still be part of a class even if you have a job with constantly changing shifts, if you need to travel for work, if you have young children who need you at home, if you have a contagious disease, if you need to listen to loud music while you work…you get the picture. However…

Online courses are tough because YOU have the responsibility to organize your time to “go to class” each week. While online classes are more convenient if you need flexibility in when or where you attend, they still require the same total amount of time as a face-to-face class. For a 3 credit hour face-to-face class, you would expect to spend 3 hours per week actually sitting in class, PLUS another 6-9 hours per week outside of class preparing for class and completing assignments. For a 3 hour online course, prepare to commit the whole 9-12 hours per week to the material.

In addition to completing the readings and specific assignments, students should interact with other students in study groups face-to-face or through social media

Fall 2016 CSD 250: Calendar of Events