Technical Communication Quarterly Mar 1992

An educational philosophy of technical writing

Isabelle Thompson Auburn University

Abstract

This article discusses John Dewey's transactional epistemology and Louise Rosenblatt's transactional view of reading and writing as they apply to teaching technical writing. A mental merger of the private and public aspects of both knowledge and communication, transaction is a meaning‐making process, variable and unique, although similar situations lead to similar transactions. Because English classrooms do not encourage transaction, they are not the best places to teach technical writing. However, four maxims bring the spirit of transaction to our teaching.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
1992-03-01
DOI
10.1080/10572259209359497
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
teacher development technical communication literacy studies
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. David et al. (1999)
    Towards an emancipatory pedagogy in service courses and user departments
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. SMITH (1997)
    Intertextual Connections to “A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing”
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. THOMPSON (1996)
    Competence and Critique in Technical Communication: A Qualitative Content Analy…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (23) · 1 in this index

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  2. Berlin James A. (1987)
    Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1900–1985.
  3. Berthoff Ann E. (1981)
    The Making of Meaning: Metaphors, Models, and Maxims for Writing Teachers.
  4. _____ (1990)
    The Sense of Learning.
  5. Bruner Jerome (1990)
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Show all 23 →
  1. Dewey John (1916)
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  2. _____ (1938)
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  3. Dewey John (1949)
    Knowing and the Known.
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  5. _____ (1989)
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  8. Harris Jeanette (1990)
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  9. 10.2307/375964
     ↗
  10. _____ (1989)
    Technical Writing: Theory and Practice.
  11. Piaget Jean (1970)
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     ↗
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  13. Rosenblatt Louise M. (1978)
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