Reflective (Bonus) Essay on Communications and Psychology
CA-2 (Due Monday, May 25 by 12 noon to be counted for credit)
Instructions: Please choose one of the topics below and write a 1 to 2 page reflective essay on the topic. You should spend no more than 45 minutes on the topic. You should e-mail your work back to me by the deadline indicated above.
Grading rubric: Your essay is worth up to 12 points. You will be judged according to the following criteria:
use of ideas from the course (4 pts possible):
- you mention ideas from at least two distinct parts of the course, the ideas are well defined, make sense in combination, and apply well to the topic............4
- you mention ideas from at least two distinct parts of the course, the ideas are somewhat defined, make some sense in combination, and apply somewhat to the topic............3
- you mention ideas from only one part of the course, but the idea is well defined and applies well to the topic............2
- you mention ideas from only one part of the course, but the idea is not well defined and it is not clear how it applies to the topic ............1
application of ideas from the course (4 pts possible):
- your use of ideas from the course is well thought through, meaningful and provides strong support for your opinions and reflection............4
- your use of ideas from the course is somewhat meaningful and provides good support for your opinions and reflection............3
- your use of ideas from the course is somewhat meaningful but provides only fair support for your opinions and reflection ............2
- your use of ideas from the course does not evidence a meaningful connection to the topic and provides poor support for your opinions and reflection............1
writing mechanics (4 pts possible):
- you have a strong introduction and conclusion; strong paragraph structure; less than three grammatical or spelling errors in your text............4
- you have a good introduction and conclusion; fair paragraph structure; less than six grammatical or spelling errors in your text............3
- you have a weak introduction and conclusion; weak paragraph structure; seven or more grammatical or spelling errors in your text............2
- you have no clear introduction or conclusion; no differentiated paragraph structure; many grammatical or spelling errors in your text............1
Topics (choose only 1):
1. Discuss the concept of a “construct” and how it has applied in at least two parts of the course. How has this concept changed your thinking? (If it has not changed your thinking, discuss why you think it has not.)
2. Reflect on how your sense of “art” has changed in light of what you have learned both in the communications half of the class and the psychology half.
3. Do you think that the concepts of “knowledge set” and “topic of concern” are applicable outside of traditional communications studies? Where else in the course could we have used them? Are they useful concepts for an average teenager?
4. Discuss at least two major concepts that you have learned this year that will help you with personal and group management (both stress management and project management).
5. Do you think that the ordinary person on the street has a good enough grasp of developmental and dysfunctional psychology? Argue your case using at least several different types of psychological theory that we have used in class.
6. What two ideas that you learned this past year will help you the most as a formal, analytical thinker? Discuss how these two ideas relate one to the other and what concrete impact they have on how you think about (or look at) things.
Due Date: Monday 25 May 2009, 12 noon