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Graduate Course Proposal Form Submission Detail - PHA6797
Tracking Number - 5192

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Current Status: Approved by SCNS - 2015-10-01
Campus: Tampa
Submission Type: New
Course Change Information (for course changes only):
Comments: To GC - required for Nanopharmacy. Restate 4b as outcomes. Updated 8/28/15. GC appd. To USF sys 8/28/15. Cleared conc 9/7/15; To UGS for SCNS 9/21/15. Nmbr 6101 appd as 6797 effective 10/1/15. Updated to both online and face-to-face delivery 5/18/16

Detail Information

  1. Date & Time Submitted: 2015-02-05
  2. Department: Pharmacy - Graduate Programs
  3. College: RX
  4. Budget Account Number: 84080
  5. Contact Person: Shyam S Mohapatra
  6. Phone: 8139748568
  7. Email: smohapat@health.usf.edu
  8. Prefix: PHA
  9. Number: 6797
  10. Full Title: Scientific Writing and Communication
  11. Credit Hours: 1
  12. Section Type: C - Class Lecture (Primarily)
  13. Is the course title variable?: N
  14. Is a permit required for registration?: N
  15. Are the credit hours variable?: N
  16. Is this course repeatable?: Y
  17. If repeatable, how many times?: 1
  18. Abbreviated Title (30 characters maximum): Scientific Writing & Comm
  19. Course Online?: O - Online (100% online)
  20. Percentage Online: 0
  21. Grading Option: R - Regular
  22. Prerequisites:
  23. Corequisites:
  24. Course Description: Enhance student’s personal and written communication, and develop effective presentation skills aiding students in effective communication within a professional workforce setting. Includes scientific grant and white paper proposal writing.

  25. Please briefly explain why it is necessary and/or desirable to add this course: Needed for new program/concentration/certificate
  26. What is the need or demand for this course? (Indicate if this course is part of a required sequence in the major.) What other programs would this course service? There would be no restrictions so any graduate student with a need to enhance their communication and writing skills can register and take this course.
  27. Has this course been offered as Selected Topics/Experimental Topics course? If yes, how many times? No
  28. What qualifications for training and/or experience are necessary to teach this course? (List minimum qualifications for the instructor.) Ph.D, MD, PharmD, D.O.
  29. Objectives: The objectives are to be provide students with graduate level exercises in writing, listening skills and presentation strategies for successful communication in the field of science.

    This courses instruction will effectively provide active projects in communication within a hospital, pharmacy and classroom setting as well teaching presentation skills for any setting or venue.

    Students considering careers or advanced study in the natural, computational, or applied sciences will learn how to become a more effective communicator - speakers presenters and writers, using practical examples and exercises.

    Students will receive a workshop approach that will fosters this very imporant, softskill where students will:

    -become familiar with appropriate listening skills

    -learn speaking skills for a variety of venues and settings

    -learn the art of revision and peer review

    -master concise sentence structures, coherent and fluid paragraphs, well-ordered documents

    -become familiar with how to appropriately research and use scientific literature in their own research (literature review and citing)

    NOTE: Students from non-science disciplines can benefit from the workshop principles provided in this course.

  30. Learning Outcomes: After the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

    1)communicate effectively with coworkers and colleagues including but not limited to:

    -have the ability to appropriately open a conversation,

    -close a conversation and appropriate probing questioning within a variety of settings

    -be able to recognize common communication barriers (i.e. language, culture)

    -understand paraverbal, non-verbal ( body language, gestures and understand the Mehrabian Study (Words, Tone of voice and Nonverbal behaviors) and advanced communication skills

    -speak well and have a working knowledge within the art of conversation (Sharing ideas, perspectives and personal experiences with colleagues

    -have a working knowledge of the principles of quality writing

    -have a working ability to eloquently, concisely, and succinctly write for business purposes

    -possess active listening skills for complete understanding and processing of information

    -gain effective presentation skills using advanced visuals and programs in a scientific and/or professional/business settings

    -learn how to write a white paper, letter of intent and pre-proposal

    -learn what to look for in writing and formatting a scientific manuscript & grant proposal

    -possess the ability to effectively deal with issues in publication

    -understand what goes into peer reviews

  31. Major Topics: Scheduled topics:

    • Each class will begin with the daily three minute listening video(s) and subsequent two minute exercise pertaining to the video noted as class participation.

