Course Sequencing in the Communication Curriculum: A Case Study

Abstract

This case study of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland demonstrates the need to consider course sequencing in the communication curriculum. The investigation assessed whether the order in which undergraduates took courses predicted grade performance. Students' (N = 6,166) grade data from earlier courses were used to predict grades in subsequent coursework. Analyses indicated that students who took the introductory survey course before, rather than after, upper-division courses performed better in subsequent courses. The order in which students completed theory and methods courses predicted performance differently for social science and rhetoric sequences. Other results suggest undergraduates have difficulty when taking courses from different intellectual traditions; students who previously completed rhetoric courses performed worse in empirical research methods and public relations courses compared to students who had not yet taken rhetoric classes. This research provides a replicable model for identifying effects of course sequencing in departments of communication, highlights the importance of course sequencing to student learning, and indicates new pedagogical challenges to developing effective communication curricula.

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