States that research in organizational socialization outlines a common process of transition making--newcomers first anticipating what the workplace and their involvement there will be like, then adjusting expectations upon encountering reality. Surveys student interns. Suggests that classes intended to prepare students for workplace communication…

Finds that communication tasks assigned in veterinary medical courses accord well with the communication tasks expected to be performed by practicing veterinarians. Concludes that the merging of research and practice in the education of veterinary medical students may offer lessons for the education of professional practitioners in technical…

Reports results of an observational study of museum exhibit design. Suggests eight communication practices from successful museum exhibit design that could be transferred to information design for the Web. (SR)

Proposes a theoretical frame for technical communication pedagogy based on six layered literacies: basic, rhetorical, social, technological, ethical, and critical. Suggests how the frame can be applied to a program of study or individual course in order to establish teaching objectives; develop course and lesson activities; and assess pedagogical…

Considers how theoretical foundations in website design courses can facilitate students learning the genres of Internet communication. Proposes ways that theories can be integrated into website design courses. Focuses on two students' website portfolios and ways they utilize genre theory and activity theory discussed in class to produce websites…

Considers how if literacy is envisioned as a sort of competence in a set of social and intellectual practices, then scientific literacy must encompass the realization that "statistical significance," the cardinal arbiter of social scientific knowledge, was not born out of an immanent logic of mathematics but socially constructed and…

Explores implications of increased publication options and examines conceptual distinctions among Fixed-Format, Electronic, and Meta-media Editors. Proposes a keyboard editing/commenting technique that will work across platforms and software programs and in every mode of electronic communication including simple e-mail. Suggests an increased…

At Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore, Maryland, senior students undertake a yearlong research project to prepare them for writing tasks they will confront after high school. Students work in teams to produce high-quality documents. (JOW)

Reviews ways educational research has most commonly involved the Internet. Discusses issues that complicate educational research conducted in computer-enhanced instructional environments, focusing on privacy, ownership, and permissions. Offers a case study at an online writing center, and provides guidelines for technical communication researchers…

Evaluates the effectiveness of presenting Web-based assignments within the technical communication service course. Provides support for centering more instruction within the environment of the Web. Defines types of learning students experienced using the site and presents samples of student work representing a wide range of skill development that…

Examines computer documentation writers' tactics for conceiving of their audiences. Describes and evaluates technical communicators' tactics for understanding audiences, constrained and supported by their organizations based on two ethnographic case studies and insights from activity theory. Discusses the advantages and limitations of each tactic,…

Presents an activity on building a structure with Lego blocks and points out the importance of laboratory records. Includes instructor information and a student worksheet. (YDS)

When writers plan a document together, they rely on gestures as well as speech and writing in constructing a common representation of their group document. This case study of a student technical writing group explores how group members used gestures to create a conversational interaction space that they then treated like a physical text that they…

In this article, the author demonstrates that the semiotic model proposed by Charles Morris enables us to optimize our understanding of technical communication practices and provides a good point of inquiry. To illustrate this point, the author exemplifies the semiotic approaches by scholars in technical communication and elaborates Morris's model…

This article recounts how a communications and an engineering department developed a collaborative teaching venture--a linked writing course--to provide mentorship for students learning how to write lab reports. According to faculty and student feedback, and to analysis of pre- and post-course writing samples, the students' writing did show…