Abstract

Service-learning projects and traditional internships both prepare the student of technical communication for the workforce in many ways. What is lacking in the scholarship is a discussion of how to successfully link these two ideas. To help teachers implement courses that bridge the gap between service-learning projects and internships, I discuss how to design a course in technical communication that actively prepares students for subsequent internships with nonprofit agencies. In specific, I outline social development and social learning theories, service-learning pedagogies, and lesson plans and assignments that integrate these theories into practice. This project serves as a model that insists that the teacher first instructs students regarding not only rhetorical aspects of document design, including audience awareness and style, but also in placing the students in internships and designing assignments to be fulfilled in internship roles. The combination of classroom practices with an internship supports the idea that students learn the value of the process of writing, including the social embeddedness that can often influence their writing.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2012-04-01
DOI
10.2190/tw.42.2.f
Open Access
Closed
Topics

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 7 →
  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (8)

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 8 →
  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Written Communication
Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1108/00400911011017690
  2. 10.1177/108056990006300109
  3. 10.1177/108056990106400406
CrossRef global citation count: 20 View in citation network →