2008-1-SSK13

Learning and Communication Behaviour

Introduction

Learning and Communication Behaviour, SSK13, introduces students to skills that aid in learning.

This unit covers four key elements: Learning, as an individual, and in a group; Knowledge: its current state, and its various forms; Research skills; and Communication skills.

On completion of this unit students will have increased competence in a range of skills such as: team work; written and oral communication skills; presentation skills; the ability to critically asses their work and course material; the ability to think critically; and the ability to analyse a variety of knowledge sources.

This unit equips students to enter their studies confident they have the essential skills and background knowledge that will allow them to focus on their unit-specific learning.

Unit Objectives

The course objectives are to create students who are:

• more effective written communicators across a number of styles of writing;
• more effective oral communicators;
• independent learners who are able to adapt and develop team learning and teamwork disciplines;
• able to assess the viability of knowledge for use in different forums;
• able to critically analyse the relevance of knowledge for specific purposes, across a variety of communicative platforms;
• able to use the library and the internet as a research source; and
• able to reflect upon their learning experience to come to a realistic assessment of their progress.

Graduate Attributes

There are five key attributes that students should acquire:

• A vocational capacity as a result of the development of research, critical analysis, and communication skills;
• An entrepreneurial disposition elicited via the development of independent thinking skills;
• The ability to be effective and ethical in work and community situations, developed through investigation of contemporary ethical issues;
• An ability to manage change, through an awareness of the key issues confronting a globalised world; and
• An contextual awareness of the local and international environments in which they contribute (e.g. socio-cultural, economic, political and natural).

Those attributes again: capable; entrepreneurial; effective and ethical; adaptable; aware.

Modules and Topics

• Introduction to Learning & Communication
  • Topic 1: Learning Independently
  • Topic 2: Knowledge -- Everyday Knowledge; Knowledge vs. Information
  • Topic 3: Communication -- Written, spoken, public & electronic
• Module 2: Learning as an Individual & In a Group; "How do I choose a team, and what do I bring to it?"
  • Topic 1: Learning Independently & learning in a team
  • Topic 2: Online Learning: Using the Internet to learn and collaborate
• Module 3: Knowledge: Its Current State and its Various Forms; "What do I know and how do I know it?"
  • Topic 1: Knowledge, Philosophy & Society; Socio-cultural knowledge
  • Topic 2: Business Knowledge
• Module 4: The Development of Research Skills; "How do I find out?"
  • Topic 1: Books vs. the Internet
  • Topic 2: Library Skills
• Module 5: Diverse Forms of Communication; "How do I get the message across?"
  • Topic 1: Written Communication & Presentations (live and online)
  • Topic 2: Electronic Communication (blogs, media, PowerPoint and Public relations)