    • Introduction; principles of effective communication

    • Principles of effective writing

    • Crafting better sentences and paragraphs

    • Organization; and streamlining the writing process

    • The format of an original manuscript

    • Reviews, commentaries, and opinion pieces; and the publication process

    • Issues in scientific writing

    • How to conduct a peer review; and how to communicate with the lay public

    • Presentation 101

    • Casual vs. business vs. scientific conversations

    • Project I (student pick a topic of their choice to write a scientific article using the writing tools provided in the first part of the class)

    • Project II (Submission of the first draft – peer review and critique) (Students must entirely review at least two papers of their peers and submit their comments/corrections)

    • Project III (Submission of corrected and first draft paper - together)

    • Students will create and present their paper using presentation software and a video upload of work using the presentation skills developed in this class.

    • Throughout the course, students will be asked to upload video, audio and written responses to hone the skills learning in this course.

  32. Textbooks: Communicating Science Effectively: A Practical Handbook for Integrating Visual Elements

    Author(s): Thomas JE, Saxby TA, Jones AB, Carruthers TJB, Abal EG and Dennison WC

    Publisher: IWA Publishing, London

    (ISBN-13: 978-1843391258 ISBN-10: 1843391252)

  33. Course Readings, Online Resources, and Other Purchases: On-line materials and presentation programs available to the students at no additional cost.
  34. Student Expectations/Requirements and Grading Policy: (Three projects due within Module II – every two weeks one project will be due)

    • Project I (student pick a topic of their choice to write a scientific article using the writing tools provided in the first part of the class)

    • Project II (Submission of the first draft – peer review and critique) (Students must entirely review at least two papers of their peers and submit their comments/corrections)

    • Project III (Final paper submission – should include the submission of peer review/corrected draft and first draft paper – submitted all together as one document) Students will also create and present their paper’s main points using presentation software and a video upload their work using the presentation skills developed Module I of this course.

    Class Participation/Listening Exercises 15%

    Mini Quizzes and Exercises 20%

    Module I Presentation 10%

    Project I 15%

    Project II 15%

    Project III 25%

    Totaling 100%

  35. Assignments, Exams and Tests: Daily to Weekly Participation (Listening skills Enhancement): Throughout the course, there will be (3-5 minute videos) mini listening exercises to enhance, active listening skills posted for every day that week. These mini videos and their subsequent exercise will be posted each week (one for every day of the week) and students can do these daily or however they choose, as long as all five viewings and subsequent exercises are completed by the end of each week.

    Module I: Basic Communication skills

    The first module of the course will involve basic communication skills that will help in any business setting including but not limited to: principles of effective writing, examples of good and bad writing, tips for making the writing process easier and more coherent and unambiguous. Students will then go into speaking skills for presentations, meetings, and general conversation.

    Within Module I: There will be six, weekly, brief understanding quizzes and/or mini exercises will be conducted to master proficiency in the above areas. There will also be one presentation using visuals and advanced presentation software as learned within the Module.

    Module II: Using Module I Skills in a Scientific Setting

    In the second module in this course, student will apply some of their learned skills within a scientific environment, examining the following specific issues in scientific writing: authorship, peer review, the format of an original manuscript, grant writing basics and aesthetically communicating science for lay audiences.

    Students will have three projects and a presentation to complete in this Module.

    Using examples from scientific literature students will examine how scientific texts address an audience, make claims, invoke prior claims, deploy key terms, and engage quantitative and visual evidence to an audience.

    Projects include an academic research paper on a communication topic of a student's choice within a common scientific discipline to be approved by the professor.

    Scheduled topics:

    Daily Participation: Listening Skills Enhancement Topic:

    • Each class will begin with the daily three minute listening video(s) and subsequent two minute exercise pertaining to the video noted as class participation.

