Programmatic Outcomes in Undergraduate Technical and Professional Communication Programs

Using a hybrid card sorting-affinity diagramming method to teach content analysis

“…In tandem with TPC scholars' calls to assess and prioritize research for undergraduates (Ford & Newmark, 2011;Ilyasova & Bridgeford, 2014;Clegg, Lauer, Phelps, & Melonçon, 2020), we suggest partnerships, like the project we undertook be implemented across two-and four-year institutions. Out of 1,235 public and private not-for-profit 2YCs, (REMOVED FOR REVIEW, 2020a and 2020b), 990 2YCs offer at least 1 TPC course, which is 80% of these schools.…”

“…For example, Ford and Newmark (2011) included "effectively conduct and communicate research" as an additional component to senior capstone projects (p. 312); and Ilyasova and Bridgeford (2014) incorporated research as one of their five suggested programmatic outcome categories. Further, based on their analysis of existing undergraduate TPC programmatic learning outcomes for students, Clegg, Lauer, Phelps, and Melonçon (2020) recommended TPC programmatic administrators consider research (among other knowledge and skill learning outcomes) as a secondary area through which programmatic learning outcomes can (or might be) derived. In their explanation, they noted that "Research allows students to locate and/or produce information, assess its relevance, and apply the information to address a problem or issue" (p. 10).…”

Real-World User Experience: Engaging Students and Industry Professionals Through a Mentor Program

“…In doing so, she showed how PSLOs could respond to the local context of a program. Likewise, Geoffrey Clegg et al (2021) argued for fitting outcomes to local exigencies and for "a continuous improvement model [that] consistently…”

User Experience and Technical Communication: Beyond Intertwining

“…For example, in a content analysis of the scholarly literature from the technical communication journals from 1996–2017, Boettger & Friess found that articles on usability/UX appeared far less than expected, leading them to conjecture that the study results suggest “that technical communication journals have largely ceded the study of this topic (UX)” (Boettger & Friess, 2020, p.18). In addition, Clegg et al (2020), reviewed programmatic outcomes in undergraduate technical and professional communication programs and found that less than 3% explicitly focused on user experience, usability, or user-centered design. This trend runs counter to several voices calling for more focus, discussion, and opportunities for teaching usability and UX in TC programs (Chong, 2012; Chong, 2016; Getto & Beecher, 2016).…”