I think it’s safe to say that, following the events of the last few years, we’ve all become acutely aware of the importance of working as a team. Post-pandemic, the importance of collaboration is more apparent than ever before. With the rise of remote learning, students have been forced to work together in new and Read More…
The Great Garby
In my undergraduate and more nerdy days, a piece of advice my professor gave me has been turning over in my mind ever since, “For the last time. No! You cannot pick your groups, and if you ask me again, I will fail you Garby.” These were hard times, especially since Garby wasn’t my name. Read More…
Yes, Student A, The Group Assignment is Important
Business Communication students stare down the barrel of group work with general disdain and resentment. The main questions I receive, (paraphrased for readability) particularly in reference to assignments where students are working together yet graded individually, are: Why do I need to do this? How can I get this assignment done if my team members Read More…
Bridging Gaps in Group Work
Group work and collaboration are buzz words for almost every job on the market right now, but not all industries center writing and communication in the same way that we do as technical communicators. So, how do we expose students in the sciences (for example) to the multifaceted topic of collaboration? In chapter 9 of Read More…
The Practical, the Theoretical
In “Regenerating Once Fallow Ground:Theorizing Process and Product in 21st-Century Technical Communication Ecologies,” Adrienne Lamberti and David M. Grant write, “We ultimately found ourselves needing to repeatedly return to this argument: pointedly theorizing both pedagogy and the purposes of technical communication does not have to squeeze out application in the classroom, but rather can enrich Read More…
Collaborative Communication: The tools we use and Why
By Amanda Beres Throughout the course, I stress to my students the importance of collaboration. Especially as business majors in a Business Communication course, my students will always be part of a team. While I repeat this sentiment over and over, we inevitably come to the final two projects of the semester, and Read More…
The view from the outside
My undergraduate degree is in Political Science. Coming from a non-English background, I honestly had no idea what the heck I was doing when I arrived at this program. I probably hadn’t taken an English class since Sophomore year… which for me was more than ten years ago. I have never taken a rhetoric course Read More…
Learning is a two way street.
Sometimes when students will ask me questions, I feel like going, “Uhhh. I don’t know!” Because I don’t. It’s been quite an adjustment going from sitting in the classroom listening to someone, to tutoring students, to finally standing in the front of the room being known as the person who “knows all”. I feel Read More…
Talking Head
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsSpAOD6K8 (Talking Heads- Once in a Lifetime) For my 3rd consecutive semester, my teaching fellowship has centered upon conveying the professional identity within the Technical Communication classroom. Unlike previous semesters, the classroom polices outlined in the syllabus are explained in severe detail from the first day of class. I project the syllabus on a big Read More…
Speaking Plainly
There is often only so much one can do in an undergraduate classroom, especially when teaching freshmen and sophomores. Getting them over the hump of passive versus active voice can sometimes feel like a sisyphean task. For every two steps forward, some kid will be lingering five steps back. God bless ’em. Where, then, does Read More…