A PROPOSAL FOR METHODOLOGY FOR NEGOTIATION PRACTICUM WITH EFFECTIVE USE OF ICT
 - A TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED COURSE FOR COMMUNICATION FOR TRUST BUILDING -

ABSTRACT

This paper purports to demonstrate a problem solving case in the course of the development of methodology, in which the quality of the negotiation practicum is maintained or raised without sacrificing the class contact hours for the lessons for reading comprehension skills, on which the essence of negotiation practicum is solely based. In this problem solving, the effective implementation of the ICT is crucially employed.

In an effort to foster better communication skills to build a sound relationship (one of the fundamental academic skills to be acquired as a university student) during the four years of academic life, Kansai University has been introducing a new genre of courses in the general education especially for freshmen and sophomores. It is a negotiation practicum in which students learn the basic communication skills through role modeling in simulated situations. Although the intention for developing a new course was great, this new attempt faced some difficulties in order to achieve a higher level of learning outcome. In the course, students practice visualizing in detail the crucial points observing the simulated situation simulating the actual real-life situation. In order to do so, the students are required to demonstrate a high level of reading comprehension competency by reading carefully the detailed description of a situation as well as to understand and analyze the crucial points from various angles, based on which the students can clearly set the mission, associated zopa, and batna. In this way, the students are ready for the negotiation practicum in the role playing session.

This paper reports an optimal solution making use of the information technology without sacrificing the quality of the negotiation practicum due to the students’ low level of reading comprehension skills.