Critical Incidents refers to real experiences you have had in which a communication issue was involved. Often these are times when you are not sure how to respond. Perhaps, you feel that if you speak your mind you will hurt someone's feelings, or drive them away, or get them angry, etc. On the other hand, you may want to inform them of how you feel. What do you do in such a situation?
For this course, you can write up that situation as a Critical Incident and hand it in to me. I will record that you have handed in the assignment, detach your name from the Critical Incident and hand out selected Critical Incidents for group discussion. The Critical Incident is due within the first few meetings. Generally, it should be no more than about a typed page long.
You will be asked to hand in your written analysis of selected Critical Incidents (1 to 2 typed pages, essay form)--this will be graded and used toward your grade. Use the GROUP EXERCISES to learn how others view the incident, how they would handle the incident. Most importantly, try to find out if and how communication theory might aid us in thinking through these Critical Incidents. Please feel free to use the group to give you feedback on your writing--collaborative learning. Use the group meeting to try out your ideas to get constructive criticism, so that you can strengthen your analysis of the critical incident. The ultimate goal of this exercise is to apply theory to the critical incidents--just what are the communication issues that the incident highlights? what are the central concepts that attach to the incident? how does theory apply, what analysis of the event can we draw out with the help of the theory? These are the ways in which we can approach these incidents to help us in understanding the theories and the incidents. Advice is not what the analyses are about. And, Advice is not what the analyses are about by the way, the Critical Incident might be a successful episode, one in which you felt that you or someone else succeeded in accomplishing a communication goal(s).
You will be asked to hand in a Critical Incident during the semester and to respond to specific critical incidents that I will distribute to you. I will select particular challenging and relevant critical incidents from the ones you all hand in and I will distribute selected ones for you to respond to on your own. You will work as a group to discuss your analysis of these, to discuss the communication issues you see in the incidents, and to discuss how communication theory relates to these incidents. Then you will be asked to write your own analysis to the incident to be handed in a week later.