Communication

The Department of Communication allows instructors to individually dictate how the use of generative, artificial intelligence (AI) is managed in their classrooms, specifically if it is (a) allowed, (b) only allowed in specific circumstances, (c) if allowed, under what conditions, or (d) completely prohibited.

In turn, 1818 CMM instructors will be given the same directive. While the exact policy for your classroom is at your discretion, what is required is that you ensure your 1818 CMM course syllabus includes an explicit statement and guidance for students on what your policy is. You are strongly encouraged to utilize the "Generative AI Syllabus Statement" templates from the SLU Reinert Center to explicitly communicate your policy to your students in your syllabus.

The required syllabus templates for CMM-related courses can be accessed via the links below:

• CMM 1200 Syllabus Template

• CMM 2400 Syllabus Template

The following resources provide additional support, material, ideas, and guidelines for enhancing teaching practices in our 1818 communication (CMM) courses:

Conducting Assessments: Rubric, Evaluation, and Grading Resources

• Student-Created Rubrics: The Concept

• Alternative Approaches to Grading

• The Basics of Formative Assessment

• Grounding Assessment in Course Experience

• Informative Speech Rubric

• Persuasive Speech Rubric

• Evaluating the "Competent Speaker"

Teaching Communication: Some Initial Resources

• Identifying Fake News: A Primer

• Creating Media Literate Students by Making Media

• New York Times Learning Network: Journalism & Media Literacy

• Speech Anxiety: An Overview

• Understanding Public Speaking Anxiety

• Why Communication? Reflections on Importance, Relevance, and Common Questions

Pursuing Effective Teaching Practices

• Alternatives to Think-Pair-Share

• Avoiding Instructor Misbehaviors

• Enhancing Your Credibility

• Facilitating Student Participation

• Enhancing Instructional Clarity for Students

Supporting Inclusion in the Classroom: A Few Starting Points

• Person-Centered Perspectives on Inclusive Teaching

• Supporting Neurodivergent Students in Group Discussions

• Active Listening to Support Inclusive Teaching

• Seeing the Diversity in Your Classroom

Considering Ignatian Pedagogy in Our Classes

• The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm

• Practicing Ignatian Pedagogy through Reflection

The following information provides a detailed overview about what to expect and what to know prior to our site visits during each academic year.

Site Visit Timing

• Site visits will be conducted once each academic year. The timing of the site visits will be based on the semester in which each 1818 CMM instructor is teaching their associated 1818 CMM course. Coordination of the site visit logistics (e.g., date, time, etc.) will be facilitated at the beginning of the semester of instruction to allow as much advanced planning as possible.

Purpose & Goals

• The primary purpose of coordinating site visits is to provide a means by which we can observe (and record evidence of) the great work 1818 CMM instructors are doing in the classroom. Collaborating via email or Zoom is useful, but being able to collaborate in-person through site visits each year helps advance our program, course instruction, and collaboration even further.

• In turn, the central goals of the site visits will be to (a) identify primary strengths of the course instruction, (b) record observations/evidence of the instructional methods, (c) confirm the instructional methods effectively advance the standardized course objectives, and (d) create space for feedback, as well as questions, for ideas on how/where the course instruction (and/or methods) could improve even further.

Points of Focus & Assessment

• This evaluation form for the site visit provides a comprehensive overview of (a) information that will be requested for prior to the site visit, (b) the course/instructional elements that will be assessed during the site visit, and (c) possible points of discussion after the site visit.

Feedback Sought & Provided

• Although the site visit form above provides several points of feedback, 1818 CMM instructors are more than welcome to request more targeted feedback toward any additional areas that might be helpful. If that would be of interest, please certainly mention this during the pre-visit communications!

The current standardized grading and assessment policies (e.g., grading scale, assessment requirements) for the Department of Communication is provided in the document linked below. Please make sure to review the policies and ensure the grading/assessment approaches utilized within our 1818 classrooms align:

• Department of Communication: Grading & Assessment Policies (AY 2026-2027)

The following information outlines the anticipated dates/times for our upcoming 1818 CMM events:

Online Meet-Up

• Fall 2026 (Date/Time: TBD)

Professional Development Session

• Spring 2027 (Date/Time: TBD)