NOMINEE WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching 2016 ... Nicholas... · Bowman doesn’t see this laissez-faire attitude as a point of pride, but rather a point of ... academic

NOMINEE

WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching

2016

Nicholas David Bowman Associate Professor

Department of Communication Studies

NICHOLAS DAVID BOWMAN, p. 1

Table of Contents Nicholas David Bowman

Nomination Dossier: WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching

Cover Page ................................................................................................................................. 1

Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... 2

Summary Statement ................................................................................................................... 3

Philosophy of Education ............... .............................................................................................. 9

Description of Instructional Responsibilities ............................................................................... 10

List of Courses Taught ................................................................................................................. 11

Summary of Numeric Course Evaluations .................................................................................. 13

Course Spotlight: Comm 105 ..................................................................................................... 14

Course Spotlight: SPICE ............................................................................................................ 28

Letters Matthew M. Martin .......................................................................................................... 40 Amanda Rigie .................................................................................................................. 41 Shae Snyder ..................................................................................................................... 42 Jacob L. Ivey .................................................................................................................... 43 J. C. Abdallah ................................................................................................................... 44

Curriculum Vitae ....................................................................................................................... 45


Summary Statement

Over the past four-plus academic calendars at WVU, Nicholas Bowman has taught over

1,900 students across 37 different courses spanning an extreme variety of learners: high school

students, on-campus and online undergraduates, adult learners, corporate and professional

graduate students, research and doctoral candidates, and students from blended intercultural and

international backgrounds on-site in Germany. His classroom experience at WVU has been both

incredibly broad (spanning many different audiences) and intensely deep (all focused around the

general topic of digital and social media). According to Bowman, the breadth and depth has

allowed him to grow immensely as a professor.

His path to the academy was hardly well-travelled, coming from a small rural high school

in Imperial, Missouri (one of the many areas partially destroyed by floods in 1993 and 1995)

with aspirations that barely shot above the bluffs of the Mississippi River. He says school was

more of a distraction from his reality of riding bikes and playing in the woods than something of

any honest interest, and his grades largely reflected this – middle-of-the pack class performance

that was just enough to stay in teachers’ good graces while retaining as little as possible.

This behavior changed little during his early days of university education, where he again

saw the classroom as a “necessary evil” that took away from his time with fraternity brothers and

the sights and sounds of St. Louis (to him, an urban paradise and sensory overload simply not to

be missed for a moment). Again, here he approached his courses with enough interest to stay in

the passing zone, with “C’s earn degrees” as his mantra.

Bowman doesn’t see this laissez-faire attitude as a point of pride, but rather a point of

common connection with his students, many of which adopt a similar approach to education and

often find themselves without another person to encourage them to do otherwise. As Bowman


thinks back on that young undergraduate “scholar,” he often wonders (a) what was the source of

his apathy and (b) where and how did that apathy change to passion?

Humbly enough, the answer came in the form of role models that, while unremarkable on

first blush, ended up being powerful, inspirational models. They came in the form of Cloyd

Nickless, the nerdy-but-stern chemistry and physics teacher from Windsor High School who

found a way to deprecate himself playfully while appreciating his subject matter reverently,

which invited his students to honor and understand his course content, unfettered by the

intimidation of someone smarter than themselves. They came in the form of Dr. Alan, whose

early discussions of communication theory and research taught Bowman to understand that there

is a science to human communication, and his stuffed dragon tail Halloween costume only

reinforced his commitment to the instructor immediacy that is key to fostering a comfortable

learning environment.

The roles models came in the form of Judi Linville, his newspaper advisor with the

UMSL student news who pondered retirement when Bowman refused to take his position as the

new Editor-in-Chief seriously, before explaining that she was eager (albeit worried) to see his

energy redirected from the pubs to the press room.

Bowman recognizes that the impact of those who shaped him as a student and later an

academic is as vital a part of this story as his classroom experiences over the years. As varied as

his classroom audiences have been over the years, he has maintained a few common and

consistent themes through them all.

First, he finds it immensely important that students appreciate the course material, not

his position in that material. Thinking back to the professors that most impacted his early

learning and early career, those professors who focused their classes on the course content were


always more interesting than those professors who demanded rote respect for their positions.

Bowman certainly has a position in his material: He has nearly 50 publications in the area of

interactive media, serves as the incoming editor of Communications Research Reports and the

chair of game studies research at the International Communication Association, gives guest

lectures, provides interviews with the BBC World Service and other news outlets and generally

enjoys a position of prominence within the field of communication studies. But Bowman says

that these activities and positions are meaningless if they don’t impact the students’ lived

classroom experience. He says professors must never forget that during the instructional period,

their chief responsibility is to the individual and collective students in that room. The first stage

in this responsibility is impressing upon students a respect for the discussions and lessons: for

that day, in that moment, for those students. Put shortly, a base commitment to “call him Dr.

Bowman” is far less important (to him and to his students) than a base commitment to the class

discussions.

“Dr. Bowman does more than simply study his field – he lives it, breathes it, and

communicates to others with such fervor that they cannot help but be swept up in the

momentum,” wrote Kevin Knoster, WVU graduate, in a letter of recommendation.

A second theme in Bowman’s courses is that student voices are core class content. The

professors who allowed him a safe space to explore his clunky and half-formed ideas were those

professors who made the most impact on his learning, because the learning process is one of

internal and external dialogue. Good pedagogy requires a recursive dialog between learner,

instructor, and content. One way Bowman models this dialog is by asking students to submit pre-

class questions with the promise that he will personally answer each question and he will

customize that day’s lecture and discussion to incorporate their basic questions, so that students


can engage and respond to each other around these questions. Such a method ensures a student-

instructor dialog that neither starts nor stops with the course instructor, but rather is guided by his

intervention as needed.

Hosting these dialogs also requires two final lessons in that students experience critical

feedback and students learn how to fail publicly. These two experiences are often not the most

comfortable parts of his courses on first experience, but tend to be by far the most impactful.

Students in his courses receive an immense amount of critical feedback at all stages of the

learning process, because he invites students to invite him in to all layers of their own process.

When students post their pre-class discussion questions, Bowman responds back with

detailed analyses of their questions and the roots of what they are asking – often, the answer is

far longer that the question posed. When students work on early drafts of paper outlines in

Google Docs, he is able to read their in-process writings and offer pointed feedback on each

argument made – pushing them to defend their inclusion of a citation or challenging their

understanding of a theory.

When students present their work in-class, he doesn’t shy away from asking two or three

tough questions designed to shake the foundations of their work and probe their deeper

underlying understandings. However harsh these actions might seem, the trust that he cultivates

with students throughout the year - by encouraging them to respect material over himself, and by

including their voices as prominent features of course discussion – allows him to engage students

on this more critical and developmental level. Bowman’s students understand that while he

critiques them in the classroom, he champions them elsewhere.

Bowman is distinctive and memorable because he relates to his students with an

approachable-yet-critical style of instruction, wherein they can call him “Dr. B” or “Nick” not in


disrespect but as a measure of their reciprocal and collegial relationship as partners in learning.

His inclusion of student voices as a core component of his courses - online or in-person, small

discussion or mass lecture, with high school students through to adult learners - is an innovative

approach to teaching that allows students to discover their own paths to learning success. In

support of this approach, Bowman encourages the use of communication technologies to

overcome physical barriers to course participation. This is significant because research has

shown the successful integration of communication technology into the classroom provides a

compelling argument for loosening classroom restrictions on seemingly distracting technologies

– the correct guidance can make this technology use meaningful.

Bowman demonstrates his abiding concern for his students in the many ways in which he

provides students with opportunities for more direct student-instructor contact hours, be this

during office hours (usually expanded to include six to 12 weekly hours) or in various online

spaces (such as class Facebook pages). For Bowman , contact rather than content alone is key to

successful education, as these contact points are often the spaces in which students can engage

and overcome their confusions. Bowman tells all of his students that their mentorship

relationship doesn’t have to end with the conclusion of class – this can be evidenced by the

number of former students that stay engaged in his Facebook groups and other digital spaces

long after graduation, as well as continued career discussions that expand far beyond “Can you

write me a reference letter?”

