27 Developing a New Project-Based Assignment

Summer 2019

The CPLC propelled me into thinking how to help students become agents in my class. The summer training provided me with abundant resources.

My most significant takeaway from CPLC during the summer was the idea of Project Based Learning (PBL). I think PBL could change my class fundamentally. Although I didn’t have the chance to participate the 4-day workshop in June, the PBL materials on Moodle were so helpful that I could start building a PBL-based assignment for my Communication Theory class that I teach every semester.

While I was reading the PBL materials, I could relate them to my Communication Theory class. Traditionally Communication Theory class has been a course that provides the students basic understanding of various communication theories. Because there are a lot of theories in communication field, the class often ended up with surveying lots of theories. As a result, students often felt this class did not provide any “active learning” opportunity in which they could relate their knowledge to solve any actual problems in their real lives.

I’m planning to implement a PBL based assignment in my Communication class during 2019 Fall. The assignment will start at the mid-point of the semester and continue to the end of the semester.  I plan to complete the detailed guidelines of the project during the first half of the fall semester.

Briefly, this new assignment will involve the following stages:

1. Generating Communication Problem (Figuring out one communication issue they will try to improve)

2. Researching (Finding appropriate theoretical framework and making a theoretically sound plan for improvement)

3.  Implementing the plan and observe

4. Report and Reflection

In addition to the imminent goal of developing a new assignment, I plan to actively participate in building the learning community in and out of PSU. Being in CPLC and sharing ideas about our teaching, both our successes and errors, assured me that I’m not alone in this rapidly-changing PSU. I thank everyone in this community!