CMST 472: Organizational Leadership

Course Description

This course is designed to provide students with an advanced exploration and application of leadership and associated decision making and communication processes in a variety of contexts. Discussion topics include but are not limited to: traditional and progressive leadership theory; leadership communication competence; the relationship between leadership, power and influence; gender and cultural issues associated with leadership and decision making; and ethical issues related to leadership communication.

At the end of this course students will be able to:

Identify and discuss traditional and progressive leadership perspectives
Identify and discuss the relationship between leadership and communication
Understand the challenges current world situation pose to leaders and followers
Articulate special issues associated with leadership communication and theory, including ethics, diversity, change, power, and crisis.

The course is required Required for the Organizational Communication Option students

Elements of Course Design

The course was organized into three stages: leadership basics, special leadership topics, and COIL collaboration

Stages are punctuated by deliverables that require students to use the knowledge that they have acquired during that specific stage to complete.
For example, the midterm is a comprehensive case study that requires students to use leadership theories learned in Stage I to analyze.

Course Modality

This course was taught fully online during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021:

A flipped model was adopted
Day 1-asynchronous: students read readings, watch lecture videos, and do the quiz
Day 2-synchronous: enhance understanding of course content via discussion, activities, and case studies

Student Engagement & Feedback

A variety of strategies were adopted to encourage student engagement:

1. Tools such as Google Docs, Jamboard, Padlet, PollEverywhere, and Zoom breakout rooms were utilized throughout the semester during both asynchronous and synchronous sessions

2. Group project, especially the intercultural COIL group project, greatly enhanced student engagement

Assessment of Student Learning

Student learning outcomes addressed in this class include:

To explain communication perspectives, theories, principles, and concepts
To articulate the importance of communication expertise in career development and civic engagement
To identify challenges facing a variety of stakeholders and the role of communication in resolving those challenges
To apply communication theories, perspectives, principles, and/or concepts
To critique communication theories, perspectives, principles, and/or concepts
To articulate the ethical dimensions of communication situations
To explain the role of communication in the formation of individual, group, and cultural identities, and how identities influence communication
To demonstrate the ability to research, analyze, and reason from evidence to reach an effective conclusion/outcome
To formulate questions appropriate for communication scholarship
To construct effective messages for a variety of contexts, situations, & audiences
To demonstrate proficiency in the use of written English, including proper spelling, grammar, & punctuation
To demonstrate proficiency in formal writing, including correct use of a designated style of source citations, such as APA

Sample Assignment

3-2-1 follow-up assignment: asks students to read four of their fellow classmates’ executive summary, and reflect on what they learned.

Follow-up in-class discussion: students collaborate to create this Google slide deck based on what they learned about leadership from researching and writing the executive summary:

Technology & Tools

Padlet was a tool that I was introduced to during Go Virtue 2020, and found extremely useful in facilitating student engagement and interaction.

It allows both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration among students. Even intercultural and cross-timezone collaborations are possible. Features such as reactions and comments facilitate interaction, and contributes positively to the creation and development of a sense of community.

Opportunities for Active Learning/Civic & Community Engagement

I discovered the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) opportunity in a workshop during Go Virtual, Summer 2020. Intrigued by the idea of intercultural collaboration, I went on to pursue COIL-related training, such as taking the foundational course with the SUNY COIL center in Fall 2020, and participating in the COIL FLC in Spring 2021. In Spring 2021, I implemented the COIL project in this leadership course with a professor from the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. Students not only acquired intercultural collaboration skills, but also received a digital badge from our university to showcase this experience on their LinkedIn.

Training in Course Design

Before and during the transition to online teaching, I participated in various training workshops and seminars within and outside of the university. They turned out to be tremendously beneficial. Some on-campus training workshops that I attended include: Go Virtual, Summer 2020, COIL FLC, Spring 2021, Institute on Active & Experiential Learning, Summer 2021.

Page updated

Report abuse