Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2024

Implementing a Continuous Improvement Model for Assignment Evaluation at the Technical and Professional Communication Program Level

Michelle Sonnenberg University of South Florida ; Carolyn Gubala University of California, Davis ; Justiss Burry ; Jessica Griffith University of South Florida ; Tanya Zarlengo University of South Florida ; Lisa Melonçon University of South Florida

Abstract

We use a continuous improvement model to evaluate an information design assignment by analyzing 120 student drafts and finals alongside instructor feedback. Using data from across sections ( N = 118), we illustrate a process focused on improving student learning that other technical and professional communication program administrators and faculty can follow, while also offering insights into ways programs can assist a contingent labor force with improving pedagogical practice. This study provides insights into assignment design through data-driven evidence and reflective work that is necessary to help continuously improve a service course and to assist students in meeting learning outcomes.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2024-01-01
DOI
10.1177/00472816221124605
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing pedagogy assessment writing program administration technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions empirical research
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Gubala et al. (2025)
    Bringing the Technical and Professional Communication Service Course Back
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Melonçon et al. (2024)
    Back to the Basics: Uncovering the Rhetoric Student Learning Outcome
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  3. Griffith et al. (2024)
    A Field Wide Snapshot of Student Learning Outcomes in the Technical and Profess…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

