|
| |
Teaching
Technical Writing (English 504)
Instructor: Phil Druker.
The Goal:
Teaching Technical Writing will give
English Department graduate students a chance to learn about technical
writing and methods for teaching technical writing courses. The course will
expand your knowledge of teaching writing, and thus, the course should
enhance your ability to get a job when you graduate with your MA or MFA.
The Plan/What you
will do:
-
Regularly attend either
section (9:30 T/Th or 11:00 T/Th) of the technical writing course that the instructor teachers.
-
Read the chapters in the technical
writing textbook by Markel that pertain as we progress through the course.
-
Write a proposal. Also, I urge you to complete the job
application (cover letter and résumé) assignment.
At the end of
the semester,
you
will write a syllabus for your own technical writing course.
.
-
Teach a
topic/topics during a class and help lead workshops during class.
-
Practice grade a few proposals and perhaps some other papers.
- Attend seminar sessions
about the course, which should last about an hour.
These seminar sessions are scheduled for 3:30 on Wednesdays and will occur
only a couple times during the semester.
| Note about meeting
times: The seminar on Wednesday will only meet a couple
times during the semester. During the Wednesday seminar, we will meet briefly to discuss readings or
to discuss assignments, and except for the first week you will not need to go to
one of the
technical writing classes during that week. We'll establish the schedule for all this
at the beginning of the semester. As the semester progresses,
there will be days when you don't need to attend the technical
writing classes. |
Who should take the
course:
| This course will work best for
people who a) are second or third year grad students, and b) have an
interest in reading about and learning about science or technology.
Being a composition TA will help but is not necessary. |
| |
The Required
Textbooks:
Markel, Mike. 2007.Technical
Communication (8th Ed.) Bedford/ St. Martins.
(You will read this on your own to fill in the gaps I don't discuss in
class.)
Druker, Phil. 2008. Technical
Writing Course Pamphlet. Available at the UI Bookstore.
I encourage you to
buy the books for your own reference:
Dubinsky, James M. 2004. Teaching
Technical Communication. Bedford/ St. Martins
Staples, Katherine and Ornatowski, Cezar
M. 1997. Foundations for Teaching Technical Communication: Theory,
Practice, and Program Design. ATTW Contemporary Studies in Technical
Communication
Syllabus
Books on Reserve |