Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2006

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES: Using Charettes to Perform Civic Engagement in Technical Communication Classrooms and Workplaces

Andrew Mara Bowling Green State University

Abstract

Charettes offer a productive way of combining theory and practice to address some of the difficult matters of getting students to see and perform technical communication as students, professionals, servers, and citizens. This collaborative activity helps students prepare for an increasingly modular professional world by revealing the contingent rhetoricity of professional autonomy. Charettes can help technical writing programs and students integrate service and civic learning into the curriculum by using indigenous professional genres that actively demand stakeholder participation. The intensity and pragmatic force of charettes can assist students in building their ethos while working with fellow stakeholders. The wide range of possible documents involved in the process associated with charettes can help technical communication students and teachers explore the connections between rhetorical exigencies and genre and put their skills to good use in a culture where many are looking for new ways to build critical citizenship.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2006-04-01
DOI
10.1207/s15427625tcq1502_5
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism genre theory writing pedagogy service learning argument collaborative writing technical communication professional writing
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Citation Context

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