Finally, when students ask Bowman how he has managed to be an outstanding teacher

and do all of the other things expected of him, he simply offers the same words given to him by

his early graduate school advisors: “You should be an academic because you can’t see yourself

not being one.” Passion for students is a by-product of his passion for the academy, and


Bowman is delighted that so many students have chosen to come along with him on the wild and

bizarre journey of discovering tomorrow’s knowledge, today.


Philosophy of Education

For just over a decade now – from the start of my graduate studies in 2004 through my nascent

years as an Assistant and then Associate Professor – I have had the privilege of taking leadership

positions in the education of more than 3,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.

During this time I have practiced many styles and formations of education, taking my position

both as the “sage on the stage” as well as the “guide from the side” in working in front of and

partner to students during their academic careers.

For me, teaching has always been a natural and autotelic byproduct of my general interest in

scholarship – I do not separate my teaching and research identities because I draw an immense

sense of inspiration, innovation and energy from each. As an experimental scholar of human-

media experiences, my approach to pedagogy is the same as my approach to research – teaching

must account for the content (stimulus) and the student (organism) in order to understand

the desired learning experience (the response, be it affective, behavioral, or cognitive):

This “S-O-R” model represents the importance of understanding user experiences (here,

conceptualizing “organisms” as human users of a given technology) as key to how we

understand the uses and effects of communication technology. In my teaching, I similarly focus

on the student experience as key to knowing how to best connect students with content at the

cognitive and affective levels so that they can succeed. This learning laboratory – be it physical,

virtual, or hybrid – must be co-constructed to allow for many different configurations of stimulus

(material) and organism (learner) to best realize an intended response (learning objective). This

focus allows me to consider several teaching modalities to find a “best-fit” for each class’s

needs, drawing from oral and visual lectures, hands-on demonstrations, virtual and informal

“chat sessions,” social media debates and discussions, gamification exercises, and a host of other

learning spaces and techniques. In practice, I find myself less committed to a singular stimulus-

response effect and more committed to finding the right combination of material and student to

realize students’ ability to critically apply knowledge – inside and outside the classroom.

As a researcher who analyzes S-O-R models, the objective is to critique and construct

configurations of causal paths that best explain particular responses. In my teaching, I use

formative and summative assessments with my students (using data culled from personal

communications, observations, and student evaluations) to critique and co-construct teaching

strategies. In this way, I ensure that each community of learners benefits from the most effective

learning laboratory for their unique collection of needs. Indeed, I see education as a practice in

equifinality (many paths to a desired end), and my role as educator as passionately aiding

students in building their own paths to knowledge – paths that consider the student’s cultural,

economic, and social worlds and that build knowledge and meaning within them.


Description of Instructional Responsibilities

Like most faculty members at WVU, my role as a professor requires and allows for me to

wear many different hats – balancing instructional, research, and service roles. For my

instructional roles, I can briefly discuss my role in the classroom (actual and digital), as a site

supervisor (internships and laboratory research), and as a mentor (formally and informally).

In the classroom, I am privileged with the task of generating and delivering new content

to fuel our students’ (and our society’s) growing interest in communication technology. At

WVU, I serve as the primary course instructor for every course that I teach, which includes all

elements of course design (syllabus, scheduling, assignment and reading materials, lecture and

discussion topics, and other multimedia content) and all elements of course delivery (discussions,

lectures, and exams). I develop the eCampus shells for each of these courses, both for online-

exclusive and hybrid (online and offline) course, as I make extensive usage of technology in all

of my courses – including social media platforms (which I administrate and moderate, according

to course policy). I also serve students with expanded office hours during the week, usually

spanning two or three days and often with as many 10 weekly hours available.

As a site supervisor, my role shifts from that of content delivery and discussion to a

more experiential learning format – tasking students with real-world applications of COMM

theory and practice and working side-by-side with them to assess effectiveness. As the director

of social media interns (Fall 2011 to Fall 2015), I work with our rising juniors and seniors on

applying lessons learned in our Digital and Social Media sequence to practice with a real client:

their very own COMM Department. Here, students develop editorial coverage of and

conversation with COMM through our various social media platforms, and I work with students

to supervise their conceptual and operational planning. As a faculty lead in the Interaction Lab

(#ixlab), I founded this working group of researchers in Fall 2011 as an opportunity for

undergraduate and graduate students to be intensely involved with on-going faculty research. In

this role, I work with students on the fundamentals of literature review, data collection, statistical

analysis, and research dissemination (conference posters, papers, and journal publications). We

currently have four full-time Ph.D. faculty and between four and six students each semester.

As a mentor, my role shifts again to work with students, one-on-one, to help then

towards their discrete and unique career goals. These roles are perhaps the most varied of all, as

my students’ aspirations range from community service work to corporate communications to

advanced research careers, and everything in between. For formal research committees, my

primary role is to advise on the proper theory and methods required to execute meaningful

research designs. For the rest of my students (although not exclusive of my formal advising

appointments), my door is always open to talk matters of life before, during, and after college. In

these cases, I often talk about my own collegiate and corporate experiences (spanning wrist-

watch repair to restaurant management, to corporate communications, government relations, and

journalism) so that students can be understand the role COMM can (and can’t) play in their own

career paths.

One of the many reasons why I continue to be so wholly dedicated to WVU is that I have

the opportunity to work with students in so many capacities, and to so many various and

successful end goals. While it can be nigh-impossible for any truly dedicated faculty member to

describe their instructional responsibilities in short-form, I do hope that this document provides

an insight into my pedagogical responsibilities.


List of Courses Taught

Undergraduate Courses

Semester Course Course Title # Enrolled

US11 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media 17

FS11 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media 326

FS11 COMM293H Honors Seminar: Social Media in the Workplace 20

SS12 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media 332

US12 COM492 Directed Readings: German Culture (SPICE) 9

US12 COM493 Special Topics: Media Psychology and Influence (SPICE) 9


FS12 COMM335 Social Media in the Workplace 34

SS13 COMM335 Social Media in the Workplace 36

US13 COMM335 Social Media in the Workplace (online) 13



FS13 COMM105H Introduction to the Mass Media (Honors) 20

SS14 COMM335 Social Media in the Workplace 36

SS14 COMM425 Computer-Mediated Communication 31




FS14 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media (online) 31

FS14 COMM405 Effects of Mediated Communication 25

SS15 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media (online) 40

SS15 COMM405 Computer-Mediated Communication 35

US15 COMM405 Effects of Mediated Communication (SPICE) 9

US15 COMM424 Advanced Intercultural Communication (SPICE) 9

FS15 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media (online, ACCESS WVU) 16

FS15 COMM405 Effects of Entertainment Media 25

SPICE refers to the Summer Program in Communication in Erfurt, our COMM Study Abroad Program.


Graduate Courses

Semester Course Course Title # Enrolled

SS12 COMM693I Introduction to the Mass Media 5

US12 COMM693K Social Media and Instruction (online) 10

FS12 COMM693K Social Media in the Workplace (online) 20

SS13 COMM693I New Media & Society 10

SS13 COMM693K Social Media in the Workplace (online) 3

FS13 COMM693L Social Media in the Workplace (online) 6

FS13 COMM693N Effects of Entertainment Media 16

SS14 COMM693V Social Media in the Workplace (online) 7

SS15 COMM693D Experiments and Causality 14

FS15 COMM693N Effects of Entertainment Media 14

FS15 COMM691W Social Media Management (online) 23

2.2. Summary of Advising Roles

COMM Ph.D. Committees

Member, Shaun Anderson (Defense expected, May 2016)

Member, Alexander L. Lancaster (Defended Spring 2015)

COMM M.A. Committees

Chair, Lea Schlue (Defense expected, May 2016)

Chair, Gregory A. Cranmer. (Defended May 2012)

COMM Undergraduate

James Abdallah, McNair Scholars Program, 2014-2015

External Reader/Outside Graduate Student Committees

Kelly Williams (M.S.J., Reed College of Media, WVU), Defense expected May 2016

Maria Cipollone, (Ph.D. Communication, Temple University), Defended November 2015

Brittany Furbee (M.S.J., Reed College of Media, WVU), Defended, April 2015

Laura Conlin (Ph.D. Communication, University of Alabama), Defended, January 2015

Matthew McNally (Ph.D. Psychology, WVU), Defended, Spring 2014

Brett Wilson (Ph.D. Political Science, WVU), Defended, May 2014

Allison Schenk (Ph.D. Psychology, WVU), Defended, March 2014

Elizabeth Delon-Kwolek (M.S.J., P.I. Reed School of Journalism, WVU), Defended, May 2013

Maggie Matsko (M.S.J., P.I. Reed School of Journalism, WVU), Defended, May 2013.

