Communication Theory and Research Methods [COMM 319W]
Communication Theory and Research Methods [COMM 319W]
Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course
Course name/number: COMM 319W
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait
Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a Communication course for undergraduate or graduate students by Dr. Joshua Frye at Cal Poly Humboldt. The open textbook provides rich theoretical explanations, case studies, and applied exercises. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to democratize knowledge and reduce student financial burden. Most students access the open textbook in a digital online version through a course hyperlink.
Course Title and Number - Communication Theory and Research Methods [COMM 319W]
Brief Description of course highlights: Explore and practice the central communication research methods and theories to develop analytic, advocacy, and writing skills.
Student population: The course is a requirement for Communication majors and is part of the 23 unit core for the B.A. Most students take the course as upper-division transfer students. COMM 105 is a pre-requisite for COMM 319W. Occasionally students from other majors will enroll in COMM 319W as a research methodology skill building course, or when their home department does not regularly offer a theory & methods class.
Learning or student outcomes:
1. Understand dominant paradigms and research traditions within the field of Communication.
2. Articulate research questions appropriate for communication scholarship.
3. Select appropriate research method based on project goals.
4. Utilize data collection techniques and strategies for conducting communication research for projects, campaigns, organizations, and communities.
5. Analyze strengths and limitations of different research methods.
6. Identify and critique epistemological and methodological approaches within Communication scholarship.
7. Comprehend how different research methods correspond to differing epistemological paradigms.
8. Conceptualize and write appropriate sections of a research proposal.
9. Design data collection instruments for conducting basic and applied research.
10. Practice and improve collaboration and communication skills.
Key challenges faced and how resolved: The two challenges I would name include the evolution of using an OER. To begin I was requiring students to purchase a hard-copy version of the book. Then I moved to setting aside a reserve copy in the library for students to access for up to 2 hours to read and complete their labs. Finally I opted to move to an OER and advocated for the library to acquire a digital version of course text that students could access without having to physically go to the library or purchase the book on their own. The second main challenge was working with students who haven’t used an open access online text that was linked in the course through the syllabus and specific assignments. The resolution of both of these issues was working through the process with campus partners (whether librarians or students) to systematize this kind of pedagogy and instructional material availability and use for learning.
COMM 319w Syllabus.docx:
Textbook/OER/Low-cost Title: Participatory action research: theory and methods for engaged research.
Brief Description: This text explores the theoretical foundations of Participatory Action Research (PAR) tools, addressing the difficulties researchers from all disciplines face, focusing on connections between the theory, tools and skills required for practice. It covers a vast range of ideas and approaches to engaged community research. It covers the history and philosophy of PAR and offers myriad case studies, exercises, and research tools that students can use to develop an experiential understanding of PAR in practice in the classroom. The praxis of the book reflects the overall paradigm of PAR and all of the exercises and tools for experimentation are included within the relevant section of the book, making it an excellent pedagogical tool.
Please provide a link to the resource https://csu-humboldt.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CALS_HUL/1slo2fs/alma9910040572502909
Authors: Jacques M. Chevalier & Daniel J. Buckles
Student access: Students access the instructional material through course embedded links to the university library permanent online holding.
Supplemental resources: The course modality changes from year to year but when the course is taught asynchronously or in a hybrid modality, students have access to all the course materials including supplemental instructional resources, guides, media, and individualized lab instructions.
Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook. The cost of this instructional material ranges from $63..00 to $154.00. When this is multiplied by the number of students in class each year and the number of years I have used this approach, the overall savings would accumulate to from $4,725.00 on the low-end to $11, 475.00 at the upper-end.
License*: This resource is copyrighted as it is published by Routledge of the Taylor & Francis group.
OER/Low-Cost Adoption Process
Please provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost. The online text I am using for this course is really a model of praxis-combining theory and practice. The same is true for the principle of adopting these kinds of instructional approaches for my students-it is a nexus of expertise and access which I believe falls to me to provide.
How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? For this course, I attended a national professional association pre-convention workshop on a rigorous and useful (re)design of the undergraduate research methods course. This was a starting point. Then after learning about OER from campus evangelists, I chose to bend the course design to lean into participatory action research. From that point I began researching texts, articles, resources, guides, and specifically what our library had to offer. After I selected this text, I went through many iterations of different ways of getting my students access to it. I eventually alighted on the current model.
Sharing Best Practices: The value of developing this kind of pedagogy, especially for a public institution of higher education is consequential. The students enrolled in your courses will appreciate your efforts and it is therefore rewarding and mutually beneficial. Explore the options, talk with your colleagues, and be willing to experiment, make mistakes, and improve upon them. Every instructor and course will have a different style and set of needs, so tailoring those factors to your own journey with OER is key.
Describe any challenges you experienced, and lessons learned. Even though there will probably be several iterations of getting a course where you want with this innovative form of sharing information, the journey has lessons and rewards of its own. it will connect you with colleagues, librarians, publishers, students, and community members. Persistence and thinking outside the box will go a long way in reshaping your courses. Ultimately, it is an intrinsic value of public knowledge to share information in more efficient and effective ways. This kind of pedagogy plays a role in the lofty goals of democratizing knowledge. After all, isn’t that a central part of what a university education purports to do?
Instructor Name - Joshua J. Frye
I am a Communication professor at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.humboldt.edu/communication
Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach.
I teach the following courses regularly:
COMM 438 Leadership Communication [online]
COMM 412 Communication for Sustainable Development and Social Change [f2f]
COMM 435 Negotiation, Mediation, and Crisis Communication [f2f]
COMM 300 Contemporary Public Discourse [online & f2f]
COMM 315 Communication & Social Advocacy [online & f2f]
COMM 319W Communication Theory & Research [online & f2f]
COMM 450 Strategic Communication [online & f2f]
COMM 100 Fundamentals of Speech Communication [online and f2f]
Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching. Dr. Frye has taught, conducted research, volunteered, and studied in over 35 countries in Asia, Latin America, the South Pacific, and Europe. The overarching focus of his teaching and research is on strategic [environmental and political] communication, ideological criticism, public education, leadership & spirituality, and sustainable community development. As a humanist, pragmatist, and public servant, his pedagogy is a critical pedagogy that has intellectual rigor and breadth but an applied bent. He often uses a flipped and student-centered pedagogy where active, experiential learning is in the spirit of embodied knowledge that serves a purpose for self-discovery and growth as well as societal and community improvement. Dr. Frye has published over 40 articles, books, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. Most recently he published the original research monograph–Rhetoric and Democracy in a Post-Truth Era–with Bloomsbury Publishing. His teaching engagements have occurred at Purdue University, Shanxi University (China), Yale University, Dartmouth College, the State University of New York, and the California State University system, among others. He has often been an invited speaker, served on City Council committees and Boards of Directors, and has provided communication consulting for a diverse range of clients in the public, non-profit, and private sectors.