Robert Franks

Central College

IUCSC October 23, 2004

 

CentralÕs Background:

 

Communication Across the Curriculum Program, initially funded by the NEH and the Meredith Corporation over 20 years ago.

 

Every major has a communication skills component.

 

Mathematics/Computer Science Department

 

One significant piece of the component was a departmental seminar.

á      Seniors had two 50-minute presentations to junior and senior math and cs majors and department faculty

á      Presented material was targeted for a sophomoreÕs understand but not material covered in the curriculum

á      Presenter was given feedback from listeners via written form

á      Course meet weekly, was 1 pass/fail credit

á      Presenter worked independently with a faculty member assigned to him/her

 

Advantages

á      Developed confidence in oral presentation skills – alumni feedback especially positive

á      Provided opportunity for exploration of new topics

á      Provided two chances for students to work individually with a faculty member

á      Gave the department majors a keen sense of identity

 

Disadvantages

á      Inflexible – students required to take 4 semesters

á      Indeterminate amount of time per student for faculty

á      Passive listeners

á      Lack of intentional development of other communication skills – writing, critical reading, listening

 

2004-05 revamped seminar

 

á      Split seminar into a graded 2 credit junior seminar and a graded 1 credit senior seminar

á      Non-presentation meetings are separated by disciplines

á      Seniors present one talk for 20 minutes and write a paper on the topics

á      Juniors present one talk in a group for 45 minutes

á      Half of the department faculty work with students which is included in load

á      Preserves advantages from previous seminar version

 

Junior seminar course description and goals

         This course introduces the student to the process of reading, writing and present topics in computer science that go beyond what is covered in the current computer science curriculum. The focus of the course is on learning processes and skills instead of a specific body of knowledge like computer security or database design. The intent is to promote lifelong learning that will be needed whether in work or graduate school.

         After completing this course, you should be able to:

 

á      Research a topic of interest using the library and online sources,

á      Skim articles to determine appropriateness,

á      Read a technical article in depth and correctly summarize its contents,

á      Listen carefully to a technical presentation and correctly summarize its contents,

á      Informally discuss technical articles with peers,

á      Organize and structure a presentation of technical material with peers, and

á      Orally present technical material correctly and clearly communicate.

 

Senior seminar course goals

       By the end of this class you will be able to:

 

á      Listen to and critique technical presentations in computer science;

á      Write technical papers using the language of computer scientists;

á      Give technical oral presentations using proper terminology for computer science;

á      Know where and how to find research materials for computer science.