National Communication Association

Doctoral Honor’s Seminar, Faculty Mentor (Mass Media Track), Summer 2014


Summary of Numeric Course Evaluations

Term Course # Course Title “Teaching

Effectiveness” “Overall Rating” “Overall

Learning”

US11 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media 5.00 4.80 4.60

FS11 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media 4.57 4.59 4.40 FS11 COMM293H Honors Seminar: Social Media in the Workplace 4.62 4.62 4.50

SS12 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media 4.37 4.36 4.11

SS12 COMM693I Introduction to the Mass Media 3.60 3.40 4.00

US12 COMM693K Social Media and Instruction Assessment not performed/no data returned

FS12 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media 4.57 4.67 4.50

FS12 COMM335 Social Media in the Workplace 4.64 4.64 4.64

FS12 COMM693K Social Media in the Workplace 5.00 5.00 5.00

SS13 COMM335 Social Media in the Workplace 4.60 4.40 4.53

SS13 COMM693I New Media & Society 4.00 3.80 4.00

SS13 COMM693K Social Media in the Workplace 5.00 4.50 4.00

US13 COMM335 Social Media in the Workplace (online) 4.89 4.89 5.00

US13 COMM492D SPICE (German study abroad) 4.67 4.67 4.67

FS13 COMM105H Introduction to the Mass Media (Honors) 4.65 4.65 4.41

FS13 COMM693L Social Media in the Workplace 5.00 5.00 5.00

FS13 COMM693N Effects of Entertainment Media 3.30 3.10 3.40

SS14 COMM335 Social Media in the Workplace 4.62 4.62 4.67

SS14 COMM425 Computer-Mediated Communication 4.67 4.67 4.67

SS14 COMM693V Social Media in the Workplace (online) 4.67 5.00 5.00



FS14 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media 4.82 4.81 4.68

FS14 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media (online) 4.50 4.50 4.50

FS14 COMM405 Effects of Mediated Communication 4.93 4.79 4.64

SS15 COMM105 Introduction to the Mass Media (online) 4.75 4.46 4.23

SS15 COMM425 Computer-Mediated Communication 4.70 4.70 4.60

SS15 COMM693D Experiments and Causality 3.56 3.75 4.11



CATEGORY AVERAGE (unweighted): 4.59 4.57 4.53


Course Spotlight: COMM 105

Since Summer 2011 (my first semester teaching at WVU), I have been intimately involved in the

further development and evolution of our Department’s core Introduction to the Mass Media

course, COMM105. This course is designed to introduce our students to the core theories and

studies related to how individuals use and are effected by mass media – theories and studies

central to my own identity as a scholar. I have taught this course in several different formats:

short-term and long-term lectures, Honors-formatted small group discussions, hybrid and online

(via eCampus), and for various student audiences (high school students in Access WVU,

undergraduates, and adult learners in the Regents degree program).

As part of my duties as course coordinator (a title I have since shared with colleagues in the

department, such as Dr. Elizabeth Cohen), one of my chief responsibilities was to update the

content of our course – based on my own expertise as an active media researcher (and former

media professional). This updating process took the form of first revising the course reader with

advanced research and theory (consulting with colleagues internally) and eventually, working

with colleagues from two other Universities (Dr. David Westerman of North Dakota State

University and Dr. Kenneth Lachlan of the University of Connecticut) to write a new textbook

for the course, “An Introduction to Computer-Mediated Communication: A Functional

Approach.” The shift in focus to computer-mediated communication was more than a semantic

one for the textbook title, but was meant to represent perhaps one of the most dramatic shifts in

the course focus: away from a traditional and “pure” mass media focus and into a more

integrated digital and social media focus. This shift was necessary to represent a growing

interactive media landscape in which the individual media user is less a passive consumer and

more an active participant and co-creator of content. A result of this shift was a course design

that features five core learning modules, one that introduces students to the basics of

communication technologies (traditional mass media and emerging social media), and four that

focus on using those technologies for information, relationships, persuasion, and entertainment.

Notably, this shift was also aligned with a Department initiative to introduce several Areas of

Emphasis (AoE) for COMM majors, including the nascent Digital and Social Media AoE.

The revised course synopsis – which anchors all of the different version of the course that we

teach now:

“The study of media is a focus on how the many different channels of communication influence the creation and reception of messages. From a set of cave paintings found in the caves of France 15,000 years ago to the smartphone likely in your pocket right now, humans have learned how to use the tools at their disposal to communicate with one another. It is this mediated communication – communication via tools – that allows us to get information, form relationships, persuade each other and entertain ourselves in our leisure time. Moreover, as our communication tools become increasingly digital and networked, we are able to satisfy each of these goals on demand and beyond the constraints of space-time.

The economy of the third millennium is marked by a focus on information, and in this knowledge economy the importance of having a broad and deep knowledge of communication is increasingly paramount to success. This course will guide students to a deeper understanding of the role of media in the communication process, and will introduce students to the basics of technology’s role in this

process. Information is all around us, and in COM105 we will learn how to navigate this environment.”


Social Media to Enhance Mass Lecture

As a natural extension of the overall philosophical shift in the focus of COMM105, one of the

core instructional changes was to emphasize and implicate the potential for social media

technologies to aid in class learning. As early as Summer 2011, I created an official Facebook

page for the course (https://www.facebook.com/groups/WVUComm105/) to use a voluntary

supplement to the (at the time) mass lecture format of the course. From that original 17-student

summer course, the Facebook group now has over 1200 students and five administrators (other

faculty and graduate teaching assistants), with many students electing to remain in the group

long after having completed COMM105 – often times, responding to current students comments

and posting information about media- and technology-related news and career opportunities.

Screenshot of COMM105 Facebook group membership, as of 24 November 2015

From a pedagogical perspective, the purpose of this Facebook page was to create an additional

space for potential learning – a “persistent classroom” by which students could engage content,

each other, as well as their instructors outside the format restrictions of a large lecture hall. To

protect all students’ Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) rights as well as their

general personal choices, these groups are not public (students must request access) and students

are never required to join them. No course credit or incentive is given to encourage student

participation, and the Facebook discussions are treated as a separate study and discussion place

from the main course lectures. In short, the Facebook group is used as a tool to allow students to

engage in a space already native to their daily lives: social media.


https://www.facebook.com/groups/WVUComm105/

An example of peer-to-peer learning (with instructor involvement) in the COMM105 Facebook group.

In the example above, we see students engaging each other over a question that one student had

about a course concept – the Great Fears and how they emerge in news media coverage of social

issues. From Student A’s post, two other students responded within four minutes of the original

post, and the activity of all three of these students appeared in my Facebook stream (as well as

any other students with membership in the COMM105 group). Notably, these three students had

already collaborated on the answer to the initial question in advance of my response. This is one

example of a common occurrence in this course group – in fact, my own data (published in the

journal Internet and Higher Education) shows that students to tend to post nearly four times as

much content as the course instructor in these groups. Moreover, there are many times in which

students create and collaborate on their own answers to course questions, without any instructor

intervention at all.

An example of peer-to-peer learning (without instructor involvement) in the COMM105 Facebook group.


One of the more surprising uses of the Facebook group by students was that they engaged each

other on a more personable, affective level – that is, students also used the space to make jokes

and share personal stories with each other. In the research on instructional communication, these

expressions are referred to as “affective learning” (our attitudes towards instructors, peer learners

and the learning environment) and they are considered key to academic success. Put simply,

students who enjoy their instructor, each other, and their environment tend to be more invested in

the academic lessons.

