Course

Communication Skills for Recreation and Health Professionals

Faculty
Applied Community Studies
Department
Therapeutic Recreation
Course code
THRT 1205
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
30
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
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

In this course, students engage in a variety of learning activities such as lecture, discussion, group work, case studies, and practice communication sessions.

Means of assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. This is a graded course.

Typical means of evaluation would include a combination of:

  • Testing
  • Written assignments
  • Presentations

Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in a course as part of a student’s grade performance.  Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the instructor’s course outline and allowed for in the course curriculum guideline.

This course may have an assignment that has been identified as part of the TR Department Research Framework and therefore the assignment must be passed at a minimum of a C (60%) level in order for a student to achieve a C (60%) final grade in the course. Each course outline will clearly identify these research framework assignments if relevant.

Students in the TR program, both diploma and degree students, are required to attain a minimum of 60% (C letter grade) in all courses utilized for credit towards a diploma and/or degree in Therapeutic Recreation in order to progress in the program.

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

Textbooks and materials are to be purchased by students.  A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester.

Requisites

Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None

Equivalencies

None

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.

(Current)

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

There are no course offerings this semester.