What+Is+IPC?

WHAT IS IPC? IPC stands for Interpersonal Communication, a one-semester class designed to help Atlantic High School students understand the following: ~How do people communicate? ~What behaviors and skills can improve one's ability to communicate clearly and confidently? ~What factors influence a person's ability to understand others? ~How are relationships influenced by communication? ~How can people develop a wider range of communication skills (to be used in a wider range of situations)? ~How does communication influence a person's self-concept? ~How does self-concept influence communication? ~How is our self-concept developed, and how can we change it? ~How can we communicate across generations, cultures, and differences in perspectives? ~How to express difficult emotions and still achieve positive results.

IPC is a course offered on most college campuses, often as a component of psychology, communication, and education degrees. AHS has designed this class for a high-school credit. We use a college textbook and explore many of the concepts you will study at the college level. However, our class is intended to help you find immediate APPLICATION of concepts to work in YOUR LIFE NOW (while studying IPC at in college is usually more focused on the theory behind application). Strong interpersonal communication skills are important to any career that involves talking with others one-to-one or in small groups; it can help you become a better friend, leader, team-member, co-worker, and family member.

The structure of the class is fairly straightforward. Each unit is built around a chapter in our text. Your teachers will help you develop ways to read and understand your text book. You will be responsible for reading your text outside of class time (as you are in college). We will use class time to explore the concepts presented in the text at a deeper level. We will use activities, PowerPoints, group discussions, role-playing, pen-pal writing, discussion boards, small-group presentations, field trips, and games as ways to better understand and apply the concepts presented in the text.