An example of peer-to-peer affective learning in the COMM105 Facebook page

Do the above anecdotes represent actual learning effects? To answer this question, myself along

with colleague Dr. Mete Akcaoglu (formerly of WVU, now of Georgia Southern University)

received permission form the students enrolled in a Fall 2012 COMM105 mass lecture to

compare their performance on course exams between those students who used the Facebook

group and those who did not. For those who joined the Facebook group, we also received

permission from students to analyze their posts. In short, we found that the 148 students who

joined the Facebook group scored significantly higher on their exams (an average exam score of

about 79%) than the 173 students that did not (an average exam score of 73%) – students in the

Facebook group also had less variance in their exam scores (8%) than students who did not

(13%). Looking at the tone of the total 283 individual student posts, only one was considered to

be “negative” (a concern about the difficulty of the final exam). The full details of our research

are included in the published article referenced below, but our general conclusion was that

students used the group to increase both their cognitive and affective learning. The Facebook

group effectively helped overcome some of the more impersonal and passive nature of large

University mass lectures by providing a persistent space for students to engage their instructor,

each other, and the course content.


Abstract of article published in Internet and Higher Education; full article available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751614000244 (or by request)

Honors COMM 105

Prior to Fall 2013, the only alterations that I had made to the COMM105 course were (a) the

shift in focus to include more digital and social media (along with traditional mass media) and

(b) the introduction of the supplemental Facebook group. However, for Fall 2013 I was asked to

offer a version of the course to a small group of WVU Honors students - necessitating a

qualitative shift my approach to a course (a) traditionally taught as a mass lecture and (b) often

taught as an entry-level, general education requirement. To approach this, I decided to eliminate

the multiple choice exams as a primary course assessment, and instead break of the course into

four assessment categories – excerpted from the syllabus below. My motivations here were to

take advantage of the smaller classroom size to engage students more intimately with myself,

each other, and the course content in a structure that might mimic what they could expect in a

graduate-level seminar.


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751614000244

Excerpt from COMM105 Honors syllabus, Fall 2013 – Course assignments and grading

Course Requirements and Grading: Your grade in this class will be based on the following:

Attendance and participation (10 points) – Students are expected to attend all scheduledcourse meetings. However, attendance is not merely marked by being present in the room,but also active in course discussions throughout the semester. Course absences are notpermitted and will be penalized:

o One absence: 3 attendance points forfeitedo Two absences: 6 attendance points forfeitedo Three Absences: all 10 attendance points forfeited

Chapter presentation (40 points) – Of the 12 “core” chapters in this class (Chapter 2 through13), students will be assigned to select one chapter to explore in more detail. This project willinvolve:

o presentation (10 points) – a 10- to 15-minute presentation to the course on the coreconcepts of the class. This presentation will help “kick-start” our course discussionsfor that week’s topic. Part of this presentation includes recommending one additionalreading for the class to be completed on the following day (students will assist Dr.Bowman in moderating a discussion of this reading on the second day)

o write-up (25 points) – a four- to five-page (1600- to 2000-word) “rewrite” of theweek’s chapter that presents the main concepts of the chapter, evaluates the qualityof these concepts (the breadth and depth at which the concepts were covered), andrecommends areas of future work or materials to be included in future versions ofthe chapter.

o blog post (5 points) – a short (250- to 300-word) blog summary of their write-up, tobe posted at onmediatheory.blogspot.com

Small Assignments (10 points) – Throughout the semester, students will be asked tocomplete a series of planned or unplanned small assignments, no less than two and no morethan five total projects of varying point values. These opportunities will be discussed in-class.

Comprehensive essays (40 points) – To show their mastery of subject matter, students will beasked to write an essay of a topic of their choosing from a list of available course topics. Thisformat is similar to the graduate student “COMPS” exams, with answers not to exceed onepage (or 400 words).

o Essay Set 1 (10 points) – Assigned early September, due by end Septembero Essay Set 2 (10 points) – Assigned early October, due by end Octobero Essay Set 3 (10 points) – Assigned early November, due by end Novembero Grade and Edit (10 points) – Due by last day of class meetings, students are asked to

edit at least one other students’ essay for content and clarity.

The assignments above were designed to encourage students to demonstrate mastery of course

content by having them engage a different chapter of the textbook in pairs – writing a version “in

their own words” and presenting their work to the class (as a simulated lecture) and to a larger

public audience (as a blog post). A sample entry below:


Sample student blog entry from COMM105 Honors; all student blog entries are available for reading at: http://onmediatheory.blogspot.com/p/student-blogs-wvucom105-introduction-to.html

Along with these presentations and writings, students were also given a set of essay questions to

respond to, each corresponding with core themes from both student- and instructor-led course

discussions. These essays were meant to simulate the “comprehensive exam” format that might

be presented to them in a graduate course, although adjusted to reflect the 100-level of this

course. One sample set of essay questions is included below:


http://onmediatheory.blogspot.com/p/student-blogs-wvucom105-introduction-to.html

Sample Essay Questions for COMM105-Honors, Fall 2013

Essay Questions – Set 1 COM105H, Fall 2013 DUE 26 September 2013

[List updated: 30 August 2013]

Please choose any three of the following questions form the first four chapters of our e-text, and provide a one-page (400-word) answer for each that offers a clear and comprehensive answer. Use citations when appropriate and relevant to support the arguments you are trying to make.

1. How can one claim that technology “do not take us away from [our social] past, but draw uscloser to it” as claimed by Christakis & Fowler (2009)?

2. We specified four broad goals of communication in class. List and define those goals, and givean example for each that demonstrates how media can be used to meet the goal specified?

3. What does it mean to study “masspersonal” communication, and how is this perhaps moreuseful (or not) than more classical “mass” and “interpersonal” distinctions?

4. Define Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, offering two examples of each. Do you think Web 2.0 is “simplya marketing ploy” as stated in the text or is it more applicable?

5. Compare and contrast the notion of ‘technological determinism’ with the ‘social shaping oftechnology perspective’. Define each perspective and offer an example to illustrate both. Ifyou were forced to choose a perspective, which would you subscribe to? Why?

6. What does it mean to be a “cyborg”? Are humans today all cyborgs and if so, is this a badthing?

7. Explain the multiple steps of uses and gratifications theory, both as a general theory and as a“functional approach” to studying media uses and effects. Give two examples of the theory inyour personal life.

8. Define information literacy, and explain the “Big Six” steps approach to the concept.9. What is meant by the metaphor “Digital Divide”, and how can we understand it at three

different levels?10. Explain Nicholas de Condorcet’s jury theorem, both in general and as it applies to the

accuracy of online information.

Grading rubric: An “A” quality answer offers a clear and concise answer the question, citing relevant information from class readings and lectures. A “C” quality answer offers a coherent answer to the question, without citing relevant information from class readings and lectures. A “F” quality answer offers no coherent answer to the proposed question. All questions are graded on a “plus-check-minus” scale, hence the absence of “B” and “D” grades.

Where the shifts from mass lecture to student-centered instruction successful? Anecdotally, this

course was among one of the most engaged and lively classroom environments that I’ve ever

experienced, stretching back to my very first college courses in Fall 1999 (my own first-year

student experiences). To this day, I have stayed in touch with many of the students from this

course (including Zavier Sinnett and Jacob Ivey, the authors of the above course blog example).

Perhaps most importantly however at least one emerging theme from students’ evaluation of the

course: many students mentioned both in-class and after-class that they had a renewed

appreciation for the communication studies major generally, as well as the academic study of


mass media and communication technologies. A few sample comments from students, from the

COM105 Honors Course Evaluation forms (out of 19 hand-written comment sheets):

Select student evaluations from COMM105 Honors; full set of handwritten evaluations is available upon request


Quality Matters and WVU Access

The most recent major project involving COMM105 came in the form of a request by the Access

WVU program, WVU’s initiative to engage younger (high school) audiences into a more

rigorous college curriculum parallel to their own secondary school studies. At the invitation of

Greg Strimel (Director of WVU’s K-12 initiatives) and Cindy Hart (Director of WVU Online), I

was asked to develop a version of COMM105 that both (a) met the curricular and design

standards of Quality Matters (QM, a national certification program, designed to improve the

quality of online education) and (b) was appropriate for a high school audience with little-to-no

experience with college-level course material.

