Small Group Communication

Module Five: Small Group Communication

We complete the class with a group activity. In doing this we will experience group interaction and teamwork as distinctive contexts of communication. In Chapter Fifteen, Seiler and Beall define small group communication as involving the "exchange of information among a relatively small number of persons ... who share a common purpose."

Overview	Small Group Communication and the Group Project
Topic 24	Choose a Movie for the Group Project
Topic 25	Discuss Interpersonal Issues Depicted in the Movie
Topic 26	The Individual and the Group
Topic 27	Assessing the Group Project

Overview of Group Project

For this assignment, you will be placed into a group of between four and six persons. Your goal will be to work together, largely through contact with one another online, to do a group review of a film. The special focus of this review will be to examine how interpersonal relationships are depicted in a film. I will provide a list of possible film titles in Topic 24.

I will set up special small group Discussion Board areas. When you contribute to your group. Because of the extensive amount of interaction that will be required for this Topic 25, its point value will be greater. The types of participation you should contribute include:

Recommendations to the group about how to narrow the focus of your topic, especially to brainstorm some of the ways in which the theories of interpersonal communication that we examined in Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen apply to the characters and interpersonal communication situations depicted in each movie.

Statements of your position on how effectively the characters in your film communicated with one another.

Ideas for how to develop a group agenda for the group presentation that will be done in class;

Ideas for how to present your group project as a symposium or a panel.

Citations to sources of information on your topic. In this regard, you will be expected to go beyond our textbook discussion about the interpersonal communication theories to do research on the Web about interpersonal communication. You can find sources from the Interpersonal Web, a Website of links about interpersonal communication. A link for that site is found in Topic 24. When you get to the communications area on Blackboard, select group pages and select the title of the movie that you will be analyzing.

Help and feedback to one another

YOU MUST CHECK IN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION BOARD FOR TOPIC 25 EVERY DAY DURING THE PERIOD OF TIME THAT WE ARE DOING THIS PROJECT SO THAT YOU CAN BE IN CONTACT WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR GROUP.

There are two formats that your group may choose from to present information to the class. You may do a symposium in which each person presents a formal speech as part of the coordinated effort of your group; or you may use a panel discussion. The panel is moderated by a group leader who raises questions that members of the group respond to interactively.

As we work on Chapter Fifteen in our text, we will be organizing the project and making decisions about how to present a symposium or panel.

TOPIC: 24: CHOOSING A MOVIE

For our last class meeting, we will do discussions of how interpersonal relationships are depicted in recent films. Examine each of the following movie titles and let the rest of the class know which of these you would like to study. I will group people according to the preferences that you indicate.

Twelve Angry Men (the Black and White Version that stars Henry Fonda)

When Harry Met Sally

Soulfood

Jerry McGuire

October Sky

Good Will Hunting

American Beauty

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Monsoon Wedding

Featured Links

The Movie Review Queery Engine <http://www.mrqe.com/lookup>
Use this site to find
background information
about these films.

Intermet Movie Database <http://us.imdb.com/>
Use this site to find plot summaries and memorabale quotes from the flims.

Interpersonal Web
< http://novaonline.nvcc.edu
/eli /spd110td/interper>
Examine various concepts
of interpersonal
communication that
might relate to your
film analysis.

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TOPIC 25: DISCUSS INTERPERSONAL ISSUES

Brainstorming is a technique for generating ideas.

For this Discussion Board, you will not use our regular Discussion Board space, but a special group area that is open only to the members of your small group. In this area you should use brainstorming to develop your plans for the group presentation. In addition, you will be expected to use this area for planning your group presentation.

Our text describes brainstorming as a method of creative thinking. You can explore specific guidelines to use for brainstorming by using the Brainstorming Weblink on this page.

When you do your group presentation, you will need to explain some of the theories of interpersonal communication from Chapter Thirteen and Fourteen that seem to apply to the interpersonal relationships depicted in the film your group has selected.

So, as you discuss your movie online and in preparation for doing the group presentation to the rest of the class, examine the various theories and concepts that we looked at in Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen and in the Weblinks on this page.

Intrapersonal Communication and Interpersonal Communication

Motivations to Communicate

Self Disclosure in Relationships, especially in light of the various theories such as the Johari Widow, Self-Presentation, Social Penetration, Rhetorical Sensitivity Theory and insights from Seiler and Beall about how gender and culture affect disclosure

Stages of Relational Development and relational dissolution

Interpersonal Conflict and strategies of Relational Repair and Relational Maintenance

Insofar as you will be judging whether communicators are effective in their relationships, consider an assessment of interpersonal competence.

.

Also, some of the movie titles depict groups of people interacting or working together. You can make an assessment of their communication effectiveness by examining principles of small group communication in Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen as well as from the Allyn & Bacon Communication Studies Website page on small group communication among the Weblinks provided for Topic 26.

Featured Links

Interpersonal Web
< http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli
/spd110td/interper>
Examine various
concepts of interpersonal
communication that
might relate to
your film analysis

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TOPIC 26: INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP DECISION MAKING

Are groups more productive than individuals for completing a task?

Are there advantages in having a group do a task or make a decision rather than a single individual?

Do groups make more ethical decisions, or are individuals more responsible?

To further enhance your posting, consult some of the Web links on this page.

In doing group work, what have you found to be the qualities of a successful group?

Use some of the key terms for this topic for your answer. Are groups more responsible in making ethical decisions, or are individuals? Are groups prone to bad decisions when they become overly cohesive and fall prey to the problem of groupthink?

Additionally, consider the unique nature of our group project as one that is done through computer mediated communication. What do our groups need to do to be successful in this project?

Key Terms

meeting procedures
logistics
expectations
teamwork
communication and conflict styles
leadership
work plan and structure groupthink

Featured Links

Small Group Development
<http://www.abacon.com/
commstudies/
groups/devgroup.html>

Use this source to observe
how your group
progresses through
stages of development
and arrives at being
able to work together.

Small Group Communication: Roles in Groups
<http://www.abacon.com/
commstudies/groups/roles.html>

Small Group Communication: Leadership
<http://www.abacon.com/
commstudies/groups/leader.html>

Small Group Communication: Groupthink
<http://www.abacon.com/
commstudies/groups/
groupthink.html>

Small Group Communication: Mediated Groups
<http://www.abacon.com/
commstudies/groups/media.html>

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TOPIC 27: ASSESSING THE GROUP PROJECT

Now that we have finished the group projects, we can assess the results and judge how effectively we communicated as a group.

Did your group become a team? What did you learn about interpersonal and small group communication by doing this project?

In making your assessments, draw from concepts about small group communication developed in Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen. In particular, ask the following questions about your group project:

Did your group experience effective leadership?

Were group members responsive in performing task and maintenance roles?

Did your group successfully deal with conflict or self-centered role behavior?

Did your group develop a healthy level of cohesiveness and establish norms for being productive?

Consider further, some of the terms on this page.

Did your group become a successful task force

How did your interaction by way of computer mediated communication work?

If you were in a "cyber group" for another group effort, what would you do differently for the next time?

What was the most important thing that you learned about small group communication?

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Key Terms

meeting procedures
logistics
expectations
teamwork
communication and conflict styles
leadership
work plan and structure groupthink