Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All USU Press Publications USU Press 2004 Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication Tracy Bridgeford Karla Saari Kitalong Richard Selfe Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/usupress_pubs Part of the Rhetoric and Composition Commons Recommended Citation Bridgeford, Tracy; Kitalong, Karla Saari; and Selfe, Richard, "Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication" (2004). All USU Press Publications.edu/usupress_pubs/147 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the USU Press at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All USU Press Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@usu.
Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page i I N N OVAT I V E A P P R OAC H E S TO TEACHING TECHNICAL C O M M U N I CAT I O N Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page ii Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page iii I N N OVAT I V E A P P R OAC H E S TO TEACHING TECHNICAL C O M M U N I CAT I O N Edited by TRACY BRIDGEFORD K A R L A S A A R I K I TA L O N G DICKIE SELFE U TA H S TAT E UNIVERSITY PRESS Logan, Utah Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page iv Copyright 2004 Utah State University Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Cover design by Barbara Yale-Read Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Innovative approaches to teaching technical communication / edited by Tracy Bridgeford, Karla Saari Kitalong, Dickie Selfe. ISBN 0-87421-574-9 (pbck : alk. Communication of technical information--Study and teaching. Bridgeford, Tracy, 1960- II.
Kitalong, Karla Saari, 1952- III.4--dc22 2003021185 Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page v CONTENTS Introduction: Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication 1 Tracy Bridgeford, Karla Saari Kitalong, and Dickie Selfe PA R T O N E : P E DAG O G I C A L P E R S P E C T I V E S 1 The Status of Service in Learning 15 James Dubinsky 2 Breaking Viewing Habits: Using a Self-Conscious, Participatory Approach in the ITV Classroom 31 Sam Racine and Denise Dilworth 3 Bilingual Professional Writing: An Option for Success 47 Elaine Fredericksen 4 Examining Discipline-Specific Instruction in Technical Communication 60 W. Williamson and Philip Sweany 5 Technical Writing, Service Learning, and a Rearticulation of Research, Teaching, and Service 81 Jeffrey T. Grabill 6 Notes toward a “Reflective Instrumentalism”: A Collaborative Look at Curricular Revision in Clemson University’s MAPC Program 93 Kathleen Yancey, Sean Williams, Barbara Heifferon, Susan Hilligoss, Tharon Howard, Martin Jacobi, Art Young, Mark Charney, Christine Boese, Beth Daniell, Carl Lovitt, and Bernadette Longo PA R T T W O : P E DAG O G I C A L P R AC T I C E S 7 Story Time: Teaching Technical Communication as a Narrative Way of Knowing 111 Tracy Bridgeford 8 Hypermediating the Resume 135 James Kalmbach 9 Using Role-Plays to Teach Technical Communication 148 Barry Batorsky and Laura Renick-Butera Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page vi 10 Who are the Users? Media Representations as Audience-Analysis Teaching Tools 168 Karla Saari Kitalong 11 What’s Up, Doc? Approaching Medicine as a Cultural Institution in the Technical Communication Classroom by Studying the Discourses of Standard and Alternative Cancer Treatments 183 Michael J. Zerbe 12 Learning with Students: Technology Autobiographies in the Classroom 197 Dickie Selfe PA R T T H R E E : P E DAG O G I C A L PA R T N E R S H I P S 13 A Pedagogical Framework for Faculty-Student Research and Public Service in Technical Communication 219 Brad Mehlenbacher and R.
Stanley Dicks 14 At the Nexus of Theory and Practice: Guided, Critical Reflection for Learning Beyond the Classroom in Technical Communication 238 Craig Hansen 15 (Re)Connecting Theory and Practice: Academics Collaborating with Workplace Professionals—the NIU/Chicago Chapter STC Institute for Professional Development 254 Christine Abbott 16 Making Connections in Secondary Education: Document Exchange Between Technical Writing Classes and High School English Classes 272 Annmarie Guzy and Laura A. Sullivan 17 Ongoing Research and Responsive Curricula in the Two-Year College 291 Gary Bays 18 Extreme Pedagogies: Teaching in Partnership, Teaching at a Distance 304 Billie Wahlstrom Endnotes 328 References 336 Contributors 352 Index 356 Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page vii I N N OVAT I V E A P P R OAC H E S TO TEACHING TECHNICAL C O M M U N I CAT I O N Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page viii Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page 1 INTRODUCTION Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication Tracy Bridgeford Karla Saari Kitalong Dickie Selfe The idea for this collection grew out of a discussion about humor in technical communication. Humor is usually proscribed in technical communication practice, both because it does not cross cultures well and because it may make complex and even dangerous technologies seem frivolous. When the three of us started paying attention to and col- lecting humor related to the technical communication field, we noticed that it is most often connected to Dilbert cartoons, the For Dummies genre of third-party software manuals, and Dave Barry–like rants about poorly written instructions.
In short, the available humor about techni- cal communication doesn’t paint a pretty picture of our chosen profession. Because we enjoy playful attitudes toward technical communication, we put aside the field’s reservations about humor and began to ask our- selves how we might incorporate humor into our technical communica- tion classrooms. Under what circumstances, we wondered, might humor be permissible or even desirable? How might it be used productively in the technical communication classroom? In exploring that question, we concluded that perhaps what we were really talking about was how to demonstrate to technical communica- tion students how creative the field could be. We were all teaching at Michigan Technological University at the time and had begun to notice that many students seemed disillusioned with the prospect of beginning their careers as traditional technical communicators.
