Paul V. Anderson

Communication genres: Integrating communication into the software engineering curriculum

One way to improve the communication abilities of new software engineering graduates in the workplace is to integrate communication more effectively in the software engineering curriculum. But faculty typically conceive of communication as outside their realm of expertise. Based on the results of an NSF-funded project, we use theories of situated learning and genre to make the case that communication is integral to software engineering and that faculty are in the best position to guide students in becoming better communicators in the field. We identify software engineering genres and show how those genres may be used to integrate communication in the classroom and throughout the curriculum.

Peer Reviewing Across the Atlantic: Patterns and Trends in L1 and L2 Comments Made in an Asynchronous Online Collaborative Learning Exchange Between Technical Communication Students in Sweden and in the United States

In a globally networked learning environment (GNLE), 16 students at a university in Sweden and 17 students at a university in the United States exchanged peer-review comments on drafts of assignments they prepared in English for their technical communication classes. The instructors of both sets of students had assigned the same projects and taught their courses in the same way that they had in the previous year, which contrasts with the common practice of having students in partnering courses work on the same assignment or on linked assignments created specifically for the GNLE. The authors coded the students’ 816 comments according to their focus and orientation in order to investigate the possible differences between the comments made by the L2 students in Sweden and those made by the L1 (English as a second language) students in the United States, the possible impact of peer reviewing online, and the influence of the instructors’ directions on the students’ peer-reviewing behavior.

The Need for Better Research in Technical Communication

Technical communication is not one discipline but three, each addressing its own distinctive set of problems and applying its own particular criteria when deciding which of the alternative solutions it has generated addresses its problems most effectively. Of the three, only the professional discipline is conducting its research satisfactorily; the teaching and theoretical disciplines are not. All three could improve their research activities by posing themselves a wider variety of significant problems, generating a richer array of alternative solutions, and conducting more carefully the activities that enable them to select the alternatives most worthy of continued attention and use.

Developing CS/SE students' communication abilities through a program-wide framework

Communication skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and teaming, are among the most sought after by employers of recent Computer Science/Software Engineering (CS/SE) graduates. We have been conducting a project that has developed a general framework for program-level integration of communication into CS/SE education. Our framework has been developed through workshops and field evaluation of training materials (and other resources) by faculty from a wide variety of institutions under the guidance of experts in writing and communication across the curriculum. This paper discusses the current state of communication teaching in the CS/SE domain, and presents our framework and experiences for program-wide implementation of communication skills.

Workplace scenarios to integrate communication skills and content: a case study

A recent study of new software developers at Microsoft reveals the significance and integration of communication skills in their daily tasks. While the literature offers a variety of approaches to promote the integration of communication skills into the Computer Science curriculum, a discrepancy remains between what students get and what they need. In this paper, we propose using workplace scenarios that integrate communication skills with technical content situated in and mediating workplace activity. Workplace scenarios are based on an analysis of the workplace as an activity system. Guidelines for implementing workplace scenarios are provided. A case study analyzes the integration of communication skills with technical content using workplace scenarios in a software development course.

What technical and scientific communicators do: A comprehensive model for developing academic programs

A growing number of colleges and universities are preparing programs to educate students for careers as technical and scientific communicators. The educators who design these new programs have three major resources to help them determine what their program should look like: descriptions of existing programs; published articles that discuss program design in a general way; and advice from practicing professionals. These resources do not provide a satisfactory basis for designing programs. A more satisfactory resource is a model of what the profession does. This model consists of (1) a definition of the common professional aim of all practicing technical and scientific communicators, (2) an abstract, and idealized, description of the general activities that practicing communicators perform as they pursue that aim, and (3) a catalog of the major features of the contexts within which these communicators pursue their common aim. The model is presented and its application to program design is illustrated.

Career Opportunities for Teachers of Technical Writing: A Survey of Programs in Technical Communication

In response to a mail survey of the career opportunities they offer teachers of technical writing, twenty-four programs that prepare students for careers as technical writers and editors indicated that their technical writing faculty enjoy about the same teaching loads, salaries, and chances for promotion and tenure as do equally qualified and experienced teachers of literature at their schools. The programs also indicated that they have a growing number of openings on their faculties for teachers of technical writing. Finally, the programs ranked and rated seventeen qualifications that might be offered by applicants for those positions; the most significant conclusion drawn from the rankings and ratings is that the programs look more favorably upon experience — both in teaching and in working as a technical writer or editor — than they do upon formal study of technical writing or the teaching of it.

Helping students become better communicators (abstract only)

To be successful, CS and SE graduates need strong communication skills (writing, speaking, and teaming), particularly within their discipline. Students exercise these skills during their classes but are not always given explicit domain-specific instruction on these skills, instead relying on instruction provided outside the program. CS and SE faculty are not always comfortable in evaluating these aspects of their assignments and are often unhappy with the results. In this workshop we will lead sessions on teaching writing, speaking, and teaming; situating assignments in workplace-scenarios (to motivate students); and writing communication rubrics that convey faculty expectations to students and support evaluation of student work. For more information, see www.muohio.edu/sigcse_workshop11. A laptop is recommended but not mandatory for this workshop.

Improving Communication Skills of SE Students through Curricular Innovation

Communication between people plays a critical role in software engineering, yet software engineering graduates are expected to possess these skills without having been taught them. In June of 2008, we conducted the Software Communication Chautauqua at Miami University under a grant from the National Science Foundation’s CPATH program. The thirty-five participants came from education (both software engineering programs and technical communication) and industry. Our goal was to form a community dedicated to exploring ways to create a new, communication-enriched curriculum for software engineering. Over two-days of intensive work, the Chautauqua addressed a variety topics, including techniques for bringing communication into the SE classroom, industry’s needs, cultural factors that affect communication styles, and technology’s potential role in helping SE students master the communication skills that are essential to the profession. By the end of the Chautauqua, we had identified several areas to be addressed in the next phase of the project: developing specific strategies for integrating communication activities and instruction into the SE curriculum, convincing others (colleagues, administrators, accreditation agencies) that it is critical to do so, collaborating with industry to address their needs, and creating course content that focuses on software engineering topics while also supporting development of students’ communication skills. We also established the goals of enlarging the discussion to include more faculty and of moving the project into an international arena.

Book Reviews : Academic Editor: Craig Kallendorf Texas A&M University Industrial Editor: Carol Kallendorf Kallendorf Communication Services Writing and Technique. David N. Dobrin. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English, 1989

Among people who teach and study business and technical writing, David N. Dobrin’s Writing and Technique should be widely read and discussed. Dobrin challenges many unarticulated assumptions and full-blown theories that inform much work in our field. Sometimes Dobrin subjects his targets to rigorous analysis, sometimes he stretches them to their logical-but untenable-conclusions, and often he appeals to our own personal experience and common sense. Always, he offers an alternative. To indicate the importance of this thought-provoking book, I will sketch some of the major issues Dobrin raises, then discuss a crucial assumption underlying many of his arguments. If adopted more generally, Dobrin’s assumption could ignite a substantial reformation in professional-writing theory and pedagogy.