Marjorie T. Davis

Educating reflective practitioners

One of the marks of true professionalism is the ability to learn from reflection on practice. Observing the practice of themselves and others provides practitioners with essential knowledge in addition to the core knowledge of the profession. Programs in technical communication, especially graduate programs, should foster the habits and skills of reflecting on practice. This panel discussion will demonstrate ways we have incorporated reflection on learning into our degree programs in technical communication at Mercer University.

Assessing Technical Communication within Engineering Contexts Tutorial

A major challenge in engineering education is to prepare professionals for communicating well in writing and speaking, using appropriate technologies, within professional contexts. Communication in the global engineering world includes collaboration on cross-functional teams, virtual-project team management, and writing for multiple, complex audiences. This tutorial discusses how one small engineering school has integrated technical communication teaching and assessment throughout the curriculum with demonstrated success. The integrated curriculum, formative and summative assessments, and real-world contexts offer one model to address growing communication challenges.

Technical communication and distance learning: natural partners

Distance learning presents a challenge to the way that higher education has been delivered. Many universities are interested in entering the new arena, but they are concerned about the implications. This paper explains how Mercer University is using distance learning in the Masters program in technical communication and concludes that technical communication educators should play a leading role.

Technical communication degrees for the 21/sup st/ century

The practice of technical communication, especially for professionals just entering the workplace, is rapidly changing. Companies have higher expectations for degrees in technical communication, a strong foundation in technology, and the ability to function on cross-disciplinary teams alongside technical experts in the design and development process. As the practice of technical communication shifts its focus, academics have the responsibility to be certain that technical communication degree programs have a strong component of such topics as engineering design, programming, human factors, usability, instructional design and project management, in addition to traditional communication skills. Academic programs have lagged behind practice, largely due to the location of degree programs, departmental reward systems, faculty deficiencies in technology, little depth in field beyond rhetoric, and lack of exposure to best industry practices. This paper addresses these issues and makes some practical recommendations for catching academe up to practice.

Integrating technical communication into engineering education: a case study

The ability to communicate effectively is a critical skill for todays engineer, and the ABET 2000 curricular initiative reflects this requirement. The authors discuss how Mercer Universitys School of Engineering integrated technical communication into its engineering curriculum, beginning at the freshman level. We believe the level of integration of writing and speaking with traditional engineering fundamentals is unusual and is a reflection of the fact that the Department of Technical Communication resides within the engineering school. We describe how and why we changed the way we educate engineers to communicate.

Using Procedural Scaffolding to Support Online Learning Experiences

Constructing instructional content for online learning is a significant, demanding task. The instructional designer must understand the specific learners and their tasks to build a course that is effective, efficient, and enjoyable. Even more demanding is establishing an authentic learning community online. Designing how students will interact with each other, with the content, and with the instructor can foster connectedness and overcome isolation. Students can share their own experiences and knowledge, learning from each other as well as from the Web site and instructor. Procedural scaffolding creates effective learning experiences online by establishing a personalized learning environment, structuring group and individual communication, and creating work-based contexts

Finding common ground as we cross borders

The practice of technical and professional communication is more challenging every year. Technologies expand exponentially; audiences multiply in numbers, methods of access, and diversity; boundaries collapse around islands of information, methods of knowledge transfer, multiple cultural backgrounds, and demands for immediacy of communication. Practitioners sometimes feel they are swimming against a tsunami of change! As educators preparing professionals for their future, how do we make sense of technical communication now and particularly in the future? Are there some enduring principles, some common grounds for our discipline, even as borders of knowledge expand? Technical and professional communications future relies upon both academics and practitioners contributing to knowledge as we prepare ourselves and our students for the future. This work in progress suggests some principles we can rely upon.

Teaching engineers to face the “grand challenges” of the 21 st century

Our required freshman engineering course, Professional Practices, has multiple instructional objectives, including communication skills (oral and written), professional ethics, and concepts of working as a professional engineer. Instructors try to engage students to think of themselves as engineers long before they enter professional practice. Using Petroskis The essential engineer: Why science alone will not solve our global problems (2010) as a core text, we focus on the challenges engineers face, including sustainability, risks, health, and quality of life issues. Using IEEE Spectrum for current topics, students produced brief research papers with annotated bibliographies; conducted in-depth peer reviews for each other; and presented oral information to the class. This brief paper summarizes the process of helping engineering students learn about the critical engineering challenges of today and tomorrow by reviewing and synthesizing current engineering literature, as opposed to just reading an engineering or communication textbook.

Project teams for international communication: Planning collaborations

This workshop builds upon conversations begun at IPCC 2009 to establish ways to foster international collaboration among academics and professional communicators, with the goal of strengthening academic focus on global communication. Participants are urged to come to the workshop with some specific ideas about an assignment, an exchange, or a communication product. The workshop provides an opportunity to get to know and work with international colleagues to develop plans for specific collaborative team projects involving faculty and/or students and professionals from two or more countries. Project teams are encouraged to submit proposals to share results and best practices at IPCC 2011.

Sustaining technical communication programs: a conversation

Chairs and program directors from several institutions discuss the challenges, demands, and successes of directing degree programs in technical communication. Topics to be discussed include these: recruiting students (undergraduate and graduate), seeking funding for laboratories and research, providing career guidance for both students and faculty, developing marketing initiatives, attracting qualified faculty, and assessing program quality.