A major part of the QM training (as with any course design) was to consider a natural alignment

of course learning modules that would be particularly applicable for an entirely online

environment. To do this, I decided to alter the structure of COMM105 slightly to feature four

such modules – one shorter module focused on introducing students to the course technologies

(eCampus, as well as optional social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter), and three

others that featured a discussion on the basics of media technology, using technology for

learning and for interpersonal interaction and persuasion, and the role of technology as a source

of mass media and individual entertainment.


Learning modules and assignment alignments for the QM version of COMM105, taught online as part of the Access WVU program initiative

For each module, a mix of weekly course discussions (blending peer-to-peer and peer-to-

instructor) and module-specific multiple choice exams (to test basic knowledge) and “In Real

Life” connections (to demonstrate applied knowledge) were used to connect students with each

other, their instructor, and the course content at several levels. Notably, the weekly course

discussions are where the majority of peer-to-peer and peer-to-instructor interactions took place.

For these, students are asked to (1) read their textbook chapter, (2) view an accompanying

YouTube lecture (a presentation of my in-class notes, with my own audio and closed-captioned

narration), and (3) engage in a weekly online discussion. Below, I’ve pulled examples from one

week’s worth of discussion focused on Chapter 5-News to demonstrate a basic course flow.


Weekly student engagement flow in the QM version of COMM105, taught online as part of the Access WVU program initiative – Chapter 5 Example

1. Sample chapter page, from e-book

2. Closed-captioned chapter video lecture (from YouTube playlist:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOfQFckTd-C4XFqZXL1WfEBOHIJrM0U-5)


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOfQFckTd-C4XFqZXL1WfEBOHIJrM0U-5

3. Weekly Discussion Forum Participation

First, students are given a list of possible discussion posts; here, they can also start their own discussion threads…

…and once they select a discussion topic, they are given a prompt to consider…


…which results in responses from the course instructor as well as other students:

Although this one sample flow does not demonstrate the variety of student experiences in our

course, it does give a sense as to their weekly experiences. During discussion weeks, students are

asked to make a minimum of three posts, with some making as many as 12 weekly posts and the

boards generally supporting between 75-100 weekly student and instructor posts (Chapter 5

featured 103 total posts). The course is ongoing so summative assessment data is not available at

this time. However, formative assessments have shown that the Access WVU students are out-

performing my “traditional” on-campus students on their exams, and have been extending their

course discussions to spaces beyond the course – such as the family dinner table.

Formative assessment data from the QM version of COMM105, taught Fall 2015 as part of the Access WVU program

Descriptive statistics from students’ first exam, shared with them via e-mail and Facebook


Program Spotlight: SPICE

Of my other teaching pursuits, perhaps one that I am most proud of is the partnership that I have

been able to form between West Virginia University and the University of Erfurt: the Summer

Program in Communication at Erfurt, or SPICE. Since Summer 2012, I have led 31 students on a

nine-week, 9.0 credit hour summer semester that has them embedded with German university

students as well as students from partner Big XII schools, such as the University of Texas and

Oklahoma University. Notably, the University of Erfurt is a leading research institution for the

study of communication sciences, most notably research and scholarship on mass media and

communication technology – again aligning with our Department’s curricular goals associated

with the nascent Digital and Social Media AoE.

Sample informational posters for SPICE, 2014 and 2015 programs. Full-size (or page-size) versions available upon request

Forming the WVU-SPICE partnership

The SPICE partnership was formed out of a previous research partnership that I had with

colleagues at Erfurt. Research visits in 2010 (published studies on the role of moral psychology

in understanding video games) led to a few guest lectures and course discussions, which

eventually led to an invitation to officially participate as a visiting professor at the University of

Erfurt for their existing SPICE lineup.


Official letter of invitation, from Prof. Dr. Patrick Roessler, then-Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Erfurt


After receiving this initial invitation from Dr. Roessler, I worked with Anthony Goddard,

Jason Burns, and Vanessa Yerkovich (nee Crandall) of WVU’s Office of International

Programs to create a faculty-led study abroad program in partnership with SPICE. These

individuals, under the leadership of Dr. David Steward and then-OIP director Dr. Michael

Lastinger, worked intensively with me to create the necessary administrative base (budgeting,

logistics, and other documentation) to support the curricular mission of SPICE: to expose

students to advanced scholarship in an embedded international setting.

Along with this, I created (and continue to manage) two digital spaces for SPICE students: (a)

a private Facebook group that invites all SPICE students, faculty, and alumni (current

membership is 118) so that current and past SPICErs could meet to discuss any number of

academic and social events happening during the program, and (b) a WVU-specific SPICE

blog, updated frequently to help our WVU students organize their study abroad trip before,

during, and even after the experience.


Using digital and social media to connect SPICE students with each other and with relevant course and program information

SPICE Facebook community, as of 24 November 2015

Screenshot of Instructor-updated SPICE Administrative blog, customized for WVU students’ administrative and travel requirements; 2015 program. This posts was for helping students find their assigned train and hotel during a two-night planned excursion from Erfurt to Amsterdam (including an interactive Google map). Full page is accessible at http://wvuspice2015.blogspot.com/p/administrative.html


http://wvuspice2015.blogspot.com/p/administrative.html

Students have responded remarkably well to the SPICE experience, with several formers

SPICErs being actively involved in our recruiting fairs – for example, at the Fall and Spring

WVU OIP Study Abroad recruiting programs. As a faculty-led program, the lead instructor

(for SPICE, this is me) is intimately involved in the planning of most every aspect of the

student experience, from booking flights and train travel to organizing housing

accommodations to helping ease students into the first few days of their time in a foreign land

while striking a balance between mentoring their social experiences while teaching in the

SPICE program. The days of late-night planning are well worth it however, when students

such as Marissa Totokotsopolous share experiences such as this one (from her blog,

http://wvuspice2014.blogspot.com/p/marissa-toto.html):

“If I had to give a few words of advice to someone wanting to go on the SPICE trip in upcoming years

or just wanting to go abroad it would be… go everywhere you can, see everything you can and try everything you can. Go outside you comfort zone, feel awkward for a couple of minutes and just be in the moment while you can. Although you may hate it at the time you may never get the opportunity or experience ever again. I am personally so grateful to have experienced all that I have and because I have taken the opportunities I was given and have gone outside of my comfort zone at times, I am so happy I did. I have learned and seen so much, made memories that will last me a lifetime, and taken chances to make this experience so amazing. I wouldn’t change any of it and I

am saddened at the thought of leaving the life we have made here in Erfurt, I sure will miss it!”

2.5.2 Student Research Proposals (COMM405 assignment)

One of the core courses that I lead in SPICE is a course loosely framed around Entertainment

Theory, listed with SPICE as “Media Psychology and Influence” and listed with WVU as part of

our COMM405 “Effects of Entertainment Media” course. This course is modeled after a similar

course that I teach on-campus, yet condense to fit a high-intensity, four-week format in which

each course meeting is between four and six hours long. To accommodate this format, the course

is broken up into four broad categories, outlined below:

Weekly course objectives and topics for COMM405, from the proposed SPICE 2016 syllabus

Week One – “A History of Media Psychology”, which will feature discussion of the early “moralpanic” days of research, including The Payne Fund Studies, The Seduction of the Innocent, and adiscussion of the psychological underpinnings of the infamous War of the Worlds broadcast. Ourdiscussion this week will also include an overview of the history of leisure and its relation (positiveand negative) to society.

Week Two – “The Limited Effects Paradigm”, which will focus our discussion on the social andpsychological mediating variables that explain media influence as powerful under specificconditions. Here, we will discover the work of Schramm, Rogers, Lazardsfeld, Shaw and McCombsamong others who were among the first identify the individual difference variables so importantto the study of media psychology.

