PHY0000 Communication Skills

1999-2000

Code: PHY0000
Title: Communication Skills
Instructors: Prof. R. Jones and Prof. G.P. Srivastava
HE credits: not applicable
ECTS credits: not applicable
Availability: Physics students only
Level: 0
Prerequisites: none
Corequisites: none
Background Assumed: none
Duration: 3 days after Semester II exams
Directed Study: 21 hours
Private Study: 1 hour
Supports Programme Aims: 3, 5 and 7
Supports Programme Objectives: 1

Assessment Methods

This 'module' is a component of the Year 1 laboratory modules PHY1010 and PHY1011. Attendance and satisfactory performance is mandatory, and enables presentational marks to be obtained in subsequent modules of the candidate's programme.

Rationale

The ability to communicate effectively is of paramount importance, not just to scientists and engineers but to every professional. The programmes of the School of Physics reflect this and so students will find themselves needing effective communication skills to complete many of their modules. After graduation, this need will intensify and communication skills could well prove decisive in obtaining a job and in performing that job well. The Communications Skills module addresses this need and aims to provide all undergraduates with a common grounding in oral, written and inter-personal skills by the end of their first year.

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, candidates should be able to: keep a neat, accurate laboratory notebook describing a simple physics investigation; successfully use the notebook as the basis for writing a condensed formal report; prepare an impressive CV and letter of application when job-hunting; critically read and understand a short scientific article and then deliver a concise, intelligible talk summarising its contents; operate effectively within a team in order to complete a major problem solving exercise.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The 3 day course is activity-based. Each new activity is introduced by a course lecturer, who briefly describes the task and its relevance to the course. The activity is completed and then followed by a debriefing session in which the group's (or individual's, where appropriate) performance is reviewed.

Transferable Skills

Accurate and objective record keeping; oral and written presentational skills; personal presentation skills; the ability to work in small and large teams i.e. to organise others and to delegate, to accept the direction of others; critical reading and summarising of a report or other substantive document.

Assignments

Completion of a simple experiment and writing a condensed report on it, delivery of a 10 minute talk to an audience, production of a plan to solve the energy requirements of a fictitious island republic.

Module Text

Not applicable

Supplementary Reading

Not applicable

Syllabus Plan and Content

DAY 1

1. Introduction
   The importance of communication skills in the modern working environment.
2. Writing scientific reports and scientific record keeping
   In this role-playing exercise, you are working for a fictitious company which receives a special request from a potential customer. To meet the customer' request, a simple physics investigation must be carried out, in a team of 6. The exercise requires careful record keeping in a log-book, as you must then produce a condensed report which will impress your "customer".

DAY 2

1. How to write a CV and a letter of application.
   A talk presented by the university careers service, followed by a video, together give pointers for writing successful CV's and job applications. The importance of this as a communications exercise is emphasised.
2. An exercise in group decision making.
   In this role playing exercise, you are in a hypothetical life-or-death scenario, adrift in the North Sea following a helicopter crash. You must work against the clock to prioritise a list of items that may or may not prove crucial to your survival. Strong team work and the ability to resolve conflicts of opinion are vital skills here. You will have the opportunity to assess your performance against that of an expert.
3. Speaking to an audience.
   A short popular science article is used as the basis for you to produce a 10 minute talk, using visual aids. Your talk is then delivered to an audience comprising three of your peers and a postgraduate chairperson, who will give feedback on your performance.

DAY 3

1. Power for Pemang.
   This is a major problem solving exercise, devised by the Institute of Physics. In groups of 10 students play the role of energy consultants, invited to submit plans to modernise the energy generating infrastructure of a small island republic. Each team is completely self-reliant and must organise itself to produce, by the end of the day, a plan which is then presented to, and judged by, the "government" of Pemang. A prize is awarded for the winning proposal.

Feedback to Students

This module is supported by its own set of exercises. Students are able to monitor their own progress by noting their performance in the exercises. Students who do not complete the course satisfactorily will be informed as such and required to re-take the course in the following academic year. Students with specific problems with the course should approach one of the instructors.

Feedback from Students

Feedback from students on the module is gathered via the standard student representation mechanisms.