Page 330 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

Discussion of the Communication Methodology

Step 1—Identify Audience

Identify various characteristics of the audience which are relevant to your communication. Examples of
audience characteristics you might identify include predicted size, general knowledge level about the content,
perceived attitudes about the content, the setting or location for the communication, and demographic
information (age, gender, cultural background, etc.). The more you know about the individual or group
with whom you are communicating, the more effectively you can craft your message.

When the team was preparing for Jennifer’s presentation, they took their audience of Professor
Arbuckle and their classmates into account.They realized their audience, having done research similar
to their own, was indeed familiar with the subject. This means that Jennifer won’t have to explain
vocabulary terms and that many concepts they’re using will be familiar to and easily understood
by the audience. On the other hand, the team worried about how to keep the material fresh and
interesting. How could their presentation be different?

Step 2—Select Topic

Before going any further in the process, it is important to identify the intent or purpose of your communication,
i.e., what and why are you communicating to this particular audience? Answering these questions helps
you narrow the focus of your message. Use the information about the audience from the first step to help
define the scope of your communication. Other factors such as the environment in which the communication
will occur and the length of time allowed for the communication are important issues which influence the
remaining steps of the Communication Methodology.

Our team knew they had ten minutes to deliver their presentation—which is, as Jennifer pointed out,
actually quite a bit of time to stand in front of a group of people. They knew theirs was a“smart room,”
well equipped with audio-visual resources (“if we present our research in a variety of ways it will make it
more interesting,”Fred pointed out). They were also all in agreement that a high grade was a common
goal. (“That means telling Professor Arbuckle something he doesn’t already know,” Ken said.)

Step 3—Set Objectives and Criteria

Use the previous steps (identify topic, purpose, and scope of your communication) to help establish the
objectives for your communication. Your objectives should also include specific criteria used to assess the
message and the effectiveness of the communication.

Sam pointed out that Professor Arbuckle had already given them a set of learning objectives for
Teamwork.

• Appreciate and begin to use team roles in a collaborative learning environment
• Make appropriate use of team reports
• Apply SII Assessments to team outcomes

Sandra nodded and mentioned that the objective of their presentation should be to demonstrate that
they’d mastered the learning objectives for Teamwork. Ken said that he thought the criteria for their
presentation would have to be a kind of“proof”that they’d met the objectives; the presentation should
make it clear that they had become familiar with using team roles, that they’d worked together to
explore the roles, and that they’d successfully used a collaborative process to create their presentation.

324 Foundations of Learning