Week Three – “Contemporary Media Research”, which will bring our understanding of mediapsychology into the domain of Zillmann and Bryant – the pioneers of the modern study of mediainfluence – and take us to the current state of the field. Here, we will discuss research on mediaviolence, aggression, sexuality and racism in the media to understand how we currently see therelationship between media, the individual, and society. Notably, we will study the influence ofthis early scholarship on the specific study of entertainment and society.


http://wvuspice2014.blogspot.com/p/marissa-toto.html

Week Four – “Application and Extension”, which will challenge students to suggest areas ofresearch ripe for replication and extension. Today’s media environment is undergoing rapid andmajor changes, with the fragmentation of media audiences, increased mobile access to media,and increased interactivity with media messages among just a few of the changes uprooting theclassic media production system. Using their understanding of media and entertainment to thispoint, students will be asked to propose areas of the extant literature in need of revision giventoday’s modern, de-massified and masspersonal media environment.

To address these categories, students are asked to engage in a set of two to four readings in

advance of our class sessions, prepare an opening statement or “response” to these readings each

day (the Question of the Day post, explained later), engage open debate and discussion during

each class period, and end the class with an original research proposal aimed at better

understanding their own curiosities about media uses and effects. These assignments are detailed

in the syllabus:

Major assignments topics for COMM405, from the proposed SPICE 2016 syllabus

Attendance (11%) – As a discussion course, it is imperative that students are present at eachcourse meeting. Absences are inexcusable, and students will be penalized 11 points after theirfirst absence.

Reading Comprehension (40%) – Throughout the course, student’s comprehension of the assignedreadings will be assessed by the Instructor through a variety of methods, including pop quizzes,oral examinations, impromptu explanations and other student-led discussions. Students will beexpected to understand the material (or at least, have shown an effort to understand material),and failure to do so will result in a 10% weekly reduction

Research Proposal (49%) – To conclude our course, students will be asked to propose an originalstudy that could be feasibly carried out given the resources available to them – with the intentionof conducting the study at a later time. Details on this project will be provided in class, but at aminimum the proposal will require:o An abstract that summarizes the studyo A five to seven page literature review that culminates in the proposal of testable research

questions or hypotheseso A proposed methodology rooted in the socio-psychological perspective that addresses how

the potential study will answer the proposed research questions or hypotheses

For this course, the two primary points of learning are students’ weekly posts (and follow-up in-

class discussions) and their group research presentations. A sample student discussion format is

outlined below:


Weekly student posts in the SPICE COMM405 course, Week 1 Example

1. First, students access the main course webpage (available athttp://wvuspicemediapsych.pbworks.com/w/page/54250277/HOME%3A%20Media%20Psychology%20-%20SPICE%202015, permission request required)

2. Then, students access the week-specific web page, which contains all relevant readings, asample overview lecture (embedded as a PowerPoint slideshow, see top corner) and a blueQuestion of the Day.


http://wvuspicemediapsych.pbworks.com/w/page/54250277/HOME%3A%20Media%20Psychology%20-%20SPICE%202015

http://wvuspicemediapsych.pbworks.com/w/page/54250277/HOME%3A%20Media%20Psychology%20-%20SPICE%202015

3. Students are given the first hour of class time to post their answers to the Question of the Dayon the class webpage, and these answers are debated and discussed during each day’s coursediscussion and lecture.

Students engage in these discussions each day for the first three weeks of class. For the fourth

and final week of class, students shift to a group learning model where they are asked to combine

their individual research interests (usually cultivated during the daily course discussions). Groups

are comprised of US and German students, and the course shifts away from a set lecture time and

instead to a one-on-one model (myself and their group) where we work together as “research

teams” – with the groups pitching their research models to me as I provide critical feedback,

similar to the research meetings that I have with my graduate students and fellow faculty. The

result of these meetings is the students’ proposal of a theoretically rooted research model,

proposed in a conference-style format (15 minutes, with audience feedback) to the entire SPICE

cohort.


A collection of student research models, from the SPICE 2014 COMM405 class

Clockwise from the top-left, students proposed (and successfully defended) studies on the role that social media filters play in biasing user’s political opinions, the possible negative impact of excessive video game play on people’s lack of social connections, how junk food advertising psychologically impacts obesity, and how using digital media (compared to physical media such as printed books) might negatively impact learning, such as information recall. Graphics taken from students’ presentations.

My own assessment of the students’ ability to defense their research models is nothing short of

stunned – in every instance (such as the examples above) – students have shown me a

surprisingly subtle mastery of the nuances of relatively complex stimulus-organism-response

models of media effects, something that even trained research professionals often struggle with.

Moreover, students seem to develop an appreciation for mentorship and academic discourse, as

evidenced by two comments from the 2013 group:

“Loved Dr. Bowman's teaching style. Appeals to you and make it seem like you are on the samelevel. Most teachers make you seem small and inconsequential.”

“Nick is an excellent instructor with interesting methods. He is a good motivator and it is easy towork with him. He is generally always available whether it be via email or office hours. I woulddefinitely recommend this instructor to my peers/friends or any Communication Major.”


German Culture and Communication Blogs (COMM416 assignment)

The other SPICE course that I lead is a WVU-specific course on Advanced Intercultural

Communication – for SPICE, this course is focused on helping students navigate and understand

German culture. The general course format is a mix of informal course meetings (each Monday

of the SPICE program, over a German-American breakfast in Erfurt) and experiential learning

excursions, some planned with SPICE faculty and others encouraged to be taken alone.

Excerpts from COMM416 syllabus, SPICE 2016 program

Course Readings: All course reading materials will be made available via Google Drive (folder “WVU SPICE 2016” “COM416” “Reading Blog”)

For reference, refer to past blogs:

http://wvuspice2015.blogspot.com/




Course Catalog: This course provides a hands-on study of the influence of culture on verbal and nonverbal communication, and of the influence of cultural communication norms on conflict and intercultural relations. The course is conducted in the context of a faculty led study abroad experience.

Course Format: The majority of this course will be paced by the student under the supervision of the Instructor. Students will meet with their Instructor on a weekly basis for informal dinner discussions, which will serve as “working lectures” as well as administrative meetings. Otherwise, students will be engaged in site visits and cultural encounters on their own time. Thus, it is imperative that students come to each weekly dinner meeting prepared to reflect on past experiences and discuss the direction for their future projects. This course is flexible but can be overwhelming for students who are not well-organized.

COMM 416 and SPICE: For Summer 2016, COMM 416 is offered as part of a COMM study abroad program – for 2016, this program is the Summer Program in Communication in Erfurt, or SPICE (English-language site: http://www.uni-erfurt.de/kommunikationswissenschaft/studium/bachelor-kommunikationswissenschaft/spice/). COMM 416 will serve a dual purpose during SPICE: (1) Primarily, the course is offered as a way to direct students’ hands-on

learning of a culture very different from their own. While participating in SPICE is a great way to immerse one’s self in a new culture, COMM 416 will provide several points of departure regarding basic and contemporary theories of intercultural communication to help prompt students to more closely examine their “new” cultural environment for the summer

(2) However, the course will also serve as a weekly administrative meeting to ensure that any questions or concerns students have about the larger SPICE program can be heard and answered.






http://www.uni-erfurt.de/kommunikationswissenschaft/studium/bachelor-kommunikationswissenschaft/spice/



Tentative Course Schedule: A tentative schedule of discussion topics for the Instructor/SPICE dinners (dates in parenthesis are tentative meeting dates):

Pre-Travel – Blog Introductions. Students will work with Dr. Bowman to set up their individualGoogle Drive spaces, and post a 250-word introduction. (posted before May 31)

Week One – Orientation. After we hop off the flight and check into our apartments, we’ll grabdinner and discuss expectations for SPICE 2015 (Wednesday 15 June)

Week Two – Culture shock. Discussion will include an open-ended observation of salientcultural differences and experiences. Communication Accommodation Theory will beintroduced and discussed. (Monday 20 June)

