Soft Skills Training for Employment Success – ASCS 301

Course Description

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

Employers seek to hire workers who have both hard skills, such as education and training within specific disciplines, as well as soft skills, such as social skills and emotional intelligence. This course helps students identify, adopt, and practice the soft skills necessary for employment and workplace success. Students who master these skills will find they are more likely to be of interest to potential employers, and likely to build success once they are hired into the workplace.

Course Assignment

Article readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (2)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. Each thread must be at least 400 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to the thread of at least 2 classmates. Each reply must be at least 150 words. (CLO: A, B, C, & D)

Video Discussions (2)

Video Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. The student will practice and improve soft skills by recording 45-90 second video responses to given prompts. In addition to the video post, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ videos. Each reply must consist of at least 150 words noting at least one praise and one critique of the two classmates' videos they review. (CLO: A, B, C, & D)

EQ Reflection Paper Assignment

After taking the emotional intelligence quiz for the assigned Module: Week, the student will fill in the chart provided under course content based on his/her results. After filling in the chart, the student will write a one page reflection answering these questions: In what areas do you have high emotional intelligence? In what areas could your emotional intelligence improve? Please provide examples of both. (CLO: A, B, C, & D)

SmartBook Reading Assignments (2)

There are two McGraw Hill SmartBook Reading Assignments throughout this course worth 25 points each. The student will complete these assignments by answering questions correctly as the student is guided through the assigned reading for the week. (CLO: A, B, C, D, & E)

Professional Email Scenarios Assignment

The student will follow the instructions carefully to correct, reply, and craft 3 different emails. In the first email, the student will simply rewrite the email given correcting any misspellings, grammar, and awkward phrasing. In the second email, the student will respond to a coworker’s email to him/her that puts him/her in a tough spot. In the third email, the student will craft an original email from the perspective of a boss confronting an employee on their lack of performance. (CLO: A, B, & C)

Interview Analysis Paper Assignment

After interviewing a current HR professional on the importance of emotional intelligence and soft skills in the workplace, the student will write a 5 paragraph analysis of the interview in APA formatting listing at least 3 examples or scenarios in which soft skills and EQ are important to success. (CLO: A, B, C, & D)

EQ Research Paper Assignment

The student will write a 4-5 page paper using APA formatting and a minimum of 3 scholarly sources on the importance of possessing strong emotional intelligence. (CLO: A, B, C, D, & E)

Quizzes (5)

Each quiz will consist of 4-5 multiple-choice, true/false, and/or short answer questions based on the readings and videos for the week. (CLO: A, B, C, D, & E)