College Composition and Communication Dec 2009

Embracing Wicked Problems: The Turn to Design in Composition Studies

Richard Marback

Abstract

Recent appeal to the concept of design in composition studies benefits teaching writing in digital media. Yet the concept of design has not been developed enough to fully benefit composition instruction. This article develops an understanding of design as a matter of resolving wicked problems and makes a case for the advantages of this understanding in composition studies.

Journal
College Composition and Communication
Published
2009-12-01
DOI
10.58680/ccc20099494
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
first-year composition writing pedagogy teacher development
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (27)

  1. Quigley et al. (2026)
    Kiosk! An interactive touchscreen project for multimodal UX composition learners
    Computers and Composition
  2. Tham (2025)
    Design Thinking in Business and Professional Communication Pedagogy: A Review o…
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  3. Sánchez (2025)
    Cultivating Phronesis through Wicked Stories
    Pedagogy
  4. Jiang (2024)
    When generative artificial intelligence meets multimodal composition: Rethinkin…
    Computers and Composition
  5. Sarraf (2024)
    Tying Creative Problem-Solving to Social Justice Work in Technical and Professi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 27 →
  1. Sarraf (2023)
    Charting RAD Research as an Orientation to Creativity in Writing Studies
    Written Communication
  2. Colby (2023)
    Embodying empathy: using game design as a maker pedagogy to teach design thinking
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Ponce (2023)
    The Twain Shall Meet
    Pedagogy
  4. Andrews (2022)
    Designing a Course in Business Communication
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  5. Pellegrini (2022)
    Composing Like an Entrepreneur: The Pedagogical Implications of Design Thinking…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  6. Tham (2022)
    Pasts and Futures of Design Thinking: Implications for Technical Communication
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  7. Sarraf (2022)
    Representations of Creativity by Posters in Freelance Writing Internet Forums
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  8. Butler et al. (2021)
    Sound, captions, action: Voices in video composition projects
    Computers and Composition
  9. Weedon et al. (2021)
    Embodied Genres, Typified Performances, and the Engineering Design Process
    Written Communication
  10. Tham et al. (2020)
    Toward a Radical Collaboratory Model for Graduate Research Education: A Collabo…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  11. Overstreet (2020)
    Writing at the Interface: A Research and Teaching Program for Everyday Digital …
    Literacy in Composition Studies
  12. Hutchison (2019)
    Technological Efficiency in The Learning Management System: A Wicked Problem wi…
    Computers and Composition
  13. Pope-Ruark et al. (2019)
    Introduction to Special Issue: Design-Thinking Approaches in Technical and Prof…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  14. Greenwood et al. (2019)
    Dissensus, Resistance, and Ideology: Design Thinking as a Rhetorical Methodology
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  15. Weedon (2019)
    The Role of Rhetoric in Engineering Judgment
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  16. Brewer et al. (2018)
    Flipping Professional Development
    Pedagogy
  17. Bowen (2017)
    The Limits of Hacking Composition Pedagogy
    Computers and Composition
  18. Newcomb (2017)
    Dilemmas, Problems, Constraints, and Other Rhetorical Quandaries
    Pedagogy
  19. VanKooten et al. (2016)
    Messy Problem-Exploring through Video in First-Year Writing: Assessing What Counts
    Computers and Composition
  20. Leverenz (2014)
    Design Thinking and the Wicked Problem of Teaching Writing
    Computers and Composition
  21. Kurlinkus (2014)
    Crafting Designs: An Archaeology of “Craft” as God Term
    Computers and Composition
  22. Wickman (2014)
    Wicked Problems in Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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