COMM170 - Interpreting and Communicating Ideas

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Skills in digital, numeracy and verbal literacy are important foundational skills for the twenty-first century workplace This unit will equip students with a range of literacies to enable them to interpret, critically analyse and report ideas. The unit will use an integrated approach to allow students to build their digital literacy skills, numeracy skills and literacy skills to produce resources and reports that integrate materials in a variety of digital and non-digital formats. Students will explore and analyse spoken, written, visual, graphic and multimodal texts and the interconnectedness of numeracy and literacy in a variety of contexts. They will integrate the graphs, tables, diagrams and multi-media with the written word to communicate ideas effectively. Particular attention will be placed on the students’ ability to write and report using language, numeric and visual representations appropriate to the audience.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Interpret data in a variety of formats, including the written/spoken word, graphs, tables and multi-media (GA4, GA8)

LO2 - Analyse and critically assess how literacy and numeracy are used to make meaning for different purposes and audiences in a variety of contexts, including digital environments (GA4, GA8, GA9)

LO3 - Apply literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills to interpret and create spoken, print, visual and/or multimodal texts for a range of contexts. (GA4, GA5, GA9)

LO4 - Utilise ICT and other relevant technologies effectively to access, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information and data (GA10)

Graduate attributes

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

 Topics may include:

• Literacy and numeracy as used within social, cultural, business and personal practices in a variety of contexts
• Developing a critical stance in interpreting and communicating ideas 
• The role of representational systems (spoken and written language, symbols, static and dynamic images, gesture, etc.) as tools in interpreting and communication ideas
•  Communicating ideas for different purposes and audiences
• Using the Statistical Inquiry Cycle, including the use of digital tools to organise and communicate data
• Communicating mathematical concepts relevant to numerical operations, measurement, financial decisions, statistical inquiry and spatial reasoning, and their application in a variety of contexts.
• Organisational patterns in discourse in variety of media, including digital environments
• Writing multimodal texts and reports

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

The unit will be offered face-to-face with one hour of lecture and two hours of tutorial classes in the computer laboratories. The tutorials will normally include activities related to the topic for the week and computer-based activities related to the topic and/or assessments. Students will also be required to undertake various activities online to help them in their learning and for assessment.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment tasks for this unit have been chosen to engage students while developing the knowledge and skills they need to meet the learning outcomes of the unit. The first assessment task is designed to develop skills in critical analysis and interpretation (Learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3). The second assessment task develops reading, literacy, ICT and numeracy skills (Learning outcomes 1, 2 3 and 4). The final project assessment task gives students the opportunity to develop and communicate an extended analysis of data that draws on a variety of literacies (Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4).

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Few, S. (2005). Effectively communicating numbers: Selecting the best means and manner of discipline. Proclarity Corporation. [Available online.]

Gemignani, Z., Gemignani, C., Gelentino, R., & Shuermann, P. (2014). Data fluency: Empowering your organisation with effective data communication. Indianapolis: Wiley.

Hamilton, C. (2014). Communicating for results: A guide for business and the professions 10th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth.

Humphrey, S., Love, K., & Droga, L. (2011). Working grammar: An introduction for secondary English teachers. Melbourne, Vic: Pearson Australia.

Gibbons, P. (2009). English Learners, academic literacy and thinking: Learning in the challenge zone. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

La Rocque, P. (2013). The book on writing: The ultimate guide to writing well. Arlington: Texas: Grey & Guvnor Press.

Swires-Hennessy, E. (2014). Presenting data : How to communicate your message effectively . Chichester, England: Wiley.

Tout, D., & Motteram, G. (2006). Foundation numeracy in context. Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.