Writing instructional manuals for the computer industry or documenting ISO 9001 procedures for a government contractor seemed as dull as Dilbert’s cubicle to them, especially when juxtaposed against the seemingly glamorous career prospects of Web or multimedia design. We didn’t agree with them; in fact, our technical communication work as teachers, practitioners, and Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page 2 2 I N N O V AT I V E A P P R O A C H E S consultants has shown us its creative potential. For us and for the disci- pline at large, rendering complex information accessible and usable to an intended audience is interesting—even, at times, exhilarating. We wanted students to see that technical communication frequently involves creative effort, whether the project is a 500-page printed instruction manual or a digital media production.
In other words, we were not willing to make the technocentric distinction many students seemed to be making between dull, document-based information and exciting, digital-media development. Naturally, our first inclination was to blame ourselves. Had something about our previous teaching practices predisposed students to make unwarranted distinctions between project types? We thought we had carefully crafted our technical communication course assignments to show that the skills needed to design an interactive multimedia kiosk (a task students valued highly) were equally applicable in assembling a high-quality, well-indexed, and smoothly cross- referenced documenta- tion set (a task many dismissed as boring). But somehow, our convictions were not getting through to them; moreover, another important idea that we wanted to emphasize—that success in all types of technical communication work necessitates strong and versatile writing skills—was apparently also lost on some undergraduate students.
Imagine our cha- grin when a graduating senior stated the opinion to one of our col- leagues that writing is retro! To impress our values on students and to convince them of the inno- vative practices available to technical communication professionals, the three of us developed a special topics course—Innovative Approaches to Technical Communication—which we offered to undergraduate scien- tific and technical communication (STC) majors at Michigan Technological University during the winter quarter 1997–1998. Our syl- labus characterized the course as a way to engage more fully with the profession of technical communication by “considering a variety of atti- tudes, approaches, and practices.” In the course design, we shifted stu- dents’ attention (and our own) toward a more inclusive and creative view of the profession of technical communication. Course units advocated and modeled approaches that might not ordinarily be considered in technical communication. Students wrote, of course, but they also com- posed in other modalities such as mapping, drawing, scripting, acting, pantomiming, and MOOing.
They read a variety of texts, including Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page 3 Introduction 3 challenging theoretical texts not commonly assigned to undergradu- ates: Marilyn Cooper’s (1996) Technical Communication Quarterly article on postmodern operator’s manuals, James Porter and Patricia Sullivan’s (1996) work on postmodern mapping, David Dobrin’s (1989) “Armadillo Armor” article, and some articles on play theory (Huizinga 1990). To help students make the desired connections between their prior technical communication education and these new ideas, we assigned Janice Redish’s (1988) “Reading to Learn to Do” article, Dorothy Nelkin’s (1995) work on media representations of science and technology, and an excerpt from Robert Pirsig’s (1974) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. To the stack of theoretical readings, we added newspaper editorials and articles about product assembly (Rooney 1997; Perelman 1976); cartoons from the Dilbert Zone (see www.com); technology ads from popular magazines (Miller 1997) Will Weaver’s short story titled “A Gravestone Made of Wheat” (1990); even some gov- ernment documents—the Declaration of Independence and the Equal Rights Amendment. The process of developing the reading list and the activities and tech- niques that went along with it ultimately reinforced our belief that the inspiration for our work as technical communication educators could come from almost anywhere, that our work could be as creative as we would allow it to be, and that we could approach the teaching and learn- ing that goes on in technical communication courses in a variety of ways and from a variety of problem-solving perspectives.
As we shared this dis- covery about teaching with students, they too came to realize that many theories, cultural artifacts, and issues could and should influence the work they do as technical communicators. The learning that took place in the class does not represent a major paradigm shift in our students’ thinking. But we are convinced that each student took away something profound. For example, one day, after reading a play theory essay and discussing the value of designing work spaces to facilitate playful interaction as well as serious labor, we each mapped our ideal work spaces.
Michelle’s included a desk for her best friend, collaborator, and longtime roommate, Jen, who had recently graduated and moved away. When Michelle shared the map with the rest of the class, she seemed a bit embarrassed by her dependence on her friend, and she hastily acknowledged the reality that she and Jen would never again work together. “Jen’s desk” in a corner of Michelle’s ideal Innovative Approaches 12/5/03 2:50 PM Page 4 4 I N N O V AT I V E A P P R O A C H E S work space stands as a metaphor for the lasting and palpable influence of a successful and pleasurable collaboration. Jen was not lost to Michelle: although she lived in another city and had chosen a technical communication career path that diverged from Michelle’s, she would always be present in Michelle’s work practices and habits of mind.
DEFINING TERMS AND ASSUMPTIONS Program Names. Program naming conventions vary from institution to institution. Sometimes names signal the presence of deep and often contentious disciplinary boundaries. For instance, at some colleges, com- munication is a reserved title; its absence in English departments’ course and program names may point to disciplinary turf wars.