Communication Theory Edu 536 Principles of Learning Theory Saint Leo University Chad Skudlarick June 2018

Origins of Communication Communication has been around as long as man, plants, and animals have been around. Classical ancient civilizations developed symbols that represented letters and letters were put together to form words.

Did you know… Speech is the vocalized form of communication used by humans and some animals, which is based upon the syntactic combination of items drawn from the lexicon. Each spoken word is created out of the phonetic combination of a limited set of vowel and consonant speech sound units. These vocabularies, the syntax that structures them, and their sets of speech sound units differ, creating many thousands of different, and mutually unintelligible, human languages. The vocal abilities that enable humans to produce speech also enable them to sing.

Communication Theory In 1980, S. F. Scudder proposed ‘Communication Theory.’ The theory stated ‘all living beings on the planet communicate’ although the way of communication is different. Plants communicate they need water by the color of their leaves, animals communicate through sound and movement, and children communicate through crying. Therefore the universal law of communication theory says all living beings communicate through sound, speech, visible changes, movement, all in the best way possible to make others aware of their thoughts, feelings, problems, happiness, or other information.

Communication Theory Framework Let us examine communication and communication theory through the following viewpoints: Mechanistic - The mechanistic view point says that communication is simply the transmission of information from the first party to the second party. The first party being the sender and the second party being the receiver. Psychological - According to the psychological view point, communication is simply not the flow of information from the sender to the receiver but actually the thoughts, feelings of the sender which he tries to share with the recipients. It also includes the reactions, feelings of the receiver after he decodes the information. Social - The social view point considers communication as a result of interaction between the sender and the receiver. It simply says that communication is directly dependent on the content of the speech. “How one communicates” is the basis of the social view point. Systemic - The systemic view point says that communication is actually a new and a different message which is created when various individuals interpret it in their own way and then reinterpret it and draw their own conclusion. Critical - The critical view point says that communication is simply a way with the help of which an individual expresses his power and authority among other individuals.

Related to instructional Designers Communication Theory Related to instructional Designers Instructional designers rely heavily upon the power of visuals as communication tools and ultimately as learning tools, since it is commonly agreed that pictures are more easily remembered than words. Visuals can serve not only as elements of instructional materials, but as the instructional message itself. All instruction is a matter of communication, whether it is delivered orally by a teacher, in writing, & visuals in books or other materials, or through various forms of media.

A problem related to communication. School is out. The students are gone. Their summer break has begun. This is not a bad thing. In fact, this is a very good thing. You have worked hard in helping students learn this past year. That said, you still have to work the next week after all students are gone, or do you? Well, you come into work on the Monday morning and work all day in your office. Then you come in on Tuesday and about 9am your boss comes in and says, “did you get my email?” You haven’t checked your emails yet, so you reply “No, not yet.” Then she goes on to tell you, that she sent you an email last night informing you that she doesn’t expect you to be at school on the work days. So that’s great news! You have the rest of the week off! However, you now realize you drove an extra 30 minutes to work and now will drive the extra 30 minutes back home. That is a full extra hour you were on the road and didn’t have to be. So how could you have avoided the unnecessary extra hour on the road? Where was the breakdown in communication with your supervisor? A problem related to communication.

Some solutions to the problem A week before the end of school the school secretary came to me and asked me if I would use my personal days and not come in for the final days. As I didn’t have any personal days built up, I said no I would be coming in to work on those days. However, I didn’t relate that conversation to my supervisor (the principal). That was a mistake. As I found out when she informed me in person that I didn’t have to be there for those final days, if I would have talked it over with her initially she could have related that to me. So, a simple solution is when it comes to personal days, even though the secretary is responsible for putting them into the system, it is still a good idea to relate that information to the principal. This proactive step helps keep the principal in the know and issues can be clarified. Additionally, it is a good idea to have clear expectations for how often and at what time email messages are checked by staff. This will alleviate possible confusion or frustration. Some solutions to the problem

Check your understanding… True or False… Instructional designers rely heavily upon the power of visuals as communication tools and ultimately as learning tools, since it is commonly agreed that pictures are more easily remembered than words. True Consider talking about: Speech errors False

Sorry Charlie… Try again.

YES!! You are Right!! Well done!! All instruction is a matter of communication, whether it is delivered orally by a teacher, in writing, & visuals in books or other materials, or through various forms of media.

Juneja, P. , (n d). Communication Theory Juneja, P., (n d). Communication Theory. Retrieved on June 13, 2018 from: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/communication- theory.htm Richey, R., Klein, J., and Tracey, M., (2011). The instructional design knowledge base. New York: Routledge. References