Improving Communication Skills through Discipline Specific Simulation Modules

David R. Russell, Professor

English Department

David Fisher

English Department

Faculty have long used case studies to promote active learning, through self-directed learning and problem solving, collaboration, and writing. But paper cases are limited in scope and, when Web-based, often do not take advantage of the Webís ability to simulate the complexities of a ëreal-worldí environment. In this project we developed a media-rich online case to address the shortcomings of traditional cases by immersing students in communicative situations enabling self-directed learning and collaborations. The online case we have developed (Omega Molecular) provides students with communication tools as well as simultaneous access to a variety of:

• information sources--video footage of meetings, video/audio interviews with characters, access to organizational documents, access to an organizationís intranet
• collaboration tools--discussion boards, polls, interactive audio and video, and surveys--which students can use to communicate with each other and with case characters about the situation, and
• communication help topics, which provide assistance to students as they work to apply disciplinary concepts in meaningful ways through their writing, speaking, and design.

Creating an online case can be time consuming and can require technical skill outside an instructorís expertise. Though several tools exist for deploying course materials on the Web (e.g., WebCT, Blackboard), they work mainly to streamline practices that have evolved from face-to-face teaching programs. Thus we developed the MyCase tool as a specifically-purposed alternative to high-end course management tools. MyCase allows an instructor to more quickly create or adapt a case for online learning, which can include any of the information spaces listed above.

Because of the softwareís flexible, database-driven architecture, we are able quickly to replicate and tailor the scenarios and component materials (including digital video, audio, graphics, and text) to closely approximate the communicative demands/situations that characterize organizations with varying communicative emphases. At the same time, we are able to present learners with complex and ethically ambiguous situations in a way that requires them to ìcome into an understandingî of the situations as they attempt to produce genres common to the field that informs the case. In these online environments, students can not only ìpracticeî the types of communication they will undertake on the job, but also become sensitized to the nuances of language use that characterize the social activity within various fields.

Now being piloted in two sections (n=48) of English 314, Omega Molecular Case has three learning goals, assessed in three ways.

1. Develop self-directed learning and problem solving strategies. Students do a pre and post task in which they are given a problem and asked to outline a strategy for researching and writing a document that addresses the problem. These are scored for the complexity of the strategies students outline.

2. Develop collaboration competencies. We are conducting a qualitative analysis of ongoing interviews and process documents produced during the case.

3. Improve technical writing competencies. The two major documents the students produce using the case environment (recommendation report and information sheet) will be compared to documents in the same two genres written by students in two English 314 sections that used an online textbook rather than the case environment. A version of the standard English 314 rubric will be used for the double-blind rating.

Links:

Omega Molecular Case--for English 314, Technical Communication

GradCorp Consulting--for English 314, Technical Communication (frames Omega Molecular case as consulting engagement)

MyCase--case building tool (fully functional prototype)