Advocacy: noun public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy. “their advocacy of traditional family values” Advocacy is influencing through communication. In her chapter on Social Media and Advocacy in the Technical and Professional Communication Classroom., author Sarah Warren-Riley encourages TPC instructors to teach their students the importance of advocacy Read More…
Author: cameron
Diverse Voices in Our Classrooms
With such diverse students, we should be considering the inclusion of diversity in our curriculum. In Jessica Edwards’ chapter on Inclusive Practices in the Technical Communication Classroom, she analyzes three of Nelson Laird’s nine-category approach to a diverse classroom: foundational perspectives, content, and pedagogy. For the purpose of this blog post, I would like to Read More…
Plain Language and How it Relates to Technical Writing
Something we always teach our technical writing students early on in the semester is the art of plain language, and why it’s a valuable skill when dealing with a broad audience. Kira Dreher, author of “Engaging Plain Language in the Technical Communication Classroom” does an incredible job at breaking down the benefits of plain language Read More…
Interstitial Design and Collaboration: Evolving our Pedagogy
By Cameron Sinclaire “Design, when considered as a core concept of making process-based decisions toward crafting a solution or deliverable, involves recursive critical thinking towards a goal,” Liz Lane (pg. 30) states, author of Interstitial Design Processes: How Design Thinking and Social Design Processes Bridge Theory and Practice in TPC pedagogy. So how might we, Read More…
Creating a Space for Participatory Hospitality in Our Classroom.
So what is participatory hospitality? It’s certainly a mouthful. But beyond that, it is the result of merging the qualities of academic hospitality and guided participation. How can we expect our students to participate in our classrooms when they don’t feel comfortable doing so? Hospitality is centered in the relationship of self and others on Read More…
To Grade (Participation) or Not to Grade (Participation), That is the Question
As new instructors, I think many of us can relate to a wide constellation of anxieties. How do we keep our students engaged? How do we ensure our students are understanding the curriculum? How do we encourage participation? Oftentimes, it can be difficult to navigate participation grading. To grade or not to grade, that Read More…
Stress in College Students
Especially during a time such as this, I wanted to conduct more research on the stress of college students, in hopes to improve my teaching methods in order to inflict as little stress on my students as possible. Stress is an inevitable aspect of a college student’s life as they learn to grapple with issues Read More…
Another Approach to Teaching Technical Communication to Students: Through MMoRPGs
Pedagogy, as related to teaching technical communication, can benefit from adapting based on the needs of the user, and one way to understand this is through “massively multiplayer online role-playing games,” or “MMoRPGs,” such as World of Warcraft (WoW). Video games that bring forth so much online culture, like WoW, result in plenty of technical Read More…
The Importance of Perspective
One of the key lessons I took from reading this chapter is the importance of perspective. Apparent feminism is a methodology designed by Erin Frost to emphasize the importance of being explicit about feminist identify in response to socially unjust situations. It also invites participation from allies who do not identify as feminist but do Read More…
Online Engagement Strategies
Hi friends!! I just wanted to share this article with you guys real quick, it’s called Engagement Matters: Student Perceptions on the Importance of Engagement Strategies in the Online Learning Environment by Florence Martin and it essentially discusses three primary ways to encourage students to engage in class. The goals of these strategies are to student Read More…