Week Three– Managing cultural conflicts. Students will be asked to discuss any particularconflicts they might have had to this point, using precepts of Face Negotiation Theory.(Monday 27 June)

Week Four – Nationalism or Jingoism? To celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, students will beasked to consider how the notion of national pride is approached in the US vs. Germany(Monday 4 July, evening BBQ)

Week Five – In Berlin! No meeting, as SPICE will have arranged a four-day excursion in Berlin

Week Six – Return to Thuringia. As we return from Berlin, students will consider the role ofcultural convergence in understanding norms and communication patterns experienced in thecity. (Monday 18 July)

Week Seven – Are we feeling it? Students will debate and discuss intercultural adaption,understanding how they use their dual cultural identity strategically to meet differentcommunicative goals. (Monday 25 July)

Week Eight – Intercultural Communicative Competence. Students will reflect on their own feltsense of ICC based on the SPICE 15 experience. Expectations for the final blog posts will alsobe discussed. (Monday 1 August)

Major assignments: Students’ proficiency in understanding of course concepts will be evaluated based on:

Introduction (10 points). Prior to departure, you will be asked to write a brief (250-word)introduction to post to your blog that includes a brief biographical sketch and photograph.Tell us about your reasons for signing up for SPICE and what you expect to bring back fromthe experience. This assignment is due by midnight on Tuesday 31 May.

Interpersonal interaction (10 points). Students will be asked to reflect on their initialinteractions with German SPICE students and German residents of Erfurt. These reflectionswill be “raw” in that students will be asked merely to note their own impressions of culturalsimilarities and differences between what they are familiar with and what they areexperiencing in Erfurt. This post should be about 250 words in length. This assignment is dueby Monday 20 June

Cultural theory connections (20 points). Students are expected to connect at least four coursetheories to observations that they’ve made while in Germany and abroad. These posts should(a) identify and summarize the relevant theory being used, (b) describe and summarize theirobservation, and (c) clearly connect the student’s observation to the focal theory. These postsshould be between 300-500 words in length. The following is the schedule of theory posts:

o Monday 27 June: Communication Accommodation Theoryo Monday 4 July: Face Negotiation Theoryo Monday 25 July: Cultural Convergence Theory


o Monday 1: August Intercultural Adaptation

Cultural site visits (30 points). Students will be asked to visit at least five sites of culturalsignificance to Germany of their own choosing, and provide two to three pages of originalwriting discussing the roots of each site’s cultural significance. These papers should containequal parts history, sociology, and communication to explain how each has influenced theGermany way of life. Each paper is worth 6% of the student’s final grade. Notably, these sitesdo not need to be necessarily (a) historical or (b) tourists sites – students are in factencouraged to fine less contrived or obvious locales with which to more intimatelyunderstand the culture of eastern Germany. These posts should be between 300-500 wordsin length.At least one of these posts is due on the following dates:

o Monday 20 Juneo Monday 27 Juneo Monday July 4o Monday 25 Julyo Monday 1 August

Berlin reflections (30 points). As part of SPICE ’14, we will take a week-long excursion toBerlin. Students will be asked to complete a number of tasks in their journal reflections. Thisassignment is due by Monday, 18 July.

o Compare and contrast the communication styles of eastern and western Germany,using a framework similar to what will be provided for the “Interpersonalinteractions” assignment. This divide might be a noticed by comparing Erfurt to Berlinas well as eastern and western Berlin (as well as a combination of these twocomparisons).

o Understand the international significance of Berlin, and how this has influenced thepeople living in the city and the culture of Berlin as unique from that of greaterGermany.

o Reflect on the increased diversity of Berlin from a historical and contemporarystandpoint, and discussion how this diversity is similar to and different fromrepresentative areas in the United States.

The COMM416 course represents perhaps one of the more innovative course designs that I’ve

attempted to use, in that it combines a semi-structured weekly theory discussion with several

opportunities for students to experience culture first-hand – this latter part is done by providing

students with a pre-paid train pass from Eurail that allows them as many as nine individual days

of travel in Germany as the surrounding “Benelux” region (which includes Belgium,

Luxembourg, and The Netherlands).







Curriculum Vitae – Short Form

Nicholas David Bowman, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Communication Studies, West Virginia University

e-mail: [email protected]

EDUCATION_________________________________________________________________

Michigan State University (May, 2010), Ph.D., Communication; Certification in College

Teaching

University of Missouri - St. Louis (December, 2004), M.A., Communication

University of Missouri - St. Louis (August, 2003), B.A., magna cum laude, Communication;

Writing Certificate (Creative + Technical)

ACADEMIC POSITIONS_______________________________________________________

West Virginia University

Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, May

2015 – present

Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, (tenure-

track), Summer 2011 – May 2015

Graduate Faculty, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, Fall 2011 – present

Corporate M.A. Faculty, Spring 2012 – present

Young Harris College

Assistant Professor of Communication Studies (tenure-track), Fall 2009 – Spring 2011

Instructor, Institute for Continued Learning (Adult Learning), Summer 2010

Honor’s Faculty, Division of Humanities, Fall 2009

Michigan State University

Visiting Instructor of Communication, Fall 2008 – Spring 2009

Teaching Assistant and Instructor, Fall 2005 – Summer 2008

University of Missouri – St. Louis

Senior Lecturer of Communication, Spring 2005

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Summer & Fall, 2004

St. Louis Community College – Meramec

Adjunct Faculty of Communications, Spring 2005

SERVICE POSITIONS_________________________________________________________

Editor (incoming), Communication Research Reports; Associate Editor, Journal of Media

Psychology; Guest Editor, Communication Teacher; Chair, Game Studies Division @

International Communication Association; Editorial Board, Communication Research Reports,

Communication Teacher, Game Studies, G|A|M|E Journal, Journal of Broadcasting &

Entertainment Media; Lambda Pi Eta Undergraduate Research Journal; Mass Communication

& Society; Media Psychology; New Media & Society; Psychology of Popular Media Culture;


mailto:[email protected]

Societies; Western Journal of Communication; Board of Advisors, SxSWedu; Member, ICA,

NCA, ECA, AoIR (Association of Internet Researchers)

TEACHING___________________________________________________________________

West Virginia University

Undergraduate Courses

o COM105: Introduction to Mass Media (mass lecture, online, Honor’s section, and

Access WVU)

o COM293/335: Social Media in the Workplace (discussion, online, and Honor’s

section)

o COM405: Entertainment of Entertainment Media

o COM425: Computer-Mediated Communication

o COM492: Internship Supervisor – WVU COMM Social Media

o COM495: Independent Study – Communication Technology and Media Psychology

Graduate Courses

o COM691W: Social and Digital Media Management (online Corporate MA Program)

o COM69D: Experiments and Causality

o COM693I: New Media and Society

o COM693K: Social Media in 2012 (Instructional MA Special Course)

o COM693K: Social Media in the Workplace (Corporate MA Program)

o COM693N: Effects of Entertainment Media

SPICE (Summer Program in Communication at Erfurt – Germany)

o COM492-001: Directed Readings in German Culture and Communication

o COM493-001: Media Psychology and Influence

#WVUCommMOOC (www.wvucommmooc.org)

o “Learning to Cope with our Robot Overlords” [personal reflection]

Young Harris College

COMM3950&3951: Editing and Newspaper Production I - II, Primary Instructor

COMM3400: Organizational Communication, Primary Instructor

COMM2980-4980: Independent Study, Coordinator

COMM2900: Reporting I, Primary Instructor

COMM2700: Introduction to Media Effects Research, Primary Instructor

COMM2050: Communication Theory, Co-Instructor

COMM1181-4181: Newspaper I-IV, Primary Instructor

COMM1100: Introduction to Public Speaking, Primary Instructor

COMM1051: Practicum in Journalism and Newspaper Production, Primary Instructor

COMM1050: Introduction to Media Communication, Primary Instructor

HONR1101 (Honors): Managing Your Virtual Identity, Primary Instructor

Michigan State University

COM490: Independent Study, Coordinator

COM399/402: Music Management and Promotion, Primary Instructor

COM375: Audience Response to Media Entertainment, Primary Instructor

COM275: Effects of Mass Communication, TA &Primary Instructor


http://onmediatheory.blogspot.com/2013/02/my-first-moocing-week-in-review.html

COM200: Methods of Communication Inquiry, Teaching Assistant

COM240: Organizational Communication, Teaching Assistant

COM100: Human Communication, Teaching Assistant

University of Missouri – St. Louis

COMM2231: Organizational Communication, Primary Instructor

COMM1135: Communication Theory, Graduate Teaching Assistant

COMM1040: Introduction to Public Speaking, Primary Instructor

COMM1030: Interpersonal Communication, GTA &Associate Instructor

St. Louis Community College – Meramec

COM101: Introduction to Communication, Primary Instructor

ADVISING ___________________________________________________________________

COMM Ph.D. Committees

Member, Shaun Anderson (Defense expected, May 2016)

