When working with traditional students, technical writing teachers
can assume a certain level of academic writing experience: high school
courses, freshman composition, and other writing-intensive courses have
been completed recently and have (hopefully) included contemporary pedagogical
approaches to writing instruction, including computer-assisted instruction.
We cannot make those assumptions, though, about the recency of the returning
students’ academic writing experience.
In addition, these students may also have workplace writing experience, including experience with specialized writing and design-related software applications, which can both help and hinder the transition to the technical writing classroom. On one hand, these students may be a valuable classroom resource, but on the other, they may try to assert themselves too strongly as authorities in writing and/or computer expertise at the expense of undermining the instructor's classroom control.
In a sample Student Viewpoint on
writing experience, one student discusses her own academic and workplace
writing experience prior to taking my technical writing course. Gina's
responses represent the more ideally prepared returning student who has
both recent academic coursework and relevant workplace experience; I would
have liked to include additional responses from students who considered
themselves less prepared, but responses were voluntary, and those who felt
less confident may have been reluctant to share their concerns. Gina
also feels more confident in her level of computer skill than other returning
students with whom I have worked, which contributes to her success in the
course. Note that prior to taking introductory computer courses at
the university, she developed skills through working with her children;
I have frequently heard this comment from returning students, and several
throughout the years have told me that their children continued to help
them in completing their technical writing assignments, particularly with
document design and work on the Web.
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