Course

Communication Skills for Recreation and Health Professionals

Faculty
Applied Community Studies
Department
Therapeutic Recreation
Course Code
THRT 1205
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
Flexible delivery ranging over 2 to 15 weeks
Max Class Size
30
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Online
Hybrid
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
This course focuses on the principles and practices of effective interpersonal communication. Learners will increase their self-awareness and communication skills and be able to explain and use the interpersonal communication process. The impact of technology, culture and gender on language and relationships will be explored. Learners will be introduced to helping skills including attending, paraphrasing, questioning, empathy and summarizing. Learners will be able to apply these skills through conversational leisure interviews.
Course Content

Course content is guided by research, empirical knowledge and best practice.  The following values and principles, consistent with professional standards, inform course content.

  1. Foundations of interpersonal communication include an exploration of the transactional communication model and process along with the nature of communication within cultural and computer-mediated contexts.
  2. Communication competence includes effective active listening and empathetic responding skills along with self-reflective practice.
  3. Self-awareness guides the perception process and self-concept is shaped through language, gender, and cultural values.
  4. Empathy, compassion, and self-disclosure are valuable skill sets within interpersonal relationships.
  5. Verbal communication is a symbolic, rule-based, subjective, culture-bound process.
  6. Development of person-centred language includes awareness of power, bias, racist and sexist language.
  7. Nonverbal communication incorporates the reflective listening process, awareness and expresssion of emotions and an understanding of the impact of culture and gender.
  8. Interpersonal communication skills are strengthened with supportive communication climates, and with understanding of the roles of interpersonal dynamics, conflict, and self-disclosure.
  9. Leisure interviews are an essential component of assessment in the TR process.
  10. Helping skills including attending, paraphrasing, questions, silence, empathy, self-disclosure, and summarizing are an important component of conducting an effective conversational leisure interview.
Learning Activities

The methods of instructions for this course will include some or all of the following:

  • Lecture
  • Small group discussion
  • Use of media
  • Practice communication sessions
  • Video and audio recordings of leisure interviews
Means of Assessment

This course will conform to the Douglas College Evaluation Policy regarding the number and weighting of evaluations. Typical means of evaluation would include a combination of:

  • Written assignments
  • Presentations
  • Testing

This is a graded course

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Describe the nature of interpersonal communication and the communication process.

2. Explore self-awareness, empathy, and perception, along with the impact on self-concept.

3. Describe the characteristics of langugae and nonverbal communication skills and integrate these skills into personal communication.

4. Describe the impact of culture, gender, and social media on language and interpersonal relationships.

5. Develop conversational leisure interview questions.

6. Demonstrate helping skills while conducting a leisure interview.

Textbook Materials

A list of textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of each semester.

Requisites

Prerequisites

No prerequisite courses.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for THRT 1205
Simon Fraser University (SFU) No credit
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU COMM 1XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) No credit
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) No credit
University of Northern BC (UNBC) No credit
University of Victoria (UVIC) No credit

Course Offerings

Winter 2025

CRN
13177
section details
CRN Days Instructor Status More details
Maximum Seats
30
Currently Enrolled
18
Remaining Seats:
12
On Waitlist
0
Building
Coquitlam - Bldg. C
Room
C1012
Times:
Start Time
12:30
-
End Time
14:20
Building
Coquitlam - Bldg. B
Room
B2320
Times:
Start Time
12:30
-
End Time
14:20
Section Notes

THRT 1205 001 -This course is restricted to TR students enrolled in the In Person TR Diploma or TR Degree program.

CRN
13178
section details
CRN Days Instructor Status More details
Maximum Seats
30
Currently Enrolled
16
Remaining Seats:
14
On Waitlist
0
Building
Online
Room
ONLINE
Times:
Start Time
18:30
-
End Time
21:20
Section Notes

THRT 1205 050. This course is restricted to TR students enrolled in the Online TR Diploma program. This course will include a combination of synchronous and asynchronous online activities. Students should plan to be available online at scheduled course times