Summer 22 Inclusive Syllabus Portfolio | Cheng Hong
COMS 118: Survey of Public Relations
Course Description
The course is an upper division class for undergraduate students in the Department of Communication Studies. It is an introduction to public relations and designed as a lecture class. It is required for students majoring in public relations and serves as an elective for students interested in the topic of public relations. Usually the enrollment capacity is around 40 but this semester I was able to teach it as a mega-section with 103 enrolled students.
Before:
Before the re-design, the syllabus does not contain any welcome message, diversity statement, quick tips to succeed in the class, or class culture and the learning process. In addition, the language is not very inviting and encouraging.
Motivation for Redesign of your Syllabi
- 2022 Spring COMS 118_Survey of Public Relations_Hong.docx Download 2022 Spring COMS 118_Survey of Public Relations_Hong.docx
- For example, before redesigning, my syllabus just lists out my office hours but does not indicate that students can schedule a different time with me if my office hours do not fit with their schedule. I also did not have welcome message and other statements that aim to build a diverse and inclusive classroom.
After:
I added welcome message, revised my tone in the syllabus to be more encouraging, and added diversity statement, quick tips, class culture and the learning process, class expectations and classroom civility.
Include Evidence of Accessibility or Language Choice Changes
- 2022 Fall COMS 118-01_Survey of Public Relations_Hong.docx Download 2022 Fall COMS 118-01_Survey of Public Relations_Hong.docx
- "I welcome you to contact me outside of class and office hours. You may email me or contact the department and leave a message" "I am looking forward to working with each of you this semester. Everyone in this class has the goal of learning the basics about public relations. There are many ways that success can happen in this course. Success happens when we make progress and challenge ourselves, with a growth mindset; success happens when we notice a classmate who needs help, and we act through support, encouragement, and kindness; success happens when we engage in civil learning environment and better understand the role of public relations in our society; success happens when we create an encouraging and open-minded classroom, and we share our experiences and develop sympathy towards each other. I will do my best to encourage a supportive learning environment in our class, and I hope you will do the same."
Techniques Incorporated Into Redesign
I tried to put myself in the shoes of my students, especially those from the under-represented groups, when I redesigned my syllabus. The intentionality to make my language more welcoming and inviting, to emphasize the growth mindset, and to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusiveness is very helpful in guiding me in the redesigning process.
Assessment of Syllabus Redesign
This redesign is aligned with the goal of building a diverse, equitable and inclusive learning environment at department, college, and university level. In addition, PR profession has been embracing the importance of DEI at workplace; therefore, incorporating DEI statements in a PR class can help PR students cultivate their DEI mindset.
Reflection: Challenges and Lessons Learned
One challenge I encountered was how to use the best language in delivering my good intentions. I enjoyed all the examples that were given during the FLC and adopted their phrases and sentences in my own syllabus. One lesson I learned is that we need to very careful when talking about our expectations toward our students. Instead of saying "you are required," I changed my language into "you're expected;" I also incorporated statement that emphasized growth mindset and tips for students who want to perform well in my class. I think the key is to keep in mind that students have different learning styles and it is our job to help each of them reach their potential and grow from our class.
Faculty Biography
| Dr. Cheng Hong is an assistant professor at Department of Communication Studies. She got her PhD from University of Miami in strategic communication. Her teaching and research areas are public relations. Before joining Sac State, she was an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. |
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