    Module I Topics: (First 8 weeks of the course)

    • Introduction to communication; principles of effective communication

    What communication is, how we communication and other factors in communication

    • Principles of effective writing

    cutting unnecessary clutter and ineffective terminology

    using verbs appropriately

    • Crafting better sentences and paragraphs

    • Organization; and streamlining the writing process

    • Presentation 101 – distractions, visuals, basics of PowerPoint, Prezi and other presentation software usage and the do’s and don’t’s of effective presentations

    • Casual vs. business vs. scientific conversations

    The Differences & Similarities

    Mastering the art of conversation: Sharing ideas, perspectives and personal experiences

    In "Layman's terms"

    Speaking like a STAR - Situation, Task, Action, Result oriented speaking

    Paraverbal Communication revisited - The Power of Pitch, truth about tone, strength and deadly sins of speed

    Asking the right questions (open, closed and probing questions (to keep the conversation going, fresh, targeted, informative, and ending positively)

    Six, weekly, brief understanding quizzes and/or mini exercises will be conducted to master proficiency in the above areas. There will also be one presentation using visuals and advanced presentation software.

    Module II Topics: (Second 8 weeks of the course)

    • The format of an original manuscript

    • Reviews, commentaries, and opinion pieces; and the publication process

    • Issues in scientific writing (plagiarism, authorship, ghostwriting, reproducible research)

    • How to conduct a peer review; and how to communicate with the lay public

    (Three projects due within Module II – every two weeks one project will be due)

    • Project I (student pick a topic of their choice to write a scientific article using the writing tools provided in the first part of the class)

    • Project II (Submission of the first draft – peer review and critique) (Students must entirely review at least two papers of their peers and submit their comments/corrections)

    • Project III (Final paper submission – should include the submission of peer review/corrected draft and first draft paper – submitted all together as one document) Students will also create and present their paper’s main points using presentation software and a video upload their work using the presentation skills developed Module I of this course.

    Ultimately, students will be expected to watch video lectures, complete course work, quizzes, editing exercises, write a paper, Present twice in this course.

  36. Attendance Policy: Course Attendance at First Class Meeting – Policy for Graduate Students: For structured courses, 6000 and above, the College/Campus Dean will set the first-day class attendance requirement. Check with the College for specific information. This policy is not applicable to courses in the following categories: Educational Outreach, Open University (TV), FEEDS Program, Community Experiential Learning (CEL), Cooperative Education Training, and courses that do not have regularly scheduled meeting days/times (such as, directed reading/research or study, individual research, thesis, dissertation, internship, practica, etc.). Students are responsible for dropping undesired courses in these categories by the 5th day of classes to avoid fee liability and academic penalty. (See USF Regulation – Registration - 4.0101,

    http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/ogc%20web/currentreg.htm)

    Attendance Policy for the Observance of Religious Days by Students: In accordance with Sections 1006.53 and 1001.74(10)(g) Florida Statutes and Board of Governors Regulation 6C-6.0115, the University of South Florida (University/USF) has established the following policy regarding religious observances: (http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/gc_pp/acadaf/gc10-045.htm)

    In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information.

  37. Policy on Make-up Work: Students will be allowed to make up missing coursework only for documented student absences. Excused absences are caused by (1) personal illness, (2) religious holiday or (3) an illness or death in the immediate family. The instructor must be notified in writing about absences for religious holidays at least two weeks before observance. In the case of an emergency, the student should contact the course coordinator by e-mail and provide written documentation as soon as possible. If the student fails to provide proper written documentation of the emergency, he/she will get a zero for the course work and/or exam(s) that are missed. Further information and University Policy will be outlined in the course syllabus.

    Students will be required to abide by USF policy outlined in the University's policy on academic integrity described in course syllabus.

  38. Program This Course Supports: Core Requirement in the Proposed Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology and several of the Graduate Certificates offered in the COP.
  39. Course Concurrence Information: Any other program that wishes to enhance their communication and scientific writing skills for their students.


- if you have questions about any of these fields, please contact chinescobb@grad.usf.edu or joe@grad.usf.edu.