Micro-Analysis of Negotiation Interactions Facilitated by Video, Audio, and Transcripts on Course Web Site

Phillip Glenn, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Organizational and Political Communication

Associate Professor Phil Glenn has been using digital audio and video as teaching resources in graduate course OP650 Negotiation and undergraduate course OP266 Conflict and Dispute Resolution.

In both of Professor Glenn's communication courses students learn to understand and practice conflict resolution and negotiation. To supplement class activities, students analyze communication strategies and the negotiation process by observing interactions through audio and video available on the class WebCT site.

The video allows students to observe communication through body language and non-verbal cues such as eye gaze. Students also listen for intonation, practicing a micro-analytic method that involves looking at a specific sequence or moments in talk that often become turning points in negotiation processes. Learning this process is reinforced with transcripts, which Professor Glenn makes available on the Web alongside the audio and video. The transcripts detail words, timing, and vocal intonation of both real and simulated conflicts and negotiations. Students access the transcript and video as often as they would like. This is particularly helpful in that the micro-analytic method calls for repeated viewing.

Once they have analyzed the videos and transcripts, they integrate these resources into their assignments and classroom practice. Assignments include reaction papers where students analyze a conflict through service learning or examine an in-depth case study.

In the past Professor Glenn has presented these active interactions in class. By providing the digital audio and video through the course Web site, students can work more closely with the material in order to better integrate the resources into their assignments. For next semester, Professor Glenn plans to integrate still images of the video on the WebCT course homepage to more immediately engage the students upon access to the site.