The Micro-skills of Collective Communication Design Work: An Academic Team's Development of Sensebreaking Messages

• Published in: Communication studies 2020-03, Vol.71 (2), p.295-314
• Main Authors: Austin, Jasmine T., Wallace, Brittney S., Gilmore, Britney N., Bisel, Ryan S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic discourse; College students; Communication design; Interpersonal communication; math redesign; process innovation; sensebreak; team learning; Verbal communication
• ISSN: 1051-0974; 1745-1035
• DOI: 10.1080/10510974.2020.1722720

This case study documents how an academic team of mathematicians engaged in collective communication design work (CCDW) in order to improve how they communicated a process innovation to student stakeholders. The study, supported by interviews and observations, explains how team members worked together to develop structural and verbal strategies for sensebreaking student stakeholders' preconceived notions about how college-level math should be taught and learned. Findings identified two micro-skills, which were especially useful for CCDW on verbal communication: The ephemeral and situated nature of verbal communication means that communication innovations have to be recounted to the team - labeled backstage recounted piloting - and then later personalized by team members in their own spontaneous and ongoing flow of talk - labeled frontstage personalized mimicry.