This article collaboration addresses the importance of contextualizing current climate change discussions in twenty-first-century ecocomposition classrooms. It specifically focuses on the practical significance of what students’ writing and research can accomplish in and outside the classroom, and on how student involvement in the research process can create spaces for new awareness and renewed interest in active engagement with climate change discussions. The article references student projects exhibited at ClimateCon 2020, including one project that focused on Rachel Carson’s ability to persevere despite the many challenges she faced. With ecocomposition as an entry point, the article shows the importance of continued education about the environment and climate change, getting involved with sustainable practices, engaging with environmental awareness campaigns, and, when needed, lobbying for readjusting corporate business practices to include sustainability efforts.
PurposeThe paper shows an example of an internship-classroom model that increases student motivation and self-efficacy across cultural frameworks by providing opportunities for application projects.Design/methodology/approachThe author uses qualitative data collected through teacher research and focuses on the rhetorical context to show how disciplinary writing courses can be redesigned by incorporating theoretical frameworks from business management and psychology.FindingsClient projects used in disciplinary writing courses, in conjunction with national narratives on higher education as a gateway to higher pay and better skills, improve student self-efficacy if faculty redefine their roles as mediators, and if students are treated as interns and knowledge workers.Practical implicationsThe integration of non-academic approaches from business management with academic expectations of research, revision, and rehearsal for a specific client shows how purposeful client-based projects can influence student motivation, self-efficacy, and sense of self-worth that are crucial for diverse student populations. Expanding the theoretical frameworks for successful teaching is an effective model for increasing students' competence as disciplinary writers.Originality/valueAn interdisciplinary approach that draws from academic fields as well as from the business world provides new ways of working successfully with students and preparing them for writing inside and outside the classroom. Incorporating an internship approach into a classroom setting encourages teachers to reimagine student, client, and faculty roles.
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