Teaching Professional and Technical Communication ― A Practicum in a Book

Teaching Professional and Technical Communication guides new instructors in teaching professional and technical communication (PTC). The essays in this volume provide theoretical and applied discussions about the teaching of this diverse subject, including relevant pedagogical approaches, how to apply practical aspects of PTC theory, and how to design assignments.

This practicum features chapters by prominent PTC scholars and teachers on rhetoric, style, ethics, design, usability, genre, and other central concerns of PTC programs. Each chapter includes a scenario or personal narrative of teaching a particular topic, provides a theoretical basis for interpreting the narrative, illustrates the practical aspects of the approach, describes relevant assignments, and presents a list of questions to prompt pedagogical discussions.

Teaching Professional and Technical Communication is not a compendium of best practices but instead offers a practical collection of rich, detailed narratives that show inexperienced PTC instructors how to work most effectively in the classroom.


Contributors: Pam Estes Brewer, Eva Brumberger, Dave Clark, Paul Dombrowski, James M. Dubinsky, Peter S. England, David K. Farkas, Brent Henze, Tharon W. Howard, Dan Jones, Karla Saari Kitalong, Traci Nathans-Kelly, Christine G. Nicometo, Kirk St. Amant

Tracy Bridgeford is professor of technical communication at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she directs the Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication. In 2015, she coedited?Academy-Industry Relationships: Perspectives for Technical Communicators?and in 2014?Sharing Our Intellectual Traces: Narrative Reflections from Administrators of Professional, Technical, and Scientific Programs. She contributed chapters to?Resources in Technical Communication: Outcomes and Approaches,?Teaching Writing with Computers: An Introduction, and?Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication, which she also coedited.