This article considers starting with an existing SIMIODE modeling scenario [Winkel, B. (2015). 1-031-CoolIt-ModelingScenario. SIMIODE (Version 2.0). "QUBES Educational Resources." https://doi.org/10.25334/3WG8-EC31] that develops Newton's law of cooling by considering data on the cooling of a beaker of water in a room, and expanding upon…

Undergraduate students in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) are regularly encouraged and instructed to develop and write an original research paper in their field of expertise. Some undergraduate students, however, may lack the essential skills and strategies to write a research paper/manuscript of a quality…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer guidelines and recommendations for launching and running sustainable programs involving partnerships between industries and universities. Teaching technical writing and communication to fire and emergency services personnel is a task that requires forethought and intricate planning. The Advanced…

Through the project-based instruction (PBI) method, this paper described the design, implementation, and assessment of a technical communication course for engineering graduate students. The paper first addressed an increasing demand of engineering students with great communication skills through analyzing the existing literature and industry…

As technical communication (TC) instructors, it is vital that we continue reimagining our curricula as the field itself is continually reimagined in light of new technologies, genres, workplace practices, and theories--theories such as those from disability studies scholarship. Here, the authors offer an approach to including disability studies in…

While Engineering values direct communication, indirect communication produces a kind of literacy salient for engineers that direct communication may not offer in the way indirect communication does. This article emphasizes the inadequacies of overly emphasizing direct communication for Engineering majors and explains how teaching indirect…

When games are approached as a pedagogical methodology, the homologies between games and technical communication are highlighted: pedagogy that teaches people to play and succeed within certain confines; classroom assessment that provides meaningful feedback to encourage self-improvement; instructional design that incorporates gaming theory and…

This article argues for developing linked courses in technical communication where the instructor facilitates a service-learning curriculum and then serves as faculty advisor within subsequent internships. In these linked courses, students write technical documents before moving into internships where they write similar documents. Specifically,…

The authors are similar in sharing the academic discipline of professional writing and of both having had experience as writers and editors in the workplace, but they are different in many other and obvious ways. The students notice these differences, using, in course assessments, descriptive phrases to describe the contrast that include "yin and…

Studying abroad enhances the intercultural competencies of American students, but that enhancement strategy may be seen as an obstacle to those in business and technical fields who follow a tight curriculum and work to cover expenses. To meet their needs, U.S. professional communication faculty are designing short courses that can be delivered…

"Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication" offers a variety of activities, projects, and approaches to energize pedagogy in technical communication and to provide a constructive critique of current practice. A practical collection, the approaches recommended here are readily adaptable to a range of technological and institutional…

Describes the creation of an Advisory Board for forging an alliance between technical communication education and industry. Discusses the influence the board had on program development and the insights both industry and academia gained from the alliance. (PRA)

Argues that the portfolio deserves at very least a re-evaluation throughout academic (to say nothing of quotidian) life as an indispensable tool of the spirit of pedagogy. Suggests that Portfolio Process as a class or seminar should be integrated into undergraduate curriculum. Notes that the goal of the course is to link technical design education…

Asserts that technical communication programs are particularly well positioned to adopt usability testing and research in their curricula because of inherent connections between usability and technical communication, such as their mutual emphases on audience analysis, technology, and information design. Describes approaches to implementation of…

This paper documents the beginnings of an effort to increase the diversity of technical communication in the Pacific Northwest. An ad hoc committee of technical communicators came together for this purpose because they believe that greater diversity will help technical communicators better understand and reach audiences from a wide variety of…