Member, Alexander L. Lancaster (Defended Spring 2015)

COMM M.A. Committees

Chair, Lea Schlue (Defense expected, May 2016)

Chair, Gregory A. Cranmer. (Defended May 2012)

COMM Undergraduate

James Abdallah, McNair Scholars Program, 2014-2015

External Reader/Outside Graduate Student Committees

Kelly Williams (M.S.J., Reed College of Media, WVU).

Maria Cipollone, (Ph.D. Communication, Temple University), Defended November 2015.

Brittany Furbee (M.S.J., Reed College of Media, WVU). Defended, April 2015.

Laura Conlin (Ph.D. Communication, University of Alabama), Defended, January 2015.

Matthew McNally (Ph.D. Psychology, WVU). Defended, Spring 2014

Brett Wilson (Ph.D. Political Science, WVU). Defended, May 2014

Allison Schenk (Ph.D. Psychology, WVU). Defended, March 2014

Elizabeth Delon-Kwolek (M.S.J., Reed College of Media, WVU). Defended, May 2013

Maggie Matsko (M.S.J., Reed College of Media, WVU). Defended, May 2013.

National Communication Association

Doctoral Honor’s Seminar, Faculty Mentor (Mass Media Track), Summer 2014

PEDAGOGY-SPECIFIC PUBLICATIONS & SCHOLARLY WORKS_________________

Manuscripts

Bowman, N.D., & Akcaoglu, M. (2014). “I see smart people!”: Using Facebook to

supplement the University mass lecture”. Internet & Higher Education, 23. doi:

10.1016/j.iheduc.2014.05.003




Textbooks/Readers

Westerman, D., Bowman, N. D., & Lachlan, K. (2014). Introduction to Computer-Mediated

Communication: A Functional Approach. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt. ISBN: 978-0-

75759-822-7

Bowman, N. D., Westerman, D., & Weber, K. D. (2012). Introduction to Mass Mediated

Communication, 3rd Edition. Littleton, MA: Tapestry Press, Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-59830-539-5

Pedagogy- and content-focused book chapters

Baldwin, S., Jones, J., & Bowman, N. D. (in press). Game/Write: Gameplay as a Factor in

College-Level Literacy and Writing Ability. In K. Valentine and L. Jensen (Eds.), Examining

the Evolution of Gaming and Its Impact on Social, Cultural, and Political Perspectives.

Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Bowman, N. D., Kowert, R., & Ferguson, C. (2016). The Impact of Video Game Play on

Human (and Orc) Creativity. In G. Green & J. Kaufman (Eds.), Video games and creativity

(pp. 41-62). Waltham, Mass: Academic Press.

Bowman, N. D. (2014). Six points for six posts: Evidence for using Facebook to facilitate

learning in the mass lecture. In Aitken, J. E. (Ed.), Cases on communication technology for

second language acquisition and cultural learning (pp. 14-17). Hersey, PA: IGI Global.

Pedagogy-focused conference papers

Bowman, N. D., Baldwin, C., & Jones, J. (2015, November). Virtual tensions fuel narrative

tensions: The impact of leisurely video game experience on first-year college students’

observed composition writing ability. Paper to be presented at the National Communication

Association, Las Vegas.

Westerman, D., Daniel, E. S., & Bowman, N. D. (2015, November). “Let’s talk about

‘techs’, baby”: Exploring the environmental, personal, and behavioral correlates with

students’ attitudes toward social media. Paper to be presented at the National

Communication Association, Las Vegas.

Anderson, M., & Bowman N. D. (2015, October). Wearable Tech is now and it'll change

how you see and work with students. Presentation at West Virginia Higher Education

Technology Conference, Morgantown, WV.

Bowman, N. D., Bryand, M., & Carr, L. M. (2012, November). Six points for six posts:

Cognitive and affective learning benefits of using Facebook to supplement the mass lecture

in an undergraduate curriculum. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National

Communication Association, Orlando, FL.

Bowman, N. D., Sherry, J. L., & Harp, S. (2010, March). The Michigan State University

School of Rock: Partnering communication students with communities in need of

(communication) expertise. Poster presented at the Gulf Shores Summit on Service-Learning

and Civic Engagement through Higher Education, Athens, GA.

Bowman, N. D. (2010, March). Towns County Food Pantry and Media Studies Partnership.

Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Appalachian Studies Association, Dahlonega,

GA.

TEACHING GRANTS__________________________________________________________

May 2015: West Virginia University, Classroom Technology (w/Matthew Anderson),

“Wearable Technology”, $2000


May 2015: West Virginia University, Classroom Technology, Discretionary Grant, $1000

GUEST LECTURES____________________________________________________

10 November 2015: Guest Lecture, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Computers and You

22 July 2015: Workshop co-host, Unviersität Cologne, Media, Morality and Social Norms

16 June 2015: Guest Lecture, Unviersität Erfurt, Children and Media

05 June 2015: Guest workshop, National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan), Designing

(Interactive) Research on Interactive Media

06 October 2014: Guest Lecture, Ohio University, “Media niche theory and social media

(non)-competition”

25 June 2014: Guest Lecture, Universitat Erfurt, Demonstrating a test of Moral Foundations

Theory

08 April 2014: Guest Lecture, Boston University, Novel approaches to Mass

Communication Research

20 February 2014:Guest Lecture, West Virginia University PI Reed School of Journalism,

“Introduction to survey research”

5 February 2014: Guest Lecture, West Virginia University PI Reed School of Journalism,

“Using social media in the research process” for SCTM421

30 September 2013: Guest Lecturer, University of Toronto, “The player, playing the play”

for undergraduate CCT385

02 July 2013: Guest lecturer, Unviersität Erfurt, Media, Morality and Values.

1x Semester: Guest Lecturer, West Virginia University, “Computer-Mediated

Communication” for undergraduate COM100

16 April 2013: Guest Lecturer, West Virginia University PI Reed School of Journalism,

“Social Media” for undergraduate JRN101

05 March 2013: Guest Lecturer, University of Kentucky, “Careers in Social Media” for

graduate Communication course

08 November 2012: Guest Lecturer, University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill, “Psychology

of Digital Games” for graduate Human/Technology Interaction course

30 August 2012: Guest Lecturer, Louisiana State University “Applying and extending Social

Cognitive Theory to media research” for graduate Communication Theory

03 November 2011: Invited lecturer, Advertising 287 “Principles of Advertising”, West

Virginia University, What can be social about capitalism?: Using social media to reach new

markets

29 September 2011: Invited lecturer, Sports Management 487 “Contemporary Issues in

Sports Management”, West Virginia University, "That's what Ochocinco said!": The role of

social media in connecting fans to the athletes they love

March 2011: Guest Lecturer, Louisiana State University “Applying and extending Social

Cognitive Theory to media research” for graduate Communication Theory course

31 March 2011: Invited lecturer, Introduction to Human Communication, Young Harris

College, “How do we use media?”

Spring 2010: Invited lecturer, Introduction to Psychology, Young Harris College, “Early

childhood development”

February 2009: Invited presenter, Michigan State University, “Being a CAS teaching

assistant: An interactive discussion”


Documents

NOMINEE WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching 2016 ... Nicholas... · Bowman doesn’t see this laissez-faire attitude as a point of pride, but rather a point of ... academic