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Made possible by the University’s Educational Strategies Development Fund.
Interdisciplinary Communications Skills Project
Development of Teaching Modules in Professional Communication Skills
A pilot project has begun to develop learning modules to assist lecturers across campus in enhancing the professional communication skills of their students. This project is being guided by the Teaching and Learning Research Group under an Educational Strategies Development Fund grant. The project grows from the realisation that communication skills are taught in a number of faculties, yet teaching materials are not often shared. In addition, many non-communication subjects require students to practice professional communication skills, skills for which lecturers have little time to develop or even adapt learning materials. This project aims to establish a base of materials in modules that can be inserted readily into lesson plans in classes in different disciplines.
Communication skills that we are addressing include:
We appreciate any help that you can give in our initial effort, which involves:
(a) inventory of communication-skill materials currently used by
lecturers;
(b) assessment of needs for communication skills in different courses,
both undergraduate and postgraduate; and
(c) development of pilot modules on professional consultation and
facilitating community consultation (public meetings).
At first, we are collecting all subject outlines on campus (or as many as we can readily obtain) and cataloguing them according to communication skills needed to complete assignments. For example, how many subjects require oral reports? In what disciplines do students need to learn to conduct meetings in public settings? Which assignments require work in which students need to conduct group project meetings?
Want more information on this project? Visit our Web site (assembled by Richard Caladine of CEDIR): http://cedir.uow.edu.au/subjects/staffdev/comms/
Do you have ideas or materials that we should know about? Would you like to test our pilot modules with your class? Please contact --
Project coordinator: Will Rifkin, PhD, Mgmt x4740, will_rifkin@uow.edu.au
Project assistant: Mary Johnston, mjny02@uow.edu