References (61) · 23 in this index

  1. Amare N. (2013)
    A unified theory of information design: Visuals, text, and ethics
  2. 10.1037/hea0000367
     ↗
  3. 10.7330/9781607328032.c007
     ↗
  4. 10.2307/357383
     ↗
  5. Bourelle (2014)
    Adapting Service-Learning into the Online Technical Communication Classroom: A …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 61 →
  1. 10.1016/j.pec.2010.04.027
     ↗
  2. 10.1177/1080569905278863
     ↗
  3. Brumberger (2007)
    Visual Communication in the Workplace: A Survey of Practice
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Brumberger (2007)
    Making the Strange Familiar: A Pedagogical Exploration of Visual Thinking
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. 10.7330/9781607326809.c007
     ↗
  6. Brumberger E. R. (2013)
    Design texts: Teaching visual communication
  7. 10.2190/DTTC2
     ↗
  8. 10.4324/9781315166933-1
     ↗
  9. Clegg et al. (2021)
    Programmatic Outcomes in Undergraduate Technical and Professional Communication…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. Colombini et al. (2017)
    Integrating Quantitative Literacy into Technical Writing Instruction
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  11. Dinolfo et al. (2007)
    Seeing Cells: Teaching the Visual/Verbal Rhetoric of Biology
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  12. Doan (2019)
    Contradictory Comments: Feedback in Professional Communication Service Courses
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  13. Doumont J. L. (2002)
    Technical Communication
  14. 10.2190/DTTC3
     ↗
  15. 10.1002/sim.6549
     ↗
  16. Eodice M. (2016)
    The meaningful writing project: Learning, teaching, and writing in higher education
  17. Harvard Business School
    The HBS case method
  18. Hovde et al. (2017)
    Technological Literacy: A Framework for Teaching Technical Communication Softwa…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  19. Hutchings P. (2000)
    Opening lines: Approaches to the scholarship of teaching and learning
  20. Johnson C. S. (2010)
    Programmatic Perspectives
  21. Kimball M. A. (2008)
    Document design: A guide for technical communicators
  22. King P. E. (2020)
    American Communication Journal
  23. Kostelnick (2007)
    The Visual Rhetoric of Data Displays: The Conundrum of Clarity
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  24. Kostelnick C. (2011)
    Designing visual language: Strategies for professional communicators
  25. Lam (2018)
    More Than a Feeling: Applying a Data-Driven Framework in the Technical and Prof…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  26. Lauer (2013)
    Examining the Effect of Reflective Assessment on the Quality of Visual Design A…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  27. 10.1515/9781478021445
     ↗
  28. 10.1016/0147-1767(85)90062-8
     ↗
  29. Maricle J. A. (2016). Risky business: Case study pedagogy in professional writing and communication. (Unpubli…
  30. Mechenbier M. (2020)
    Academic Labor: Research and Artistry
  31. Melonçon L. (2013)
    Designing texts: Teaching visual communication
  32. Melonçon L. (2018)
    Programmatic Perspectives
  33. Meloncon et al. (2011)
    The Current Status of Contingent Faculty in Technical and Professional Communication
    College English
  34. Melonçon L. (2013)
    Technical Communication
  35. Melonçon L.
    Academic Labor: Research and Artistry
  36. Melonçon et al. (2020)
    A Field-Wide Metasynthesis of Pedagogical Research in Technical and Professiona…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  37. Melonçon L., Warner E. (2017). Data visualizations: A literature review and opportunities for technical and p…
     ↗
  38. Northcut et al. (2010)
    Resisting the Lure of Technology-Driven Design: Pedagogical Approaches to Visua…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  39. Riley K. (2010)
    Visual composing: Document design for print and digital media
  40. Robles et al. (2019)
    Using Case-Method Pedagogy to Facilitate Audience Awareness
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  41. Schreiber et al. (2019)
    Creating a Continuous Improvement Model for Sustaining Programs in Technical an…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  42. Shulman L. (2002)
    Ethics of inquiry: Issues in the scholarship of teaching and learning
  43. Smagorinsky (2008)
    The Method Section as Conceptual Epicenter in Constructing Social Science Resea…
    Written Communication
  44. Still et al. (2010)
    Listening to Students: A Usability Evaluation of Instructor Commentary
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  45. 10.1002/9781119422808
     ↗
  46. Sullivan P. (1997)
    Opening spaces: Writing technologies and critical research practices
  47. 10.1080/10810730.2010.492560
     ↗
  48. Taylor (2011)
    “I Really Don't Know What He Meant by That”: How Well Do Engineering Students U…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  49. Tham (2021)
    Engaging Design Thinking and Making in Technical and Professional Communication…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  50. Veltsos J., Patriarca A. (2017). Investigating the curricular differences of technical and business communica…
  51. Welhausen (2018)
    Toward a Topos of Visual Rhetoric: Teaching Aesthetics Through Color and Typography
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  52. Williams et al. (2004)
    Introduction to the Special Issue on New Case Studies forTechnical and Professi…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  53. Wilson L. (2020)
    Academic Labor: Research and Artistry
  54. Wolfe (2015)
    Teaching Students to Focus on the Data in Data Visualization
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  55. Wong D. (2013)
    The Wall Street Journal guide to information graphics: The dos and don’ts of presenting d…
  56. 10.1177/0272989X13511706
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Pedagogy Apr 2024
    To Reimagine . . . To Start Again ↗
    Zachary C. Beare; Jessica Masterson; Shari J. Stenberg
    rhetorical criticism first-year composition writing pedagogy graduate education teacher development argument assessment writing program administration professional writing labor and working conditions multimodality race and writing gender and writing affect and writing editorial matter
  2. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2023
    Fostering Advocacy, Developing Empathetic UX Bricoleurs: Ongoing Programmatic Assessment and Responsive Curriculum Design ↗
    Scott J. Kowalewski; Bill Williamson
    writing pedagogy curriculum design service learning teacher development assessment technical communication professional writing empirical research qualitative research
  3. Pedagogy Apr 2022
    Contributors ↗
    rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy creative writing writing across the curriculum teacher development collaborative writing assessment writing program administration technical communication professional writing digital rhetoric literacy studies gender and writing disability studies literary studies book reviews editorial matter
  4. Pedagogy Jan 2022
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics decolonial rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education teacher development argument collaborative writing transfer assessment portfolios writing program administration writing centers peer tutoring technical communication professional writing archival research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  5. Composition Forum 2015
    The Source of Our Ethos: Using Evidence-Based Practices to Affect a Program-Wide Shift from “I Think” to “We Know” ↗
    Elizabeth G. Allan, Dana Lynn Driscoll, D.R. Hammontree, Marshall Kitchens, and Lori Ostergaard
    first-year composition writing pedagogy teacher development argument assessment professional writing labor and working conditions empirical research affect and writing